Nick Roark's Blog, page 15

“He concentrates all the light and warmth of His affection upon us” by Geerhardus Vos

“This divine declaration, ‘I have loved thee with an everlasting love’ (31:3), is by no means from Jeremiah’s standpoint the commonplace which our over-familiarity with that attribute, not seldom at the expense of due regard for other attributes in the nature of God, has made it.

The prophet means to describe by this term something quite extraordinary, something well-nigh inconceivable, a supreme wonder in that land of wonders which religion can never cease to be.

Love is to him the highest form of the spiritual embrace of person by person.

To ascribe it to God in connection with a creature is at the farthest remove from being a figure of speech.

It means that in the most literal sense He concentrates all the light and warmth of His affection, all the prodigious wealth of its resources, His endless capacity of delight, upon the heart-to-heart union between the pious and Himself.

And what God for His part brings into this union has a generosity, a sublime abandon, an absoluteness, that, measured by human analogies, we can only designate as the highest and purest type of devotion.

It is named love for this very reason, that God puts into it His heart and soul and mind and strength, and gathers all His concerns with His people into the focus of this one desire.

It is when speaking of this that Scripture employs its boldest anthropomorphisms.

Here nothing but the absolute and unqualified are in place.

He who would give God less than this total by a mere fraction would give Him nothing at all.”

–Geerhardus Vos, “Jeremiah’s Plaint and Its Answer,” Redemptive History and Biblical Interpretation: Shorter Writings of Geerhardus Vos (ed. Richard B. Gaffin Jr.; Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing, 2001), 296. Vos is commenting on God’s words in Jeremiah 31:3, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.”

“Those three hours” by Thomas Goodwin

“‘He took on him the form of a servant,’ (Phil. 2:7).

And such a servant He was, as was not to have been hired amongst all the creatures. They all could not do the work that He did; ‘The government of the whole world is upon His shoulders,’ (Isa. 9:6).

He easeth His Father of it for the present, and when He hath brought Him in infinite revenues of glory, He will at last ‘deliver up the kingdom to Him,’ (1 Cor. 15:24), with a greater surplusage than else would have been had out of that begun course of providence taken up at the creation.

And if you will not reckon that as part of satisfaction, yet consider the service He did in the priest’s office, wherein God acknowledged Him His servant.

He dispatched more work in those thirty-three years wherein He lived, yea, in those three hours wherein He suffered, than ever was or will be done by all creatures to eternity.

It was a good six-days work when the world was made; and He had a principal hand in that, neither hath He been idle since; ‘I and my Father work hitherto,’ says Christ, (John 5:17).

But that three hours’ work upon the cross, was more than all the other. Eternity will not have more done in it, than virtually was done in those three hours; so as that small space of time was τὸ νῦν æternitatis (‘the now of eternity‘).

As they say of eternity, that it is all time contracted into an instant, so was all time, past, and to come, into those few hours, and the merit of them. For He then made work for the Spirit, and indeed for all the three persons, unto eternity.

He then did that which the Spirit is writing out in grace and glory forever, yea, and all that ever was or will be done towards the saints, was then perfected:

‘He perfected for ever them that are sanctified, by that one offering,’ ‘But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;’ ‘For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.’ (Hebrews 10:12, 14)”

–Thomas Goodwin, The Works of Thomas Goodwin, Volume 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage, 1863/2006), 5: 102-103.

“Blessed be the day on which Psalm 23 was born” by Charles Spurgeon

“David has left no sweeter Psalm than the short twenty-third.

The twenty-third Psalm is the nightingale of the Psalms. It is small, of a homely feather, singing shyly out of obscurity.

But, oh! It has filled the air of the whole world with melodious joy, greater than the heart can conceive.

Blessed be the day on which that Psalm was born!

What would you say of a pilgrim commissioned of God to travel up and down the earth singing a strange melody, which, when one heard, caused him to forget whatever sorrow he had?

And so the singing angel goes on his way through all lands, singing in the language of every nation, driving away trouble by the pulses of the air which his tongue moves with divine power. Behold just such an one!

This pilgrim God has sent to speak in every language on the globe.

It has charmed more griefs to rest than all the philosophy of the world.

It has remanded to their dungeon more felon thoughts, more black doubts, more thieving sorrows, than there are sands on the sea-shore.

It has comforted the noble host of the poor.

It has sung courage to the army of the disappointed.

It has poured balm and consolation into the heart of the sick, of captives in dungeons, of widows in their pinching griefs, of orphans in their loneliness.

