Character of Jesus

A Word of Grace

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, prophecy, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them. Ezekiel 36:27

To call this text a golden sentence would be much too commonplace: to liken it to a pearl of great price would be too poor a comparison. We cannot feel, much less speak, too much in praise of the great God who has put this clause into the covenant of His grace. In that covenant every sentence is more precious than heaven and earth; and this line is not the least among His choice words of promise: “I will put My spirit within you.”

I would begin by saying that it is a gracious word. It was spoken to a graceless people, to a people who had followed “their own way,” and refused the way of God; a people who had already provoked something more than ordinary anger in the Judge of all the earth; for He Himself said (verse 18), “I poured My fury upon them.” These people, even under chastisement, caused the holy name of God to be profaned among the heathen, whither they went. They had been highly favoured, but they abused their privileges, and behaved worse than those who never knew the Lord. They sinned wantonly, wilfully, wickedly, proudly and presumptuously; and by this they greatly provoked the Lord. Yet to them He made such a promise as this-” I will put My spirit within you.” Surely, where sin abounded grace did much more abound.

Clearly this is a word of grace, for the law saith nothing of this kind…The law proclaims the statutes; but the gospel alone promises the spirit by which the statutes will be obeyed. The law commands and makes us know what God requires of us; but the gospel goes further, and inclines us to obey the will of the Lord, and enables us practically to walk in His ways. Under the dominion of grace the Lord worketh in us to will and to do of His own good pleasure. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2200.cfm

Contentment, Courage, Encouragement, Delight and Faith

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. – Hebrews 13:5,6

The apostle says, “Having food and raiment, let us be therewith content, for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Ishmael, the son of Hagar, had his water in a bottle; and he might have laughed at Isaac because Isaac had no bottle, but then here was the difference between them-Isaac lived by the well. Now some of us have little enough in this world; we have no bottle of water, no stock in hand; but then we live by the well, and that is better still. To depend upon the daily providence of a faithful God, is better than to be worth twenty thousand pounds a year.

Let us boldly say, “God is my helper, why should I fear what man can do unto me.” A child of God afraid! Why, there is nothing more contrary to his nature. If any would persecute you, look them in the face and bear it cheerfully. If they laugh at you, let them laugh; you can laugh when they shall howl. If any despise you, be content to be despised by fools, and to be misunderstood by madmen. …”Who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; and forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth.”

We ought to cast off our despondency… since He has said, “I will never leave nor forsake thee.” How we ought to rejoice with joy unspeakable if He will never leave us! Mere songs are not enough; shout for joy all ye that are upright in heart. What ground there is here for faith! Let us lean upon our God with all our weight. Let us throw ourselves upon His faithfulness as we do upon our beds, bringing all our weariness to His dear rest.~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0477.cfm

More Than Conquerors

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, Sovereignty of God 1 Comment

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. – Romans 8:37

Beloved friends, there is no reason why He should cast us off. Can you adduce any reason why He should cast you away? Is it your poverty, your nakedness, your peril, the danger of your life? In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that hath loved us. Do you say it is your sins? Then I answer sin can never be a cause why God should cast away His people, for they were full of sin when He at first embraced their persons, and espoused their cause. That would have been a cause why He never should have loved them, but having loved them when they were dead in trespasses and sins, their sin can never be a reason for leaving them. Besides, the Apostle says, “I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,”-and sin is one of the things present, and I fear it is one of the things to come-“nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” O child of God, there is no fear of your misusing this precious truth. The base-born professor of godliness may say, “I will sin, for God will not cast me away,” but you will not, ye heirs of heaven; rather you will bind this about your heart, and say “Now will I love Him who having loved His own, loves them even unto the end.” Glory be to God!

If there be any truth taught us in Scripture, it is that the children of God cannot perish. If this Book teaches anything whatever it teaches in a hundred places that “The righteous shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall wax stronger and stronger.” “The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, but the covenant of His love cannot depart from us saith the Lord that hath mercy upon us.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0477.cfm

The Vocal Past

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. – Isaiah 43:2

Thou hast been in deep waters; hast thou been drowned? Thou hast walked through the fires; hast thou been burned? Thou hast had six troubles; hath He forsaken thee? Thou hast gone down to the roots of the mountains, and the weeds have been wrapped about thy head; hath He not brought thee up again? Thou hast borne great and sore troubles; but hath He not delivered thee? …The past is vocal with a thousand songs of gratitude, and every note therein proveth by an indisputable logic that He will not forsake His people.

Did ever any perish trusting in Christ? I have heard that some whom Jehovah loved have fallen from grace, and have been lost. I have heard lips of ministers thus prostitute themselves to falsehood, but I know that such never was the case. He keepeth all His saints; not one of them hath perished; they are in His hand, and have hitherto been preserved. David mourneth, “All thy waves and thy billows have gone over me;” yet, he crieth, “Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise Him.” Jonah laments, “The earth with her bars was about me for ever;” and yet, erelong he says, “Salvation is of the Lord.” Ye glorified ones above, through much tribulation ye have inherited the kingdom, and wearing your white robes, ye smile from your thrones of glory and say to us, “Doubt not the Lord, neither distrust Him, He hath not forsaken His people nor cast off His chosen.”~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0477.cfm

 

For the Sake of His Honor

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, Sovereignty of God, The Father Leave a comment

Behold, He smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can He give bread also? can He provide flesh for His people? – Psalm 78:20

