Bible Heaven/Bible Heaven.iso/online/mhcc21/v23500

Text File | 1994-03-02 | 7KB | 128 lines

23502
 #23-28 Bodily distempers soon weaken our strength, then what can
 we expect but that our months should be cut off in the midst;
 and what should we do but provide accordingly? We must own God's
 hand in it; and must reconcile this to his love, for often those
 that have used their strength well, have it weakened; and those
 who, as we think, can very ill be spared, have their days
 shortened. It is very comfortable, in reference to all the
 changes and dangers of the church, to remember that Jesus Christ
 is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. And in reference to
 the death of our bodies, and the removal of friends, to remember
 that God is an everlasting God. Do not let us overlook the
 assurance this psalm contains of a happy end to all the
 believer's trials. Though all things are changing, dying,
 perishing, like a vesture folding up and hastening to decay, yet
 Jesus lives, and thus all is secure, for he hath said, Because I
 live ye shall live also.
23508
 * An exhortation to bless God for his mercy. (1-5) And to the
 church and to all men. (6-14) For the constancy of his mercy.
 (15-18) For the government of the world. (19-22)

 #1-5 By the pardon of sin, that is taken away which kept good
 things from us, and we are restored to the favour of God, who
 bestows good things on us. Think of the provocation; it was sin,
 and yet pardoned: how many the provocations, yet all pardoned!
 God is still forgiving, as we are still sinning and repenting.
 The body finds the melancholy consequences of Adam's offence, it
 is subject to many infirmities, and the soul also. Christ alone
 forgives all our sins; it is he alone who heals all our
 infirmities. And the person who finds his sin cured, has a
 well-grounded assurance that it is forgiven. When God, by the
 graces and comforts of his Spirit, recovers his people from
 their decays, and fills them with new life and joy, which is to
 them an earnest of eternal life and joy, they may then be said
 to return to the days of their youth, #Job 33:25|.

23513
 #6-14 Truly God is good to all: he is in a special manner good
 to Israel. He has revealed himself and his grace to them. By his
 ways we may understand his precepts, the ways he requires us to
 walk in; and his promises and purposes. He always has been full
 of compassion. How unlike are those to God, who take every
 occasion to chide, and never know when to cease! What would
 become of us, if God should deal so with us? The Scripture says
 a great deal of the mercy of God, and we all have experienced
 it. The father pities his children that are weak in knowledge,
 and teaches them; pities them when they are froward, and bears
 with them; pities them when they are sick, and comforts them;
 pities them when they are fallen, and helps them to rise; pities
 them when they have offended, and, upon their submission,
 forgives them; pities them when wronged, and rights them: thus
 the Lord pities those that fear him. See why he pities. He
 considers the frailty of our bodies, and the folly of our souls,
 how little we can do, how little we can bear; in all which his
 compassion appears.

23522
 #15-18 How short is man's life, and uncertain! The flower of the
 garden is commonly more choice, and will last the longer, for
 being sheltered by the garden-wall, and the gardener's care; but
 the flower of the field, to which life is here compared, is not
 only withering in itself, but exposed to the cold blasts, and
 liable to be cropped and trod on by the beasts of the field. Such
 is man. God considers this, and pities him; let him consider it
 himself. God's mercy is better than life, for it will outlive
 it. His righteousness, the truth of his promise, shall be unto
 children's children, who tread in the footsteps of their
 forefathers' piety. Then shall mercy be preserved to them.

23526
 #19-22 He who made all, rules all, and both by a word of power.
 He disposes all persons and things to his own glory. There is a
 world of holy angels who are ever praising him. Let all his
 works praise him. Such would have been our constant delight, if
 we had not been fallen creatures. Such it will in a measure
 become, if we are born of God. Such it will be for ever in
 heaven; nor can we be perfectly happy till we can take unwearied
 pleasure in perfect obedience to the will of our God. And let
 the feeling of each redeemed heart be, Bless the Lord, O my
 soul.
23530
 * God's majesty in the heavens, The creation of the sea, and the
 dry land. (1-9) His provision for all creatures. (10-18) The
 regular course of day and night, and God's sovereign power over
 all the creatures. (19-30) A resolution to continue praising
 God. (31-35)

 #1-9 Every object we behold calls on us to bless and praise the
 Lord, who is great. His eternal power and Godhead are clearly
 shown by the things which he hath made. God is light, and in him
 is no darkness at all. The Lord Jesus, the Son of his love, is
 the Light of the world.

23539
 #10-18 When we reflect upon the provision made for all
 creatures, we should also notice the natural worship they render
 to God. Yet man, forgetful ungrateful man, enjoys the largest
 measure of his Creator's kindness. the earth, varying in
 different lands. Nor let us forget spiritual blessings; the
 fruitfulness of the church through grace, the bread of
 everlasting life, the cup of salvation, and the oil of gladness.
 Does God provide for the inferior creatures, and will he not be
 a refuge to his people?

23548
 #19-30 We are to praise and magnify God for the constant
 succession of day and night. And see how those are like to the
 wild beasts, who wait for the twilight, and have fellowship with
 the unfruitful works of darkness. Does God listen to the
 language of mere nature, even in ravenous creatures, and shall
 he not much more interpret favourably the language of grace in
 his own people, though weak and broken groanings which cannot be
 uttered? There is the work of every day, which is to be done in
 its day, which man must apply to every morning, and which he
 must continue in till evening; it will be time enough to rest
 when the night comes, in which no man can work. The psalmist
 wonders at the works of God. The works of art, the more closely
 they are looked upon, the more rough they appear; the works of
 nature appear more fine and exact. They are all made in wisdom,
 for they all answer the end they were designed to serve. Every
 spring is an emblem of the resurrection, when a new world rises,
 as it were, out of the ruins of the old one. But man alone lives
 beyond death. When the Lord takes away his breath, his soul
 enters on another state, and his body will be raised, either to
 glory or to misery. May the Lord send forth his Spirit, and
 new-create our souls to holiness.