prayer

A Sweet Perfume

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

“Let my prayer be set before You like incense, my uplifted hands like the evening offering.” – Psalm 141:2

For we are to God the fragrance of Christ… – 2 Corinthians 2:15

Be much in prayer. Prayer casts a chain about Him. He never leaves the heart that prays. There is a sweet perfume about prayer that always attracts the Lord; wherever He perceives it rising up to heaven there will He be. Hold Him, too, by your obedience to Him. Never quarrel with Him. Let Him have His way. He will stop in any house where He can be master; He will stay nowhere where some other will lords it over His. Watch His words; be careful to obey them all. Be very tender in your conduct, so that nothing grieves Him. Show to Him that you are ready to suffer for His sake. I believe that where there is a prayerful, careful, holy, loving, believing walk towards Jesus, the fellowship of the saint with his Lord will not be broken, but it may continue for months and years. There is no reason, except in ourselves, why fellowship with Jesus should not continue throughout an entire life and oh, if it did, it would make earth into heaven, and lift us up to the condition of angels, if not beyond them, and we should be the men who would bring Christ into the church, and through the church into the world. The church would be blest, and God would be glorified, and souls would be saved, if there were some among us who thus held Him and would not let Him go.

Ah, Lord, I may be mistaken about doctrine, but I am not mistaken about Thee. I may, perhaps, be staggered in my belief of some dogma which I thought was truth, but I am not staggered about Thee. Thou Son of God made flesh for me, Thou art all my salvation and all my desire: I rest on Thee only, without a shadow of mixture of any other hope, and I love thee supremely, desiring to honor Thee and to obey Thee in life and until death. I hold Thee, Thou Covenant Angel, and I will not let Thee go. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1035.cfm

Oh, for more Enochs…

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

I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not…It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. – Song of Songs 3:2,4

We must search to the very utmost till we find our Beloved. The Christian must leave no stone unturned till he gets back his fellowship with Christ. If any sin obstructs the way, it must be rigorously given up; if there be any neglected duty, it must be earnestly discharged; if there be any higher walk of grace, which is necessary to continuous fellowship, we must ascend it, fearing no hill of difficulty. We must not say, “there is a lion in the way”-if there be lions we must slay them; if the way be rough, we must tread it; we must go on hands and knees if we cannot run; but we must reach to fellowship with Jesus; we must have Christ or pine till we do. Sacrifices we must make and penalties we must endure, but to Christ we must come, for we are feeble when we are absent from Him, and quite incapable of rendering any great service to the church, till once for all we can say, “I found Him, I held Him, and I would not let Him go.” O dear brethren and sisters, I know there are some of you who can enter into what I mean; but I would to God there were many more to whom the first thought of life was Christ Jesus. Oh, for more Enochs, men who walk with God, whose habitual spirit is that of close communion with Jesus, meditating upon Him, yea, more than that, sympathizing with Him, drinking into His spirit, changed into His likeness, living over again His life, because He is in them the monarch of their souls. O that we had a chosen band of elect spirits of this race, for surely the whole church would be revived through their influence; God, even our own God, would bless us; and we should see bright, halcyon days dawning for the Bride of Christ. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1035.cfm

We Thirst After Fellowship with Thee, Our Savior

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

The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? – Song of Songs 3:3

In seeking our Lord, we must use all ministries. The spouse enquired of the watchmen. We are not to despise God’s servants, for He is usually pleased to bless us through them, and it would be ungrateful both to Him and to them to pass them by as useless. But, while we use the ministries, we must go beyond them. The spouse did not find her Lord through the watchmen; but she says, “it was but a little that I passed from them, that I found him whom my soul loveth.” I charge you, my dear hearers, never rest content with listening to me. Do not imagine that hearing the truth preached simply and earnestly will of itself be a blessing to your souls. Far, far beyond the servant, pass to the Master. Be this the longing of each heart, each Sabbath-day, “Lord, give me fellowship with Thyself.” True, we are led to see Jesus sometimes, and I hope often, through listening to the truth proclaimed, but, O Lord, it is no outer court worship that will satisfy us we want to come into the Holy of Holies and stand at the mercy-seat itself. It is not seeing Thee afar off and hearing about Thee that will content our spirits, we must draw nigh unto Thee and behold Thee as the world cannot. Like Simeon, we must take Thee into our arms, or we cannot say that we have seen God’s salvation: like John, we must lean our heads upon the bosom, or we cannot rest. Thine apostles are well enough, Thy prophets well enough, Thy evangelists well enough; but oh, we feel constrained to go beyond them all, for we thirst after fellowship with Thee, our Savior. Those who feel thus will bless the church, but only such. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1035.cfm

Him Whom My Soul Loveth

Sherry Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, promises Leave a comment

…but I found him whom my soul loveth… – Song of Songs 3:4

The words are very strong, “Him whom my soul loveth;” as if though the spouse might love the daughters of Jerusalem, might love the watchmen of the city, might love them all in their place, yet her soul’s love, the essence of her love, her deepest, fondest, purest, and most real love, was all for Him. Are there not such hearts here, virgin minds in whom Christ is first, last, midst, chief, and all in all? Oh, if there be, ye are the men, ye are the women, who, finding your Beloved, can bring Him into the church. May God multiply your number and may each of you have compassion on the languishing church of this chill age, and labor to restore to her the glory which has faded from her brow. Pray ye for Laodicea in her lukewarmness, and Sardis in her spiritual death; but you will only prevail in proportion as your inmost soul loves the Redeemer and abides in His love.

