Remembering Gospel Truths Amidst Evil

By / Jul 14

Mass shootings are no longer rare events in our nation.  Many will remember the shootings at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, Virginia Technical University on April 7, 2007, Sandy Hook Elementary on December 14, 2012, or at Parkland High School only 4 years ago.  When these events occurred, there was shock among many in our nation.  Questions such as, “How could something like this happen?” or “Who could do something like this?” filled our minds.  But now, we look back and think of the shootings in Buffalo, NY, Uvalde, TX, Highland Park, IL, the mass shootings that occurred over the weekend of June 4th-5th, and it is becoming commonplace.  

As we continue to hear about these sorts of atrocities, we must not become numb to what is happening across the country.  It is easy to blame others, call for new gun regulations, and examine our mental health structure as these events continue to happen.  These discussions need to take place.  But before we move straight to solutions, we must realize that those involved are real people.  They are sons and daughters of men and women like you and me.  Families are connected to these victims and many are hurting.  As we reflect on these types of events, let us never separate ourselves from the connection that we have with other human beings before we come up with an explanation or a solution.  Instead, let us consider how we ought to process these sorts of events as Christians before an unbelieving world.  

Evil is Real

First, as Christians, let us remember that evil is real.  Though most of us recoil in horror at the thought that anyone would ever be able to even think about killing someone, there are others who have given into the wicked tendencies of their hearts to commit such atrocities.  With sin entering the world through our first parents, we see murder as early as Genesis 4 with the story of Cain and Abel.  Since this murder, we have seen countless acts of evil occur throughout human history and we see no signs of it letting up.  As men and women allow their consciences to be seared to the truth (1 Tim. 4:2), we see that God gives them over to a depraved mind (Rom. 1:28).  So, we rightly call these events evil, as what occurs comes as a result of the continued suppression of the reality and truth of who our God is.  

Sin is Irrational

Second, as Christians, let us remember that sin is irrational.  This kind of evil is inexplicable and beyond our understanding.  According to the Department of Homeland Security, many of these mass shooters open fire due to “personal grievances, reactions to current events, and adherence to violent extremist ideologies.”  Whatever the reason, to open fire on a group of innocent people is irrational.  But at its core, all sin is irrational.  Consider what James 1:14-15 says, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”  For many perpetrators, the desire to enact “justice” as a form of payback for “injustice” is a rational thought.  Many of us long for justice for our own misfortunes.  But this desire is not rational at all. After it was conceived, it brought forth sin, and the sin, at its fullest, brought about death. Let us never find ourselves entrapped by the lusts of our sinful desires, because sin, though irrational, has a way of presenting itself as the best solution to us for our problems.  

Jesus is Our Only Hope

Third, as Christians, let us remember that Jesus is our only hope.  On the surface of it, that statement might appear to be a little trite.  But it isn’t.  It’s true.  Jesus is our only hope.  In the conversation of life and death and sin and evil, Jesus must be the focal point.  Jesus came to live, die and rise again so that we would be forgiven, but also so that as Paul says in Romans 6:6, “we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”  Ultimately it was the enslaving power of sin that led to these evil acts.  But then, in addition to this, Jesus provides us with the only hope we can have beyond the grave for these many victims.  For all who are in Christ will one day be resurrected to new life, with all justice finally served and all tears and heartaches wiped away.  When Jesus is the focal point of our conversation on tragedy, we have the confidence to cry out, “Come Lord Jesus,” as we trust in a savior who has overcome the world. 

Let us weep as we mourn the loss of human life.  Though many of us may not know these victims personally, they were people with hopes and dreams and families and friends just like you and me.  Let us pray for those connected with these mass shootings.  Pray that the love of Jesus Christ and the comfort that can only come from His gospel would be proclaimed.  But also pray for churches in the area of these shootings as they seek to minister Christ in the face of such events.  Beyond this, let these events remind us that this world is not our home.  We live in a place where evil runs rampant and sin dwells in the hearts of many.  We are mere sojourners passing through this world, proclaiming the hope of the world to come, with our eyes fixed on Jesus.



In the Depths? Help from Jonah 2

By / Jul 12

A single image, from my first few visits to London, is impressed on my mind: the view from the top of an escalator in the larger Underground Tube stations. I remember standing looking at this enormous moving stairway, tilted at a frightening angle, inching slowly but steadily into the depths of London’s underground. Imagine gazing at hundreds of people on this downward trajectory into the belly of London.

