Many have heard, but they have not believed; the sound of the gospel has entered into their ears, but its inner sense and sacred power have not been felt in their hearts. But note what it is. She brought her life, even as that other woman, who was a sinner, brought the alabaster box of precious ointment, and broke it on the head of Christ. I do not find that he said, "Lord let me tarry till harvest be reaped." I trust there is hope for me." We shall never find a heaven here. Noah had, in this case, received a promise; but, as the dark background to it, he had listened to the terrible threatening that God would destroy all living things with a flood: his faith believed both the warning and the promise. Trials are the winds which root the tree of our faith. You cannot take hold upon the angel, and win the victory. Trust thou in thy God, in his love to thee, in his care of thee, and then thou shalt be as the lilies, which toil not, and spin not, and yet are clothed; or as the ravens, which have no store, and yet are fed. You must do as Lot did, when the angels presses him and said, "Haste to the Mount lest thou be consumed." Since then, in presenting myself to my Lord for service, I have said to him, "Make me useful to the doubting and the feeble-minded. Henceforth, in this world we have no home, no true home for our spirits; our home is beyond the flood; we are looking for it amongst the unseen things; we are strangers and sojourners as all our fathers were, dwellers in this wilderness, passing through it to reach the Canaan which is to be the land of our perpetual inheritance. If you are one of those plants which seldom bloom with bunches of bright flowers, but have your blossoms hidden and concealed, be not disquieted. For thou hast a sacred right to the courts of mercy. We are scientific, and therefore we know how absurd his preaching is; for none ever heard of the world being drowned by a flood." I might call some of you hypocrites: you sing. Wrapt in this he stood before the Lord, justified and approved. Hence faith is the essential point of holiness. Oh! This grieves the hearts of those who know and love Jesus, and the question arises with them, "What shall I do?" He that does not run away because his legs are too weak, does not prove himself a hero; but he that could run, but will not run; he that could desert his Lord, but will not desert him, has within him a principle of grace stronger than any fetter could be--the highest, firmest, noblest bond that unites a man to the Savior. To refuse to keep his own promise when it is pleaded would be to falsify his word, and change his character; and neither of these things can ever be. The believer is no longer the helmsman of his own vessel; he has taken a pilot on board. The Meaning of Faith 11 Now faith is the assurance[ a] of things hoped for, the conviction[ b] of things not seen. you have a son: he scoffs at Christ. wouldst thou touch with thy hallowed fingers foul and bestial debauchery? This woman's faith was A SYMPATHISING FAITH. I cannot reproduce the letters that were written about the sturdy patriarch, nor can I recount the spiteful things which were said by the gossips; but I have no doubt they were very clever, and very sarcastic. But there is no praying without believing. you will care, one day, when the earth is reeling, and the world is tossing to and fro; ye will care when God shall summon you to judgment, and when he shall condemn the faithless and the unbelieving. Are your girls light and trifling? There is enough out there in the farm yard for the hogs, but there is not that which is suitable for the children. If, as a decided believer, he takes his stand, and if he is firm and steadfast for his God, he will make a man, and his after years will be bright and useful; but if he begins to give way a little, and if he tries to trim his sail to the wind, he will never attain to a holy character. No. Why, if grace was a sort of chain that manacled you so that you could not leave your Lord, if it had become a physical impossibility for you to forsake your Saviour, there would be no credit in your abiding faithful to him. Let him feel, "God commands, and therefore he will bear me through;" and he will be strong. You must joy in God, or you will not joy at all. Whose of you who have had to part from those you loved, who have had your hearts rent when loved ones have been torn away, can sympathize somewhat with Abraham's trial when he left home and family, and country, and all, to go forth into an unknown land. Men have repented, and yet have not been saved, because their's was the wrong repentance. "THE SWORD AND THE TROWEL." may the day never come to you, you young people especially, who have lately put on the Lord Jesus Christ and professed his name, when you shall be welcomed by the world; but may you for ever forget also your own kindred and your father's house, so shall the king greatly desire your beauty, for he is your Lord, and worship you him. Certain saintly ones are called to bear great physical pain, and I commend to them, from practical experience, the power of faith in God under acute agony. it was a mighty deed which faith accomplished when he bore her off in safety. He has placed him in due order of time after Abel and Enoch; but he had also another reason for the arrangement. If any of you are prospered in this world, oh! Only that is true faith which believes everything that is revealed by the Holy Spirit, whether it be joyous or distressing. They