God's Covenant of Grace

An Unsound Heart

2008-02-18T21:14:00.000-08:00

"'The heart of a wicked man is little worth' Proverbs 10:20

"Sound actions cannot spring from a corrupt heart, so more than sweet water from a bitter fountain. He that considers not how his heart stands, whether it were wound up, whether it were in tune, whether it were melted, or whether it were frozen, that doth not care how drowsy and unsavoury his spirit was, doth not anything as a friend to Christ" (Stephen Charnock, Works, Vol. 4, pg. 590)

A Puritan's Exhortation to Witnessing

2008-02-17T14:02:00.000-08:00

"Woe to us, that we know so much to so little purpose; that we should be bushels to hide, and not candlesticks that hold forth the candle of the Lord which He has lit up in us! Oh, how many dark souls may might our candle lead onto the sun! The light that is in Israeel might do much to turn Egypt into a Goshen. Speak , Christians; speak what you have seen, and testify what you believe; bring forth out of your treasure; pity the blind world, or at least be more helpful to one another. Instruct as you have been instructed; convince as you have been convinced, comfort as you have been comforted by God" (Richard Alleine, Heaven Opened, pg 98).

A Puritan's Look at Sin

2008-01-29T21:24:00.000-08:00

"The Psalmist in the fourteenth Psalm notably sets forth the corrupt estate of man by nature; and again he sets it forth in the fifty-third Psalm almost in the same words, pointing out to us the great necessity and utility of this doctrine, which admirably tends to undeceive and deliver us from that fascinating (i.e. overinflated) opinion of our own righteousness and worthiness, which too much charms the hearts of all men; and withal to prepare and make us ready to accept a cure from Christ and his regenerating grace" pg 52, Works of Edward Polhill

In this always remember what the Lord says in 1 John 2:1-2:
"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."
Increase our faith in this precious promise and truth.

Some Help From Thomas Manton

2008-01-16T19:29:00.000-08:00

"The great business of the Christian religion is to dispossess us of the brutish nature which is begotten in us" Works Volume 12, pg 41

"The more you indulge the flesh, the more it is your enemy, and the more your slavery and bondage is increased; so that you grow more brutish, forgetful of God, and unapt for any spiritual use" Works Volume 12, pg 47

"We are all debtors, and this duty taketh place as soon as we come to the use of reason; we all then begin to feel the corruption and imperfection of nature; and we are bound to look after the cure of it, and to use all Christ's healing means that it may be affected" Works Volume 12, pg 47

"Your first enemy is the old man; and it is the last, for it is not extinguished in us till death, therefore as soon as we pass out of infancy into youth, we must look upon ourselves as under this obligation, not to live after the flesh , but after the Spirit, to weaken the corruption of nature more and more" Works, Volume 12, pg 48

Ralph Erskine on Applying the Blood of Christ (Part 1of 8)

2008-01-01T19:31:00.000-08:00

Ralph and Ebenezer Erskine are among the shining stars of ministers in Scottish Church History. In this first instalment of eight I am going to give you a taste of Erskine preaching at its finest in the area of applying the blood of Christ. He is utilizing the analogy of Christ's blood and water:
"Water, being liquid when poured out, it runs abroad and spreads; even so the blood of Christ that was poured out upon the cross at Jerusalem, it spread about, and spread abroad, as it is said, Zechariah 14:8, "And it shall be in that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of this way and half of them that way." This blood spreads abroad as far as the gospel-dispensation doth, of which Christ says, "Go, preach the gospel to every creature: publish remission of sin in my blood" (Works of Ralph Erskine, Volume 4, 121).

John Bunyan on sin.

2007-12-29T10:47:00.000-08:00

Sayings of John Bunyan on sin:
Sin is the great block and bar to our happiness, the Procurer of all miseries to man, both here and hereafter. Take away sin, and nothing can hurt us; for death, temporal, spiritual, and eternal, is the wages of it.

Sin, and man for sin, is the object of the wrath of God. How dreadful, therefore, must his case be who continues in sin! For who can bear or grapple with the wrath of God?

No sin against God can be little, because it is against the great God of heaven and earth; but if the sinner can find out a little god, it may be easy to find out little sins.

Sin turns all God's grace into wantonness; it is the dare of his justice, the rape of his mercy, the jeer of his patience, the slight of his power, and the contempt of his love.

Take heed of giving thyself liberty of committing one sin, for that will lead thee to another; till, by an ill custom, it become natural.

To begin a sin, is to lay a foundation for a continuance; this continuance is the mother of custom, and impudence at last the issue.

The death of Christ giveth us the best discovery of ourselves, in what condition we were, in that nothing could help us but that; and the most clear discovery of the dreadful nature of our sins.

For if sin be so dreadful a thing as to wring the heart of the Son of God, how shall a poor wretched sinner be able to bear it?

The Battle Must Be On.....

