ON CONVERSION
23. ON CONVERSION
Wherever we look, we behold some part of God's works; some remembrancer of his power and goodness. Then, why are our thoughts so seldom led "through nature, up to nature's God?" Here we discover the influence of sin, which so fil ... read more
ON CONVERSION
ON CONVERSION.
PAUL'S DELIGHT IN PREACHING THE GOSPEL.
THE CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE TO WHOM HE WROTE.
HIS THANKFULNESS FOR SUCCESS IN HIS MINISTRY.
We have beheld a glorious display of Almighty power in the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, who, from ... read more
ON ELECTION
73. ON ELECTION
It is very dangerous to indulge a spirit of curiosity respecting the deep things of God. There are mysteries in the kingdom of grace, and in the kingdom of nature, which surpass the highest powers of created intelligence to comprehend. ... read more
ON FAITH
61. ON FAITH
The heart of man is like a weight, whose natural bias is downward. Nothing but a power outside of itself can cause it to ascend heavenward. The attraction of gravitation is not more powerful in its effects on the various parts of the univ ... read more
ON FOLLOWING THE LORD FULLY
26. ON FOLLOWING THE LORD FULLY
True humility is a sweet and blessed grace. It is the product of Almighty power. How calm is the humble soul! While storms and tempests rage with unrelenting fury among the proud and haughty of mankind, a serene and lov ... read more
ON GOSPEL SANCTIFICATION.
Like a wise master-builder Paul laid the true foundation Jesus Christ; and built thereon a sacred edifice of heavenly graces, more valuable than gold and silver and precious stones. Those who study the nature of the Gospel, and live under its power, both ... read more
ON HEAVEN
75. ON HEAVEN
Come, Oh my soul, and meditate on the joys and glories of the heavenly world! Lift up your eyes unto the hills from where comes your help; those everlasting hills, where all the precious flock of Christ will eternally feed, and where the ... read more
ON HOPE
62. ON HOPE
Paul, when writing to the Corinthians, declared, "Some of you have not the knowledge of God; I speak this to your shame." And may not the same reproof be directed to multitudes of professing Christians of our day? The ignorance of many i ... read more
ON HUMILITY
66. ON HUMILITY
Pride and vanity cannot thrive at the foot of the cross. It is only when we remove from this holy ground, that they shoot out their pestiferous branches in awful luxuriance. True humility loves the sacred mount of Calvary, on which the ... read more
ON INADEQUATE VIEWS OF HUMAN NATURE
19. ON INADEQUATE VIEWS OF HUMAN NATURE
The world is full of mourning, lamentation, and woe. We see many dancing along in thoughtless gaiety, and sporting on the brink of perdition. But this lightness of spirit is transient; sorrow soon darkens the gl ... read more
ON INDWELLING SIN
53. ON INDWELLING SIN
Nothing grieves the believer in Jesus so much, as the sin which dwells in him. He can feelingly adopt the language of the apostle: "Oh wretched man that I am!", and with him acknowledge, "we that are in this tabernacle, do gro ... read more
ON INSENSIBILITY TO ETERNAL THINGS
2. ON INSENSIBILITY TO ETERNAL THINGS
Come, Oh! my soul, call in your scattered thoughts; collect your wandering desires, and meditate with solemn awe on everlasting things. How busy is the world! How big with designs, all resting on tomorrow! But tom ... read more
ON INTELLECTUAL AND SPIRITUAL LIGHT
32. ON INTELLECTUAL AND SPIRITUAL LIGHT
The whole world lies in wickedness, in a state of spiritual darkness. Out of this darkness, sinners are called by the Gospel; and when, through grace, they arise and depart out of this valley of the shadow of de ... read more
ON JOY
64. ON JOY
Christian joy is not a tumultuous passion, or feverish affection; but a calm and composed frame; a holy serenity of soul; a gladsome rest in the faithfulness and grace of Jesus. It sheds a luster over the countenance; beams forth at the eye ... read more
ON JUSTIFICATION (continued)
The doctrine of free justification, through faith in the blood of Jesus, was the Gospel Axe which Luther applied with powerful arm to the root of human merit, whose fibers had struck deeply into the Papal soil. "When I consider," said this champion for ... read more
ON KEEPING THE HEART
8. ON KEEPING THE HEART
When we are spiritually taught of God to know something of the desperate wickedness and deceitfulness of our hearts, we are prepared to feel the force of this exhortation: "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are ... read more
ON KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM
33. ON KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM
What can be more agreeable to the dictates of true wisdom, than that a creature should love and obey its Creator, when that creature is endued with faculties capable of loving and obeying the Author of its existence? The re ... read more
ON LUKEWARMNESS
46. ON LUKEWARMNESS