These ardent lovers of Jesus must diligently seek Him...We must enjoy the perpetual fellowship of Jesus. We who love Him in our souls cannot rest until we know that He is with us. I fear that with some of us our sins have grieved Him, and He has betaken Himself to the far-off “mountains of myrrh and hills of frankincense.” It may be our lax living, our neglect of prayer, or some other fault, has taken from us the light of His countenance. Let us resolve that there shall be no rest unto our souls until once again He has returned unto us in the fullness of His manifested love, to abide in our hearts. Seek Him, brother, seek Him, sister. He is not far from any of you but do seek Him with an intense longing for Him, for until thou dost thou art not the man to bring Him into the assembly of the brethren. Labor to bring Jesus into the chambers of the church, but first be sure that thou hast Him thyself, or thy zeal will be hypocrisy. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1035.cfm

Endow us, O God, with the Holy Ghost

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, promises, The Holy Spirit Leave a comment

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. – John 14:26

Let the Spirit of God be in the church, then there is power given to all her ministries; whether they be ministries of public testimony in the preaching of the word, or ministries of holy love amongst the brethren, or ministries of individual earnestness to the outside world, they will all be clothed with energy, in the fullness of the power of the Lord Jesus. Then her ordinances become truly profitable, then baptism is burial with the Lord, and the sacred supper is a feast of love; then the communion of the brethren in their solemn prayer and praise becomes deep and joyful, and their whole life and walk are bright with the glow of heaven. In the presence of the Lord the graces of the saints are developed; the church grows rich in all spiritual gifts; her warfare becomes victorious, and her continual worship sweet as the incense of the golden censor. What the moon is to the night, or the sun to the day, or the Nile to Egypt, or the dew to the tender herb, or the soul to the human frame, that is the presence of Jesus to His church. Give us the Spirit of God and we will ask no endowments from the State, nor sigh for the prestige of princely patronage. Endow us, O God, with the Holy Ghost, and we have all we need. The poverty of the members, their want of learning, their want of rank, all these shall be as nothing. The Holy Ghost can make amends for all deficiencies and clothe His poor and obscure people with an energy at which the world shall tremble. This made the apostolic church mighty; she had the Holy Ghost outpoured upon her.~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1035.cfm

Removed Yet Moved

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

And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed… – Exodus 14:19

God never leaves us, but we sometimes think He has done so. The sun shines on, but we do not always bask in its beams; we sometimes mourn an absent God-it is the bitterest of all our mourning. As He is the sum total of our joy, so His departure is the essence of our misery. If God does not smile upon us, who can cheer us? If He be not with us, then the strong helpers fail, and the mighty men are put to rout. If we see no cloud or flame, yet may we know that God is with us, and His power is around us. According to our text, “The angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed.” The chosen of the Lord may lose the manifested presence of God; and, indeed, often they may miss it in the particular form in which they have been accustomed to enjoy it… Aforetime everything had seemed bright, and we expected to go from strength to strength, from victory to victory, till we came unto the mount of God, to dwell for ever in His rest; but now before us on a sudden things look dark; we do not feel so sure of heaven as we were, nor so certain of perpetual growth and progress… Sometimes you also may imagine that God’s promise is failing you; even the word of God which you had laid hold upon may appear to you to be contradicted by your circumstances. Then your heart sinks to the depths, for “if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” …When the cloud of the divine glory is no longer seen in front it has gone behind, because it is more wanted there, and it is no loss after all. When the Lord hides His face for a moment, it is to make us value His face the more, to quicken our diligence in following after Him, to try our faith, and to test our graces… Oh, my Lord, if ever Thou dost leave me, forsake me not in the day of trouble. Yet what have I said? It is a day of trouble when Thou art gone, whatever my condition may be. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1793.cfm

The Way of God’s Mercy

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, promises, salvation, Sovereignty of God, The Holy Spirit Leave a comment

“Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened.” – Isaiah 48:8

It is painful to remember that, in a certain degree, this accusation may be laid at the door of believers, who too often are in a measure spiritually insensible. We may well bewail ourselves that we do not hear the voice of God as we ought, “Yea, thou heardest not.” There are gentle motions of the Holy Spirit in the soul which are unheeded by us: there are whisperings of divine command and of heavenly love which are alike unobserved by our leaden intellects. Alas! we have been carelessly ignorant–“Yea, thou knewest not.” There are matters within which we ought to have seen, corruptions which have made headway unnoticed; sweet affections which are being blighted like flowers in the frost, untended by us; glimpses of the divine face which might be perceived if we did not wall up the windows of our soul. But we “have not known.” As we think of it we are humbled in the deepest self-abasement. How must we adore the grace of God as we learn from the context that all this folly and ignorance, on our part, was foreknown by God, and, notwithstanding that foreknowledge, He yet has been pleased to deal with us in a way of mercy! Admire the marvellous sovereign grace which could have chosen us in the sight of all this! Wonder at the price that was paid for us when Christ knew what we should be! He who hung upon the cross foresaw us as unbelieving, backsliding, cold of heart, indifferent, careless, lax in prayer, and yet He said, “I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour … Since thou wast precious in My sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee: therefore, will I give men for thee, and people for thy life!” O redemption, how wondrously resplendent dost thou shine when we think how black we are! O Holy Spirit, give us henceforth the hearing ear, the understanding heart! ~ Charles Spurgeon

FB source: The Daily Spurgeon Group