This image of downward motion is one which is created by the book of Jonah in the first two chapters. Initially, Jonah goes down to the port of Joppa (1:3). Once aboard a ship, Jonah goes down to the inner part and lies down (1:5). Jonah is then thrown from the deck down into the raging sea (1:15). In chapter 2 Jonah then recalls being thrown down into the sea (2:3), where he then sinks down (2:3, 5)—finally sinking down to the sea floor (2:6). 

For two entire chapters Jonah has been moving downward. In chapter 2, we therefore find him in the depths. But from those depths Jonah shares four truths that might encourage those of us who are likewise in the depths.

Truth #1 – God is Sovereign

We should be amazed at the sovereignty of God in the story of Jonah. It is stated explicitly in 1:17 as it is noted that the LORD ‘appointed’ a fish to swallow Jonah—it isn’t a chance happening, it isn’t a stroke of good fortune—God has orchestrated it. Not only does the fish swallow Jonah, but at God’s command he spits him out again (2:10). It isn’t just the fish that is under God’s control, however, it is also the waves. In 1:4 we are told that the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea to create in the storm. But, in chapter 2 Jonah himself acknowledges it is God’s doing (v. 3): ‘your waves and your billows’. God is sovereign. There can be no doubt about it. All these circumstances—both the waves and the fish—it is all at God’s beck and call.

In the depths Jonah is careful to encourage us to remember God is sovereign. No matter what we face we can face it with confidence because God is in control of all things. When we feel we are drowning in life, God can send a ‘fish’ to rescue us. We must trust our God; no, we can trust our God.

Truth #2 – God Answers Prayer

Jonah asserts this truth before he even gives us the content of his prayer (2:1–2). Even from the depths God hears and answers prayer. Jonah’s situation was desperate. He is struggling to keep his head above water in verse 3, by verse 5 the seaweed is pulling him under and so in verse 6 he has reached the sea floor—alternatively known as death. This prophet of the LORD, who thought he could escape God’s call on his life, is facing the end of his life. It is here, for the very first time in the book, that Jonah calls out to God.

The sad reality is that sometimes we must be brought to the end of ourselves before we seek God. Often it is only in the most desperate of circumstances that we will cry out to God. How is this supposed to be encouraging? Because when we do, God hears and answers. This is Jonah’s testimony (2:2, 7). Cry out to God, speak to him, tell him how you feel and watch as he answers.

This comes with a warning though, because often the answer is not quite what we would expect. Consider Jonah, in the gut of a great fish he thanked God for deliverance! Nonetheless, it was an answer to prayer.

Truth #3 – You’re Not the First

This is more of an implicit truth than an explicit one. But here we have Jonah—a prophet of the LORD commissioned with God’s message—and he is in the depths. We could also consider Elijah, Job, and Jesus himself in the Garden of Gethsemane. They all experienced the depths. In Spurgeon’s Sorrows Zack Eswine writes: 

After citing historical examples such as Martin Luther, Isaac Newton, and William Cowper, then Biblical examples such as Job, King David, Elijah or our Lord Jesus, Charles [Spurgeon] will inevitably say: ‘You are not the first child of God who has been depressed or troubled.’ Even ‘among the noblest of men and women who ever lived, there has been much of this kind of thing…Do not, therefore, think that you are quite alone in your sorrow.’ (pg. 37)

Do not despair simply because you, as a Christian in particular, are in the depths. History teaches us that many have walked that road before, many will walk it afterward, and undoubtedly there are many there with us in our depths. Moreover, God will not leave us alone in the depths (Josh. 1:5; Heb. 13:5). 

Truth #4 – Salvation is From God

It is in the depths that Jonah confesses that salvation belongs to God alone (2:8-9). Idols are vanity, says Jonah. But Jonah doesn’t worship an idol—his is the living God and so with thanksgiving, sacrifice and vows Jonah will proclaim that salvation belongs to the LORD. We should not miss the clear echo of the end of chapter 1 here. The sailors at the end of chapter 1 forsook idols, worshipped Yahweh, and made sacrifices and vows. Sadly, it took Jonah to descend to the depths before he could follow the example of the sailors.

As one commentator writes, ‘The fish stands for the amazing grace of Yahweh, which came down to where [Jonah] was and lifted him to new life’ (Allen, Jonah, NICOT, pg. 213). Because of God’s salvation Jonah’s direction changed. At the end of verse 6, instead of continuing downward, the LORD lifted—brought up—Jonah. Salvation is from God.

