Gems for the Week
July 1 - 9
"And the Lord appeared unto him (Abraham). . . my Lord, if now I have found favour in Thy sight, pass not away, I pray Thee from Thy servant." (Genesis 18:1,3)
Abraham does not dread the presence of Jehovah; such fear is the effect of sin. If we have seen the glory of God in Jesus, the divine presence becomes sweet to us; we find there full strength and confidence. To know Him is indeed life eternal, and His presence makes us happy with the deepest possible joy. (J.N. Darby)
N.J. Hiebert # 2296
"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6)
At the cross of Christ, God made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, and "laid on Him the iniquity of us all," numbering our righteous Substitute with the transgressors. It is in virtue of this judgment of sin that God can now freely justify every sinner that believes, and offer to every soul on earth the free forgiveness of all sins in righteousness. It is in virtue of this death of Christ that the one who believes can say with perfect assurance, He bore my sins in His own body on the tree. (A.T. Schofield)
N.J. Hiebert # 2297
"And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ,
whom Thou hast sent." (John 17:3)
WHY do we read the Holy Scriptures? Because they reveal "the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent," and are written for our learning and comfort. To neglect them, therefore, is very serious. The faithful in all ages have been noted for standing for the authority of the sacred writings. Moreover, they give us divine assurance as to the eternal future, as well as sure guidance for every step of the way. (H.H.S.)
N.J. Hiebert # 2298
"Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me: nevertheless not My will, but Thine, be done."
(Luke 22:42)
We stand back in silent wonder at the anguish of Gethsemane that drew blood-like sweat from the Man of Sorrows as He contemplated "this cup." Peering into its sable depths, He knew its loathsome consequence, to be "made sin." In that cup He "saw the place afar off," the "land not inhabited" where He must go to bear away the sin of the world. This was not a battle of two disparate wills, "My will" and "thine," but the blending of two individual wills, eternally in perfect and holy harmony to fulfill the divine purpose, "I come to do Thy will, O God." (J. Boyd Nicholson)
N.J. Hiebert # 2299
"God . . . gives songs in the night." (Job 35:10)
Many of our hymns were born in the crucible of life's trials. An anonymous poet has written:
Many a rapturous minstrel Among the sons of light,
Will say of his sweetest music, "I learned it in the night."
And many a rolling anthem That fills the Father's throne,
Sobbed out its first rehearsal In the shade of a darkened room.
Fanny Crosby's hymns have strengthened and nurtured millions of believers around the world. She was incredibly prolific, composing over 6,000 hymns, with some 3,000 of them published. How enriched has been our singing and experience with such standards as "Blessed Assurance," "Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross," "Tell Me the Story of Jesus," and "To God Be the Glory." Fanny Crosby did her composing in a dark room. Total darkness - for she was blind. But God lit a light in her mind and soul that enabled her to see and share "rivers of pleasure" and "visions of rapture." God gave her songs that will shine on through eternity.
Joseph Scriven wrote twenty four lines to comfort his mother during a time of serious illness when he could not go to her. He sent his poem with the prayer that it would remind her of her never-failing Friend. The poem was later put to music, and we know it today as "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." God gave him a comforting song in the night.
One of our most inspiring hymns is George Matheson's "O Love that will not let me go."
O light that followest all my way, I yield my flickering torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray, That in Thy sunshine's blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.
Matheson, a blind preacher, says of his composition, "This hymn was the fruit of a mental suffering. The lyric came to me spontaneously without conscious effort." God gave him a radiant song in the night.
Are you going through your own dark night of the soul? If so, listen carefully and prayerfully. God has a special song for you. (Portraits of Perseverance - Henry Gariepy)
N.J. Hiebert # 2300
"As Jannes and Jambres (opposed) Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith." (2 Timothy 3:8)
There were only three things in which the magicians of Egypt were able to imitate the servants of the true and living God, Namely, in turning their rods into serpents (Genesis 1:12), turning the water into blood (7:22), and bringing up the frogs (8:7); but in the fourth, which involved the exhibition of life, in connection with the display of nature's humiliation, they were totally confounded, and obliged to own, "This is the finger of God." (8:16-19) Thus it is also with the latter-day resisters of the truth. All that they do is by the direct energy of Satan, and lies within the range of his power. Moreover, its specific object is to "resist the truth." (C.H. Mackintosh)
N.J. Hiebert # 2301
"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so come, Lord Jesus."
(Revelation 22:20)
Whatever the mind is most fixed upon, and is ever turning to, gives its impress to the mind; if my feelings and thoughts are fixed on Christ, I get the impress of Christ. If I am ever turning to Him in all His heavenly measure of love, I shall get the impress of it; and if my soul then rises to Christ in that freshness of love which can say, "Come, Lord Jesus," there is His answer in all freshness, "Surely I come quickly." He does not forget us toiling through the wilderness and the sands of the desert; He is with us all the way, and all freshness is in Him. If the heart turns to the heart of Christ, the heart of the Son of God, I find that heart immeasurably fuller than mine of love - there, there is always freshness of love. I may be a wayworn pilgrim, there I shall find freshness - a spring of cold water to refresh me just when fainting in the wilderness. Oh, that love in the heart of Christ, that knows no weariness, no dragging steps, no hanging down of the hands! I may always turn to Him, and say, "Come!" His heart can always answer, "Surely I come quickly." Oh, the freshness of Christ's love, and the brightness of that water forever flowing in incomparable purity and freshness!" (G.V. Wigram)
N.J. Hiebert # 2302
"As He is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:17)
"Nine simple words, but they speak of the profound blessing of all believers. They are among the most wonderful words in the whole of the Word of God.
"As He is." As Christ IS. He has endured the wrath and judgment. He has died. He lives again. He is past all the suffering and woe which He endured for us. He sits at God's right hand in the fullest favour of God.
"As He is, so are we." His place is our place through God's wondrous goodness. The believer is accepted in the same acceptance in which Christ is accepted. . . . Is He in the full favour of God? "So are we." Is He in nearness and relationship with God as Father? "So are we."
"As He is, so are we in this world." Yes! the blessing is ours now. Not only will it be ours when we reach the glory of God, but it is ours "in this world." Already God would have us to enjoy the boundless privilege. He writes by His servant to tell us of the blessing in order that our joy may be full, and that we may be set free from every fear and be able to delight before His face. (Selected)
N.J. Hiebert # 2303
"In every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing. For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come." (1 Thessalonians 1:8-10)
Do we really expect, wait for, the return of our Lord? Is this our constant attitude of soul? Just as a man may read the Scriptures and, seeing clearly, assent to the truth that all are guilty sinners, and yet never take the place of such before God for himself, so is it possible to hold the doctrine of the second coming of Christ without being influenced by it. Indeed, we might be able even to state the truth to others without one particle of response to its claims. We need to challenge ourselves on this point. Are we then, we ask again, in the power of the expectation of seeing our blessed Lord? Is this blessed hope daily before our souls? Does it govern our actions? mold our conduct? Does it detach us from the world and worldliness? show us the vanity of the world's distinctions, manners, and ways? (Edward Dennett))
N.J. Hiebert # 2304
