promises

Miracle of Mercy; Prodigy of Grace

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

…thou art now the blessed of the LORD. – Genesis 26:29

There was a day when I was cursed, and there was a day when I loved sin, and opposed God’s will; but now I love sin no longer, and I find my highest delight in doing the will of my Father in heaven. My soul, if this be true, “thou art now the blessed of the Lord”; thou art a miracle of mercy; thou art a prodigy of grace; and truly, where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” …Once, because you believed not, the wrath of God was resting upon you, but now you can say, “O Lord! I will praise Thee: though Thou wast angry with me, Thine anger is turned away, and Thou comfortedst me.” Surely then “Thou art now the blessed of the Lord.” Thou art poor, perhaps, in this world’s goods; but being an heir of the “inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,” why, “Thou art now the blessed of the Lord.” Or, perchance, you are weak and ill, and scarcely able to be in your place; but though thy flesh and strength fail, by His grace, you will triumph over all. With many a fear and many a care oppressed, still “thou art now the blessed of the Lord,” and on Him thou canst cast thy care, and from Him receive deliverance from all thy fears. Whatever thy distresses, this overwhelms them all as with a flood of joy-

“O joy! ’tis mine, this life divine,
Life hid with Christ in God;
Once sin-defiled, now reconciled,
And washed in Jesus’ blood.

~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2238.cfm

Richly Blessed Despite Ourselves

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

…thou art now the blessed of the LORD. – Genesis 26:27-29

 “Thou art now the blessed of the Lord.” The Philistines had behaved basely towards Isaac, and now that he had prospered, they urged him to forget the past. They meant, “This is why we trust that you will deal kindly with us, and overlook our hard usage; for, in spite of all, God has so blessed you that you need not be fretful and pettish and remember what we have done.” There is much force in the argument which these Philistines used. If God has richly blessed us, notwithstanding all our faults and failures, surely, we should learn to forgive many injuries done to ourselves. If the Lord forgives us our debt of ten thousand talents, we must be willing to forgive our fellow-servant his debt of a hundred pence. Child of God, if you are now the blessed of the Lord, you will often turn a blind eye towards the offenses of your fellow-men. You will say, “God has so blessed me, that I can well overlook any wrongs that you have inflicted, any hard words that you have said. I am now blessed of the Lord; so, let bygones be bygones.” May you have grace given to you to do that now, if any of you have had a little squabble with any other!

Once you were condemned; but, being in Christ Jesus, “there is therefore now no condemnation.” “Thou art now the blessed of the Lord.” Once you were at enmity against God; but now, being reconciled to God by the death of His Son, you are His friend: “Thou art now the blessed of the Lord.” “Ye were sometimes in darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord.” How great the change for the man or woman to whom we can say “Thou art now the blessed of the Lord”! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2238.cfm

Begin with Christ, End with Christ

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

Let Israel hope in the LORD… – Psalm 130:7

Lay the foundation of your hope in the Lord; go on building up your comfort in the Lord Jesus; and in Him bring forth the topstone. Begin with Christ, and end with Christ. As Christ grows more to you, take care that self grows less and less. If your Christianity puffs you up, it is not Christ’s Christianity. Read in the Second of Chronicles, chapter twenty-six, at the fifteenth verse- “(Uzziah) was marvellously helped, till he was strong.” When he became strong, he went off the lines, and we read, “When he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction.” Mind that. God will always help us while we are weak. When we are strong, what shall I say?- then are we weak, and have need to fear, for we are being lifted up already, or we should not count ourselves strong- poor, puny creatures that we are! God will always bless us as long as we confess our dependence upon His blessing. He will always fill us as long as we are empty. He will always feed us as long as we are hungry. He will be your all in all so long as you are nothing. But the moment you boast in yourself, and say, “I am rich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing,” you will be left to learn that you are naked, and poor, and miserable. Nebuchadnezzar is proud, and soon finds a rapid descent from the throne to eating grass like the cattle. Worms, in the presence of the Lord, do all they may do when they hope, they do all they can do when they hope in Him. They have nothing but sin, and He has mercy upon them. They are slaves to evil, but He has plenteous redemption wherewith to set them free. The poorest, weakest, saddest among us may hope in the Lord, for He can do all things: wherefore, let us continue in our faith in “the God of hope,” till we receive the heaven we hope for through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2199.cfm

With Him is Plenteous Redemption

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

…for with the LORD there is plenteous redemption. – Psalm 130:7

What a grand utterance that is-“plenteous redemption”! I would like to dwell upon it. Is there not rare music in the sound? It means plenteous forgiveness for plenteous sin, through a price paid, a ransom given. In Christ only can you find this. “With Him is plenteous redemption.” Do not dream of finding redemption in ordinances, in prayers, in tears, or in anything but the life and death and person of the Son of God. “With Him is plenteous redemption.” A great price He has paid, and therefore a great debt is blotted out. Great offenses are forgiven, but only through the precious blood of our adorable Redeemer.

