I saw then in my dream, that Hopeful looked back, and saw Ignorance, whom they had left behind, coming after. Look, said he to Christian, how far yonder youngster loitereth behind.
CHRISTIAN: Aye, aye, I see him: he careth not for our company.
HOPEFUL: But I trow it would not have hurt him, had he kept pace with us hitherto.
CHRISTIAN: That is true; but I warrant you he thinketh otherwise.
HOPEFUL: That I think he doth; but, however, let us tarry for him. (So they did.)
Then Christian said to him, Come away, man; why do you stay so behind?
IGNORANCE: I take my pleasure in walking alone, even more a great deal than in company, unless I like it the better.
Then said Christian to Hopeful, (but softly,) Did I not tell you he cared not for our company? But, however, said he, come up, and let us talk away the time in this solitary place. Then, directing his speech to Ignorance, he said, Come, how do you do? How stands it between God and your soul now?
IGNORANCE: I hope, well; for I am always full of good motions, that come into my mind to comfort me as I walk.
CHRISTIAN: What good motions? Pray tell us.
IGNORANCE: Why, I think of God and heaven.
CHRISTIAN: So do the devils and damned souls.
IGNORANCE: But I think of them, and desire them.
CHRISTIAN: So do many that are never like to come there. “The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing.” Prov. 13:4.
IGNORANCE: But I think of them, and leave all for them.
CHRISTIAN: That I doubt: for to leave all is a very hard matter; yea, a harder matter than many are aware of. But why, or by what, art thou persuaded that thou hast left all for God and heaven?
IGNORANCE: My heart tells me so.
CHRISTIAN: The wise man says, “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool.” Prov. 28:26.
IGNORANCE: That is spoken of an evil heart; but mine is a good one.
CHRISTIAN: But how dost thou prove that?
IGNORANCE: It comforts me in hopes of heaven.
CHRISTIAN: That may be through its deceitfulness; for a man’s heart may minister comfort to him in the hopes of that thing for which he has yet no ground to hope.
IGNORANCE: But my heart and life agree together; and therefore my hope is well-grounded.
CHRISTIAN: Who told thee that thy heart and life agree together?
IGNORANCE: My heart tells me so.
CHRISTIAN: “Ask my fellow if I be a thief.” Thy heart tells thee so! Except the word of God beareth witness in this matter, other testimony is of no value.
IGNORANCE: But is it not a good heart that hath good thoughts? and is not that a good life that is according to God’s commandments?
CHRISTIAN: Yes, that is a good heart that hath good thoughts, and that is a good life that is according to God’s commandments; but it is one thing indeed to have these, and another thing only to think so.
IGNORANCE: Pray, what count you good thoughts, and a life according to God’s commandments?
CHRISTIAN: There are good thoughts of divers kinds; some respecting ourselves, some God, some Christ, and some other things.
IGNORANCE: What be good thoughts respecting ourselves?
CHRISTIAN: Such as agree with the word of God.
IGNORANCE: When do our thoughts of ourselves agree with the word of God?
CHRISTIAN: When we pass the same judgment upon ourselves which the word passes. To explain myself: the word of God saith of persons in a natural condition, “There is none righteous, there is none that doeth good.” It saith also, that, “every imagination of the heart of man is only evil, and that continually.” Gen. 6:5; Rom. 3. And again, “The imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” Gen. 8:21. Now, then, when we think thus of ourselves, having sense thereof, then are our thoughts good ones, because according to the word of God.
IGNORANCE: I will never believe that my heart is thus bad.
CHRISTIAN: Therefore thou never hadst one good thought concerning thyself in thy life. But let me go on. As the word passeth a judgment upon our hearts, so it passeth a judgment upon our ways; and when the thoughts of our hearts and ways agree with the judgment which the word giveth of both, then are both good, because agreeing thereto.
IGNORANCE: Make out your meaning.
CHRISTIAN: Why, the word of God saith, that man’s ways are crooked ways, not good but perverse; it saith, they are naturally out of the good way, that they have not known it. Psa. 125:5; Prov. 2:15; Rom. 3:12. Now, when a man thus thinketh of his ways, I say, when he doth sensibly, and with heart-humiliation, thus think, then hath he good thoughts of his own ways, because his thoughts now agree with the judgment of the word of God.
