INSIGHTS & NOTES FROM
CHAPTER 31
"...men's relation to the church will not secure them from divine woes if they live in contempt of divine laws." "They are at the pains of going down to Egypt, a tedious journey, when they might have had better advice, & better help, by looking up to heaven, & would not." "...let us not forsake the rock of ages for broken reeds, nor the fountain of living waters for broken cisterns." "Many make an idol of their silver & gold, & by the love of that idol are drawn to revolt from God" "Sin is the work of our own hands, but in working it we have been working our own ruin, & therefore we must cast it away" "If we keep up the fire of holy love & devotion in our hearts & houses, we may depend upon God to be a protection to us & them." CHAPTER 32 "When the greatest evils befall us, not only the wind, but the temptest, when storms of guilt & wrath beset us & beat upon us, they drive us to Christ, & in him we are not only safe, but satisfied that we are so; in him we find rivers of water for those that hunger & thirst after righteousness, all the refreshment & comfort that a needy soul can desire." "Those only are to be reckoned rich that are rich in good works; not those that have abundance, but those that use it well." "...the best prevention of the trouble would be to repent" "When God designs favours for his church he pours out his Spirit, both to prepare his people to receive his favours & to justify & give success to those whom he designs to employ as instruments of his favour" "Peace, & quietness, & everlasting assurance may be expected, & shall be found, in the way & work of righteousness." I Timothy 2:2. "Real holiness is real happiness now & shall be perfect happiness, that is, holiness, for ever." "When God sends these happy times blessed are those that improve them in doing good with what they have, that sow beside all waters, that embrace all opportunities of relieving the necessitous; for in due season they shall reap." CHAPTER 33
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CHAPTER 27
"God has a strong sword for the doing of this, variety of judgments sufficient to humble the proudest & break the most powerful of his enemies; & he will do it when the day of execution comes" "The world is as a fruitless worthless wilderness; but the church is enclosed as a vineyard, a peculiar place, & of value, that has great care taken of it & great pains taken with it, & from which precious fruits are gathered, wherewith they honour God & man." "Those that bring forth fruit to God are & shall be always under his protection." "We need the constant & continual waterings of the divine grace; for, if that be at any time withdrawn, we wither, & come to nothing." "God sees the sins of his people & is displeased with them; but, upon their repentance, he turns away his wrath." "Christ crucified is the power of God (I Cor. 1:24)." "Woe unto him... that strives with his Maker!" "Though God's persecuted people may be great losers, & great sufferers, for a while, yet those that oppress them will prove to be greater losers & greater sufferers at last, here or hereafter; for God will render double to them, Rev. 18:6." "Let us not despair when things are at the worst; be the winds ever so rough, ever so high, God can say unto them, Peace, be still." "When the captives rallied again, & returned to their own land, the chief thing they had their eye upon, & the first thing they applied themselves to, was the worship of God." "Liberty to worship God is the most valuable & desirable liberty" "Those that are gathered by the sounding of the gospel trumpet are brought in to worship God & added to the church; & the great trumpet of all will gather the saints together, to serve God day & night in his temple." CHAPTER 28 "What God gave them to serve him with they perverted, & abused, by making it the food & fuel of their lusts. They were puffed up with pride by it." "Those that are rich in the world are apt to be high-minded, I Tim. 6:17." "...woe to those who thus exalt themselves, for they shall be abased; their pride is the preface to their destruction." "We must say, Woe to drunkards; their condition is a woeful condition, their brutish pleasures are to be pitied, & not envied; they shall not inherit the kingdom of God (I Cor. 6:10); the curse is in force against them, Deut. 29:19, 20." "Those that have God for their God have him for a crown of glory & a diadem of beauty" "It is a great mercy to any people when those that are called to places of power & public trust are qualified for their places" "For our instruction in the things of God it is requisite that we have precept upon precept & line upon line, that one precept & line should be followed, & so enforced, by another; the precept of justice must be upon the precept of piety, & the precept of charity upon that of justice." "God by his word calls us to nothing but what is really for our advantage; for the service of God is the only true rest for those that are weary of the service of sin & there is no refreshing but under the easy yoke of the Lord Jesus." "It is bad with a people when their thrones of judgment become the seats of the scornful, when rulers are scorners" "If we be at peace with God, & have made a covenant with him, we have in effect made a covenant with death that it shall come in the fittest time, that, whenever it comes, it shall be no terror to us, nor