Sovereignty of God

Our Streams of Joy Blend with Currents of Fear

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

Therefore, take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the LORD your God. – Joshua 23:11

If a man should become perfectly contented with the things of this world, it would be the result of a false view of things…Oh man, if thou didst but know thyself, much more thy God, thou wouldst be assured those visible things can never satisfy the desires of a spiritual being. As to spiritual joy, I say that in no man’s experience can it be long without admixture and yet be true. Never at any moment can a Christian be in such a position that he has not some cause either for dissatisfaction with himself, or fear of the tempter, or anxiety to be faithful in service. Our streams of joy blend with currents of fear. Blessed be God, my sin is forgiven me: this joy calls up its balancing thought, — Oh that the Spirit of God may help me not to sin again. Again, I sing, — Blessed be God, I have gotten the victory over an evil habit: but my song is followed by the prayer— Lord, enable me to conquer all evils, even those which as yet I know not. Thus, joy and fear hang like the two scales of a balance, — I mean not the fear which love casts out, but the filial fear which love fosters. If God has preserved his servant in the day of battle, he has no room to boast, for here comes another enemy. Temptations come wave after wave, and, having breasted one, we prepare for another. We cannot yet shout the victory, for, lo, the foes advance squadron upon squadron; their routed battalions are succeeded by new armies, and it behooves us to quit ourselves like men. We dwell where, in our God, we have the utmost reason for delight, but where, in all things, we perceive the most weighty arguments for solemnity. Rejoice evermore but cease not to fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that the Lord has procured for you. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

Chastened Happiness

A Chastened Joy

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

Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide… – Jeremiah 33:9

If we are very happy to-day, and though that happiness be lawful and proper, because it arises both out of spiritual and temporal things in due order, yet in all human happiness there lurks a danger. There is a wealth which hath a sorrow necessarily connected with it, and I ween that even when God maketh rich and addeth no sorrow therewith, yet He makes provision against an ill which else would surely come. Let me remind you of that memorable passage, “There the glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams.” The Lord is all that to His believing people. But then broad rivers and streams have a danger appertaining to them, for these are waterways by which the pirates of the sea approach a city and plunder it; and hence for Zion’s protection it is added, “Wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.” Thus the Lord gives the benefit without the danger naturally attendant upon it; He gives peace, but prevents carnal security, and He gives happiness but prevents the pride and presumption which are too apt to grow out of it. The text speaks of goodness and prosperity procured for us, and then tells us that all danger which might arise out of it is averted by a gracious work upon the heart. The Lord sends a chastened joy, — “they shall fear and tremble.” Instead of unduly exulting in their possessions, and becoming high-minded and vainglorious, the Lord’s people are kept lowly and self-distrustful, and thus their happiness brings glory to God, and the Lord’s word is fulfilled, “It shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

Chastened Happiness

Gratitude for the Benediction of Heaven

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

 I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against Me…and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it. Jeremiah 33:8,9

God grant we may never be such practical atheists as to receive daily bounties from God, and not return a daily song. As each gleaming wave of the sea reflects the light of the sun, so let each ripple of our life flash with gratitude for the benediction of heaven. All good comes from the Altogether Good, who is of good the essence, the Creator, and the Giver. Especially is this true of all spiritual blessing, — of such goodness as comes not so much from benevolence to creatures as from mercy to sinners. As a being, I am grateful that my Creator is kind to me; but as a sinner, if my Judge smiles upon me, I admire His exceeding grace. His justice had left me unblessed to perish through my sin, if His mercy had not found a way to spare and to cleanse. You who know not only your insignificance, but also your unworthiness, are held under special bonds to lift up your hearts in fervent gratitude to the Lord…The children of God bless God for bread and water, because God has made these things matters of promise, and they come as covenant provisions. Cheered by grace, the child of poverty finds contentment in that which else might seem but prison fare. Much or little must depend upon the way in which you look upon it, and what to the believer is enough, might be to the worldling a mere pittance, because grace has not trained his mind to rejoice in the will of the Lord. Blessed be God if He has given to us first the fruits of the sun of grace, and then the fruits put forth by the moon of providence. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

Chastened Happiness

Come, Come and Welcome!

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

Return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity…”Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips...for in Thee the fatherless findeth mercy.” I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. – Hosea 14:1-4

The special call is to the fallen: “Return; for thou hast fallen.” Come, ye fallen ones, come and welcome. It is to the wandering for to such is the command appropriate which saith, “Return.”