IGNORANCE: What are good thoughts concerning God?
CHRISTIAN: Even, as I have said concerning ourselves, when our thoughts of God do agree with what the word saith of him; and that is, when we think of his being and attributes as the word hath taught, of which I cannot now discourse at large. But to speak of him with reference to us: then have we right thoughts of God when we think that he knows us better than we know ourselves, and can see sin in us when and where we can see none in ourselves; when we think he knows our inmost thoughts, and that our heart, with all its depths, is always open unto his eyes; also when we think that all our righteousness stinks in his nostrils, and that therefore he cannot abide to see us stand before him in any confidence, even in all our best performances.
IGNORANCE: Do you think that I am such a fool as to think that God can see no further than I; or that I would come to God in the best of my performances?
CHRISTIAN: Why, how dost thou think in this matter?
IGNORANCE: Why, to be short, I think I must believe in Christ for justification.
CHRISTIAN: How! think thou must believe in Christ, when thou seest not thy need of him! Thou neither seest thy original nor actual infirmities; but hast such an opinion of thyself, and of what thou doest, as plainly renders thee to be one that did never see the necessity of Christ’s personal righteousness to justify thee before God. How, then, dost thou say, I believe in Christ?
IGNORANCE: I believe well enough, for all that.
CHRISTIAN: How dost thou believe?
IGNORANCE: I believe that Christ died for sinners; and that I shall be justified before God from the curse, through his gracious acceptance of my obedience to his laws. Or thus, Christ makes my duties, that are religious, acceptable to his Father by virtue of his merits, and so shall I be justified.
CHRISTIAN: Let me give an answer to this confession of thy faith.
1. Thou believest with a fantastical faith; for this faith is nowhere described in the word.
2. Thou believest with a false faith; because it taketh justification from the personal righteousness of Christ, and applies it to thy own.
3. This faith maketh not Christ a justifier of thy person, but of thy actions; and of thy person for thy action’s sake, which is false.
4. Therefore this faith is deceitful, even such as will leave thee under wrath in the day of God Almighty: for true justifying faith puts the soul, as sensible of its lost condition by the law, upon flying for refuge unto Christ’s righteousness; (which righteousness of his is not an act of grace by which he maketh, for justification, thy obedience accepted with God, but his personal obedience to the law, in doing and suffering for us what that required at our hands;) this righteousness, I say, true faith accepteth; under the skirt of which the soul being shrouded, and by it presented as spotless before God, it is accepted, and acquitted from condemnation.
IGNORANCE: What! would you have us trust to what Christ in his own person has done without us? This conceit would loosen the reins of our lust, and tolerate us to live as we list: for what matter how we live, if we may be justified by Christ’s personal righteousness from all, when we believe it?
CHRISTIAN: Ignorance is thy name, and as thy name is, so art thou: even this thy answer demonstrateth what I say. Ignorant thou art of what justifying righteousness is, and as ignorant how to secure thy soul, through the faith of it, from the heavy wrath of God. Yea, thou also art ignorant of the true effects of saving faith in this righteousness of Christ, which is to bow and win over the heart to God in Christ, to love his name, his word, ways, and people, and not as thou ignorantly imaginest.
HOPEFUL: Ask him if ever he had Christ revealed to him from heaven.
IGNORANCE: What! you are a man for revelations! I do believe, that what both you and all the rest of you say about that matter, is but the fruit of distracted brains.
HOPEFUL: Why, man, Christ is so hid in God from the natural apprehensions of the flesh, that he cannot by any man be savingly known, unless God the Father reveals him to him.
IGNORANCE: That is your faith, but not mine, yet mine, I doubt not, is as good as yours, though I have not in my head so many whimsies as you.
CHRISTIAN: Give me leave to put in a word. You ought not so slightly to speak of this matter: for this I will boldly affirm, even as my good companion hath done, that no man can know Jesus Christ but by the revelation of the Father: yea, and faith too, by which the soul layeth hold upon Christ, (if it be right,) must be wrought by the exceeding greatness of his mighty power, Matt. 11:27; 1 Cor. 12:3; Eph. 1:17-19; the working of which faith, I perceive, poor Ignorance, thou art ignorant of. Be awakened, then, see thine own wretchedness, and fly to the Lord Jesus; and by his righteousness, which is the righteousness of God, (for he himself is God,) thou shalt be delivered from condemnation.
