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God Working for Our Good by Thomas Watson

January 16, 2010 by ADMIN

1.  God’s attributes work for good to the godly.

(1) God’s power works for good. It is a glorious power (Colossians 1:11) and it is engaged for the good of the elect.

God’s power works for good in supporting us in trouble.  “Underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27). What upheld Daniel in the lion’s den?  Jonah in the whale’s belly?  The three Hebrews in the furnace?  Only the power of God!  Is it not strange to see a bruised reed grow and flourish?  How is a weak Christian able, not only to endure affliction, but to rejoice in it?  He is upheld by the arms of the Almighty.  “My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

The power of God works for us by supplying our wants. God creates comforts when means fail.  He that brought food to the prophet Elijah by ravens will bring sustenance to His people.  God can preserve the “oil in the cruse” (1 Kings 17:14).  The Lord made the sun on Ahaz’s dial go ten degrees backward: so when our outward comforts are declining, and the sun is almost setting, God often causes a revival and brings the sun many degrees backward.

The power of God subdues our corruptions. “He will subdue our iniquities” (Micah 7:19). Is your sin strong?  God is powerful; He will break the head of this leviathan.  Is your heart hard?  God will dissolve that stone in Christ’s blood.  “The Almighty maketh my heart soft” (Job 23:16). When we say as Jehoshaphat, “We have no might against this great army,” the Lord goes up with us and helps us to fight our battles.  He strikes off the heads of those goliath­ lusts which are too strong for us.

The power of God conquers our enemies. He stains the pride and breaks the confidence of adversaries.  “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron” (Psalm 2:9).  There is rage in the enemy, malice in the devil, but power in God.  How easily can He rout all the forces of the wicked!  “It is nothing for thee, Lord, to help” (2 Chronicles 14:11). God’s power is on the side of His church.  “Happy art thou, O Israel, O people saved by the Lord, who is the shield of thy help, and the sword of thy excellency” (Deut. 33:29).

(2) The wisdom of God works for good.  God’s wisdom is our oracle to instruct us.  As He is the mighty God, so also is He the Counselor (Isaiah 9:6). We are oftentimes in the dark, and in matters intricate and doubtful know not which way to take; here God comes in with light.  “I will guide thee with mine eye” (Psalm 32:8). “Eye,” there, is put for God’s wisdom.  Why is it the saints can see further than the most quick-sighted politicians?  They foresee the evil and hide themselves; they see Satan’s sophisms.  God’s wisdom is the pillar of fire to go before and guide them.

(3) The goodness of God works for good to the godly. God’s goodness is a means to make us good.  “The goodness of God leadeth to repentance” (Romans 2:4).  The goodness of God is a spiritual sunbeam to melt the heart into tears.  Oh, says the soul, has God been so good to me?  Has He reprieved me so long from hell and shall I grieve His Spirit any more?  Shall I sin against goodness?  The goodness of God works for good, as it ushers in all blessings.  The favors we receive are the silver streams which flow from the fountain of God’s goodness.  This divine attribute of goodness brings in two sorts of blessings.  Common blessings: all partake of these, the bad as well as the good.  This sweet dew falls upon the thistle as well as the rose.  Crowning blessings: these only the godly partake of.  “Who crowneth us with loving-kindness” (Psalm 103:4). Thus the blessed attributes of God work for good to the saints.

2.  The promises of God work for good to the godly.

The promises are notes of God’s hand; is it not good to have security?  The promises are the milk of the gospel; and is not the milk for the good of the infant?  They are called “precious promises” (2 Pet. 1:4).  They are as cordials to a soul that is ready to faint.  The promises are full of virtue.

Are we under the guilt of sin? There is a promise, “The Lord merciful and gracious” (Exodus 24:6), where God as it were puts on His glorious embroidery and holds out the golden scepter to encourage poor trembling sinners to come to Him.  “The Lord, merciful.” God is more willing to pardon than to punish.  Mercy does more multiply in Him than sin in us.  Mercy is His nature.  The bee naturally gives honey; it stings only when it is provoked.  “But,” says the guilty sinner, “I cannot deserve mercy.”  Yet He is gracious; He shows mercy, not because we deserve mercy, but because He delights in mercy.  But what is that to me?  Perhaps my name is not in the pardon.  “He keeps mercy for thousands;” the treasurer of mercy is not exhausted.  God has treasures lying by, and why should not you come in for a child’s part?

Are we under the defilement of sin? There is a promise working for good.  “I will heal their backslidings” (Hosea 14:4). God will not only bestow mercy, but grace.  And He has made a promise of sending His Spirit (Isaiah 44:3), which for its sanctifying nature, is in Scripture compared sometimes to water, which cleanses the vessel; sometimes to the fan, which winnows corn, and purifies the air; sometimes to fire, which refines metals.  Thus will the Spirit of God cleanse and consecrate the soul, making it partake of the divine nature.

