“The foundation of God standeth sure.” — 2 Timothy 2:19 The foundation upon which our faith rests is this, that “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.” The great fact on which genuine faith relies is, that “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us,” and that “Christ also hath suffered for s…

“Thou art fairer than the children of men.” — Psalm 45:2 The entire person of Jesus is but as one gem, and His life is all along butone impression of the seal. He is altogether complete; not only in Hisseveral parts, but as a gracious all-glorious whole. His character is not amass of fair colours mixed confusedly, nor a heap of precious stones laid…

“Straightway they forsook their nets, and followed Him.” — Mark 1:18 When they heard the call of Jesus, Simon and Andrew obeyed at once without demur. If we would always, punctually and with resolute zeal, put in practice what we hear upon the spot, or at the first fit occasion, our attendance at the means of grace, and our reading of good books, c…

“For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.” — Amos 9:9 Every sifting comes by divine command and permission. Satan must ask leave before he can lay a finger upon Job. Nay, more, in some sense our siftings are directly the work…

“My Beloved is mine, and I am His: He feedeth among the lilies. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my Beloved, and be Thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.” — Song of Solomon 2:16, 17 Surely if there be a happy verse in the Bible it is this — ”My Beloved ismine, and I am His.” So peaceful, so full of assur…

“And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.” — Acts 2:4 Rich were the blessings of this day if all of us were filled with the Holy Ghost. The consequences of this sacred filling of the soul it would be impossible to overestimate. Life, comfort, light, purity, power, peace; and many other precious blessings are inseparable from the Spirit’s benig…

“I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse.” — Song of Solomon 5:1 The heart of the believer is Christ’s garden. He bought it with His precious blood, and He enters it and claims it as His own. A garden implies separation. It is not the open common; it is not a wilderness; it is walled around, or hedged in. Would that we could see the wall of …

“Thy Redeemer.” — Isaiah 54:5 Jesus, the Redeemer, is altogether ours and ours for ever. All the offices ofChrist are held on our behalf. He is king for us, priest for us, and prophetfor us. Whenever we read a new title of the Redeemer, let us appropriateHim as ours under that name as much as under any other. The shepherd’sstaff, the father’s rod, …

“Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it.” — Numbers 21:17 Famous was the well of Beer in the wilderness, because it was the subject of a promise: “That is the well whereof the Lord spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.” The people needed water, and it was promised by their gracious God. We…

“Help, Lord.” — Psalm 12:1 The prayer itself is remarkable, for it is short, but seasonable, sententious, and suggestive. David mourned the fewness of faithful men, and therefore lifted up his heart in supplication — when the creature failed, he flew to the Creator. He evidently felt his own weakness, or he would not have cried for help; but at the…

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” — Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” Here is personal interest, “my light,” “my salvation”; the soul is assured of it, and therefore declares it boldly. Into the soul at the new birth divine light is poured as…

“And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish.” — John 10:28 The Christian should never think or speak lightly of unbelief. For a child of God to mistrust His love, His truth, His faithfulness, must be greatly displeasing to Him. How can we ever grieve Him by doubting His upholding grace? Christian! it is contrary to every promise…

“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, o…

“And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.” — Genesis 21:6 It was far above the power of nature, and even contrary to its laws, that the aged Sarah should be honoured with a son; and even so it is beyond all ordinary rules that I, a poor, helpless, undone sinner, should find grace to bear about in my soul …

“O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face… because we have sinned against Thee.” — Daniel 9:8 A deep sense and clear sight of sin, its heinousness, and the punishment which it deserves, should make us lie low before the throne. We have sinned as Christians. Alas! that it should be so. Favoured as we have been, we have yet been ungrateful: privileg…

“Delight thyself also in the Lord.” — Psalm 37:4 The teaching of these words must seem very surprising to those who are strangers to vital godliness, but to the sincere believer it is only the inculcation of a recognized truth. The life of the believer is here described as a delight in God, and we are thus certified of the great fact that true reli…

“Remove far from me vanity and lies.” — Proverbs 30:8 “O my God, be not far from me.” Psalm 38:21. Here we have two great lessons — what to deprecate and what to supplicate. The happiest state of a Christian is the holiest state. As there is the most heat nearest to the sun, so there is the most happiness nearest to Christ. No Christian enjoys comf…

“Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” — Revelation 22:17 Jesus says, “take freely.” He wants no payment or preparation. He seeks no recommendation from our virtuous emotions. If you have no good feelings, if you be but willing, you are invited; therefore come! You have no belief and no repentance, — come to Him, and He will give …