IGNORANCE: You go so fast I cannot keep pace with you; do you go on before: I must stay a while behind.
Then they said,
“Well, Ignorance, wilt thou yet foolish be,
To slight good counsel, ten times given thee?
And if thou yet refuse it, thou shalt know,
Ere long, the evil of thy doing so.
Remember, man, in time: stoop, do not fear:
Good counsel, taken well, saves; therefore hear.
But if thou yet shalt slight it, thou wilt be
The loser, Ignorance, I’ll warrant thee.”
Darwin Was No Geologist
Psalm 46:2
“Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.”
Charles Darwin's ignorance of geology, a science he never studied, probably resulted in the biological errors he made in formulating his theory of biological evolution.
As he sailed on the Beagle to the Pacific, Charles Darwin read Charles Lyell's book, Principles of Geology. That book, of course, theorized that the Earth's geology was the result of the slow processes we see today working over millions of years. On the way to the Galapagos he had a 16-day stopover in Argentina. He spent some of the time exploring the valley of the lower Santa Cruz River. He later wondered in his journal how the small and lazy Santa Cruz River could have carved the 300-foot-deep valley. But he allowed that Lyell's idea of long ages could solve that problem.
Later, at the Galapagos, he tried to explain plant and animal diversity based on those same long ages. Today, geologists believe that melting glaciers at the headwaters of the river formed a huge lake behind a natural dam. When that dam broke, the rushing lake water quickly cut a spillway that became the valley through which the Santa Cruz River gently flows today.
It appears as though Darwin's assumption that Lyell knew what he was talking about when he wrote of long geological ages influenced his biological interpretations.
Take It into the World
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.”
Philippians 3:7–8
Take it into the world, and let people hear it.
Fritz Kreisler (1875–1962), the world-famous violinist, earned a fortune with his concerts and compositions, but he generously gave most of it away. So, when he discovered an exquisite violin on one of his trips, he wasn't able to buy it. Later, having raised enough money to meet the asking price, he returned to the seller, hoping to purchase the beautiful instrument. But to his great dismay it had been sold to a collector. Kreisler made his way to the new owner's home and offered to buy the violin. The collector said it had become his prized possession and he would not sell it. Keenly disappointed, Kreisler was about to leave when he had an idea. “Could I play the instrument once more before it is consigned to silence?” he asked. Permission was granted, and the great virtuoso filled the room with such heart-moving music that the collector's emotions were deeply stirred. “I have no right to keep that to myself,” he exclaimed. “It's yours, Mr. Kreisler. Take it into the world, and let people hear it.”
The beauty of the music touched the collector and moved him so much that he was willing to part with his most prized possession so that others would be able to share in its beautiful sound. Because he loved music, he willingly gave up the violin so that others would love it as well.
The Gospel message can be compared to the collector’s violin, not because it was old and exquisite, but because it is more effective when shared with others. Sadly, many Christians have received God’s message only to keep it to themselves. They enjoy reading about it, meditating on it, and rejoicing in the hope it gives them; but they do not share God’s message with others.
Think about Paul’s words to the Philippians in this verse, “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ” (Philippians 3:7). He counted all things for loss so that He might win others to Christ. He was focused on getting the message out to the whole world.
As a Christian, God has given you His salvation. The day you trusted Him as your Saviour, you received eternal life and unspeakable joy! Now that you have that gift, God desires you to share that message with others. Don’t keep it to yourself, content in your salvation, but take it into the world so that others may hear.
Are you sharing the hope God has given you with others? The devil knows he cannot take your salvation from you, but he can keep you from sharing it with others. God’s desire is that you would share His message with everyone you meet. When He died on Calvary, He died for you, your neighbor, the waiter at your favorite restaurant, your complaining coworker, the impatient lady behind you at the grocery store, and everyone else you know. He died for all mankind and wants all to come to know Him.