Are we in great trouble? There is a promise that works for our good, “I will be with him in trouble” (Psalm 91:15). God does not bring His people into troubles and leave them there.  He will stand by them; He will hold their heads and hearts when they are fainting.  And there is another promise, “He is their strength in the time of trouble” (Psalm 37:39).  “Oh,” says the soul, “I shall faint in the day of trial.”  But God will be the strength of our hearts; He will join His forces with us.  Either He will make His hand lighter, or our faith stronger.

Do we fear outward wants? There is a promise.  “They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing” (Psalm 34:10). If it is good for us, we shall have it; if it is not good for us, then the withholding of it is good.  “I will bless thy bread and thy water” (Exodus 23:25). This blessing falls as the honey-dew upon the leaf; it sweetens that little we possess.  Let me be without the venison, so I may have the blessing.  But I fear I shall not get a livelihood?  Peruse that Scripture, “I have been young, and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread” (Psalm 37:25).  How must we understand this?  David speaks it as his own observation; he never beheld such an eclipse, he never saw a godly man brought so low that he had not a bit of bread to put in his mouth.  David never saw the righteous and their seed lacking.  Though the Lord might try godly parents a while by want, yet not their seed too; the seed of the godly shall be provided for.  David never saw the righteous begging bread, and forsaken.  Though he might be reduced to great straits, yet not forsaken; still he is an heir of heaven, and God loves him.

Question: How do the promises work for good?

Answer: They are food for faith; and that which strengthens faith works for good.  The promises are the milk of faith; faith sucks nourishment from them, as the child from the breast.  “Jacob feared exceedingly” (Genesis 32:7). His spirits were ready to faint; now he goes to the promise, “Lord, thou hast said that thou wilt do me good” (Genesis 32:12).  This promise was his food.  He got so much strength from this promise that he was able to wrestle with the Lord all night in prayer and would not let Him go till He had blessed him.

The promises also are springs of joy. There is more in the promises to comfort than in the world to perplex.  [Many have been] comforted by that promise: “No man shall pluck them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:29). The promises are cordials in a fainting-fit.  “Unless thy word had been my delights, I had perished in my affliction” (Psalm 119:92).  The promises are as cork to the net, to bear up the heart from sinking in the deep waters of distress.

3.  The mercies of God work for good to the godly.

The mercies of God humble us. “Then went King David, and sat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, Oh Lord God, and what is my father’s house, that thou hast brought me hitherto” (2 Sam. 7:18).  Lord, why is such honor conferred upon me, that I should be king?  That I who followed the sheep, should go in and out before Thy people?”   So says a gracious heart, “Lord, what am I, that it should be better with me than others?  That I should drink of the fruit of the vine, when others drink, not only a cup of wormwood, but a cup of blood (or suffering to death).  What am I, that I should have those mercies which others want, who are better than I?  Lord, why is it, that notwithstanding all my unworthiness, a fresh tide of mercy comes in every day?”

The mercies of God make a sinner proud, but a saint humble. The mercies of God have a melting influence upon the soul; they dissolve it in love to God.  God’s judgments make us fear Him; His mercies make us love Him.  How was Saul wrought upon by kindness!  David had him at the advantage, and might have cut off, not only the skirt of his robe, but his head; yet he spares his life.  This kindness melted Saul’s heart. “Is this thy voice, my son David? and Saul lifted up his voice, and wept” (I Sam. 24:16).  Such a melting influence has God’s mercy; it makes the eyes drop with tears of love.

The mercies of God make the heart fruitful. When you lay out more cost upon a field, it bears a better crop.  A gracious soul honors the Lord with his substance.  He does not do with his mercies, as Israel with their jewels and ear-rings, make a golden calf, but, as Solomon did with the money thrown into the treasury, build a temple for the Lord.  The golden showers of mercy cause fertility.

The mercies of God make the heart thankful. “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me?  I will take the cup of salvation” (Psalm 116:12-13).  David alludes to the people of Israel, who at their peace-offerings used to take a cup in their hands, and give thanks to God for deliverances.  Every mercy is an alm of free grace; and this enlarges the soul m gratitude.  A good Christian is not a grave to bury God’s mercies, but a temple to sing His praises.  If every bird in its kind, as Ambrose says, chirps forth thankfulness to its Maker, much more will an ingenuous Christian, whose life is enriched and perfumed with mercy.

The mercies of God quicken. As they are lodestones to love, so they are whetstones to obedience.  “I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 116:9).  He that takes a review of his blessings looks upon himself as a person engaged for God.  He argues from the sweetness of mercy to the swiftness of duty.  He spends and is spent for Christ; he dedicates himself to God.  Among the Romans, when one had been redeemed by another, he was afterwards to serve him.  A soul encompassed with mercy is zealously active in God’s service.