“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling.” — 2 Timothy 1:9 The apostle uses the perfect tense and says, “Who hath saved us.” Believers in Christ Jesus are saved. They are not looked upon as persons who are in a hopeful state, and may ultimately be saved, but they are already saved. Salvation is not a blessing to be enjoyed upon the dy…

“Thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting.” — Daniel 5:27 It is well frequently to weigh ourselves in the scale of God’s Word. You will find it a holy exercise to read some psalm of David, and, as you meditate upon each verse, to ask yourself, “Can I say this? Have I felt as David felt? Has my heart ever been broken on account of sin,…

“There brake He the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle.” — Psalm 76:3 Our Redeemer’s glorious cry of “It is finished,” was the death-knell of all the adversaries of His people, the breaking of “the and the battle.” Behold the hero of Golgotha using His cross as an anvil, and His woes as a hammer, dashing to shivers bundle …

“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 c…

“They are they which testify of Me.” — John 5:39 Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega of the Bible. He is the constant theme of its sacred pages; from first to last they testify of Him. At the creation we at once discern Him as one of the sacred Trinity; we catch a glimpse of Him in the promise of the woman’s seed; we see Him typified in the ark of …

“We live unto the Lord.” — Romans 14:8 If God had willed it, each of us might have entered heaven at the moment of conversion. It was not absolutely necessary for our preparation for immortality that we should tarry here. It is possible for a man to be taken to heaven, and to be found meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light,…

“Search the Scriptures.” — John 5:39 The Greek word here rendered search signifies a strict, close, diligent, curious search, such as men make when they are seeking gold, or hunters when they are in earnest after game. We must not rest content with having given a superficial reading to a chapter or two, but with the candle of the Spirit we must del…

“The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad.” — Psalm 126:3 Some Christians are sadly prone to look on the dark side of everything, and to dwell more upon what they have gone through than upon what God has done for them. Ask for their impression of the Christian life, and they will describe their continual conflicts, their deep aff…

“Thou shalt see now whether My word shall come to pass unto thee or not.” — Numbers 11:23 God had made a positive promise to Moses that for the space of a whole month He would feed the vast host in the wilderness with flesh. Moses, being overtaken by a fit of unbelief, looks to the outward means, and is at a loss to know how the promise can be fulf…

“There fell down many slain, because the war was of God.” — 1 Chronicles 5:22 Warrior, fighting under the banner of the Lord Jesus, observe this verse with holy joy, for as it was in the days of old so is it now, if the war be of God the victory is sure. The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh could barely muster five an…

“Be zealous.” — Revelation 3:19 If you would see souls converted, if you would hear the cry that “the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord”; if you would place crowns upon the head of the Saviour, and His throne lifted high, then be filled with zeal. For, under God, the way of the world’s conversion must be by the zeal of the…

“Ye that love the Lord hate evil.” — Psalm 97:10 Thou hast good reason to “hate evil,” for only consider what harm it has already wrought thee. Oh, what a world of mischief sin has brought into thy heart! Sin blinded thee so that thou couldst not see the beauty of the Saviour; it made thee deaf so that thou couldst not hear the Redeemer’s tender in…

“Are they Israelites? so am I.” — 2 Corinthians 11:22 We have here A PERSONAL CLAIM, and one that needs proof. The apostle knew that His claim was indisputable, but there are many persons who have no right to the title who yet claim to belong to the Israel of God. If we are with confidence declaring, “So am I also an Israelite,” let us only say it …

“Behold, I am vile.” — Job 40:4 One cheering word, poor lost sinner, for thee! You think you must not come to God because YOU are vile. Now, there is not a saint living on earth but has been made to feel that he is vile. If Job, and Isaiah, and Paul were all obliged to say “I am vile,” oh, poor sinner, wilt thou be ashamed to join in the same confe…

“He that loveth not knoweth not God.” — 1 John 4:8 The distinguishing mark of a Christian is his confidence in the love of Christ, and the yielding of his affections to Christ in return. First, faith sets her seal upon the man by enabling the soul to say with the apostle, “Christ loved me and gave Himself for me.” Then love gives the countersign, a…

“The Lord shut him in.” — Genesis 7:16 Noah was shut in away from all the world by the hand of divine love. The door of electing purpose interposes between us and the world which lieth in the wicked one. We are not of the world even as our Lord Jesus was not of the world. Into the sin, the gaiety, the pursuits of the multitude we cannot enter; we c…

“Received up into glory.” — 1 Timothy 3:16 We have seen our well-beloved Lord in the days of His flesh, humiliated and sore vexed; for He was “despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” He whose brightness is as the morning, wore the sackcloth of sorrow as His daily dress: shame was His mantle, and reproach was His …