Purpose today to share God’s message of salvation with at least one person. Hand someone a tract or take time to show them from the Bible how they can be saved. Winning the world may seem overwhelming, but when you faithfully witness each day, God will multiply your efforts.
To find out more about Pastor Paul Chappell visit his blog or follow him on twitter.
Daily Bible Reading
Deuteronomy 16-18 • Mark 13:1-20
Genesis 16 - "Submit thyself"
"And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife." (Gen 16:3 KJV)
Man seems to disbelieve God, so we think we have to help Him fulfil His promise. I assure you God does not need our help, many problems are caused by us trying to interfere with the workings of God in lives of others. Disbelief always leads to disaster. There is a principle taught here though that you never hear from the pulpits today, it is seen in the words "submit thyself," in v. 9 of this chapter.
The best way to handle authority is to submit to it. (Eccl. 10:4). Our children submit to us, and we are pleased when they do. We try harder to please them when they please us. The same with our wives, they submit to us, and we give them the desires of their hearts. Submitting to authority is the best way to get it working for you. It is the same with our Lord, when we submit, He blesses us more. Submission works wonders! This is taught in 1 Peter 5:5 concerning children, but the principle is for us all. If you can't submit to authority now, how are you going to submit to Christ's authority when the time comes to do so? God wants submission, resistance is rebellion. 1 Peter 4:14 teaches us that if we are reproached for that which we did not do, "The Spirit of God and of glory is is upon us. Do you crave this Spirit? Simply submit, don't fight the authorities in your life.
We are all under authority of some sort, our entire lives are under authority; are we going to allow it to work for us, or fight against it? Think about it, brethren.
"Thou shalt love thy neighbour." - Matthew 5:43
"Love thy neighbour." Perhaps he rolls in riches, and thou art poor, and living in thy little cot side-by-side with his lordly mansion; thou seest every day his estates, his fine linen, and his sumptuous banquets; God has given him these gifts, covet not his wealth, and think no hard thoughts concerning him. Be content with thine own lot, if thou canst not better it, but do not look upon thy neighbour, and wish that he were as thyself. Love him, and then thou wilt not envy him.
Mayhap, on the other hand, thou art rich, and near thee reside the poor. Do not scorn to call them neighbour. Own that thou art bound to love them. The world calls them thy inferiors. In what are they inferior? They are far more thine equals than thine inferiors, for "God hath made of one blood all people that dwell upon the face of the earth." It is thy coat which is better than theirs, but thou art by no means better than they. They are men, and what art thou more than that? Take heed that thou love thy neighbour even though he be in rags, or sunken in the depths of poverty.
But, perhaps, you say, "I cannot love my neighbours, because for all I do they return ingratitude and contempt." So much the more room for the heroism of love. Wouldst thou be a feather-bed warrior, instead of bearing the rough fight of love? He who dares the most, shall win the most; and if rough be thy path of love, tread it boldly, still loving thy neighbours through thick and thin. Heap coals of fire on their heads, and if they be hard to please, seek not to please them, but to please thy Master; and remember if they spurn thy love, thy Master hath not spurned it, and thy deed is as acceptable to Him as if it had been acceptable to them. Love thy neighbour, for in so doing thou art following the footsteps of Christ.
Ezekiel 48, II Corinthians 1-2, Psalm 137
Ezekiel 48
1 Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazarenan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan.
2 And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Asher.
3 And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali.
4 And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Manasseh.
5 And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Ephraim.
6 And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Reuben.
7 And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Judah.
8 And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.
9 The oblation that ye shall offer unto the LORD shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth.
10 And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof.
11 It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.
12 And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites.
13 And over against the border of the priests the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.
14 And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the firstfruits of the land: for it is holy unto the LORD.
15 And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst thereof.
16 And these shall be the measures thereof; the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.
17 And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty.
18 And the residue in length over against the oblation of the holy portion shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and it shall be over against the oblation of the holy portion; and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that serve the city.
19 And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel.
20 All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand: ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with the possession of the city.
21 And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof.
22 Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince.
23 As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side unto the west side, Benjamin shall have a portion.
24 And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon shall have a portion.
25 And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar a portion.
26 And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side, Zebulun a portion.
27 And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side, Gad a portion.
28 And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea.
29 This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord GOD.
30 And these are the goings out of the city on the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures.
31 And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.
32 And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.
33 And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.
34 At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.
35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.