The call is to the forlorn and destitute: “In thee the fatherless findeth mercy.” You that are fallen, far off, fatherless, and forlorn, come at once to God in Jesus Christ. Come now! Come! Come! Come! See how the Lord meets you! Read the fourth verse; I could almost kiss the lines as I gaze on them: “I will heal their backsliding”: come, sick one, here is healing for you. “I will love them freely”: come, unlovely one, here is love for you. “Mine anger is turned away from him”: though you have felt His wrath burning in your souls, it is gone forever. “I will be as the dew unto Israel”

I bid you again “Come to Jesus.” Jesus says, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.” The Spirit and the bride say, “Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.” The Lord gather you all into the arms of His grace, for His Son’s sake! Amen. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2192.cfm

Those Whom God Will Receive

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, promises, salvation, Sovereignty of God, The Father 2 Comments

Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy. – Hosea 14:3

Down must go the gods of our former estate. He that would come to the true God must have done with the false gods. If we have been living for any objects save the glory of God, we must away with those objects. If we have been paying religious reverence to anything save God Himself, we must away with it. “Neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods.” It seems strange that men should ever have said such a thing; but since they have said it, they must say it no more. God help everyone to make a complete renunciation of everything which usurps the place of God! Whether it be an object of trust, reverence, desire, fear, or love, we must cast it down, and worship God alone. He saith to us, “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” In the work of salvation the work of our hands is out of court, and God alone must be glorified.

“In thee the fatherless findeth mercy.” God is the Father of the fatherless. Now, if God receives the fatherless, who have none to take care of them, and He becomes their God, we may be encouraged to come to Him, even in the most forlorn condition. Does God keep open house for those who have no home? Then I will go to Him. Does God take up those whom father and mother have forsaken? Then will I put my trust in Him. I saw on a board this morning words announcing that an asylum was to be built on a plot of ground, for a class of persons who are described in three terrible words-HELPLESS, HOMELESS, HOPELESS. These are the kind of people that God receives: to them He gives His mercy. Are you helpless? He will help you. Are you homeless? He will house you. Are you hopeless? He is the hope of those who have no other confidence. Come, then, to Him at once! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2192.cfm

You Cannot Come to God Riding in Pride

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

Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in Thee the fatherless findeth mercy. – Hosea 14:3

“Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods.” The natural, legal trust, so much esteemed among men, must go. Israel used always to fall back upon Assyria. If Egypt threatened the people, or if any other nation oppressed them, they sent a present to the King of Assyria to come and deliver them. But now they cry, “Asshur shall not save us.” The popular trust of the world is in self-righteousness in its various forms. You were going to be saved by your own repentance, reformation, and future well-doing. Are you trusting in sacraments? Give up so vain a confidence. They are not meant to save, but to instruct those who are saved already. Are you trusting in your hereditary godliness, your birthright religion? Away with so poor a foundation! Are you trusting in your prayers, your giving to the poor, your attendance on sermons, your honesty, your good nature? Set these aside, and cry, “Asshur shall not save us.” All confidences must go save Jesus Christ, whom God has laid in Zion for a foundation stone. On Him must we build, and on none other.

When we come to God we must quit all trust in ourselves of every sort: in our tears, our prayers, our moral life, our excellent instincts, or anything else we must place no trust. “Some trust in horses, and some in chariots, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” It may be, you have fine horses of morality and religiousness, you have many virtues upon which you think you might fairly depend: give up these trusts. Have you been lately trotting out your horses before your own family, and saying to your wife, “I am not like many men. I never drink too much, neither do I treat my household unkindly”? Put away these horses. You cannot come to God riding in pride. Say, “We will not ride upon horses.” Put away every confidence in yourself, in whatever fashion it appears. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2192.cfm

Redeeming Love

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

“Receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.” – Hosea 2

Nothing but grace can open a door for our returning. Sinners cannot be received of the Lord on any other terms but those of mercy. We would not ask to be dealt with according to our merits; but we thank the Lord that He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. As to our sins, we cannot answer Him one of a thousand. The Lord must receive us graciously or reject us righteously. Are we not glad that sinners can be received in the name of grace, and find a welcome in the tender mercy of our God? Offer, then, this petition, “Receive us graciously.” Oh, that the Lord would touch all lips by His grace and lead them to say from the heart-“Lord, receive me, I return to Thee. Take away all iniquity and take me to Thyself! Receive me as a subject of Thy kingdom. Receive me of Thy grace into Thy home of love. Receive me into the family of Thy redeemed on earth, and then receive me into Thy mansion in heaven. Receive us graciously.”

“So will we render the calves of our lips.” What are the “calves of our lips”? They are sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving. Yonder are the calves of the stall which men bring in sacrifice: they are struck down, and they die at the altar. God does not ask us for bullocks which have horns and hoofs. He takes no pleasure in the blood of calves, or of goats. He desires a broken heart, faith, and humble love: these live at the altar. “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth God.” Let us bring Him our best thoughts, our best expressions, our best testimonies, our heartiest praises: these are not calves of our stalls, but “calves of our lips.” Let our gratitude be a living sacrifice, and our conduct a constant testimony to the goodness of God. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2192.cfm