In the Old Testament, the word salvation refers to both physical and spiritual deliverance. But as we read the Bible in its entirety, we soon come to see that all physical deliverance is simply an illustration of the great spiritual deliverance that God offers in his son Jesus. In the depths, as Christians, we must never forget that it is in Christ alone our hope is found—for there alone is sin dealt with. 

A Fresh Start

Chapter 2 ends with the fish spitting Jonah out onto dry land—salvation is complete. Jonah is alive and on dry land. One commentator jokes that the disobedient prophet is so revolting that even the fish can’t stomach him for long. But something much more beautiful is taking place here than simply a great fish being ill on the beach. Chapter 2 is finishing where the story of Jonah began: with the prophet on the dry land and knowing where God would have him. Here is Jonah’s fresh start. 

Each time we find ourselves sinking into the depths we must remind ourselves that God is sovereign, in his sovereignty he answers prayers, we are not the first to experience this and salvation always belongs to the LORD. In remembering these things, however, we too have the hope of a fresh start.



“Happy Incidents” from God

By / Jul 9

“Forget not all His benefits.”
Psalm 103:2

It is a delightful and profitable occupation to mark the hand of God in the lives of ancient saints, and to observe his goodness in delivering them, his mercy in pardoning them, and his faithfulness in keeping his covenant with them. But would it not be even more interesting and profitable for us to remark the hand of God in our own lives? Ought we not to look upon our own history as being at least as full of God, as full of his goodness and of his truth, as much a proof of his faithfulness and veracity, as the lives of any of the saints who have gone before? We do our Lord an injustice when we suppose that he wrought all his mighty acts, and showed himself strong for those in the early time, but doth not perform wonders or lay bare his arm for the saints who are now upon the earth. Let us review our own lives. Surely in these we may discover some happy incidents, refreshing to ourselves and glorifying to our God. Have you had no deliverances? Have you passed through no rivers, supported by the divine presence? Have you walked through no fires unharmed? Have you had no manifestations? Have you had no choice favours? The God who gave Solomon the desire of his heart, hath he never listened to you and answered your requests? That God of lavish bounty of whom David sang, “Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things,” hath he never satiated you with fatness? Have you never been made to lie down in green pastures? Have you never been led by the still waters? Surely the goodness of God has been the same to us as to the saints of old. Let us, then, weave his mercies into a song. Let us take the pure gold of thankfulness, and the jewels of praise and make them into another crown for the head of Jesus. Let our souls give forth music as sweet and as exhilarating as came from David’s harp, while we praise the Lord whose mercy endureth forever.



Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh: An Interview with Thomas S. Kidd

By / Jul 4

Thomas S. Kidd serves as research professor of Church History at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. His latest book, Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh (Yale University Press, 2022), is a revelatory new biography of Thomas Jefferson, focusing on his ethical and spiritual life.

Timothy Larsen said of the book, “Set aside everything you think you know about Thomas Jefferson and religion, and read this book.”

Russell Moore said, “In this long-awaited book, Thomas Kidd, one of the world’s most respected historians, portrays for us a compellingly complicated human being- who through both genius and will, and despite grave flaws, gave us a country we could not recognize apart from him.”

Karen Swallow Prior also commented, “I don’t know a scholar more able than Thomas Kidd to bring breadth, depth, and moral clarity to a treatment of a figure as significant and complicated as Thomas Jefferson- and to do so with vivid, compelling prose that will engage a broad audience of readers.”

James Byrd said that this book “will make an outstanding contribution to scholarship on Jefferson.”

Kevin R.C. Gutzman also stated, “Thomas Kidd gives us the Thomas Jefferson we need right now.”

Recently, Dr. Kidd joined us to answer a few questions about his latest book.

BF: As you state, your latest book is a “narrative of Jefferson’s moral universe more than a traditional biography.” What prompted you to take on Thomas Jefferson as your latest subject and to discuss him from this angle?

TK: There has been increasing controversy in recent years about the Founding Fathers generally, and Jefferson specifically, much of which has to do with moral questions. Many wonder how to reconcile the Jefferson who said that slavery was wrong, and who wrote that “all men are created equal,” with the Jefferson who owned hundreds of people as slaves. “Hypocrisy” is an easy and somewhat deserved reaction to Jefferson’s inconsistency, but I don’t think hypocrisy is a very helpful answer historically when trying to understand the enigma of Jefferson’s beliefs and contradictory life. In this book, I hope I offer a genuinely new approach by trying to understand how Jefferson’s religious and ethical views synced with how he actually lived.