2 Corinthians 1
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:
2 Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
7 And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.
8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:
9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead.
10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;
11 Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.
12 For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.
13 For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end;
14 As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.
15 And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit.
16 And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea.
17 When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay?
18 But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay.
19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.
20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
23 Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.
24 Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.
2 Corinthians 2
1 But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness.
2 For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me?
3 And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all.
4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.
5 But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all.
6 Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many.
7 So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.
8 Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.
9 For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.
10 To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ.
11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
12 Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,
13 I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.
14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:
16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?
17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
Psalm 137
1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
4 How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land.
5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
6 If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
7 Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.
The World, the Flesh, and the Devil
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.
"This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish." (James 3:15)
True wisdom is "from above" and is "pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy" (v. 17). False wisdom, on the other hand, may come from the world outside us ("earthly"), the flesh within us ("sensual"), or the powers of darkness tempting us ("devilish"). All such wisdom leads to "envying and strife . . . confusion and every evil work" (v. 16). Believers, therefore, should be able to recognize the influences of the world, the flesh, and the devil.
The good news is that each divine Person of the Triune Godhead is on our side. The Father is opposed to the world, the Spirit to the flesh, and the Son to the devil, and they are well able to give victory.
"If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. . . . And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof" (1 John 2:15, 17). Thus, to overcome the love of the world, we must cultivate the love of the Father in our hearts and lives.
Similarly, to overcome the desires of the flesh, we should follow the leadings and convictions of the Holy Spirit, "for the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other" (Galatians 5:17). Therefore, "walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh" (v. 16).
The devil and his evil hosts use their own dark powers to tempt and destroy the people of God, but "for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). Christ assured Satan’s defeat when He paid for our redemption on the cross. "And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2:15). HMM
The Precursors to Joy
“For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life:
weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”
-- Psalms 30:5
The Bible teaches us many things that fly in the face of conventional wisdom. The Lord Jesus told the disciples that if they wanted to be great or chief, one must be a servant (Matthew 20:26-27); that the way to glory was through suffering (1 Peter 1:11); that the way t0 be rich was to give (Luke 6:38; 2 Cor. 8:9).
Another area this is true concerns joy. Our idealistic plan would be to have a continual smooth path, with no bumps in the road, which builds and builds until the joy and happiness were overwhelming! However, the path to true joy is through suffering and sorrow.
If you are going through a trial today, think of this verse. The great expositor and preacher John Knox said of this verse: “sorrow is but a guest of a night.” Yes, there can be – and will be – the dark nights in our lives. But be of good cheer! There is daybreak to come! Trials and sorrows are the precursors to joy. The Thessalonian Christians found this out, “having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost” (1 Thes. 1:6). Tribulations and sorrows are fleeting, meaning they come and go. God’s favour, His love and His joy are forever!
· Think back to the trials you’ve encountered as a Christian. As bleak as things may have looked for the moment, praise God for what He has done in bringing you through them.
· Remember that the trial you are facing today is only for a moment, for a night, but God’s joy is forever.
I then saw in my dream, that they went on until they came into a certain country whose air naturally tended to make one drowsy, if he came a stranger into it. And here Hopeful began to be very dull, and heavy to sleep: wherefore he said unto Christian, I do now begin to grow so drowsy that I can scarcely hold open mine eyes; let us lie down here, and take one nap.
CHRISTIAN: By no means, said the other; lest, sleeping, we never awake more.
HOPEFUL: Why, my brother? sleep is sweet to the laboring man; we may be refreshed, if we take a nap.
CHRISTIAN: Do you not remember that one of the shepherds bid us beware of the Enchanted Ground? He meant by that, that we should beware of sleeping; wherefore “let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” 1 Thess. 5:6.
HOPEFUL: I acknowledge myself in a fault; and had I been here alone, I had by sleeping run the danger of death. I see it is true that the wise man saith, “Two are better than one.” Eccl. 4:9. Hitherto hath thy company been my mercy; and thou shalt have a good reward for thy labor.
CHRISTIAN: Now, then, said Christian, to prevent drowsiness in this place, let us fall into good discourse.
