"Grace and Glory"; Archibald Brown

 "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD will give GRACE and GLORY; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in You!" 

(Psalm 84:11-12)

'Grace and Glory'— "I know not which of the two words after all is the sweetest; there is all the delicacy of the honeycomb in both 'grace' and 'glory'.— I know not how this verse can ever be forgotten, because every hour of every day I shall need the grace — and every hour of every day I ought to be longing for the glory — 'Grace and Glory'."

(Archibald Brown)~1906

What could man have been to Him? Archibald Brown 1868

"Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done this wondrous thing. Shout for joy, O depths of the earth! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob and is glorified in Israel."

(Isaiah 44:23)

"What could man have been to Him? What shadow of obligation was there on God's part to put forth the slightest effort to save a single rebellious sinner? What could it have been to God whether man was saved or damned? He would have been glorified in either case, and still remained "The blessed (happy) God." 

But sweet thought! It was much to him; his sovereign unaccountable love said, "Deliver him from going down to the pit — I have found a ransom!" The Lord has done it, and done it alone. With whom did he take counsel in this matter? Who paid part-price with him? Redemption is no work of the many; it is God's own in plan and execution; he came forth to the work "in the greatness of his strength," "mighty to save."

(Archibald Brown)~1868

B.B. Warfield: Miserable Sinners

"When you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'

(Luke 17:10)

It belongs to the very essence of the type of Christianity that the believer should feel himself continuously unworthy of the grace by which he lives. At the center lies the contrast of sin and grace; and about this center everything else revolves. This is in large part the meaning of the emphasis put in this type of Christianity on justification by faith. It is its conviction that there is nothing in us or done by us, at any stage of our earthly development, because of which we are acceptable to God. We must always be accepted for Christ’s sake, or we cannot ever be accepted at all. This is not true of us only “when we believe.” It is just as true after we have believed. It will continue to be true as long as we live. Our need of Christ does not cease with our believing; nor does the nature of our relation to Him or to God through Him ever alter, no matter what our attainments in Christian graces or our achievements in Christian behavior may be. It is always on His “blood and righteousness” alone that we can rest. There is never anything that we are or have or do that can take His place, or that can take a place along with Him. We are always unworthy, and all that we have or do of good is always of pure grace. Though blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ, we are still in ourselves just “miserable sinners”: “miserable sinners” saved by grace to be sure, but “miserable sinners” still, deserving in ourselves nothing but everlasting wrath."

(B.B. Warfield)

Devotional: B.B. Warfield

The LORD of hosts has sworn: "As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand,"

(Isaiah 14:24)

"In the infinite wisdom of the Lord of all the earth, each event falls with exact precision into its proper place in the unfolding of His divine plan. Nothing, however small, however strange, occurs without His ordering, or without its particular fitness for its place in the working out of His purpose; and the end of all shall be the manifestation of His glory, and the accumulation of His praise."

(B.B. Warfield)

Devotional: B.B. Warfield

"[Jesus] is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."

(Hebrews 7:25)

"Had He not emerged from the tomb all our hopes, all our salvation would be lying dead with Him unto this day. But as we see Him issue from the grave we see ourselves issue with Him in newness of life. Now we know that His shoulders were strong enough to bear the burden that was laid upon them, and that He is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God through Him. The resurrection of Christ is thus the indispensable evidence of His completed work, His accomplished redemption."

(B.B. Warfield)

The Helper

"When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come."

(John 16:13)

"How can we who are so weak in ourselves, so inferior in power to the enemies confronting us, bear up under our trials which are so numerous, so protracted, so crushing? We could not, and therefore Divine grace has provided for us an all-sufficient Helper. Without His aid we had long since succumbed, mastered by our trials. Hope looks forward to the Glory to come; in the weary interval of waiting, the Spirit supports our poor hearts and keeps grace alive within us."

(A.W. Pink)

Devotion: A.W. Pink

"I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways."

(Psalm 119:15)

"The Bible is no lazy man's book! Much of its treasure, like the valuable minerals stored in the bowels of the earth, only yield up themselves to the diligent seeker."

(A.W. Pink)

A.W. Pink

"Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments."

(Col. 2:2-4)

"There is only one safeguard against error, and that is to be established in the faith; and for that, there has to be prayerful and diligent study, and a receiving with meekness the engrafted Word of God. Only then are we fortified against the attacks of those who assail us."

(A.W. Pink)

Real Men Love Pink

"No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God."

(1 John 3:9)

"How does God save His people from the pleasure of sin? The answer is, “By imparting to them a nature which hates evil and loves holiness.” This takes place when they are born again, so that actual salvation begins with regeneration. Of course it does; where else could it commence? Fallen man can neither perceive his desperate need of salvation, nor come to Christ for it, till he has been renewed by the Holy Spirit."

(A.W. Pink)

Devotion: A.W. Pink

"Brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall."

