Character of Jesus

Are You Amongst the Beloved?

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, salvation, The Holy Spirit 4 Comments

I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine… – Song of Solomon 6:3

I must enquire whether you read your Bibles… I want to know whether you search the Scriptures to find what is truth. And, if you are not a reader of the Bible, if you take doctrines second-hand, if you go to chapel, and say, “I do not like that,” what matters you not liking it, provided it is in the Bible? Is it Biblical truth, or is it not? If it is God’s truth, let us have it exalted. It may not suit you; but let me remind you, that the truth that is in Jesus never was palatable to carnal men, and I believe never will be.

(W)here there is true doctrine, there ought always to be a vital experience. Have you ever had an experience of your wretchedness, of your depravity, your inability, your death in sin? Have you ever felt life in Christ, an experience of the light of God’s countenance, of wrestling with corruption? Have you had a grace-given Holy Ghost-implanted experience of a communion with Christ?

“Faith without works is dead, being alone.” He that walketh in sin is a child of the devil; and he that walketh in righteousness is a child of light. Do not think, because you believe the right doctrines, therefore you are right. There are many that believe right, act wrong, and they perish. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked; whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.”

Now let me beseech thee by the frailty of your own lives-by the shortness of time-by the dreadful realities of eternity-by the sins you have committed-by the pardon that you need-by the blood and wounds of Jesus-by His second coming to judge the world in righteousness-by the glories of heaven-by the awful horrors of hell-by time-by eternity-by all that is good-by all that is sacred-let me beg of you, as you love your own souls, to search and see whether ye are amongst the beloved…~ C.H. Spurgeon

http://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0012.cfm

The Sleep of a Happy Dismission

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, salvation, The Holy Spirit 3 Comments

And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. -Revelation 14:13

I have stood by the graves of many servants of the Lord. I have buried some of the excellent of the earth; and when I bid farewell to my brother down below there slumbering in his coffin, I usually commence my speech with those words, “So He giveth His beloved sleep.” Dear servants of Jesus! There I see them! What can I say of them, but that “so He giveth His beloved sleep?” Oh! happy sleep! This world is a state of tossing to and fro; but in that grave they rest. No sorrows there; no sighs, no groans, to mingle with the songs that warble from immortal tongues. Well may I address the dead thus:-“My brother, oftentimes hast thou fought the battles of this world; thou hast had thy cares, thy trials, and thy troubles; but now thou art gone-not to worlds unknown, but to yonder land of light and glory. Sleep on, brother! Thy soul sleepeth not, for thou art in heaven; but thy body sleepeth. Death hath laid thee in thy last couch; it may be cold, but it is sanctified; it may be damp, but it is safe; and on the resurrection morning, when the archangel shall set his trumpet to his mouth, thou shalt rise. ‘Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord: yea, saith the Spirit, for they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them.’ Sleep on in thy grave, my brother, for thou shalt rise to glory.”

Beloved Christian brother, wherefore dost thou fear to die? Come let me take thy hand:

To you and me by grace ’tis given,
To know the Saviour’s precious name;
And shortly we shall meet in heaven,
Our end, our hope, our way the same.

~ C.H. Spurgeon

http://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0012.cfm

This is Security

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, promises, salvation 5 Comments

It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so He giveth His beloved sleep. -Psalm 127:2

Arguing a little while ago with an Arminian, he said, “Sir, you ought to be a happy man; for if what you say be true, why you are as secure of being in heaven as if you were there.” I said, “Yes, I know it.” “Then you ought to live above cares and tribulations, and sing happily from morning to night.” I said, “So I ought, and so I will, God helping me.” This is security. “He giveth His beloved sleep.” To know that if I died I should enter heaven-to be as sure as I am of my own existence that God, having loved me with an everlasting love, and He being immutable, will never hate me if He has once loved me-to know that I must enter the kingdom of glory-is not this enough to make all burdens light, and give me the hind’s feet wherewith I may stand upon my high places. Happy state of security! “So He giveth His beloved sleep.”

And there is a sleep, my dear friends, of security, which is enjoyed on earth even in the midst of the greatest troubles. Do you remember that passage in the book of Ezekiel, where it is said, “They shall dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods?” A queer place to sleep in! “In the woods.” There is a wolf over yonder; there is a tiger in the jungle; and eagle is soaring in the air; a horde of robbers dwell in the dark forest. “Never mind,” says the child of God:

He that hath made his refuge God,
Shall find a most secure abode;
Shall walk all day beneath His shade,
And there at night shall rest his head.

~ C.H. Spurgeon

http://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0012.cfm

God Gives Us the Sleep of Security

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, salvation, The Father 3 Comments

I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me. -Psalm 3:5

Solomon slept with his armed men round his bed, and thus slumbered securely; but Solomon’s father slept one night on the bare ground-not in a palace-with no moat round his castle wall, but he slept quite as safely as his son, for he said, “I laid me down and slept, and I awaked, for the Lord sustained me.” Now, some persons never feel secure in this world at all; I query whether one half of my hearers feel themselves so. Suppose I burst out in a moment, and sing this-

I to the end shall endure,
As sure as the earnest is given;
More happy, but not more secure,
Are the glorified spirits in heaven.