HOPEFUL: With all my heart, said the other.
CHRISTIAN: Where shall we begin?
HOPEFUL: Where God began with us. But do you begin, if you please.
CHRISTIAN: I will sing you first this song:
“When saints do sleepy grow, let them come hither,
And hear how these two pilgrims talk together;
Yea, let them learn of them in any wise,
Thus to keep ope their drowsy, slumb’ring eyes.
Saints’ fellowship, if it be managed well,
Keeps them awake, and that in spite of hell.”
Then Christian began, and said, I will ask you a question. How came you to think at first of doing what you do now?
HOPEFUL: Do you mean, how came I at first to look after the good of my soul?
CHRISTIAN: Yes, that is my meaning.
HOPEFUL: I continued a great while in the delight of those things which were seen and sold at our fair; things which I believe now would have, had I continued in them still, drowned me in perdition and destruction.
CHRISTIAN: What things were they?
HOPEFUL: All the treasures and riches of the world. Also I delighted much in rioting, reveling, drinking, swearing, lying, uncleanness, Sabbath-breaking, and what not, that tended to destroy the soul. But I found at last, by hearing and considering of things that are divine, which, indeed, I heard of you, as also of beloved Faithful, that was put to death for his faith and good living in Vanity Fair, that the end of these things is death, Rom. 6:21-23; and that for these things’ sake, the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience. Eph. 5:6.
CHRISTIAN: And did you presently fall under the power of this conviction?
HOPEFUL: No, I was not willing presently to know the evil of sin, nor the damnation that follows upon the commission of it; but endeavored, when my mind at first began to be shaken with the word, to shut mine eyes against the light thereof.
CHRISTIAN: But what was the cause of your carrying of it thus to the first workings of God’s blessed Spirit upon you?
HOPEFUL: The causes were, 1. I was ignorant that this was the work of God upon me. I never thought that by awakenings for sin, God at first begins the conversion of a sinner. 2. Sin was yet very sweet to my flesh, and I was loth to leave it. 3. I could not tell how to part with mine old companions, their presence and actions were so desirable unto me. 4. The hours in which convictions were upon me, were such troublesome and such heart-affrighting hours, that I could not bear, no not so much as the remembrance of them upon my heart.
CHRISTIAN: Then, as it seems, sometimes you got rid of your trouble?
HOPEFUL: Yes, verily, but it would come into my mind again; and then I should be as bad, nay, worse than I was before.
CHRISTIAN: Why, what was it that brought your sins to mind again?
HOPEFUL: Many things; as,
1. If I did but meet a good man in the streets; or,
2. If I have heard any read in the Bible; or,
3. If mine head did begin to ache; or,
4. If I were told that some of my neighbors were sick; or,
5. If I heard the bell toll for some that were dead; or,
6. If I thought of dying myself; or,
7. If I heard that sudden death happened to others.
8. But especially when I thought of myself, that I must quickly come to judgment.
CHRISTIAN: And could you at any time, with ease, get off the guilt of sin, when by any of these ways it came upon you?
HOPEFUL: No, not I; for then they got faster hold of my conscience; and then, if I did but think of going back to sin, (though my mind was turned against it,) it would be double torment to me.
CHRISTIAN: And how did you do then?
HOPEFUL: I thought I must endeavor to mend my life; for else, thought I, I am sure to be damned.
CHRISTIAN: And did you endeavor to mend?
HOPEFUL: Yes, and fled from, not only my sins, but sinful company too, and betook me to religious duties, as praying, reading, weeping for sin, speaking truth to my neighbors, etc. These things did I, with many others, too much here to relate.
CHRISTIAN: And did you think yourself well then?
HOPEFUL: Yes, for a while; but at the last my trouble came tumbling upon me again, and that over the neck of all my reformations.
CHRISTIAN: How came that about, since you were now reformed?
HOPEFUL: There were several things brought it upon me, especially such sayings as these: “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” Isa. 64:6. “By the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Gal. 2:16. “When ye have done all these things, say, We are unprofitable,” Luke 17:10; with many more such like. From whence I began to reason with myself thus: If all my righteousnesses are as filthy rags; if by the deeds of the law no man can be justified; and if, when we have done all, we are yet unprofitable, then is it but a folly to think of heaven by the law. I farther thought thus: If a man runs a hundred pounds into the shopkeeper’s debt, and after that shall pay for all that he shall fetch; yet if his old debt stands still in the book uncrossed, the shopkeeper may sue him for it, and cast him into prison, till he shall pay the debt.