In the book, you describe several tensions in Jefferson’s life. What are some of these tensions, and how do you hope readers will respond to hearing the story of Jefferson’s ethical life?

The most familiar tension is between Jefferson’s belief in God-given equality, and his deep investment in the enslavement of African Americans. A related tension is Jefferson’s constant touting of the virtue of frugality, or living within one’s means, and the disastrous state of his personal finances. Finally – and the one that may be of most interest to the Midwestern Seminary community – is Jefferson’s virtual obsession with the Bible, and his brazen deletion of the miraculous content from the Gospels in the “Jefferson Bible.”

I hope that when confronting as perplexing a character as Jefferson, readers will steer clear both of patriotic apologetics, and of today’s temptation to cancel those in our national past who have manifest failings and sins. It’s much better, I think, to ponder (in Jefferson’s case) how someone who did terrible things could also be used for great good in American history, most notably his articulation of our God-given rights and equality, and his championing of religious liberty.

Jefferson’s religious beliefs often did not help him politically. His convictions even led him to cut out sections from the New Testament to form the “Jefferson Bible.” Can you tell us more about the origins of the Jefferson Bible, and how Jefferson’s contradictory spiritual convictions can serve as a warning for Christians today?

 A lot of Bible readers implicitly cut out parts of Scripture they don’t like. But Jefferson literally did so, with scissors. He was an early example of what became “higher criticism” of Scripture, or the assumption that some parts of the Bible are erroneous, unreliable, or are later additions. Jefferson’s Jesus became a great teacher of ethics, but not the resurrected Son of God. The warning here is that as soon as we place our own standards of reason above any part of the Word of God, we are on a slippery slope.

As you’ve mentioned, Thomas Jefferson can serve as a needed example for us today. What are some of the other ways, possibly missed in a traditional biography, that Jefferson’s ethical life can give us lessons for our current cultural moment?

One of our biggest cultural challenges is knowing what to do with historical figures who were once widely revered, such as Jefferson, but who engaged in behavior we see as appalling and immoral, such as enslaving people. Somehow we have to be able to clearly repudiate these actions, while also not casually assuming that we are morally superior because we denounce (or cancel) such people. A proper Christian reaction to the terrible failings of people in history is sober humility, not pride or “virtue signaling.”

 

Editor’s Note: Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh is now available for purchase.



Human Cruelty and the Compassion of God

By / Jun 27

This summer, I finally decided to open a book my mom gifted me last year called Where the Crawdads Sing. Since it is one of the best-selling books of all time and has a theater debut in July, it went from the bottom of my bookshelf to the top of my summer fiction reading list.

My hesitancy in exploring the narrative sooner came from a warning I received about how heartbreaking the journey would be. Without going into detail, these cautions were not unfounded. Yet, as I read the life of marsh-dwelling protagonist Kya, coming face-to-face with the reality of human depravity filled me anew with care for those in this broken world who do not know Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:28-32 tells us this about the unrighteous:

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They are filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Before the Lord saved me, stories of horrific things around the world were almost unbearable. It was hard to want to live in a world where so much evil exists.

But this passage is not just speaking to an outside world: it speaks to our state without the grace of God. This passage isn’t just calling out the person or group of people who may come to your mind when you think “evil,” “boastful,” or “ruthless.” Without God’s work, this is you. This is me. This is the culture of death that we daily exist in.

It may sound harsh, but watch how quickly the veneer of love, grace, and patience disappears when our idols are jeopardized. In writing to the early churches, James exhorts fellow believers:

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions (4:1-3).

People with good intentions (myself included) can end up defending themselves rather than listening to the pains of another. Those who claim to be passionate about truth can resort to weaponizing God’s Word to prove a point rather than guiding to living water. Even the brief haughty response given at a slight inconvenience reveals the selfishness of our nature. We don’t want to admit it, but we can be cruel.

Blessedly, one of the few things more overwhelming than human cruelty is the compassion of God.

This is important for me to remember not only as I flip through the pages of Where the Crawdads Sing, but also as I experience cruelty against me or observe it festering in the world. One of the best places to go to recall God’s compassion, even on the darkest of nights, is his Word.