do us any real damage; death is ours if we be Christ's (I Cor. 3:22, 23)" "Honesty is the best policy." "I Peter 2:6. He that believes on him shall not be confounded; his expectations shall not be frustrated, but far out-done." "Those that make lies their refuge build upon the sand, & the building will fall when the storm comes, & bury the builder in the ruins of it. Those that make any thing their hiding place but Christ shall find that the waters will overflow it." "Evil tidings are a terror & vexation to scorners, but he whose heart is fixed, trusting in God, is not afraid of them" "Those that do not build upon Christ as their foundation, but rest in a righteousness of their own, will prove in the end thus to have deceived themselves; they can never be easy, safe, nor warm; the bed is too short, the covering is too narrow; like our first parents' fig-leaves, the shame of their nakedness will still appear." "If those that profess themselves members of God's church by their pride & scornfulness make themselves like Philistines & Canaanites, they must expect to be dealt with as such." "God's church is his husbandry, I Cor. 3. If Christ is the true vine, his Father is the husbandman (John 15:1), & he is continually by his word & ordinances cultivating it." "Afflictions are God's threshing-instruments, designed to loosen us from the world, to separate between us & our chaff, & to prepare us for use." CHAPTER 29 "Hypocrites may be found in a constant track of devout exercises, & treading around in them, & with these they may flatter themselves, but can never please God nor make their peace with him." "Those that despise God's judgments shall be humbled by them; for the proudest sinners shall either bend or break before him." "He that is greater than the heart, & knows all things, knows that though they draw nigh to him with their mouth, & honour him with their lips, yet they are not sincere worshippers." "...they removed their hearts far from God, & therefore God justly removed wisdom far from them." "See what foolish fruitless pains sinners take in their sinful ways" "A practical disbelief of God's omniscience is at the bottom of the carnal worships & of the carnal confidences of hypocrites; Psalms 94:7; Ezek. 8:12; 9:9" "If God made us, he certainly knows us, as the Psalmist shows (Ps. 139:1, 13-16)." "Those who, when they are in trouble, can truly rejoice in God, shall soon have cause given them greatly to rejoice in him." "The power of Satan, that terrible one indeed, shall be broken by the prevalency of Christ's gospel" "If God make our condition easy, we must endeavour to make his name glorious." CHAPTER 30 "...if we distrust God's providence, we do in effect withdraw ourselves from our allegiance." "See what dangers men run into that forsake God, & what dangers they will run into in pursuance of their carnal confidences" "Those that trust in God, in his power, providence, & promise, are never made ashamed of their hope" "God is true, & may be trusted, but every man a liar, & must be suspected." "We weaken ourselves, & provoke God to withdraw from us, when we make flesh our arm, for then our hearts depart from the Lord." "Those that silence good ministers, & discountenance good preaching, are justly counted, & called, rebels against God." "Those deserve to be deceived that desire to be so." "Faithful ministers will not be driven from using such expressions as are proper to awaken sinners, though they be displeasing. We must tell men that God is the Holy One of Israel, & so they shall find him, whether the will hear or whether they will forbear." "Because God is infinitely wise, those are truly happy who refer their cause to him." "These are right-hand & left-hand errors, extremes on each side virtue; the tempter is busy courting us into the by-paths. It is happy then if by the particular counsels of a faithful minister or friend, or the checks of conscience & the strivings of God's Spirit, we be set right & prevented from going wrong." "Those that join themselves to the Lord must abandon every sin, & say unto it, Get thee hence." "Such is the woeful case of those that persist in enmity to God: The wrath of God abides on them." "...when the wicked perish there is shouting; & it is with a particular satisfaction that wise & good men see the ruin of those who, like the Assyrians, have insolently bidden defiance to God & trampled upon all mankind." Matthew Henry's Commentary: Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 144 - 173. CHAPTER 23
"God can soon quiet those, & strike them down, that are the noisy busy people of the world. Be still; for God will do his work (Ps. 46:10; Zech. 2:13), & you cannot resist him." "Those that have lived in the greatest pomp & splendour know not what hardships they may be reduced to before they die." "We deceive ourselves if we promise ourselves rest any where in this world." "...the sin of pride is fastened upon as that which was the particular ground of God's controversy with Tyre; for he resists the proud." "The love of worldly wealth is a spiritual whoredom, & therefore covetous people are called adulterers & adulteresses (James 4:4), & covetousness is spiritual idolatry." "We must first give up ourselves to be holiness to the Lord before what we do, or have, or get, can be so." CHAPTER 24 "Sin has turned the earth upside down; the earth has become quite a different thing to man from what it