CHRISTIAN: Well, and how did you apply this to yourself?
HOPEFUL: Why, I thought thus with myself: I have by my sins run a great way into God’s book, and my now reforming will not pay off that score; therefore I should think still, under all my present amendments, But how shall I be freed from that damnation that I brought myself in danger of by my former transgressions?
CHRISTIAN: A very good application: but pray go on.
HOPEFUL: Another thing that hath troubled me ever since my late amendments, is, that if I look narrowly into the best of what I do now, I still see sin, new sin, mixing itself with the best of that I do; so that now I am forced to conclude, that notwithstanding my former fond conceits of myself and duties, I have committed sin enough in one day to send me to hell, though my former life had been faultless.
CHRISTIAN: And what did you do then?
HOPEFUL: Do! I could not tell what to do, until I broke my mind to Faithful; for he and I were well acquainted. And he told me, that unless I could obtain the righteousness of a man that never had sinned, neither mine own, nor all the righteousness of the world, could save me.
CHRISTIAN: And did you think he spake true?
HOPEFUL: Had he told me so when I was pleased and satisfied with my own amendments, I had called him fool for his pains; but now, since I see my own infirmity, and the sin which cleaves to my best performance, I have been forced to be of his opinion.
CHRISTIAN: But did you think, when at first he suggested it to you, that there was such a man to be found, of whom it might justly be said, that he never committed sin?
HOPEFUL: I must confess the words at first sounded strangely; but after a little more talk and company with him, I had full conviction about it.
CHRISTIAN: And did you ask him what man this was, and how you must be justified by him?
HOPEFUL: Yes, and he told me it was the Lord Jesus, that dwelleth on the right hand of the Most High. Heb. 10:12-21. And thus, said he, you must be justified by him, even by trusting to what he hath done by himself in the days of his flesh, and suffered when he did hang on the tree. Rom. 4:5; Col. 1:14; 1 Pet. 1:19. I asked him further, how that man’s righteousness could be of that efficacy, to justify another before God. And he told me he was the mighty God, and did what he did, and died the death also, not for himself, but for me; to whom his doings, and the worthiness of them, should be imputed, if I believed on him.
CHRISTIAN: And what did you do then?
HOPEFUL: I made my objections against my believing, for that I thought he was not willing to save me.
CHRISTIAN: And what said Faithful to you then?
HOPEFUL: He bid me go to him and see. Then I said it was presumption. He said, No; for I was invited to come. Matt. 11:28. Then he gave me a book of Jesus’ inditing, to encourage me the more freely to come; and he said concerning that book, that every jot and tittle thereof stood firmer than heaven and earth. Matt. 24:35. Then I asked him what I must do when I came; and he told me I must entreat upon my knees, Psa. 95:6; Dan. 6:10, with all my heart and soul, Jer. 29:12,13, the Father to reveal him to me. Then I asked him further, how I must make my supplications to him; and he said, Go, and thou shalt find him upon a mercy-seat, where he sits all the year long to give pardon and forgiveness to them that come. Exod. 25:22; Lev. 16:2; Num. 7:89; Heb. 4:16. I told him, that I knew not what to say when I came; and he bid say to this effect: God be merciful to me a sinner, and make me to know and believe in Jesus Christ; for I see, that if his righteousness had not been, or I have not faith in that righteousness, I am utterly cast away. Lord, I have heard that thou art a merciful God, and hast ordained that thy Son Jesus Christ should be the Saviour of the world; and moreover, that thou art willing to bestow him upon such a poor sinner as I am-and I am a sinner indeed. Lord, take therefore this opportunity, and magnify thy grace in the salvation of my soul, through thy Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
CHRISTIAN: And did you do as you were bidden?
HOPEFUL: Yes, over, and over, and over.
CHRISTIAN: And did the Father reveal the Son to you?
