Christian Life

Our Peculiar Shoes

Sherry Christian Life 4 Comments

Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.- Deuteronomy 33: 25

The Revised Version puts this in the margin: He shall have protection for his feet. The chief objection that has been raised to this is that it would be a very unusual thing for shoes to be made of iron and brass. Such a thing is not heard of anywhere else in Scripture, neither is it according to Oriental custom. For that reason I judge that the interpretation is the more likely to be correct, since the protection which God gives to His people is unusual. No other feet shall wear so singular a covering; but those who are made strong in the Lord shall be able to wear shoes of iron, and the Lord shall give them sandals of brass.

God’s people are a peculiar people, and everything about them is peculiar…You have peculiar difficulties, you are a peculiar people, you traverse a peculiar road, you have a peculiar God to trust in, and you may, therefore, find peculiar consolation in a peculiar promise: “Thy shoes shall be iron and brass.”…But what does this mean-“thy shoes shall be iron and brass”?..Does it not mean that our feet, tender and unprotected by nature, shall receive protection-protection from God? Our feebleness and necessity shall call upon God’s grace and skill, and He will provide for us, and give to us exactly what we, by reason of our feebleness, so much need.~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2062.cfm

Treasures Under Our Feet

Sherry Attributes of God, Christian Life, promises 3 Comments

“Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.” -Deuteronomy 33:25

This promise meant that Asher should have treasures under his feet-that there should, in fact, be mines of iron and copper within the boundaries of the tribe. Metals enrich nations, and help their advancement in many ways. Tribes that possess minerals are thereby made rich, what ever metals those may be; but such useful metals as iron and copper would prove of the utmost service to the people of that time, if they knew how to use them. Is there any spiritual promise at all in this! Asher is made rich with iron and copper lying beneath his feet. Are saints ever made rich with treasures under their feet? Undoubtedly they are. The Word of God has mines in it. Even the surface of it is rich, and it brings forth food for us; but it is with Scripture as Job saith it is with the earth: “As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire. The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold.” There are treasures upon the surface of the Word which we may pick up very readily: even the casual reader will find himself able to understand the simplicities and elements of the gospel of God; but the Word of God yields most to the digger. He that can study hard, and press into the inner meaning-he is the man that shall be enriched with riches current in heavenly places. Every Bible student here will know that God has put under his feet great treasures of precious teaching, and he will by meditation sink shafts into the deep places of revelation. I wish we gave more time to our Bibles. We waste too much time upon the pretentious, poverty-stricken literature of the age; and some, even Christian people, are more taken up with works of fiction than they are with this great Book of everlasting fact. We should prosper much more in heavenly husbandry if we would “dig deep while sluggards sleep.” Remember that God has given to us to have treasures under our feet; but do not so despise His gifts as to leave the mines of revelation unexplored.~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2062.cfm

 

The Blessing of Asher

Sherry Christian Life 5 Comments

And of Asher he said, “Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil. Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.”- Deuteronomy 33:24-25

I once heard an old minister say that he thought the blessing of Asher was peculiarly the blessing of ministers; and his eyes twinkled as he added, “At any rate, they are usually blessed with children, and it is a great blessing for them if they are acceptable to their brethren, and if they are so truly anointed that they even dip their foot in oil.” Well, well, I pray that all of us who preach the gospel may enjoy this triplet of blessings in the highest sense. If our quiver is not full of children according to the flesh, yet may we have many born unto God through our ministry. May we be blessed by being made spiritual fathers to very many, who shall be brought by us to receive life, pardon, peace, and holiness, through our Lord Jesus. What is the use of our life if it be not so? To what end have we preached unless we see souls born into the family of grace? My inmost soul longs to see all my hearers born anew: this would be my greatest joy, my highest blessedness.

It is a great blessing from the Lord when our speech is sweet to the ears of saints-when we have something to bring forth which our brethren in Christ can accept, and which comes to them with a peculiar preciousness and power, so that they can receive it, and feel that it is thoroughly acceptable to them…Ask for me the blessing of Asher-“Let Asher be blessed with children”; and may the Lord make my spiritual offspring to be as the sands upon the sea-shore. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2062.cfm

And This is Eternal Life…

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

And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. -John 17:3

What shall I say to those who do not know the Lord, and do not care for Him? O friend, the day will come in which Jesus Christ will say to you, “I never knew you: depart from Me, ye workers of iniquity.” Do not let Him say that; but to-night commence an acquaintance with Him. May His Holy Spirit help you so to do!