The path of the true Christian lies remote from unbelief and lukewarmness. Thousands who profess to believe the Gospel, are indifferent to its precepts and promises; and tens of thousands, though nominally Christian, are opposed to ... read more
ON MEEKNESS
67. ON MEEKNESS
The apostle Peter exhorts us to put on "the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." May I ever prize what Infinite Excellence esteems so precious! And yet, alas! how soon do we disfigure thi ... read more
ON NEGLECTING THE GOSPEL
18. ON NEGLECTING THE GOSPEL
This declaration of the apostle, "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?"is both a solemn question, and an awful conclusion. Those who hold infidel principles, who live in a total disregard of religious ... read more
ON PEACE
65. ON PEACE
There is something peculiarly calming to the soul in these beautiful words; "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." This is a world of sin and trouble. Here, thorns and thistles grow a ... read more
ON PERVERTED VIEWS OF THE GOSPEL
16. ON PERVERTED VIEWS OF THE GOSPEL
Men, in general, have awfully low conceptions of true religion. They neither understand its nature, nor desire to understand it. When we look into the nominally Christian world, it would almost seem as if the great ... read more
ON PURITY
68. ON PURITY
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." What a wonderful change must pass upon a soul born in sin, before it can become pure. Wherever this change takes place, we must exclaim, "what has God wrought!" It is the work ... read more
ON SELF-DECEPTION
45. ON SELF-DECEPTION
A good thought does not consist in simply thinking about good things. We may meditate upon the most excellent subjects, and even feel some delight in them, while our meditations are neither pleasing to God nor profitable to ourse ... read more
ON SEPARATION FROM THE WORLD
41. ON SEPARATION FROM THE WORLD
How little is the genuine nature of Christianity considered by the generality of professing Christians! The declaration of our Savior, "My kingdom is not of this world;" and the character of his followers, "you are n ... read more
ON SPIRITUAL VISION
74. ON SPIRITUAL VISION
It is a pleasant thing for the eye to behold the sun, and all the varied objects which are illuminated by its rays. If the natural eye be such a precious gift of providence, the eye of faith must be an invaluable gift of grace. ... read more
On the Approach of Death
61. ON THE APPROACH OF DEATH
"Behold, your days approach that you must die." Deut. 31:14
The longest life, and the most useful one too, must draw to its close, for "death passed upon all men, for all have sinned." Though Moses was forbidden to e ... read more
ON THE BELIEVER'S AIM AND HOPE
70. ON THE BELIEVER'S AIM AND HOPE
How beautiful and glorious is the plan of human redemption! Angels may well desire to look into it. At the birth of our Emanuel, they declared its gracious design; even that of bringing "glory to God in the highest ... read more
On the Birth of Christ
65. ON THE BIRTH OF CHRIST
"I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savioryes, the Messiah, the Lordhas been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David!" Luke 2:10-11
What angelic mind can descend into the depth, or soar to the he ... read more
ON THE BLESSEDNESS OF A NEW HEART
9. ON THE BLESSEDNESS OF A NEW HEART
It is delightful to contemplate the beauties which are contained in one short passage of the Holy Scriptures. In grace, as in nature, we find much beauty in what appears comparatively minute. Faith, like the microsc ... read more
ON THE BLESSEDNESS OF THE SAINTS
76. ON THE BLESSEDNESS OF THE SAINTS
The book of Revelation contains not only the most important prophecies respecting the church of Christ, to the end of time; but also unfolds to us the happy and glorified state of true believers in the heavenly wor ... read more
ON THE BURNING BUSH
59. ON THE BURNING BUSH
Much valuable instruction and consolation may be derived from the consideration of the vision with which Moses was favored in the desert of Midian. "The angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst o ... read more
ON THE CAUSE OF SKEPTICISM
21. ON THE CAUSE OF SKEPTICISM
What a multitude of opinions we find in the religious world! How many different sects and parties! each walling themselves round with their own peculiar tenets, and maintaining their own views of doctrine as the only sta ... read more
ON THE CAUTIONS AND WARNINGS OF SCRIPTURE
44. ON THE CAUTIONS AND WARNINGS OF SCRIPTURE
The word of God abounds with cautions as well as encouragements; with warnings as well as invitations; with threatenings as well as promises. These are necessary and important; otherwise, they would not be ... read more
ON THE CHARACTER OF MARTHA AND MARY
56. ON THE CHARACTER OF MARTHA AND MARY
With what beautiful simplicity is the interview between Jesus arid the sisters of Lazarus related by Luke, in the 10th chapter of his Gospel. How gentle and yet how forcible is the reproof which our Lord gave to ... read more
ON THE CHARACTER OF PAUL, AS A MAN OF PRAYER.