The mercies of God work compassion to others. A Christian is a temporal savior.  He feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, and visits the widow and orphan in their distress; among them he sows the golden seeds of his charity.  “A good man sheweth favor, and lendeth” (Psalm 112:5).  Charity drops from him freely, as myrrh from the tree.  Thus to the godly, the mercies of God work for good; they are wings to lift them up to heaven.

Spiritual mercies also work for good. The Word preached works for good.  It is a savor of life, it is a soul-transforming Word, it assimilates the heart into Christ”s likeness; it produces assurance.  “Our gospel came to you not in word only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and m much assurance” (I Thessalonians 1:5).  It is the chariot of salvation.

Prayer works for good. Prayer is the bellows of the affections; it blows up holy desires and ardors of soul.  Prayer has power with God.  “Command ye me” (Isaiah 45:11).  It is a key that unlocks the treasury of God’s mercy.  Prayer keeps the heart open to God, and shut to sin; it assuages the intemperate heart and the swellings of lust.  It was Luther’s counsel to a friend, when he perceived a temptation begin to arise, to betake himself to prayer.  Prayer is the Christian’s gun, which he discharges against his enemies.  Prayer is the sovereign medicine of the soul.  Prayer sanctifies every mercy (I Timothy 4:5).  It is the dispeller of sorrow: by venting the grief it eases the heart.  When Hannah had prayed, “she went away, and was no more sad” (I Samuel 1:18).  And if it has these rare effects, then it works for good.

4. The graces of the Spirit work for good.

Grace is to the soul, as light to the eye, as health to the body.  Grace does to the soul, as a virtuous wife to her husband, “She will do him good all the days of her life” (Proverbs 31:12).  How incomparably useful are the graces!  Faith and fear go hand in hand.  Faith keeps the heart cheerful, fear keeps the heart serious.  Faith keeps the heart from sinking in despair; fear keeps it from floating in presumption.  All the graces display themselves in their beauty: hope is “the helmet” (I Thess. 5:8), meekness “the ornament” (I Pet. 3:4), love “the bound of perfectness” (Colossians 3:14).  The saints’ graces are weapons to defend them, wings to elevate them, jewels to enrich them, spices to perfume them, stars to adorn them, cordials to refresh them.  And does not all this work for good?  The graces are our evidences for heaven.  Is it not good to have our evidences at the hour of death?

5. The Angels work for the good of the Saints.

The good angels are ready to do all offices of love to the people of God.  “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14).  Some of the Fathers were of the opinion that every believer has his guardian angel.  This subject needs no hot debate.  It may suffice us to know that the whole hierarchy of angels is employed for the good of the saints.

The good angels do service to the saints in life.  An angel comforted the virgin Mary (Luke 1:28).  The angels stopped the mouths of the lions, that they could not hurt Daniel (Daniel 6:22).  A Christian has an invisible guard of angels about him.  “He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways” (Psalm 91:11).   The angels are of the saints’ life-guard, yea, the chief of the angels: “Are they not all ministering spirits?” The highest angels take care of the lowest saints.

The good angels do service at death. The angels are about the saints’ sick-beds to comfort them.  As God comforts by His Spirit, so by His angels.  Christ in His agony was refreshed by an angel (Luke 22:43).  So are believers in the agony of death: and when the saints” breath expires, their souls are carried up to heaven by a convoy of angels (Luke 16:22).

The good angels also do service at the day of judgment. The angels shall open the saints’ graves, and shall conduct them into the presence of Christ, when they shall be made like His glorious body.  “He shall send his angels, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:31).

6.  The Communion of Saints works for good.

“We are helpers of your joy” (2 Corinthians. 1:24).  One Christian conversing with another is a means to confirm him.  As the stones in an arch help to strengthen one another, one Christian by imparting his experience, heats and quickens another.  “Let us provoke one another to love and good works” (Heb. 10:24).  How does grace flourish by such a holy conference!  A Christian by good discourse drops that oil upon another, which makes the lamp of his faith burn the brighter.

7.  Christ’s Intercession works for good.

Christ is in heaven, as Aaron with his golden plate upon his forehead, and his precious incense; and He prays for all believers as well as He did for the apostles.  “Neither pray I for these alone, but for all them that shall believe on me” (John 17:20).  When a Christian is weak, and can hardly pray for himself, Jesus Christ is praying for him; and He prays for three things.

First, that the saints may be kept from sin (John 17:15).  “I pray that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”  We live in the world as in a pest-house; Christ prays that His saints may not be infected with the contagious evil of the times.