Dying soldiers have died easier as it was read to them; ghastly hospitals have been illuminated.

It has visited the prisoner, and broken his chains, and, like Peter’s angel, led him forth in imagination, and sung him back to his home again.

It has made the dying Christian slave freer than his master, and consoled those whom, dying, he left behind mourning, not so much that he was gone, as because they were left behind, and could not go too.

Nor is its work done.

It will go singing to your children and my children, and to their children, through all the generations of time; nor will it fold its wings till the last pilgrim is safe, and time ended.

And then it shall fly back to the bosom of God, whence it issued, and sound on, mingled with all those sounds of celestial joy which make heaven musical forever.”

–Charles H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalms 1-26, vol. 1 (London: Marshall Brothers, n.d.), 1: 357. Spurgeon is quoting Henry Ward Beecher commenting on Psalm 23.

“Christ crucified is God’s ordinance for doing good to men” by J.C. Ryle

“The cross is the foundation of a church’s prosperity. No church will ever be honored in which Christ crucified is not continually lifted up: nothing whatever can make up for the want of the cross.

Without it all things may be done decently and in order.

Without it there may be splendid ceremonies, beautiful music, gorgeous churches, learned ministers, crowded communion tables, huge collections for the poor.

But without the cross no good will be done.

Dark hearts will not be enlightened, proud hearts will not be humbled, mourning hearts will not be comforted, fainting hearts will not be cheered.

Sermons about the catholic church and an apostolic ministry, sermons about baptism and the Lord’s Supper, sermons about unity and schism, sermons about fasts and communion, sermons about fathers and saints– such sermons will never make up for the absence of sermons about the cross of Christ.

They may amuse some: they will feed none.

A gorgeous banqueting room, and splendid gold plate on the table, will never make up to a hungry man for the want of food.

Christ crucified is God’s ordinance for doing good to men.

Whenever a church keeps back Christ crucified, or puts anything whatever in that foremost place which Christ crucified should always have, from that moment a church ceases to be useful.

Without Christ crucified in her pulpits, a church is little better than a dead carcass, a well without water, a barren fig tree, a sleeping watchman, a silent trumpet, a dumb witness, an ambassador without terms of peace, a messenger without tidings, a lighthouse without fire, a stumbling-block to weak believers, a comfort to infidels, a hot-bed for formalism, a joy to the devil, and an offense to God.”

–J.C. Ryle, Old Paths: Being Plain Statements of Some of the Weightier Matters of Christianity (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1898/1999), 242.

“The preaching that the Holy Ghost delights to bless” by J.C. Ryle

“The cross is the strength of a minister.

I for one would not be without it for all the world.

Without the cross, I should feel like a soldier without arms, like an artist without his pencil, like a pilot without his compass, like a labourer without his tools.

Let others, if they will, preach the law and morality.

Let others hold forth the terrors of hell, and the joys of heaven.

Let others drench their congregations with teachings about the sacraments and the church.

Give me the cross of Christ!

This is the only lever which has ever turned the world upside down hitherto, and made men forsake their sins.

And if this will not, nothing will.

A man may begin preaching with a perfect knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.

But he will do little or no good among his hearers unless he knows something of the cross.

Never was there a minister who did much for the conversion of souls who did not dwell much on Christ crucified.

Luther, Rutherford, Whitefield, M’Cheyne, were all most eminently preachers of the cross.

This is the preaching that the Holy Ghost delights to bless.

He loves to honor those who honor the cross.”

–J.C. Ryle, Old Paths: Being Plain Statements of Some of the Weightier Matters of Christianity (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1898/1999), 240-241.

“All Christians ought to glory in the cross” by J.C. Ryle

“And now, will you marvel that I said all Christians ought to glory in the cross?

Will you not rather wonder that any can hear of the cross and remain unmoved?

I declare I know no greater proof of man’s depravity, than the fact that thousands of so-called Christians see nothing in the cross.

Well may our hearts be called stony, —well may the eyes of our mind be called blind, —well may our whole nature be called diseased, —well may we all be called dead, when the cross of Christ is heard of and yet neglected.

Surely we may take up the words of the prophet, and say, “Hear, O heavens, and be astonished O earth; a wonderful and a horrible thing is done!”

Christ was crucified for sinners, and yet many Christians live as if He was never crucified at all!”

–J.C. Ryle, Old Paths: Being Plain Statements of Some of the Weightier Matters of Christianity (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1898/1999), 240.