ON THE CHARACTER OF PAUL, AS A MAN OF PRAYER.
HIS UNBENDING INTEGRITY.
Prayer is the cry of a new-born soul, the sign of penitence, the language of desire, the breath of faith. Contrition, humility, faith, and thankfulness, form the essence of accept ... read more
ON THE CHARACTER OF THE BEREANS
57. ON THE CHARACTER OF THE BEREANS
The character and conduct of the Berean Jews, as recorded in the 17th chapter of Acts, is very instructive. As pride and prejudice shut out the light of truth, so humility and openness prepare the way for its admiss ... read more
ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER
36. ON THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER
The beatitudes with which our Lord begins his sermon on the mount most strikingly show what is the inward state and outward conduct of true believers, as well as the general reception which such characters meet with from ... read more
ON THE CONVERSION OF SAUL OF TARSUS.
Of all the records of Divine Grace, which are treasured up in the Holy Scriptures, none more strikingly exhibits its sovereignty and power, than the Conversion of Saul of Tarsus. To the believer in Jesus, it must be a source of edification and encourageme ... read more
ON THE DANGER OF RICHES
49. ON THE DANGER OF RICHES
There is a beautiful harmony in the doctrines and precepts of Scripture, whether promulgated under the Patriarchal, Mosaic, or Christian dispensation, which strikingly proves its divine origin. Every enlightened reader of t ... read more
ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT
78. ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT
He who said, "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done," will soon appear seated on his great white throne, as the glorified God-man, the judge of the living ... read more
ON THE DECEITFULNESS OF THE HEART
7. ON THE DECEITFULNESS OF THE HEART
The word of truth declares, "the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Jer. xvii. 9. The deceitfulness of the heart is so great, that no human penetration can discover its e ... read more
ON THE DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY
11. ON THE DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY
At the creation, amid the darkness of chaos, Jehovah said, "Let there be light, and there was light." When veiled in human flesh, he commanded the raging wind and waves, saying, "Peace, be still: and immediately there ... read more
ON THE ETERNAL LOVE OF GOD
ON THE ETERNAL LOVE OF GOD, THE SOURCE
OF THE BELIEVER'S HAPPINESS.
THE FINAL GLORIFICATION OF THE SAINTS.
The unchangeable nature of the promises of God in Christ, which are yes, and amen, to the glory of his grace, gladdened the afflicted Ap ... read more
ON THE FALL
3. ON THE FALL
He who can contemplate the introduction of moral evil into our world without feelings of deep humiliation, is little prepared to receive with gratitude the stupendous mystery of redemption.
The doctrine of the fall, with all its direfu ... read more
ON THE IMMENSITY OF GOD
10. ON THE IMMENSITY OF GOD
It is from the Holy Scriptures alone, that we can attain just views of the being, nature, and character of God. How sublime are the revelations of the divine perfections there made known to us! Who can grasp this one thought ... read more
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE
42. On the Importance of Self-knowledge
And did Jesus say to his disciples, "you know not what manner of spirit you are of," when, in their zeal for the honor of their Master, they wanted fire to descend upon the unbelieving Samaritans? Then, Oh my s ... read more
ON THE LIVING WATER
58. ON THE LIVING WATER
How beautifully instructive is our Savior's conversation with the woman of Samaria, while sitting, wearied with his journey, on Jacob's well! What an example to his followers does the benevolent Redeemer exhibit, of condescen ... read more
ON THE LOVE OF GOD
13. ON THE LOVE OF GOD
"God is love!" sweet truth! Oh my soul! rejoice daily in this blessed revelation, "God is love." Before all worlds, before any being was formed, "God is love"love, eternal and unchangeable. He is the same yesterday, today, ... read more
ON THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY
17. On the Nature of Christianity
Christianity is a religion of love. It flowed from the eternal love of God the Father; was published in lines of blood on the cross of God the Son; and is graciously revealed to every contrite soul through the power o ... read more
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