2007-12-28T19:19:00.000-08:00

As Christians united to Christ and engrafted in Him we are engaged in a war. We must war against the flesh, sin, Satan, and the world. These are terrible enemies and will stop at nothing to destroy the vital communion we have with our Triune God. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that the heart is desperately wicked and Proverbs 4:23 states that we must keep the heart with all diligence for from it flow the issues of life. John Flavel, the Presbyterian Puritan, in connecting these two vital truths says, ""The heart of man is the worst part before it be regenerate, and the best afterwards: it is the seat of principles, and the fountain of actions" (Works, 5, 423). The four enemies mentioned above have their most powerful influence through the heart of man. It must be kept like one would keep all enemies out of a castle. How does your castle compare to the requirements of God's word?
Indeed, this battle would look quite impossible if we did not have the gift of the Holy Spirit from the ascended and reigning Christ to assist us. Christopher Love is quite right when he states, "A single man can as soon destroy a whole army of men with his own hand as subdue one sin by his own power," (pg 7, The Mortified Christian). We must be good soldiers in the army of God. What do these soldiers look like? They do not speak in tongues, they do heal the sick, or slay people in the Spirit. John Owen is helpful for a description of a soldier in God's army. "To labor to be acquainted with the ways, wiles, methods, advantages, and occasions of its success (i.e. of sin) is the beginning of this warfare. So do men deal with enemies" Works, 6, 31).
One of the best means to fight these enemies is to constantly keep in your thoughts Him who is so precious to the saving and preserving of your soul:t the Lord Jesus Christ. The words of William Gurnall are helpful, "And thus Jesus Christ (when you are being tempted), whom Satan thought to bring out of the soul's favour and liking, comes in the end to sit higher and surer in the saint's affections than ever" (pg 109, The Christian In Complete Armour).

Be a Precionist

2007-12-25T18:21:00.000-08:00

We live in a culture of indifference. We live in a world that loves to walk the easy path, the path that is not careful, circumspect, or sober. The great Puritan Richard Rogers was once told he lives a life that is too precise. He responded with, "I serve a precise God."
Commenting on the fall of Adam and Eve Calvin says they called into question the veracity of God's testimony. By doing so they (and we in Adam) died. There is a way that leads to life and a way that leads to death. We must seek to be sober-minded and live a self-controlled life that requires being precise. We must fear God and keep His commandments. His commandments are precise but they lead to peace and life.

Dr. John Calvin on God's Kindness

2007-10-30T21:06:00.000-07:00

"The acknowledgment of God’s kindness is a sacrifice of sweet-smelling savor; yea, it is a more acceptable service than all sacrifices. God is continually heaping innumerable benefits upon men. Their ingratitude, therefore, is intolerable, if they fail to exercise themselves in celebrating those benefits." Commentray on Genesis 24:52

Advice from the Puritan William Bates for Scriptural Meditation

2007-10-29T22:30:00.000-07:00

Use these rules for Meditating on the truth's of God's Word:
1. Labor to have your heart cleansed from the guilt of sin.
2. Labor for a pure heart. The former rule respected the guilt of sin, this the defilement.
3. Treasure up in your souls a stock of spiritual truths.
4. Sobriety in the use of all worldly things.
5. Labor for fervent love for spiritual things.
Works of Bates ,Volume 3

Take The Preached Word Seriously

2007-10-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

What is that makes one sermon different from another? What is that seems to grab your attention in such a way that you cannot walk away from a sermon without saying, "God has truly spoken to me through His preached and proclaimed Word today?" Do the following words of Calvin from his Commentary on 2 Timothy 3:1-2 ring true for the preaching you are sitting under?
"Here, as in a very weighty matter, Paul adds a solemn charge, exhibiting to Timothy, God as the avenger, and Christ as the judge, if he shall cease to discharge his office of teaching. And, indeed, in like manner as God showed by an inestimable pledge, when he spared not his only-begotten Son, how great is the care which he has for the Church, so he will not suffer to remain unpunished the negligence of pastors, through whom souls, which he hath redeemed at so costly a price, perish or are exposed as a prey."
I should say to Rev. David Murray, Rev. Ray Lanning, Rev. Roy Blackwood, and Seminarian Nathan Eshelman (along with the many other faithful ministers of the Word and Sacraments) thank you for taking this verse seriously in your lifetime and calling. We serve a truly awesome God.

Richard Alleine's Advice on Why we Ought to Ponder Our Path

2007-10-28T18:35:00.000-07:00

There are four reasons why we ought to ponder our path:
1. God ponders them. Isaiah 26:7
2. The devil ponders them. Luke 22:31
3. Wicked men, our enemies ponder them. Psalm 64
4. Our way may be right in our own eyes for lack of consideration, when yet upon consideration, it may appear to be the way of death. Proverbs 14:12

Dr. John Calvin on the Word of God

2007-10-28T17:55:00.000-07:00

"Here, then, is the sovereign power with which pastors of the church , by whatever name they be called, ought to be endowed. That is that they may dare boldly do all things by God's Word; may compel worldly power, glory, wisdom, and exaltation to yield to and obey his majesty; supported by His power, may command all from the highest even to the last; may build up Christ's household and cast down Satan's , may feed the sheep and drive away the wolves; may instruct and support the teachable; may accuse, rebuke, and subdue the rebellious and stubborn: may bind and loose, finally, if need be, may launch thunderbolts and lightnings; but do all things in God's Word" Institutes of the Christian Religion 4.8.9

Love to Christ

2007-10-27T21:02:00.000-07:00

"The life of Christianity consists very much in our love to Christ" Puritan Thomas Vincent

John 17:20-26

Ephesians 5:1-7

Colossians 3

Wisdom from the Puritan Thomas Brooks

2007-10-27T20:56:00.000-07:00

"A holy reliance, a holy resting, a holy staying of thy soul upon the promises , makes the promises thy own; yea, it makes all the good, and all the sweet, and all the happiness and blessedness that is wrapped up in the promises thine" Works, Volume 3, page 255.