(2 Peter 1:10)

"It is only in proportion as the Christian manifests the fruit of a genuine conversion that he is entitled to regard himself and be regarded by others as one of the called and elect of God. It is just in proportion as we add to our faith the other Christian graces that we have solid ground on which to rest in the assurance we belong to the family of Christ. It is not those who are governed by self-will, but "as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (Rom. 8:14)."

(A.W. Pink)

Spurgeon:The Heart

"The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

(1 Peter 3:12)

“Have your heart right with Christ, and He will visit you often, and so turn weekdays into Sundays, meals into sacraments, homes into temples, and earth into heaven.”

(C.H. Spurgeon)

Spurgeon: Prayer

"I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."~Jesus

(Luke 11:9)

"To pray is to enter the treasure-house of God and to gather riches out of an inexhaustible storehouse."

(C.H. Spurgeon)

Spurgeon: Prayer

"And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, [Jesus] departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed."

(Mark 1:35)

"It is a good rule never to look into the face of a man in the morning till you have looked into the face of God."

(Charles Spurgeon)

Devotion: C.H. Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon once said,

"I believe that every particle of dust that dances in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes."

Does Scripture really teach this? I believe the answer is yes. 

God Is Sovereign Over . . .

Random things:

"The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD."

(Pro.16:33)

The heart of the most powerful person in the land:

"The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will."

(Pro.21:1)

Our daily lives and plans:

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand."

(Pro.19:21)

Salvation:

"As many as were appointed to eternal life believed."

(Acts 13:48)

Life and Death:

"See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand."

(Deut.32:39)

The Death of Jesus:

"Jesus, [who was] delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men."

(Acts 2:23)

Bad Things:

"Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it?"

(Amos 3:6)

"I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things."

(Is.45:7)

All Things:

"[God] works all things according to the counsel of his will."

(Eph.1:11)

"Our God is in the heavens; He does all that he pleases."

(Psalm 115:3)

Devotion: C.H. Spurgeon

"Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."

(1 Corinthians 15:58)

"We need to have a Church in which all the members do something, in which all do all they can, in which all are always doing all they can—for this is what our Lord deserves to have from a living, loving people bought with His precious blood! If He has saved me, I will serve Him forever and ever. And whatever lies in my power to do for His Glory, that shall be my delight to do, and to do at once!”

(Charles Spurgeon)~1892 

Devotion: John Newton

"..Do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?..

(2 Cor. 13:5)

"Christ has taken our nature into heaven, to represent us; and has left us on earth, with His nature, to represent Him."

(John Newton)

Devotion: John Newton

"There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?"

(James 4:12)

"When people are right with God, they are apt to be hard on themselves and easy on other people. But when they are not right with God, they are easy on themselves and hard on others."

(John Newton)

Devotion: John Newton

"May you experience the love of Christ—though it is so great you will never fully understand it!"

(Ephesians 3:19)

Such is the love of Christ! When we attempt to consider the glory of His divine person, the depth of His humiliation, the unknown sorrows and agonies which wrung His heart in Gethsemane, and on Golgotha; and that He endured all this for His enemies, even for those whose hearts were, both by nature and habit, alienated from Him; the power He exerts in reconciling them to Himself; the blessings He bestows upon them in this life, when they are renewed by His grace; and the eternal happiness He has prepared for them in the eternal state—I say, when we attempt to conceive of this love, in its origin, progress, and effects—we are soon overwhelmed, our thoughts are swallowed up, and we can only wonder and adore in silence!"

(John Newton)

Devo: John Newton

"May you experience the love of Christ—though it is so great you will never fully understand it!"

(Ephesians 3:19)

Such is the love of Christ! When we attempt to consider the glory of His divine person, the depth of His humiliation, the unknown sorrows and agonies which wrung His heart in Gethsemane, and on Golgotha; and that He endured all this for His enemies, even for those whose hearts were, both by nature and habit, alienated from Him; the power He exerts in reconciling them to Himself; the blessings He bestows upon them in this life, when they are renewed by His grace; and the eternal happiness He has prepared for them in the eternal state—I say, when we attempt to conceive of this love, in its origin, progress, and effects—we are soon overwhelmed, our thoughts are swallowed up, and we can only wonder and adore in silence!"

(John Newton)

From John Newton

"God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

(Romans 5:5)

Christ reigns in the hearts of all His people. There He writes His precepts, impresses His image, and erects His throne; ruling them, not merely by an outward law, but by an inward secret influence, breathing His own life and spirit into them; so that their obedience becomes, as it were, natural, pleasurable, and its own reward. By the discoveries He affords them of His love—He wins their affections, captivates their wills, and enlightens their understandings."

(John Newton)

Devotion

"Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. "

(Colossians 3:2)

"If you don't keep the eyes of your heart focused on the paradise that is to come, you will try to turn this poor fallen world into the paradise it will never be."

(Paul David Tripp)

Paul David Tripp

"You, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross."

(Col. 2:13-14)

"The cross guarantees that even in your darkest moment God will never turn in disgust and walk away. There is no rebellion, no weakness, no foolishness, no evil of heart that the cross can't defeat and grace can't transform."

(Paul David Tripp)