Second, for His people’s progress in holiness. “Sanctify them” (John 17:17).  Let them have constant supplies of the Spirit, and be anointed with fresh oil.

Third, for their glorification: “Father, I will that those which thou hast given me, be with me where I am” (John 17:24).  Christ is not content till the saints are in His arms.  This prayer, which He made on earth, is the copy and pattern of His prayer in heaven.  What a comfort is this; when Satan is tempting, Christ is praying!  This works for good.

Christ’s prayer takes away the sins of our prayers.  As a child, says Ambrose, that is willing to present his father with a posy, goes into the garden, and there gathers some flowers and some weeds together, but coming to his mother, she picks out the weeds and binds the flowers, and so it is presented to the father.  Thus when we have put up our prayers, Christ comes, and picks away the weeds, the sin of our prayer, and presents nothing but flowers to His Father, which are a sweet-smelling savor.

8.  The Prayers of Saints work for good to the godly.

The saints pray for all the members of the body mystical, and their prayers prevail much.

They prevail for recovery from sickness. “The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up” (James 5:15).

They prevail for victory over enemies. “Lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left” (Isaiah 37:4).  “Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote, in the camp of the Assyrians, an hundred and fourscore and five thousand” (Isaiah 37:36).

They prevail for deliverance out of prison. “Prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. And behold the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison, and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, and his chains fell off” (Acts 12:5-7).  The angel fetched Peter out of prison, but it was prayer fetched the angel.

They prevail for forgiveness of sin. “My servant Job shall pray for you, for him will I accept” (Job 42:8).  Thus the prayers of the saints work for good to the body mystical.  And this is no small privilege to a child of God that he has a constant trade of prayer driven for him.  When he comes into any place, he may say, “I have some prayer here, nay, all the world over I have a stock of prayer going for me. When I am indisposed, and out of tune, others are praying for me, who are quick and lively.”  Thus the best things work for good to the people of God.

From A Divine Cordial, first published in 1663.  It has been reprinted by Banner of Truth Press as All Things for Good (1991, 1994).

Posted in Thomas Watson |

The Preciousness of God’s Thoughts by Octavius Winslow

January 16, 2010 by ADMIN

“How precious are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!” Psalm 139:17

It is marvelous that God should think of us as He does.  That, infinitely great and holy – all worlds, all beings, all events occupying His mind – He should yet have individual thoughts of us, those thoughts not mere passing glances of the mind, but involving pre-determination and pre-arrangement of each event, circumstance, and step of our personal history, trivial though it be as a hair falling from the head – is a truth too mighty to grasp were it not too precious to refuse and too divine to disbelieve.  You have, doubtless, beloved, often appeared in your own view so obscure and insignificant a being – a mere cipher in the great sum of human existence, a single drop in the vast ocean of human life – as to be almost at an infinite remove from God’s notice.

You could not, indeed, relieve yourself from the conviction of individual responsibility, nor stifle the reflection that for each transaction of the pre­sent life the future holds you accountable; yet that, isolated and solitary, perchance, poor and mean, as you may be, God, the great, the holy Lord God should think of you, notice you, regard you, set His heart upon you – that His thoughts, more precious than the ocean’s gems and more nume­rous than the sands which belt it, should cluster around you, clinging to you with a grasp so fervent and intense as to lift you to the distinc­tion and privilege of a being in whom, the Divine regard were solely and supremely absorbed—is a truth distancing all conception and well-nigh overwhelming you with its mightiness.  And yet so it is!  Each child of God dwells in His heart and engages His mind as though he were the sole occupant of this boundless universe – a tiny in­sect swimming in the ocean of infinity.

Such is the truth to which the psalmist gives utterance in a burst of devout, impassioned feeling, “How precious are thy thoughts unto me, O God!  How great is the sum of them!”   “Unto me!” Here is faith attracting to, and concentrating upon, its individual self all the precious thoughts Jehovah has of His people.  Oh, there is not a thought of His wisdom, nor a thought of His love, nor a thought of His power, nor a thought of His grace which does not entwine itself with the being, and blend itself with the salvation of each child of His adoption.

The subject now engaging our meditation is – the preciousness of God’s thoughts – and may the theme lay low all high, towering, sinful thoughts of ourselves, and inspire and raise our holy, grateful, adoring thoughts of Him – His glory, beauty, and love – until with a depth of adoration and an intensity of affection worthy the theme our hearts respond, “How precious are thy thoughts unto me, O God!  How great is the sum of them!”  Let us first contemplate a few characteristics of God’s precious thoughts of His saints.