I am sure the Lord Jesus Christ could not say to me, “I never knew you.” It is impossible, because I could reply to Him, “Never knew me, Lord? Why, I have been to Thee with so many burdens, I have run to Thee with so many troubles, that I am sure Thou knowest me as one knows a beggar whom he has relieved many times a day…Thou rememberest me, for in my despair I cried to Thee, and Thou didst relieve me of my burden. Thou knowest me, for in my sorrow my broken heart found no comfort but in Thee. Thou hast known me all these years in which I have had to cry to Thee for something to preach about, and for help while preaching. Thou knowest how I have had to come to Thee and confess my failures, and mourn my shortcomings, and lament my sins, and trust in Thy blood for cleansing.” My Lord cannot say that He does not know me, for He has known my soul in adversity. Blessed be His name, I know Him, and lean all my weight upon Him. They that know Him shall be with Him, and He will receive them unto Himself for ever, and this shall be their glory…With Him shall they dwell, world without end. Amen. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2182.cfm

The Book of Remembrance

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

Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon His name. – Malachi 3:16

Dear friends, I thank God that you and I know what it is to enjoy the presence of God in a great many different ways. When two or three of the people of God meet together, and talk to one another about the things of God, the Lord is never away. You remember that blessed text, “They that feared the Lord spake often one to another.” They had holy talks about heavenly things. It was such sweet conversation, that the Lord Himself turned eaves-dropper, and hearkened and heard. What He heard pleased Him so well that He there and then made a note of it; yea, and wrote it down, and ordered that “a book of remembrance” should be preserved “for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name.” Was not this sure evidence of His most gracious presence? John Bunyan knew that God was there when he went about tinkering, and came to Bedford, and there were three godly women sitting in the sun, at work; and as they worked they talked so sweetly that the tinker stood and listened, and was drawn to better things. By such means he became a believer and a preacher, and the writer of the “Pilgrim’s Progress,” which has so refreshed us all. The Lord was there, and therefore he dreamed a heavenly dream in the Bedford jail. Wherever His people meet, the Lord is graciously near. “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.”~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2182.cfm

Jehovah Is At My Side

Sherry Christian Life, prayer, promises, The Father 6 Comments

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him. -Psalm 28:7

Here is a Christian who lives alone, apart altogether from family life. All his dear ones are dead, or far away. In his lone chamber, when he bows his knee in secret prayer, or whenever he takes his walk abroad to meditate, if he be indeed a true lover of the Lord Jesus, “the Lord is there.” Wherever the believer’s lot is cast, if he lives in fellowship with Christ, he may say of his quiet room, or of the garden-walk, or even of the stable or the loft, “Jehovah-shammah, the Lord is there.” Many a humble garret is a right royal residence! for “the Lord is there.” Better Paul’s inner dungeon at Philippi, with his feet fast in the stocks, and the presence of the Lord, than the grandest apartments of Caesar’s palace and an unknown God. The Lord is very gracious to His lonely ones. They can say, “And yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.” Put you in a hospital, or in a workhouse: what matters it, if Jehovah is at your side to cheer you?

Some of us can bear witness that we have had the nearest approaches of God to our souls in times of intolerable pain, and even in seasons of intense depression of spirit as to earthly things. “I was brought low, and the Lord helped me,” said David; and we can say the same. The Lord has said, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee”; as much as to say, “If I am not with thee anywhere else, I will be with thee then.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2182.cfm

Our Delightful Homes

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

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. -Ephesians 6:4

We will think of our own dear homes. What a delightful family we belong to if it can be said of our house, “the Lord is there”! Has it a thatched roof and a stone floor? What matters? The father of the family lives near to God, and his wife rejoices to be his fellow-helper in prayer, while the children grow up to honest toil and honorable service. Assuredly that cottage home is dear to God, and becomes a place where angels come and go. Because God is there, every window looks towards the Celestial City. It is a comfort that we need not go across the road to morning prayer, or step out every evening to worship, for we are priests ourselves, and have a family altar at home, whereon the incense burns both morning and night. We talk not of matins and vespers, but we glory that “the Lord is there” when we bow the knee as a household. What is more delightful than to gather round the family hearth, to hear the Scriptures read, and listen to the senior, as he talks to the younger ones of what God has done for him, and what the Lord is waiting to give to all who trust Him? Free from all formality, family prayer makes a house a temple, a family a church, and every day a holy day. Truly, I may say of families of this kind, wherever they dwell, that it is none other but the house of God, and it is the very gate of heaven”; for “the Lord is there.” Friend, is God in your house? If it has no family prayer, it has no roof to it. There is no true joy in domestic life unless the Lord be there. All else is fiction; God alone is true delight. I charge you, if your homes are not such that God could come to them, set your houses in order, and say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Will you dare to dwell where God could not lodge with you? May all men say of your home, “The Lord is there”!~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2182.cfm