God’s Word comforts those in affliction while also instructing us when we are tempted to go our own way:

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I will hope in him.’” (Lamentations 3:22-24).

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:12-14).

Living in the grace of God is not a guarantee—it is a gift.

Though salvation is guaranteed secure through Jesus, we can’t assume that confession of a surrendered life means living a life submitted to the gospel—for us or anyone else. To “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely,” and “run with endurance the race that is set before us,” as commanded in Hebrews 12:1 means acknowledging that pursuing righteousness is a daily decision.

If you confess Christ as Lord, I implore you to keep going. Even when waves of hatred threaten to drown you, remain steadfast in Jesus. When you grow weary of doing good, cast yourself upon your never-changing God. Remember when you come face-to-face with human cruelty, you have a God who showers compassion upon you and upon this hurting world through the mercy of his Son. Recall that by the power of the Holy Spirit:

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).

If you have experienced the compassion of God, you can show the compassion of God.

Let us consider how we may reach out our hands to the hurting and guide them toward God’s goodness today.



Thy Redeemer is Yours

By / Jun 25

“Thy Redeemer.”
Isaiah 54:5

Jesus, the Redeemer, is altogether ours and ours forever. All the offices of Christ are held on our behalf. He is king for us, priest for us, and prophet for us. Whenever we read a new title of the Redeemer, let us appropriate him as ours under that name as much as under any other. The shepherd’s staff, the father’s rod, the captain’s sword, the priest’s mitre, the prince’s sceptre, the prophet’s mantle, all are ours. Jesus hath no dignity which he will not employ for our exaltation, and no prerogative which he will not exercise for our defence. His fulness of Godhead is our unfailing, inexhaustible treasure-house.

His manhood also, which he took upon him for us, is ours in all its perfection. To us our gracious Lord communicates the spotless virtue of a stainless character; to us he gives the meritorious efficacy of a devoted life; on us he bestows the reward procured by obedient submission and incessant service. He makes the unsullied garment of his life our covering beauty; the glittering virtues of his character our ornaments and jewels; and the superhuman meekness of his death our boast and glory. He bequeaths us his manger, from which to learn how God came down to man; and his Cross to teach us how man may go up to God. All his thoughts, emotions, actions, utterances, miracles, and intercessions, were for us. He trod the road of sorrow on our behalf, and hath made over to us as his heavenly legacy the full results of all the labours of his life. He is now as much ours as heretofore; and he blushes not to acknowledge himself “our Lord Jesus Christ,” though he is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. Christ everywhere and every way is our Christ, forever and ever most richly to enjoy. O my soul, by the power of the Holy Spirit! call him this morning, “thy Redeemer.”



The Key to Everlasting Paradise

By / Jun 18

“He openeth, and no man shutteth.”
Revelation 3:7

Jesus is the keeper of the gates of paradise and before every believing soul he setteth an open door, which no man or devil shall be able to close against it. What joy it will be to find that faith in him is the golden key to the everlasting doors. My soul, dost thou carry this key in thy bosom, or art thou trusting to some deceitful pick-lock, which will fail thee at last? Hear this parable of the preacher, and remember it. The great King has made a banquet, and he has proclaimed to all the world that none shall enter but those who bring with them the fairest flower that blooms. The spirits of men advance to the gate by thousands, and they bring each one the flower which he esteems the queen of the garden; but in crowds they are driven from the royal presence, and enter not into the festive halls. Some bear in their hand the deadly nightshade of superstition, or the flaunting poppies of Rome, or the hemlock of self- righteousness, but these are not dear to the King, the bearers are shut out of the pearly gates. My soul, hast thou gathered the rose of Sharon? Dost thou wear the lily of the valley in thy bosom constantly? If so, when thou comest up to the gates of heaven thou wilt know its value, for thou hast only to show this choicest of flowers, and the Porter will open: not for a moment will he deny thee admission, for to that rose the Porter openeth ever. Thou shalt find thy way with the rose of Sharon in thy hand up to the throne of God himself, for heaven itself possesses nothing that excels its radiant beauty, and of all the flowers that bloom in paradise there is none that can rival the lily of the valley. My soul, get Calvary’s blood-red rose into thy hand by faith, by love wear it, by communion preserve it, by daily watchfulness make it thine all in all, and thou shalt be blessed beyond all bliss, happy beyond a dream. Jesus, be mine forever, my God, my heaven, my all.