God’s thoughts of His people are – infinite. Believers deal too little with the infinitude of God.  Hence the tendency to “limit the Holy One of Israel.”  Thus, too, it is, that our confidence in God is so hesitating, our views of His power so dwarfish, our love so defective, and our requests and expectations so contracted.  “I am a great King, saith the Lord God.”  All His thoughts are vast, infinite, worthy of His greatness.  His electing thought of us was a great thought; His thought of redeeming us was a great thought; His thought of making us divine by the regenera­tion of the Holy Ghost is a great thought; His thought of bringing us to glory to enjoy Him fully and forever is a great thought.  All these thoughts of God are as great as they are precious, and as precious as they are great.  O child of God!  Think not lightly of the thoughts God has of thee – they are so vast, nothing can exceed; so precious, nothing can equal them.  The thoughts of an Infinite Mind encircle and enfold thee more closely and fondly than the ivy clasps the elm or the mother her new-born infant.  Whether they appear clad in darkness, or robed in light, they are equally the great and precious thoughts of thy covenant God and Father.  “How precious are thy thoughts unto me, O God!  How great is the sum of them!”

God’s thoughts of His people are – hidden. The thoughts of the Invisible One, they must necessarily be so.  It is His glory to conceal until it becomes His wisdom and love to reveal them.  Treasured up in the Divine Mind, they repose in profound mystery until each circum­stance in our daily life unfolds and makes them known, then we learn how real and how precious God’s thoughts of us are.  There is not a moment, beloved of God, that the Lord is not thinking of you; nor is there a moment that He is not, in some form or other, embodying those thoughts in His gracious and providential dealings with you.  His wisdom withholds and His love veils them until the event transpires that gives them utterance and form.  Therefore, when God is silent, let us be still; when He speaks, let us hearken.

Hidden to us though His precious thoughts are, they are all known to Him.  “I know the thoughts I think towards you, saith the Lord; thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”  Attempt not, there­fore, to fathom the Divine Mind or to penetrate the thoughts that are hidden there.  Know thou that they are thoughts of everlasting love, thoughts of assured peace, and let this bring your heart into silent, patient waiting until all these thoughts shall stand unveiled in His wise, loving, and holy dispensations, here, and in heaven’s own light hereafter.  Enough is revealed by Christ to satisfy you that God’s thoughts of you are thoughts of reconciliation – that there exists not in the Divine Mind a solitary thought adverse to your well-being.  Jesus, our Friend, reposes in His people the same confidence His Father has reposed in Him.  “All things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” Jesus is the expression and embodiment of our Father’s mind.  Jesus is God thinking, God loving, God working, God redeem­ing.  “He that bath seen me hath seen the Father.”  Be not, then, troubled in mind at the dark and mysterious in your path.  God is deal­ing well with you.  By His light, you shall walk through darkness.  Confiding in the wise and lov­ing, though concealed, thoughts of your heavenly Father, your trustful heart can respond, as those thoughts gradually unfold, “How precious are thy thoughts unto me, O God!”

Unchangeableness is another characteristic of God’s thoughts of His people. This is self-evi­dent since they are the thoughts of the Unchange­able One.  Change implies imperfection.  God is a perfect Being, consequently He cannot change.  “I the Lord change not.”  With Him is “no variableness, neither the shadow of a turning.”  He may vary His providences, multiply His dis­pensations, and shift the ever-moving scene of human life, but – “His eternal thoughts move on, His undisturbed affairs.”  How precious is this truth to the child of God!

Human thoughts change; mind itself fails and with it fades from memory countenances that were familiar, and names that were fond and scenes that were sacred.  Human thoughts that cluster and cling so warmly and closely around us today, ere many weeks are past, attracted by new objects of interest, or absorbed by new engagements of time, have fled and gone, and we are alone and forgotten.  But there is ONE whose thoughts of us never change, whose mind never ceases for a moment to think of us.  “O Israel, thou shalt not be for­gotten of me,” is His own loving declaration.  Directing us to a mother—the last earthly home of human tenderness, sympathy, and love – He tells us, “She may forget, yet will not I.”  Beloved, whatever fluctuation you find in human thought or change in human affection, God’s thoughts of love, and care, and faithfulness, are changeless.  Have they ever darted into your heart like solar beams, causing that heart to sing for joy?  Then, though in darkness, loneliness, and sorrow you are led to exclaim, “Hath the Lord forgotten to be gracious?”  God still bears you in His thoughts and on His heart.  Relatives may forget, friends may forget, the saints may forget, but thy God never can.  He thinks of you at this moment as lovingly, as carefully, as from all eternity.  Once in the thoughts of thy covenant God, thou art in those thoughts for ever.

Be not cast down, then, if God appears to forget you. “My way is hid from the Lord,” says the desponding Church.  “No,” says God, “I have engraved thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.”  Amidst all your mental wanderings, your fickle, faint thoughts of Him, He still re­members you.  In the multitude of your anxious and perplexed thoughts within you, awakened by a sense of your ungrateful oblivion of God, or by His trying and mysterious dealings, let this com­fort delight your soul, that He never forgets you!