was when God made it to be his habitation." "The world we live in is a world of disappointment, a vale of tear, & a dying world; & the children of men in it are but of few days, & full of trouble." "Those that make the world their chief joy cannot rejoice evermore." "Carnal joy is a noisy thing; but the noise of it will soon be at an end, & the end of it is heaviness." "The Lord only knows those that are his; the world does not." "It is much for the honour of God if those who fear him rejoice in him, & praise him, even in the most melancholy times." "We do the greatest honour imaginable to ourselves when we employ ourselves in honouring & glorifying God." "Upon the wicked God shall rain snares (Ps. 11:6); &, the fountains of the great deep being broken up, the foundations of the earth do shake of course, the frame of nature is unhinged, & all is in confusion." "Sin is a burden to the whole creation; it is a heavy burden, a burden under which it groans now & will sink at last. Sin is the ruin of states, & kingdoms, & families" "Let us therefore judge nothing before the time." "The glory of the Creator infinitely outshines the glory of the brightest creatures." CHAPTER 25 "...those that would stir up others should in the first place stir up themselves to praise God." "We & others must exalt God & praise him; for 1. He has done wonders, according to the counsel of his own will." "God is a sufficient protection to his people in all weathers, hot & cold, wet & dry." "Believers may triumph over death, & look upon it as a conquered enemy: O death! where is thy sting?" "Those particularly that suffer for Christ shall have consolations abounding as their afflictions do abound." "Our triumphs must not terminate in what God does for us & gives to us but must pass through them to himself, who is the author & giver of them: This is our God." "There is no fortress impregnable to Omnipotence, no fort so high but the arm of the Lord can overtop it & bring it down." CHAPTER 26 "The church is a strong city, for it has walls & bulwarks, or counterscarps, & those of God's own appointing" "It is the character of righteous men that they keep the truths of God" "Thou wilt keep him in peace, peace, in perfect peace, inward peace, outward peace, peace with God, peace of conscience, peace at all times, under all events; this peace shall he be put into, & kept in the possession of, whose mind is stayed upon God, because it trusts in him." "Those that trust in God must have their minds stayed upon him, must trust him at all times, under all events, must firmly & faithfully adhere to him, with an entire satisfaction in him; & such as do so God will keep in perpetual peace, & that peace shall keep them." "Those that trust in God shall not only find in him, but receive from him, everlasting strength, strength that will carry them to everlasting life, to that blessedness which is for ever; & therefore let them trust in him for ever, & never cast away nor change their confidence." "He will make humble souls that trust in him to triumph over their proud enemies." "It is our duty, & will be our comfort, to wait for God, & to keep up holy desires towards him in the darkest & most discouraging times." "Our great concern must be for God's name; & our earnest desire must be that his name may be glorified, whatever becomes of us & our names. This is that which we must wait for, & pray for." "Our desires towards God must be inward, fervent, & sincere." "Even in the darkest night of affliction our desires must be towards God, as our sun & shield; for, however God is pleased to deal with us, we must never think the worse of him, nor cool in our love to him." "The intention of affliction is to teach us righteousness; & blessed is the man whom God chastens, & thus teaches, Ps. 94:12." "Those that are enemies to God's people, & envy them, God looks upon as his enemies, & will deal with them accordingly." "...henceforth we will make mention of God's name only & by him only, that we will keep close to God & to our duty & never desert it." "In affliction those will seek God early who before sought him slowly, Hosea 5:15. It will make men fervent & fluent in prayer." "We cannot praise God's name, but by his strength." "The cause that is maintained in opposition to God & his kingdom among men, though it may prosper awhile, will certainly sink at last, & all that adhere to it will perish with it." "If God has set apart those that are godly for himself, they ought to set themselves apart." "When dangers are threatening it is good to retire, & be hid, as Elijah did by the brook Cherith." "Those sins which seemed to be buried in oblivion will be called to mind, & called over again, when the day of reckoning comes. Let's God's people therefore wait awhile with patience, for behold the Judge stands before the door." Matthew Henry's Commentary: Isaiah To Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 122 - 144. CHAPTER 19