You would say, that is too high doctrine; and I would reply, very likely it is for you, but it is the truth of God, and it is sweet doctrine for me. I love to know, that if I am predestinated according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, I must be saved; if I was purchased by the Son’s blood, I cannot be lost, for it would be impossible for Jesus Christ to lose one whom He has redeemed, otherwise He would be dissatisfied with His labours. I know that where He has begun the good work He will carry it on. I never fear that I shall fall away, or be lost; my only fear is, lest I should not have been right at first; but, provided I am right, if I be really a child of God, I might believe that the sun would be smitten with madness, and go reeling through the universe like a drunken man-I might believe that the stars would turn form their courses, and instead of marching with their measured tramp, as now they do, whirl on in wild courses like the dance of Bacchanals-I could even conceive that this great universe might all subside in God, “even as a moment’s foam subsides again upon the wave that bears it;” but neither reason, heresy, logic, eloquence, nor a conclave of divines, shall make me pay a moment’s attention to the vile suggestion that a child of God may ever perish. Hence I tread this earth with confidence. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

http://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0012.cfm

The Sleep of Quietness of Soul as to the Future.

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, The Father, The Holy Spirit 4 Comments

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. -Jeremiah 29:11

God giveth His beloved the sleep of quietness of soul as to the future. O that dark future! that future! The present may be well; but ah! the next wind may wither all the flowers, and where shall I be? Clutch thy gold, miser; for “riches make to themselves wings and fly away.” Hug that babe to thy breast, mother; for the rough hand of death may rob thee of it. Look at thy fame and wonder at it, O thou man of ambition! But one slight report shall wound thee to the heart, and thou shalt sink as low as e’er thou hast been lifted high by the voices of the multitude. The future! All persons have need to dread the future, except the Christian. God giveth to His beloved sleep with regard to the events of coming time.

What may be the future lot,
High or low concerns me not;
This doth set my heart at rest,
What my God appoints is best.

Whether I am to live or die is no matter to me; whether I am to be the “offscouring of all things,” or “the man whom the king delighteth to honour,” matters not to me. All is alike, provided my Father doth but give it. “So He giveth His beloved sleep.” How many of you have arrived at that happy point that you have no wish of your own at all? It is a sweet thing to have but one wish; but it is a better thing to have no wish at all-to be all lost in the present enjoyment of Christ and the future anticipation of the vision of His face. O my soul! what would the future be to thee, if thou hadst not Christ? If it be a bitter and a dark future, what matters it, so long as Christ thy Lord sanctifies it, and the Holy Ghost still gives thee courage, energy, and strength? ~ C.H. Spurgeon

http://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0012.cfm

The Truth Will Be With Us Forever

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, salvation, The Holy Spirit 4 Comments

For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever. -2 John 2

Once let the truth of God obtain an entrance into the human heart and subdue the whole man unto itself, no power human or infernal can dislodge it. We entertain it not as a guest but as the master of the house-this is a Christian necessity, he is no Christian who doth not thus believe. Those who feel the vital power of the gospel, and know the might of the Holy Ghost as He opens, applies, and seals the Lord’s Word, would sooner be torn to pieces than be rent away from the gospel of their salvation. What a thousand mercies are wrapt up in the assurance that the truth will be with us forever; will be our living support, our dying comfort, our rising song, our eternal glory; this is Christian privilege, without it our faith were little worth. Some truths we outgrow and leave behind, for they are but rudiments and lessons for beginners, but we cannot thus deal with Divine truth, for though it is sweet food for babes, it is in the highest sense strong meat for men. The truth that we are sinners is painfully with us to humble and make us watchful; the more blessed truth that whosoever believeth on the Lord Jesus shall be saved, abides with us as our hope and joy. Experience, so far from loosening our hold of the doctrines of grace, has knit us to them more and more firmly; our grounds and motives for believing are now more strong, more numerous than ever, and we have reason to expect that it will be so till in death we clasp the Saviour in our arms.

Wherever this abiding love of truth can be discovered, we are bound to exercise our love. No narrow circle can contain our gracious sympathies, wide as the election of grace must be our communion of heart. Much of error may be mingled with truth received, let us war with the error but still love the brother for the measure of truth which we see in him; above all let us love and spread the truth ourselves. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

http://bible.christiansunite.com/Morning_and_Evening/chme1025.shtml

Unlooked for Blessings

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, promises, The Holy Spirit 3 Comments

She gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech. -Ruth 2:3

Her hap was. Yes, it seemed nothing but an accident, but how divinely was it overruled! Ruth had gone forth with her mother’s blessing, under the care of her mother’s God, to humble but honourable toil, and the providence of God was guiding her every step. Little did she know that amid the sheaves she would find a husband, that he should make her the joint owner of all those broad acres, and that she a poor foreigner should become one of the progenitors of the great Messiah. God is very good to those who trust in Him, and often surprises them with unlooked for blessings. Little do we know what may happen to us tomorrow, but this sweet fact may cheer us, that no good thing shall be withheld. Chance is banished from the faith of Christians, for they see the hand of God in everything. The trivial events of today or tomorrow may involve consequences of the highest importance. O Lord, deal as graciously with Thy servants as Thou didst with Ruth.

How blessed would it be, if, in wandering in the field of meditation tonight, our hap should be to light upon the place where our next Kinsman will reveal Himself to us! O Spirit of God, guide us to Him. We would sooner glean in His field than bear away the whole harvest from any other. O for the footsteps of His flock, which may conduct us to the green pastures where He dwells! This is a weary world when Jesus is away-we could better do without sun and moon than without Him-but how divinely fair all things become in the glory of His presence! Our souls know the virtue which dwells in Jesus, and can never be content without Him. We will wait in prayer tonight until our hap shall be to light on a part of the field belonging to Jesus wherein He will manifest Himself to us. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

http://bible.christiansunite.com/Morning_and_Evening/chme1025.shtml