Edited from The Precious Things of God, originally published in 1860; currently in reprint through Soli Deo Gloria.

Posted in Octavius Winslow |

The Scriptures More Precious Than Gold by Charles Bridge

January 16, 2010 by ADMIN

“The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.” Psalm 119:72

Well might David acknowledge the benefit of affliction, since he had thus learned in God’s statutes something that was better to him than thousands of gold and silver.  This was indeed an enlightened judgment for one to form, who had so small a part of the law of God’s mouth, and so large a portion of this world’s treasure.  And yet, if we study only his book of Psalms to know the important uses and privileges of this law, and his son’s book of Ecclesiastes, to discover the real value of paltry gold and silver (Eccl. 5:9-20; 6:1-2), we shall, under Divine teaching, be led to make the same estimate for ourselves.  Yes, believer, with the same, or rather with far higher delight than the miser calculates his thousands of gold and silver, do you tell out the precious contents of the law of your God?

After having endeavoured in vain to count the thousands in your treasure, one single name sums up their value—“the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph. 3:8).  Would not the smallest spot of ground be estimated at thousands of gold and silver, were it known to conceal under its surface a mine of inexhaustible treasure?  This it is that makes the Word so inestimable.  It is the field of the “hidden treasure.”  “The pearl of great price” (Matt. 13:44-46) is known to be concealed here.  You would not, therefore, part with one leaf of your Bible for all the thousands of gold and silver.  You know yourself to be in possession of the substance—you have found all besides to be a shadow.  “I lead”—saith the Savior—”in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment that I may cause them that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures” (Prov. 8:20-21).  The grand motive, therefore, in “searching the Scriptures,” is because “they testify of Christ” (John 5:39).  A sinner has but one want—a Savior.  A believer has but one desire—to “know and win Christ” (Phil. 3:8-10).  With a “single eye,” therefore, intent upon one point, he studies this blessed book.  “With unveiled face he beholds in this glass the glory of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18), and no arithmetic can compute the price of that which is now unspeakably better to him than the treasures of the earth.

Christian, bear your testimony to your supreme delight in the book of God.  You have here opened the surface of much intellectual interest and solid instruction.  But it is the joy that you have found in the revelation of the Savior, in his commands, in his promises, in his ways, that leads you to exclaim, “More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold!” (Psa. 19:10).  Yes, indeed—every promise—every declaration—centering in him is a pearl; and the Word of God is full of these precious pearls.  If then they be the richest who have the best and the largest treasure, those who have most of the Word in their hearts, not those who have most of the world in their possession—are justly entitled to this pre-eminence.  Let then the Word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom” (Col. 3:16).  For those who are rich in this heavenly treasure are men of substance indeed.

True—this is a correct estimate of the worth of God’s law—better than this world’s treasure.  But is it better to me?  Is this my decided choice?  How many will inconsiderately acknowledge its supreme value, while they yet hesitate to relinquish even a scanty morsel of earth for an interest in it!  Do I then habitually prefer this law of God’s mouth to every worldly advantage?  Am I ready to forego every selfish consideration, if it may only be the means of uniting my heart more closely to the Book of God?  If this be not my practical conviction, I fear I have not yet opened the mine.  But if I can assent to this declaration of the man of God, I have made a far more glorious discovery than Archimedes; and therefore may take up his expression of joyful surprise—‘I have found it! I have found it!’  What?  That which the world could never have given me—that of which the world can never deprive me.

Yet how affecting is it to see men poor in the midst of great riches!  Often in the world we see the possessor of a large treasure—without a heart to enjoy it—virtually therefore a pauper.  More often still in the Church do we see professors (may it not be so with some of us?) with their Bibles in their hands—yet poor even with the external interest in its “unsearchable riches.”  Often also do we observe a want of value for the whole law or revelation of God’s mouth.  Some parts are highly honored to the depreciation of the rest.  But let it be remembered that the whole of Scripture “is given by inspiration of God and is therefore profitable” for its appointed end (2 Tim. 3:16-17).  Oh beware of resting satisfied with a scanty treasure.  Prayer and diligence will bring out not only “things new,” but the “old” also with a new and brighter glow.  Scraping the surface is a barren exercise.  Digging into the bowels is a most enriching employ.  No vein in this mine is yet exhausted.  And rich indeed shall we be, if we gather only one atom of the gold each day in prayerful meditation.  But as you value your progress and peace in the ways of God—as you have an eye to your Christian perfection—put away that ruinous thought—true as an encouragement to the weak (Zech. 4:10), but false as an excuse to the slothful (Prov. 13.4)—that a little knowledge is sufficient to carry us to heaven.

