More Gold from Thomas Brooks

“Men must not seek to resist Satan’s craft with craft, but by open defiance. He shoots with Satan in his own bow, who thinks by disputing and reasoning to put him off. As soon as a temptation shows his face, say to the temptation, as Ephraim to his idols, ‘Get you hence, what have I any more to do with you?’ (Hosea 14. 8). Oh! say to the temptation, as David said to the sons of Zeruiah, ‘What have I to do with you?’ (2 Sam. 16. 10). You will be too hard for me. He that doth thus resist temptations, shall never be undone by temptations.

Make strong and constant resistance against Satan’s temptations. Make resistance against temptations by arguments drawn from the honour of God, the love of God, your union and communion with God; and from the blood of Christ, the death of Christ, the kindness of Christ, the intercession of Christ, and the glory of Christ; and from the voice of the Spirit, the counsel of the Spirit, the comforts of the Spirit, the presence of the Spirit, the seal of the Spirit, the whisperings of the Spirit, the commands of the Spirit, the assistance of the Spirit, the witness of the Spirit; and from the glory of heaven, the excellency of grace, the beauty of holiness, the worth of the soul, and the vileness or bitterness and evil of sin, the last sin being a greater evil than the greatest temptation of the world.

And look that you make constant resistance, as well as strong resistance; be constant in arms. Satan will come on with new temptations when old ones are too weak. In a calm prepare for a storm. The tempter is restless, impudent, and subtle; he will suit his temptations to your constitutions and inclinations. Satan loves to sail with the wind. If your knowledge be weak, he will tempt you to error; if your conscience be tender, he will tempt you to scrupulosity and too much preciseness, as to do nothing but hear, pray, and read; if your consciences be wide and large, he will tempt you to carnal security; if you are bold-spirited, he will tempt you to presumption; if timorous, to desperation; if flexible , to inconstancy; if proud and stiff, to gross folly; therefore still fit for fresh assaults, make one victory a step to another. When you have overcome a temptation, take heed of unbending your bow, and look well to it, that your bow be always bent, and that it remains strength. When you have overcome one temptation, you must be ready to enter the list with another. As distrust in some sense is the mother of safety, so security is the gate of danger. A man had need to fear this most of all, that he fears not at all. If Satan be always roaring, we should be always a-watching and resisting him. And certainly he that makes strong and constant resistance of Satan’s temptations, shall in the end get above his temptations, and for the present is secure enough from being ruined by his temptations.

For a close of this, remember, that it is dangerous to yield to the least sin to be rid of the greatest temptation. To take this course were as if a man should think to wash himself clean ink, or as if a man should exchange a light cross, made of paper, for an iron cross, which is heavy, toilsome, and bloody. The least sin set home upon the conscience, will more wound, vex, and oppress the soul, than all the temptations in the world can; therefore never yield to the least sin to be rid of the greatest temptation.”

May this excerpt find you strength to press on in the race, for which the ultimate reward is our Lord Jesus Christ.

A Remedy from Thomas Brooks

Remedy (6). The sixth remedy against this device of Satan is, solemnly to consider, That believers must repent for their being discouraged by their sins. Their being discouraged by their sins will cost them many a prayer, many a tear, and many a groan; and that because their discouragements under sin flow from ignorance and unbelief. It springs from their ignorance of the richness, freeness, fullness, and everlastingness of God’s love; and from their ignorance of the power, glory, sufficiency, and efficacy of the death and sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ; and from their ignorance of the worth, glory, fullness, largeness, and completeness of the righteousness of Jesus Christ; and from their ignorance of that real, close, spiritual, glorious, and inseparable union that is between Christ and their precious souls. Ah! did precious souls know and believe the truth of these things as they should, they would not sit down dejected and overwhelmed under the sense and operation of sin.

May this remedy find you joy, hope, and endurance.

The Singer Phil Wickham and the Prophet Isaiah

In Your City

oh the glorious day when we arrive
and heavens gates are open wide
all our fear and pain will fade away
when we see You face to face
our great and awesome King
You will reign in brilliant light
forever glorified in Your city
we, Your daughters and Your sons
will see the Kingdom come in Your city
love will reign and joy will have no end
when the saints go marching in
God we pray that You come soon
we were made to be with You
our great and awesome King
when we’ve been there for ten thousand years
our song will be the same
praise to the one who has brought us here
Jesus is His Name, Jesus is His Name

“The sun shall be no more
your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
give you light;
but the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
Your sun shall no more go down,
nor your moon withdraw itself;
for the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your days of mourning shall be ended.” – Isaiah 60: 19-20

Luther’s Commentary on Galatians 3:2. Plus my own Thoughts.

“Believers find in their own experience how gladly they would hold and embrace the Word when they hear it and thus abandon this idea of the law and their own righteousness; but they feel in their bodies a great resistance against the Spirit. There is continual conflict in believers between believing what they have heard and observing the law. The conscience is always complaining that this is too easy a way. But once you have tried it properly, tell me how easy it is to believe what you have heard. He who gives is indeed great; moreover, he gives great things willingly and freely and does not upbraid people with them. But your capacity is limited, and your faith is weak, so that you are often unable to receive this gift. However much your conscience accuses you, and however often this “must” comes into your mind, stand fast and hold out until you overcome it. As faith increases little by little, that idea of the righteousness of the law will diminish. But this cannot happen without great conflict.“

Brothers and sisters. Let not Satan, nor demon, nor false teacher, nor your own conscience produce such utter heaviness, fear, terror, and guilt in your heart that leads you astray from the belief that salvation comes from something other than Jesus Christ. He is your salvation. He is your comfort. Simply rest in the belief of the righteousness of the blood of the Lamb that was slain. This is your justification. This is your salvation.