Let me remind you that the Lord will not and cannot leave His people, because of His relationship to them. He is your Father; will your Father leave you? Has He not said-“Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.” Would you, being evil, leave your child to perish? Never, never! Remember, Christ is your husband. Would you, a husband, neglect your wife? Is it not a shame to a man, unless he nourisheth and cherisheth her even as his own body, and will Christ become one of these ill husbands? Hath He not said-“I hate putting away,” and will He ever put thee away? Remember, thou art part of His body. No man yet ever hated his own flesh. Thou mayest be but as a little finger, but will He leave His finger to rot, to perish, to starve? Thou mayest be the least honorable of all the members, but is it not written that upon these He bestoweth abundant honor, and so our uncomely parts have abundant comeliness? If He be father, if He be husband, if He be head, if He be all-in-all, how can He leave thee? Think not so hardly of thy God.

Then,  His honor binds Him never to forsake thee. When we see a house half-built and left in ruins, we say, “This man began to build and was not able to finish.” Shall this be said of thy God, that He began to save thee and could not bring thee to perfection? Is it possible that He will break His word, and so stain His truth? Shall men be able to cast a slur upon His power, His wisdom, His love, His faithfulness? No! thank God, no! “I give,” saith He “unto My sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.” If thou shouldest perish, believer, hell would ring with diabolical laughter against the character of God; and if ever one whom Jesus undertook to save shouldest perish, then the demons of the pit would point the finger of scorn for ever against a defeated Christ, against a God that undertook but went not through. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0477.cfm

There is No Denial

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

…for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. – Hebrews 13:6

“When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.”- Isaiah 41:17

You may be brought to this state to-day. Your soul may need Christ, but you may not be able to find Him. You may feel that without the mercy which comes from the atoning blood you are lost. You may have gone to works and ceremonies, to prayings and doings, to alms-givings and to experiences, and have found them all dried wells, and now you can hardly pray, for your tongue cleaves to the roof of your mouth for thirst. Now in your worst condition, brought to the lowest state into which a creature ever can be cast, Christ will not forsake you, He will appear for your help.

When God opens a well for one man it is that all may drink. When the manna falls, it is not only for those in the wilderness, but we by faith do eat the manna still. No promise is of private interpretation. When God openeth a granary-door to give out food, there may be some one starving man who is the occasion of its being opened, but all the hungry besides may come and feed too. Whether He gave the word to Abraham or to Moses matters not; He has given it to thee as one of the covenanted seed. There is not a high blessing too lofty for thee; nor a wide mercy too extensive for thee. Lift up now thine eyes to the north and to the south, to the east and to the west, for all this is thine. Climb to Pisgah’s top, and view the utmost limit of the divine promise, for the land is all thine own. There is not a brook of living water of which thou mayest not drink. If the land floweth with milk and honey, eat the honey and drink the milk. The fattest of the kine, yea, and the sweetest of the wines, let all be thine, for there is no denial of any one of them to any saint… To put everything in one, there is nothing you can want, there is nothing you can ask for, there is nothing you can need in time or in eternity, there is nothing living, nothing dying, there is nothing in this world, nothing in the next world, there is nothing now, nothing at the resurrection-morning, nothing in heaven that is not contained in this text-“I will never leave thee; I will never forsake thee.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0477.cfm

“I will not leave thee”

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

“Behold, I am with thee and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.”- Genesis 28:15

Here we have this promise in the case of a man of trials. More than either Abraham or Isaac, Jacob was the son of tribulation. He was now flying away from his father’s house, leaving the over-fondness of a mother’s attachment, abhorred by his elder brother, who sought his blood. He lies down to sleep, with a stone for his pillow, with the hedges for his curtains, with the earth for his bed, and the heavens for his canopy; and as he sleeps thus friendless, solitary, and alone, God saith to him “I will never, never leave thee.” Mark his after career: He is guided to Padan-aram; God, his guide, leaves him not. At Padan-aram Laban cheats him, wickedly and wrongfully cheats him in many ways; but God doth not leave him, and he is more than a match for the thievish Laban. He flees at last with his wives and children; Laban, in hot haste pursues him, but the Lord does not leave him; Mizpah’s Mount bears witness that God can stop the pursuer and change the foe into a friend. Esau comes against him; let Jabbok testify to Jacob’s wrestling, and through the power of Him who never did forsake His servant, Esau kisses his brother, whom once he thought to slay. Anon Jacob dwells in tents and booths at Succoth; he journeys up and down throughout the land, and his sons treacherously slay the Shechemites. Then the nations round about seek to avenge their death, but the Lord again interposes, and Jacob is delivered. Poor Jacob is bereaved of his sons. He cries-“Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and now ye will take Benjamin away; all these things are against me.” But they are not against him; God has not left him, for He has not yet done everything that He had spoken to him of. The old man goes into Egypt; his lips are refreshed while he kisses the cheeks of his favourite son, Joseph, and until the last, when he gathers up his feet in the bed and sings of that coming Shiloh and the scepter that should not depart from Judah, good old Jacob proves that in six troubles God is with His people, and in seven He doth not forsake them; that even to hoar hairs He is the same, and until old age He doth carry them. You Jacobs, full of affliction, you tried and troubled heirs of heaven, He hath said to you, each one of you-oh! believe Him! – “I will never leave thee; I will never forsake thee.”~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0477.cfm