“Plenteous redemption.” Why, that means deliverance from the bondage of many lusts, freedom from the thraldom of strong passions, a ransom of captives from fierce taskmasters. I charge you, my hearers, do not look for escape from the slavery of sin apart from the redemption of Christ. Do not expect to overcome the smallest sin except by the blood of the Lamb. There is nothing, I believe, more deceiving than the notion of the unregenerate heart that it is seeking after holiness, though it is destitute of the power of the Holy Ghost and takes no thought of the merit of Jesus Christ.

“Plenteous redemption” includes in its range of meaning great growth in grace, abounding usefulness, high spirituality, and perfect preparedness for heaven: for all these we must hope in the Lord, for they are with Him. Never think to have redemption in the least or in the highest degree apart from your hope in the Lord-your trusting in Christ Jesus. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2199.cfm

Remember Uzziah

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, salvation, Sovereignty of God 2 Comments

Let Israel hope in the LORD…He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. – Psalm 130:7,8

Recollect what happened to Uzziah. He was a man of God, and a king; but when he had grown very great, he thought that he would act as priest for himself, and go into the sanctuary of the Lord, and burn incense on his own account, without the Lord’s appointed priest; but he was struck with leprosy, and not only was he thrust out, but he, himself, hastened to go out of the temple. I tremble for those in whom I see any sign of going before God in right of their own character. I fear that among God’s own professing people there are some who are so conscious of their own knowledge, and growth, that they pray without Christ, praise without Christ, and talk of being no longer in need of confessing sin. They dare to act without humbly depending upon the presence of the great High Priest; and then they fall into sin, and thus they are struck with leprosy, and, perhaps, to their dying day they can never enter into such fellowship with God as once they knew. I would do nothing without Jesus. I would not even wish to repent except my eye were upon the cross. I would not hope to think a holy thought except as my soul still gazed upon Jesus my all. Away, away with every idea of mercy except it be mercy received through Jesus, for He alone is full of grace, and of His fullness must we receive. I would bind you, brethren, if I could, to the cross as your one hope. I pray the Lord bind me for ever to the cross: the wounds my only founts of hope, the blood and water my only cleansing. Go you who have a righteousness of your own and hope elsewhere; but the long hope of my soul is the bleeding, dying, buried, risen, coming Savior. “Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy,” and with Him alone: all the exercises of faith about mercy must ever be tethered to the cross. Mercy flows through Christ alone. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2199.cfm

Thank God!

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

…for with the LORD there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption. – Psalm 130:7

I have too often heard Christian people talk about thanking Providence. What is that? Do you mean, “thank God”? If so, say it boldly! It is God that provides. God arranges, God overrules, God worketh out His gracious designs. Again, how often do we hear of “Nature” doing this, and “Nature” being that, and “Nature” producing the other! What do you mean? An infidel, some time ago, was speaking in the open-air, and he orated very eloquently about the elevating influences of nature, and what a blessing it was to study nature. A friend in the crowd said to him, “That is very pretty; but would you have the goodness to tell me what Nature is, which does all this?” The orator answered tartly, “Every fool knows what Nature is.” “Well,” said the questioner, “then it will be easy to tell us.” “Nature,” said the speaker, “Well: Nature is Nature.” Just so. That is where it ended. And so it is with very many people when they talk about Providence or Nature. Let us not speak without knowing what we mean, or without declaring our meaning. We do not erect an altar and inscribe it TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. We know the Lord, and are known of Him, and therefore we would speak of Him as our hope, our trust, our joy. We know no providence apart from Jehovah-Jireh, the God who foresees and provides. To us there is no fickle chance, but the Lord reigneth. Equally to us is that there is no blind, inexorable fate, but the Most High decrees and works out His wise and sovereign will. Therefore, do not let God’s Israel talk as if they hoped in luck or fate, but let them “hope in the Lord,” and avow their reliance upon a personal God, who is working for them evermore; “for with Him is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2199.cfm

For By Him is the Way

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

For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” …and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.- Matthew 9:21,22

It is easier to believe in a personal Christ than in impersonal promises. That poor woman who was sick, in Jesus Christ’s day, might have said to herself, “It is impossible that I should be healed;” but then she thought not so much of the healing as of the Healer, and when she saw Jesus walking about among the crowds, healing all manner of diseases, and when she believed that God was in Him, why, then she inferred that He could heal her disease, and she came behind Him, and touched the hem of His garment. She sought Him, and so sought healing. Do keep in this line, let not the devil take you off it-that the first object of your faith should be the Lord Jesus; for by Him, as the ladder which God has set up, you can climb to the highest place of privilege, and lay hold upon the choicest gift of grace. This is the way even to God Himself, and the only way which our human feet can tread. Consider well who Christ was, and what He has done, and then you will conclude that He can save even you. By looking to Him you will be saved; and what is easier than to look? To hope in God is a far more simple matter than to search for signs and evidences in yourself, or to labor to force yourself up into certain states of mind. Answer the question, “Will He save me?” by looking to see what kind of a Savior Jesus is; and when you perceive the glory of His person, the perfection of His obedience, and the merit of His blood, you will be convinced that you may safely trust in Him according to His command; for He commands you to believe. Jesus declares, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” Let us come at once, for it is the nearest and best road to peace. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2199.cfm