And—Lord—help me to prize the law as coming from thy mouth (1 Thess. 2:13).  Let it be for ever written upon my heart.  Let me be daily exploring my hidden treasures.  Let me be enriching myself and all around me with the present possession and interest in these heavenly blessings.

Excerpted from Psalm 119: An Exposition.

Posted in Charles Bridge |

The Goodness of God by A. W. Pink

January 16, 2010 by ADMIN

“The goodness of God endureth continually” (Psalm 52:1)

The “goodness” of God respects the perfection of His nature: “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).  There is such an absolute perfection in God’s nature and being that nothing is wanting to it or defective in it and nothing can be added to it to make it better.

He is originally good, good of Himself, which nothing else is; for all creatures are good only by participation and communication from God.  He is essentially good; not only good, but goodness itself: the creature’s good is a superadded quality, in God it is His essence.  He is infinitely good; the creature’s good is but a drop, but in God there is an infinite ocean or gathering together of good.  He is eternally and immutably good, for He cannot be less good than He is; as there can be no addition made to Him, so no subtraction from Him (Thomas Manton).

God is summum bonum, the chief good.  The original Saxon meaning of our English word “God” is “The Good.”  God is not only the Greatest of all beings, but the Best.  All the goodness there is in any creature has been imparted from the Creator, but God’s goodness is underived, for it is the essence of His eternal nature.  As God is infinite in power from all eternity, before there was any display thereof, or any act of omnipotency put forth; so He was eternally good before there was any communication of His bounty, or any creature to whom it might be imparted or exercised.  Thus, the first manifestation of this Divine perfection was in giving being to all things.  “Thou art good, and doest good” (Psalm 119:68).  God has in Himself an infinite and inexhaustible treasure of all blessedness enough to fill all things.

All that emanates from God—His decrees, His creation, His laws, His providences—cannot be otherwise than good: as it is written.  “And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).  Thus, the “goodness” of God is seen, first, in Creation.  The more closely the creature is studied, the more the beneficence of its Creator becomes apparent.  Take the highest of God’s earthly creatures, man.  Abundant reason has he to say with the Psalmist, “I will praise Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are Thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well” (Psalm 139:14).

Everything about the structure of our bodies attests the goodness of their Maker.  How suited the bands to perform their allotted work!  How good of the Lord to appoint sleep to refresh the wearied body!  How benevolent His provision to give unto the eyes lids and brows for their protection!  And so we might continue indefinitely.  Nor is the goodness of the Creator confined to man, it is exercised toward all His creatures.  “The eyes of all wait upon Thee; and Thou givest them their meat in due season.  Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing” (Psalm 145:15-16).  Whole volumes might be written, yea have been, to amplify this fact.  Whether it be the birds of the air, the beasts of the forest, or the fish in the sea, abundant provision has been made to supply their every need.  God “giveth food to all flesh, for His mercy endureth forever” (Psalm 136:25).

Truly, “The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord” (Psalm 33:5).  The goodness of God is seen in the variety of natural pleasures which He has provided for His creatures.  God might have been pleased to satisfy our hunger without the food being pleasing to our palates—how His benevolence appears in the varied flavors which He has given to meats, vegetables, and fruits!  God has not only given us senses, but also that which gratifies them; and this too reveals His goodness.  The earth might have been as fertile as it is without its surface being so delightfully variegated.  Our physical lives could have been sustained without beautiful flowers to regale our eyes, and exhale sweet perfumes.  We might have walked the fields without our ears being saluted by the music of the birds.  Whence, then, this loveliness, this charm, so freely diffused over the face of nature?  Verily, “The tender mercies of the Lord are over all His works” (Psalm 145:9).

The goodness of God is seen in that when man transgressed the law of His Creator a dispensation of unmixed wrath did not at once commence.  Well might God have deprived His fallen creatures of every blessing, every comfort, every pleasure.  Instead, He ushered in a regime of a mixed nature, of mercy and judgment.  This is very wonderful if it be duly considered, and the  more thoroughly that regime be examined the more will it appear that “mercy rejoiceth against judgment” (James 2:13).  Notwithstanding all the evils which attend our fallen state, the balance of good greatly preponderates.  With comparatively rare exceptions, men and women experience a far greater number of days of health, than they do of sickness and pain.  There is much more creature—happiness than creature—misery in the world.  Even our sorrows admit of considerable alleviation, and God has given to the human mind a pliability which adapts itself to circumstances and makes the most of them.