"When God will destroy the nation he will destroy the counsel thereof, by taking away wisdom from the statesmen (Job 12:20), or setting them one against another" "Providence makes fools of them all" "It is sad with a people when those that undertake for their safety are helping forward their destruction, & the physicians of the state are her worst disease" "It is sad with a people when the powers that should be for edification are for destruction, & they are ruined by those by whom they should be ruled" "God can find ways to deprive a country even of that which is its staple commodity." "...if judgment begin at the house of God, where will it end?" "How easily God can make those a terror to themselves that have been, not only secure, but a terror to all about them." "How well it becomes us to fear before God when he does but shake his hand over us, & to humble ourselves under his mighty hand when it does but threaten us, especially when we see his counsel determined against us; for who can change his counsel?" "Converting grace, by changing the heart, changes the language; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." "Jesus Christ delivered the Gentile nations from the service of dumb idols, & did himself both purchase & preach liberty to the captives." "...those do not know God aright who either are not willing to come under binding obligations to the Lord or do & make good those obligations." "It becomes those who have communion with the same God, through the same Mediator, to keep up an amicable correspondence with one another." "Those that are united in the love & blessing of God ought, for that reason, to be united to each other in charity." CHAPTER 20 "When we are in the way of our duty we may trust God both with our credit & with our safety." "To obey is better than sacrifice; it pleases God & praises him more, & shall be more praised by him." "Those who make any creature their expectation & glory, & so put it in the place of God, will sooner or later be ashamed of it, & their disappointment in it will but increase their fear." "Those that confide in creatures will be disappointed, & will be made ashamed of their confidence; for vain is the help of man, & in vain is salvation hope for from the hills or the height & multitude of the mountains." CHAPTER 21 "For the sighing of the needy the God of pity will arise in due time (Psalms 12:5); he will break the yoke from off their neck, will remove the rod of the wicked from off their lot, & so make their sighing to cease." "Babylon was the mother of harlots (that is, of idolatry), which was one of the grounds of God's quarrel with her; but her idols should now be so far from protecting her that some of them should be broken down to the ground, & others of them, that were worth carrying away, should go into captivity, & be a burden to the beasts that carried them" "God's prophets & ministers are appointed to be watchmen, & we are to look upon them as such." "It is our duty to enquire of the watchmen, especially to ask again & again, What of the night? for watchmen wake when others sleep." "...God usually gives a morning of opportunity before he sends a night of calamity, that his own people may be prepared for the storm & others left inexcusable." "We know not what straits we may be brought into before we die." "Neither the skill of archers (though they be ever so good marksmen) nor the courage of mighty men can protect a people from the judgments of God" "God, when he please, can do a great work in a little time." CHAPTER 22 "The higher any are lifted up in means & mercies the heavier will their doom be if they abuse them." "Public grievances should be our griefs." "We tempt God if, in times of danger, we do not the best we can for ourselves." "The gospel church has God for its Maker." "In all our cares for the defence of the church we must look more at God's interest in it than at our own. They did not depend upon him for a blessing upon their endeavours, saw no need of it, & therefore sought not to him for it, but thought their own powers & policies sufficient for them." "When God threatens us with his judgments he expects & requires that we humble ourselves under his mighty hand, that we tremble when the lion roars, & in a day of adversity consider." "A practical disbelief of another life after this is at the bottom of the carnal security & brutish sensuality which are the sin, & shame, & ruin of so great a part of mankind, as of the old world, who were eating & drinking till the flood came." "Those that walk contrary to God shall find that he will contrary to them; with the froward he will show himself froward." "We have need to pray for princes that they may be wise & happy in the choice of those they trust." "Those who, when they are in power, turn & toss others, will be justly turned & tossed themselves when their day shall come to fail." "Those that are called to places of trust & power should seek unto God for grace to enable them to do the duty of their places; for that ought to be their chief care." "Thus lasting shall the honour be that comes from God to all those who use it for him." "The glory of this world gives a man no intrinsic worth or excellency; it is but hung upon him as an appurtenance, & it will soon drop from him." "Jesus, having the key of the house of David, is as a nail in a sure place, & all the glory of his father's house hangs upon him, is derived from him, & depends upon him" "That soul cannot perish, nor that concern fall to the ground, though ever so weighty, that is by faith hung upon Christ." Matthew Henry's Commentary: Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 103 - 122. |
AuthorCross Preaching Pentecostal Pastor. Husband to Tonia, Father to 3 beautiful girls, Monica, Zoe & Briana, & Grandfather to Wesley & Elliott Archives
September 2023
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