“The kindness and love of God our Saviour.” — Titus 3:4 How sweet it is to behold the Saviour communing with His own beloved people! There can be nothing more delightful than, by the Divine Spirit, to be led into this fertile field of delight. Let the mind for an instant consider the history of the Redeemer’s love, and a thousand enchanting acts of…

“He humbled Himself.” — Philippians 2:8 Jesus is the great teacher of lowliness of heart. We need daily to learn of Him. See the Master taking a towel and washing His disciples’ feet! Follower of Christ, wilt thou not humble thyself? See Him as the Servant of servants, and surely thou canst not be proud! Is not this sentence the compendium of His b…

“These were potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work.” — 1 Chronicles 4:23 Potters were the very highest grade of workers, but “the king” needed potters, and therefore they were in royal service, although the material upon which they worked was nothing but clay. We, too, may be engaged in th…

“Good Master.” — Matthew 19:16 If the young man in the gospel used this title in speaking to our Lord, how much more fitly may I thus address Him! He is indeed my Master in both senses, a ruling Master and a teaching Master. I delight to run upon His errands, and to sit at His feet. I am both His servant and His disciple, and count it my highest ho…

“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.” — Galatians 5:17 In every believer’s heart there is a constant struggle between the old nature and the new. The old nature is very active, and loses no opportunity of plying all the weapons of its deadly armoury against newborn grace; while on the other hand, the new natu…

“He will make her wilderness like Eden.” — Isaiah 51:3 Methinks, I see in vision a howling wilderness, a great and terrible desert, like to the Sahara. I perceive nothing in it to relieve the eye, all around I am wearied with a vision of hot and arid sand, strewn with ten thousand bleaching skeletons of wretched men who have expired in anguish, hav…

“The evening and the morning were the first day.” — Genesis 1:5 Was it so even in the beginning? Did light and darkness divide the realm of time in the first day? Then little wonder is it if I have also changes in my circumstances from the sunshine of prosperity to the midnight of adversity. It will not always be the blaze of noon even in my soul c…

“Who healeth all thy diseases.” — Psalm 103:3 Humbling as is the statement, yet the fact is certain, that we are all more or less suffering under the disease of sin. What a comfort to know that we have a great Physician who is both able and willing to heal us! Let us think of Him awhile to-night. His cures are very speedy — there is life in a look …

“The king also himself passed over the brook Kidron.” — 2 Samuel 15:23 David passed that gloomy brook when flying with his mourning companyfrom his traitor son. The man after God’s own heart was not exempt fromtrouble, nay, his life was full of it. He was both the Lord’s Anointed, andthe Lord’s Afflicted. Why then should we expect to escape? At sor…

“That henceforth we should not serve sin.” — Romans 6:6 Christian, what hast thou to do with sin? Hath it not cost thee enough already? Burnt child, wilt thou play with the fire? What! when thou hast already been between the jaws of the lion, wilt thou step a second time into his den? Hast thou not had enough of the old serpent? Did he not poison a…

“Take us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines.” — Song of Solomon 2:15 A little thorn may cause much suffering. A little cloud may hide the sun. Little foxes spoil the vines; and little sins do mischief to the tender heart. These little sins burrow in the soul, and make it so full of that which is hateful to Christ, that He will hold no…

“Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho.” — Joshua 6:26 Since he was cursed who rebuilt Jericho, I much more the man who labours to restore Popery among us. In our fathers’ days the gigantic walls of Popery fell by the power of their faith, the perseverance of their efforts, and the blast of their gospel tr…

“Thou hatest wickedness.” — Psalm 45:7 “Be ye angry, and sin not.” There can hardly be goodness in a man if he be not angry at sin; he who loves truth must hate every false way. How our Lord Jesus hated it when the temptation came! Thrice it assailed Him in different forms, but ever He met it with, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” He hated it in others…

“This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.” — Lamentations 3:21 Memory is frequently the bondslave of despondency. Despairing minds call to remembrance every dark foreboding in the past, and dilate upon every gloomy feature in the present; thus memory, clothed in sackcloth, presents to the mind a cup of mingled gall and wormwood. There is, h…

“Whom He justified, them He also glorified.” — Romans 8:30 Here is a precious truth for thee, believer. Thou mayest be poor, or in suffering, or unknown, but for thine encouragement take a review of thy “calling” and the consequences that flow from it, and especially that blessed result here spoken of. As surely as thou art God’s child today, so su…