Nor can the benevolence of God be justly called into question because there is suffering and sorrow in the world. If man sins against the goodness of God, if he despises “the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering,” and after the hardness and impenitency of his heart treasurest up unto himself wrath against the day of wrath (Romans 2:5), who is to blame but himself?  Would God be “good” if He punished not those who ill-use His blessings, abuse His benevolence and trample His mercies beneath their feet?  It will be no reflection upon God’s goodness, but rather the brightest exemplification of it, when He shall rid the earth of those who have broken His laws, defied His authority, mocked His messengers, scorned His Son, and persecuted those for whom He died.

The goodness of God appeared most illustriously when He sent forth His Son “made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might received the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).  Then it was that a multitude of the heavenly host praised their Maker and said, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good-will toward men” (Luke 2:14).  Yes, in the Gospel the “grace (Gk. benevolence or goodness) of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11).  Nor can God’s benignity be called into question because He has not made every sinful creature to be a subject of His redemptive grace.  He did not the fallen angels.  Had God left all to perish it had been no reflection on His goodness.  To any who would challenge this statement we will remind him of our Lord’s sovereign prerogative: “Is it not lawful for Me to do what I will with Mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?”(Matthew 20:15).

“O that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men” (Psalm 107:8).  Gratitude is the return justly required from the objects of His beneficence; yet is it often withheld from our great Benefactor simply because His goodness is so constant and so abundant.  It is lightly esteemed because it is exercised toward us in the common course of events.  It is not felt because we daily experience it.  “Despisest thou the riches of His goodness?” (Romans 2:4).  His goodness is “despised” when it is not improved as a means to lead men to repentance, but, on the contrary, serves to harden them from the supposition that God entirely overlooks their sin.

The goodness of God is the life of the believer’s trust. It is this excellency in God which most appeals to our hearts. Because His goodness endureth forever, we ought never to be discouraged: “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knoweth them that trust in Him” (Nahum 1:7).  When others behave badly to us, it should only stir us up the more heartily to give thanks unto the Lord, because He is good; and when we ourselves are conscious that we are far from being good, we should only the more reverently bless Him that He is good.  We must never tolerate an instant’s unbelief as to the goodness of the Lord; whatever else may be questioned, this is absolutely certain, that Jehovah is good; His dispensations may vary, but His nature is always the same (C. H. Spurgeon).

From A. W. Pink, The Attributes of God.

Posted in A. W. Pink |

Search from the Book of the Lord by Thomas Boston

January 16, 2010 by ADMIN

Several things are implied in Isaiah 34:16, “Search from the book of the Lord, and read:”

1.  That man has lost his way, and needs direction to find it, Psalm 119:176, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant.”  Miserable man has blurred vision in a directionless world, which is a dark place, and has as much need of the scriptures to guide him, as one has of a light in darkness, 2 Pet. 1:19.  What a miserable case is that part of the world in that lacks the Bible?  They are vain in their imaginations, and grope in the dark, but cannot find the way of salvation.  In no better case are those to whom it has not come in power.

2.  That man is in danger of being led farther and farther wrong. This made the spouse say, “Tell me, O you whom I love, Where you feed your flock, Where you make it rest at noon.  For why should I be as one who veils herself by the flocks of your companions?” Song 1:7.  There is a cunning devil, a wicked world, corrupt lusts within one’s own breast, to lead him out of the right way, that we had need to let go of, and take this guide.  There are many false lights in the world, which, if followed, will lead the traveler into a mire, and leave him there.

3.  That men are slow of heart to understand the mind of God in his word. It will cost searching diligently before we can take it up, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me,” John 5:39.

Our eyes are dim to the things of God, our understanding dull, and our judgment is weak.  And therefore, because the iron is blunt, we must put too the more strength.  We lost the sharpness of our sight in spiritual things in Adam; and our corrupt wills and carnal affections, that favor not the things of God, do blind our judgments even more: and therefore it is a labor to us to find out what is necessary for our salvation.

4.  That the book of the Lord has its difficulties, which are not to be easily solved. Therefore the Psalmist prays, “Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law,” Psalm 119:18.

Philip asked the eunuch, “Do you understand what you are reading?” and he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?”  There are depths there in which an elephant may swim, and will exercise the largest capabilities, with all the expertise they may be possessed of. God in his holy providence has so ordered it, to stain the pride of all glory; to make his word the more like himself, whom none can search out to perfection, and to sharpen the diligence of his people in their inquiries into it.

5.  That yet we need highly to understand it, otherwise we would not be commanded to search into it. “Of the times and seasons,” says the apostle, “you have no need that I write to you;” and therefore he wrote not of them.  There is a treasure in this field; we are called to dig for it; for though it be hid, yet we must have it, or we will waste away in our spiritual poverty.

6.  That we may gain from it by diligent inquiry. The holy humble heart will not be always sent empty away from these wells of salvation, when it undertakes itself to draw.  There are shallow places in these waters of the sanctuary, where lambs may wade.

Posted in Thomas Boston |

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