HOPEFUL: Not at the first, nor second, nor third, nor fourth, nor fifth, no, nor at the sixth time neither.
CHRISTIAN: What did you do then?
HOPEFUL: What? why I could not tell what to do.
CHRISTIAN: Had you not thoughts of leaving off praying?
HOPEFUL: Yes; an hundred times twice told.
CHRISTIAN: And what was the reason you did not?
HOPEFUL: I believed that it was true which hath been told me, to wit, that without the righteousness of this Christ, all the world could not save me; and therefore, thought I with myself, if I leave off, I die, and I can but die at the throne of grace. And withal this came into my mind, “If it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, and will not tarry.” Hab. 2:3. So I continued praying until the Father showed me his Son.
CHRISTIAN: And how was he revealed unto you?
HOPEFUL: I did not see him with my bodily eyes, but with the eyes of my understanding, Eph. 1:18,19; and thus it was. One day I was very sad, I think sadder than at any one time in my life; and this sadness was through a fresh sight of the greatness and vileness of my sins. And as I was then looking for nothing but hell, and the everlasting damnation of my soul, suddenly, as I thought, I saw the Lord Jesus looking down from heaven upon me, and saying, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Acts 16:31.
But I replied, Lord, I am a great, a very great sinner: and he answered, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” 2 Cor. 12:9. Then I said, But, Lord, what is believing? And then I saw from that saying, “He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst,” John 6:35, that believing and coming was all one; and that he that came, that is, that ran out in his heart and affections after salvation by Christ, he indeed believed in Christ. Then the water stood in mine eyes, and I asked further, But, Lord, may such a great sinner as I am be indeed accepted of thee, and be saved by thee? And I heard him say, “And him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.” John 6:37. Then I said, But how, Lord, must I consider of thee in my coming to thee, that my faith may be placed aright upon thee? Then he said, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” 1 Tim. 1:15. He is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes. Rom.10:4, and chap. 4. He died for our sins, and rose again for our justification. Rom. 4:25. He loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. Rev. 1:5. He is the Mediator between God and us. 1 Tim. 2:5. He ever liveth to make intercession for us. Heb. 7:25. From all which I gathered, that I must look for righteousness in his person, and for satisfaction for my sins by his blood: that what he did in obedience to his Father’s law, and in submitting to the penalty thereof, was not for himself, but for him that will accept it for his salvation, and be thankful. And now was my heart full of joy, mine eyes full of tears, and mine affections running over with love to the name, people, and ways of Jesus Christ.
CHRISTIAN: This was a revelation of Christ to your soul indeed. But tell me particularly what effect this had upon your spirit.
HOPEFUL: It made me see that all the world, notwithstanding all the righteousness thereof, is in a state of condemnation. It made me see that God the Father, though he be just, can justly justify the coming sinner. It made me greatly ashamed of the vileness of my former life, and confounded me with the sense of mine own ignorance; for there never came a thought into my heart before now that showed me so the beauty of Jesus Christ. It made me love a holy life, and long to do something for the honor and glory of the name of the Lord Jesus. Yea, I thought that had I now a thousand gallons of blood in my body, I could spill it all for the sake of the Lord Jesus.
How the Dinosaurs Died
Genesis 7:21
“And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man.”
The Bible says that when the flood waters came upon the Earth, all living things that have the breath of life were killed. While many of them drowned, some were encased in mud while still alive, as some fossils show. What they all had in common is that they died from lack of oxygen.
Paleontologists have long noted that many animal fossils are found with their heads thrown back. This is called the "dead bird" position. Some paleontologists assumed that the fossilized creature had fallen into the water when it died where the current pushed its head back. Others suggested that when rigor mortis set in, the head was pulled back. A third suggestion was that as the body decayed, drying tendons in the back of the neck pulled it back.
A little research ruled out rigor mortis as the cause of the "dead bird" position. Experiments using tendons from several different animals ruled out the "drying tendons" explanation. Finally, a credible explanation was found. Nerve damage. Specifically, the kind of nerve damage caused by lack of oxygen. While there are several causes for hypoxia, the most common cause is drowning.
That the "dead bird" position is so common among fossils paints a picture of the death that was a result of God's judgment in the Flood. His mercy to Noah shows us His love.
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