When the enemy comes to you and tries to convince you otherwise by terrorizing your mind, filling it with guilt, clouding your vision of Christ, fills your heart and mind with great heaviness of condemnation, you slit his throat, you shove it back into his face, your cry with a loud voice that Christ is your comforter, that Christ is your salvation. It is he and he alone that judges you, and he has deemed to pass his righteousness onto you. You flee to Christ. You tell your great enemy to STICK IT.  You tell that enemy that your sins are DEAD. They were put to DEATH by Christ. You tell that enemy of yours that HE HAS LOST THE BATTLE AND THAT CHRIST HAS REIGN VICTORIOUS. You tell that enemy that you have been crucified with Christ and it is now Christ that lives in you. You tell that enemy that he has lost all power and dominion over you and that Christ is your master. You WAGE WAR WITH THAT ENEMY.

You live by faith. Rest in the comfort of faith. Rest in that Christ has died for you. Christ has transformed you. Christ will continue to transform you. Christ has opened your eyes.

Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12:2) Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Heb 11:1) And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Heb. 11:6) Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Phil. 2:12-13) Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with a joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. (1 Peter 1:8)

This is the God we Serve

I was reading this in my car during lunch time today and it blew me away.

“I. There is but one only, living, and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions; immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute; working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will, for His own glory; most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him; and withal, most just, and terrible in His judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty.

II. God has all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of Himself; and is alone in and unto Himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creatures which He has made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting His own glory in, by, unto, and upon them. He is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things; and has most sovereign dominion over them, to do by them, for them, or upon them whatsoever Himself pleases. In His sight all things are open and manifest, His knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature, so as nothing is to Him contingent, or uncertain. He is most holy in all His counsels, in all His works, and in all His commands. To Him is due from angels and men, and every other creature, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience He is pleased to require of them.

III. In the unity of the Godhead there be three Persons of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.” – Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 2: Of God, and the Holy Trinity

This is the God we serve. This is the God we serve who gave up his only Son to die for our sin so that we may be crucified with him and that he would reign in us. This is the God we serve that forgives us of all faithlessness we have. This is the God we serve that forgives us of every impure thought we have. This is the God we serve that forgives us each time we get drunk. This is the God we serve that forgives us each time we curse our roommate. This is the God we serve that forgives us each time we disrespect a girl. This is the God we serve that forgives us each time we curse him. This is the God we serve that forgives us each time we are impatient with him. This is the God we serve that picks us up each time we deliberately run away from him and falls down. This is the God we serve:

“Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD,
or what man shows him his counsel?
Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
Who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?
Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted as the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.
Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
All the nations are as nothing before him,
they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?” – Isaiah 40:9-18

Sticking in Galatians

“but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” – Psalm 1:2

Although I do try to read through the whole Bible once a year, I’v been convicted that merely hitting four sections of the Bible daily and checking off selected readings for that day, just doesn’t satisfy my hunger. Actually it’s because I need more than just a few pieces of Scripture a day, because if I don’t get more, I’ll easily fall by the waste side. Also I feel it very important to pick somewhere in the Bible and nestle down right in it, swim in it, meditate over it, digest it, sleep it in it, walk in it, learn from it, understand it. I mean truly dedicating yourself to the text. Understanding why the Book or Letter was written. Who wrote it. The context of the verses. I mean really digging down into and truly figuring out what’s going on in it. Truly becoming experts in the text. I mean dedicating MONTHS to the text. Not merely reading it over a few times, but to sit down and study the text. Read the notes from your study Bible. Read commentaries on the text (read MULTIPLE commentaries). Read and listen to sermons on the text. For your complete joy in God and for his complete glory. I think it is very important that you do this IN CONJUNCTION with completing the whole Bible in a year. Why? Because if you just stick in one place for a very long time you miss out on the completeness of salvation, which is seen throughout THE WHOLE BIBLE. To put it simply – there are many books and letters in the Bible, you MUST read them all. On the flip side if you just focus on trying to just get through the Bible, you’ll be left hungering for more and you won’t learn and fully satisfy yourself. You’ll become shallow and won’t gain a true and satisfying understanding of the Bible. So in my conclusion I think that doing both together in your daily quiet time is a good thing.

 

So grab a few Godly commentaries and start reading. RE-READ the Scripture before you go to the notes and the commentaries.

For me, I’m hanging in Galatians for awhile.

Commentaries: Martin Luther, John Calvin, Matthew Henry, Charles Spurgeon, etc.

 

HYMN: Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Save from wrath and make me pure.

Not the labor of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyes shall close in death,
When I rise to worlds unknown,
And behold Thee on Thy throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee. – Augustus M. Toplady

What Else Can I Do?

I’ve had enough to break me in two
To tear me apart
What am I to do?
What else can I do?

So sing me a song
Let me hum along
At the top of my lungs
I come undone
What else can I do?
What can I do?

BOOK REVIEW: The Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended, and Documented

A great introductory book to the Five Points of Calvinism. This book is totally worth buying just for the second chapter where it defends each point which just loads of Scripture – no bias, no opinions – just Scripture.

The Appendix of the book is another huge reason to buy this book.

Clear and concise. A great handbook to Calvinism.

HYMN: What Wondrous Love is This

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb, I will sing.
To God and to the Lamb Who is the great “I Am”;
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing;
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on.
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be;
And through eternity, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And through eternity, I’ll sing on. – Alexander Means