“When Satan tempts us to doubt” by J.C. Ryle

“Would I gather arguments for hoping that I shall never be cast away?

Where shall I go to find them?

Shall I look at my own graces and gifts?

Shall I take comfort in my own faith, and love, and penitence, and zeal, and prayer?

Shall I turn to my own heart, and say, “this same heart will never be false and cold”?

Oh, no! God forbid!

I will look at the cross of Christ.

This is my grand argument.

This is my main stay.

I cannot think that He who went through such sufferings to redeem my soul, will let that soul perish after all, when it has once cast itself on Him.

Oh, no! what Jesus paid for, Jesus will surely keep.

He paid dearly for it.

He will not let it easily be lost.

He called me to Himself when I was a dark sinner: He will never forsake me after I have believed.

When Satan tempts us to doubt whether Christ’s people will be kept from falling, we should tell Satan to look at the cross.”

–J.C. Ryle, Old Paths: Being Plain Statements of Some of the Weightier Matters of Christianity (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1898/1999), 239-240.

“There is no school for learning contentment that can be compared with the foot of the cross” by J.C. Ryle

“Would I learn how to be contented and cheerful under all the cares and anxieties of life?

What school shall I go to?

How shall I attain this state of mind most easily?

Shall I look at the sovereignty of God, the wisdom of God, the providence of God, the love of God?

It is well to do so.

But I have a better argument still.

I will look at the cross of Christ.

I feel that “He who spared not His only-begotten Son, but delivered Him up to die for me, will surely with Him give me all things” that I really need. (Rom. 8:32)

He that endured such agony, sufferings, and pain for my soul, will surely not withhold from me anything that is really good.

He that has done the greater things for me, will doubtless do the lesser things also.

He that gave His own blood to procure me a home in heaven, will unquestionably supply me with all that is really profitable for me by the way.

There is no school for learning contentment that can be compared with the foot of the cross!”

–J.C. Ryle, Old Paths: Being Plain Statements of Some of the Weightier Matters of Christianity (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1898/1999), 237-240.

“None ought to be so holy as the disciples of a crucified Lord” by J.C. Ryle

“Would I find strong reasons for being a holy man?

Whither shall I turn for them?

Shall I listen to the Ten Commandments merely?

Shall I study the examples given me in the Bible of what grace can do?

Shall I meditate on the rewards of heaven, and the punishments of hell?

Is there no stronger motive still?

Yes: I will look at the cross of Christ!

There I see the love of Christ constraining me to “live not unto myself, but unto Him.”

There I see that I am not my own now: I am “bought with a price.” (2 Cor. 5:15; 1 Cor. 6:20)

I am bound by the most solemn obligations to glorify Jesus with body and spirit, which are His.

There I see that Jesus gave Himself for me, not only to redeem me from all iniquity, but also to purify me, and to make me one of a “peculiar people, zealous of good works.” (Titus 2:14)

He bore my sins in His own body on the tree, “that I being dead unto sin should live unto righteousness.” (1 Pet. 2:24)

There is nothing so sanctifying as a clear view of the cross of Christ!

It crucifies the world unto us, and us unto the world.

How can we love sin when we remember that because of our sins Jesus died?

Surely none ought to be so holy as the disciples of a crucified Lord.”

–J.C. Ryle, Old Paths: Being Plain Statements of Some of the Weightier Matters of Christianity (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1898/1999), 238-239.

“The sight of Jesus dying for me on the accursed tree” by J.C. Ryle

“Would I know the fulness and completeness of the salvation God has provided for sinners?

Where shall I see it most distinctly?

Shall I go to the general declarations in the Bible about God’s mercy?

Shall I rest in the general truth that God is a “God of love”?

Oh, no! I will look at the cross of Christ.

I find no evidence like that.

I find no balm for a sore conscience and a troubled heart, like the sight of Jesus dying for me on the accursed tree.

There I see that a full payment has been made for all my enormous debts.

The curse of that law which I have broken has come down on One who there suffered in my stead.

The demands of that law are all satisfied.

Payment has been made for me, even to the uttermost farthing.

It will not be required twice over.

Ah, I might sometimes imagine I was too bad to be forgiven!

My own heart sometimes whispers that I am too wicked to be saved.

But I know in my better moments this is all my foolish unbelief.

I read an answer to my doubts in the blood shed on Calvary.

I feel sure that there is a way to heaven for the very vilest of men, when I look at the cross.”

–J.C. Ryle, Old Paths: Being Plain Statements of Some of the Weightier Matters of Christianity (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1898/1999), 238.