are coming to a cross road. None of our old friends would refuse to receive us. Even bad men will obey God when they think fit; but good men will obey when they know not what to think of it. Did not you find very soon that there was a thorn in the flesh? Hebrews 1, Spurgeon's Verse Expositions of the Bible, One of over 125 Bible commentaries freely available, this commentary is from the most widely read and often quoted preacher in history, Charles Haddon Spurgeon StudyLght.org. They had news concerning the family house. "Where can I find comfort then, and security?" He that can fly, can faint. Medicines, embrocations, foods, baths, and all sorts of inventions are advertised as means of increasing strength. This will be sure defensive ground; but if you get off that rock, you will soon find yourself sinking or staggering. So that these opportunities to return may serve us a good purpose by trying our faith, and helping us to see whether we are, indeed, the Lord's or no. He had to leave behind him those who were exceeding dear to him. For by it the elders obtained a good report. The brother went home weeping; but he was not the only one who felt his heart breaking. If any man will say, "I believe such and such a thing is true, but I do not wish any one else to believe it, I will tell you, it is a lie; he does not believe it, for it is impossible, heartily and really to believe a thing, without desiring to make others believe the same. I don't know how else it is you make your religion square with itself, and be at all consistent. Notice how the text puts it, "But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly." 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. God does not create useless things: he intends that the faith he gives should have its test, should glorify his name. More than that, there were messages exchanged, servants were sometimes sent, and you know there was a new relation entered into--did not Rebekah come from thence? "Hast thou faith? There all the inhabitants shall be united in one glorious brotherhood--the true Communism; Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, in the highest possible degree. Do you long to be of some use? More than that, if ever the child of God gets entangled for awhile, he is uneasy by reason of it. It is forgiven thee. How often does it happen in this land of ours, that a poor earnest Christian has associated with the people of God at all meetings, and felt proud to be there, but he has risen in the world and stood an inch or two above others in common esteem, and he could not go with God's people any longer: he must seek out the world's church and join in to get a share of the respectability and prestige that will always congregate in the domain of fashion. You can not have faith, and yet live in sin. It cannot be wrong to do the right thing at once; nay, in matters of duty, every moment of delay is a sin. And now in conclusion, THE QUESTION, the vital question. if you start on the voyage of life, by divine grace, with the resolve that you will follow the track; marked down on the chart by the Lord your God, you will find that you have chosen a course to which the Lord's hand alone can keep you true. There is a secret virtue in the confession, if it be steadfastly adhered to and zealously maintained. Yet he devises means, and brings about the purposes of his grace. When the created streams are dry, go to this eternal fountain, and find it ever springing up. Do are not read of those who "stumbled at the word, being disobedient"; surely there must be a command and a duty, or else there could not be disobedience. ( Hebrews 11:1) A definition of faith. HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN HYMN BOOK" 649, 653, 650. Amen. But do not distress yourself, wait till some one else comes up. If in this life only you had hope, you would be of all men most miserable; but having that hope, you are among men most happy. All you can see in the poor child of God is a hard-working, labouring man, who is mocked at and despised, but what does God see in him? This I shall illustrate from the whole of the verse. The Year of Grace, 1872. I hardly think that, for years, he had spoken without ill language; and yet, from the moment he turned unto the Lord, he never used an oath, and he also noted that he never had a temptation so to do. They are the trainers, drilling God's young soldiers, and teaching their hands to war and their fingers to fight. "Turn ye, turn ye; why will ye die, O house of Israel?" Said he, "I have no keys." It is one of the choicest fruits of the Spirit, and is seldom found on newly-planted trees. saith one. Hebrews 11:8 . Now would you have thought that such a rich plant would grow in such poor soil--that strong faith could grow in such a sinful heart as that of Rahab? Some of you are engaged in the midst of ungodly men. He must seek out the world's fashionable church and join in it to get a share of the respectability and prestige that will always gather there, and he has turned aside from the faith--if not altogether, in his heart at least, in the defence of it in his life. 1. Again, it may be that I am speaking to sad ones who suffer under mental depression. Duncan Matheson, the Scottish Evangelist. He answered all appeals very coarsely. He was beaten. This is . These men were fed on substantial meat, and they became sturdy old fellows, able to cope with the world, and fight their way. 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