Love Must Feed on Love

By / Jun 11

“We love him because he first loved us.”
1 John 4:19

There is no light in the planet but that which proceedeth from the sun; and there is no true love to Jesus in the heart but that which cometh from the Lord Jesus himself. From this overflowing fountain of the infinite love of God, all our love to God must spring. This must ever be a great and certain truth, that we love him for no other reason than because he first loved us. Our love to him is the fair offspring of his love to us. Cold admiration, when studying the works of God, anyone may have, but the warmth of love can only be kindled in the heart by God’s Spirit. How great the wonder that such as we should ever have been brought to love Jesus at all! How marvellous that when we had rebelled against him, he should, by a display of such amazing love, seek to draw us back. No! never should we have had a grain of love towards God unless it had been sown in us by the sweet seed of his love to us. Love, then, has for its parent the love of God shed abroad in the heart: but after it is thus divinely born, it must be divinely nourished. Love is an exotic; it is not a plant which will flourish naturally in human soil, it must be watered from above. Love to Jesus is a flower of a delicate nature, and if it received no nourishment but that which could be drawn from the rock of our hearts it would soon wither. As love comes from heaven, so it must feed on heavenly bread. It cannot exist in the wilderness unless it be fed by manna from on high. Love must feed on love. The very soul and life of our love to God is his love to us.

“I love thee, Lord, but with no love of mine,

For I have none to give;

I love thee, Lord; but all the love is thine,

For by thy love I live.

I am as nothing, and rejoice to be

Emptied, and lost, and swallowed up in thee.”



It Will Soon Be Light

By / May 14

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”
Psalm 30:5

Christian! If thou art in a night of trial, think of the morrow; cheer up thy heart with the thought of the coming of thy Lord. Be patient, for

“Lo! He comes with clouds descending.”

Be patient! The Husbandman waits until he reaps his harvest. Be patient; for you know who has said, “Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give to every man according as his work shall be.” If you are never so wretched now, remember

“A few more rolling suns, at most,

Will land thee on fair Canaan’s coast.”

Thy head may be crowned with thorny troubles now, but it shall wear a starry crown ere long; thy hand may be filled with cares–it shall sweep the strings of the harp of heaven soon. Thy garments may be soiled with dust now; they shall be white by-and-by. Wait a little longer. Ah! how despicable our troubles and trials will seem when we look back upon them! Looking at them here in the prospect, they seem immense; but when we get to heaven we shall then

“With transporting joys recount,

The labours of our feet.”

Our trials will then seem light and momentary afflictions. Let us go on boldly; if the night be never so dark, the morning cometh, which is more than they can say who are shut up in the darkness of hell. Do you know what it is thus to live on the future—to live on expectation—to antedate heaven? Happy believer, to have so sure, so comforting a hope. It may be all dark now, but it will soon be light; it may be all trial now, but it will soon be all happiness. What matters it though “weeping may endure for a night,” when “joy cometh in the morning?”



A House For Your Soul

By / May 7

“We dwell in him.”
1 John 4:13

Do you want a house for your soul? Do you ask, “What is the purchase?” It is something less than proud human nature will like to give. It is without money and without price. Ah! you would like to pay a respectable rent! You would love to do something to win Christ? Then you cannot have the house, for it is “without price.” Will you take my Master’s house on a lease for all eternity, with nothing to pay for it, nothing but the ground-rent of loving and serving him forever? Will you take Jesus and “dwell in him?” See, this house is furnished with all you want, it is filled with riches more than you will spend as long as you live. Here you can have intimate communion with Christ and feast on his love; here are tables well-stored with food for you to live on forever; in it, when weary, you can find rest with Jesus; and from it you can look out and see heaven itself. Will you have the house? Ah! if you are houseless, you will say, “I should like to have the house; but may I have it?” Yes; there is the key—the key is, “Come to Jesus.” “But,” you say, “I am too shabby for such a house.” Never mind; there are garments inside. If you feel guilty and condemned, come; and though the house is too good for you, Christ will make you good enough for the house by-and-by. He will wash you and cleanse you, and you will yet be able to sing, “We dwell in him.” Believer: thrice happy art thou to have such a dwelling-place! Greatly privileged thou art, for thou hast a “strong habitation” in which thou art ever safe. And “dwelling in him,” thou hast not only a perfect and secure house, but an everlasting one. When this world shall have melted like a dream, our house shall live, and stand more imperishable than marble, more solid than granite, self-existent as God, for it is God himself—“We dwell in him.”