INSIGHTS & NOTES FROM
CHAPTER 7
"...let the injuries we receive from men, instead of provoking our passions, kindle & excite our devotions." "It is the glory of God to help the helpless." "It is a presumptuous dangerous thing for any that are guilty, & suffer justly, to appeal to God, as if they were innocent & suffered wrongly;" "When corruption is mortified, when every wicked way & thought are forsaken, & the stream which ran violently towards the world & the flesh is driven back & runs towards God & heaven, then the wickedness of the wicked comes to an end." "Not only, God is my defender, & I shall find him so; but I look for defence & safety in no other; my hope for shelter in a time of danger is placed in God alone; if I have defence, it must be of God." "While God is preparing his instruments of death, he gives the sinners timely warning of their danger, & space to repent & prevent it." "...we must sing to the praise of the Lord most high, who, when his enemies deal proudly, shows that he is above them." CHAPTER 8 "God's glory... How great, how illustrious, how magnificent is his name in all the earth!" "Sometimes the power of God brings to pass great things in his church by very weak & unlikely instruments, & confounds the noble, wise & mighty, by the base, & weak, & foolish things of the world, that no flesh may glory in his presence, but the excellency of the power may the more evidently appear to be of God, & not of men. I Corinthians 1:27, 28." "...we must especially set ourselves to give glory to our Lord Jesus, by confessing that he is Lord, submitting to him as our Lord, & waiting till we see all things put under him & all his enemies made his footstool." CHAPTER 9 "God expects suitable returns of praise from those for whom he has done marvellous works." "Holy joy is the life of thankful praise, as thankful praise is the language of holy joy: I will be glad & rejoice in thee." "The triumph of the Redeemer ought to be the triumphs of the redeemed;" "It is the great support & comfort of good people, when the power of the church's enemies is threatening & the posture of its affairs melancholy & perplexed, that God now rules the world & will shortly judge the world." "The better God is known the more he is trusted." "If we trust God we shall seek him by faithful & fervent prayer, & by a constant care to approve ourselves to him in the whole course of our conversation." "There is a day coming when God will make inquisition for blood, when he will discover what has been shed secretly, & avenge what has been shed unjustly (abortion)" "We are never brought so low, so near to death, but God can raise us up." "Forgetfulness of God is the cause of all the wickedness of the wicked." "It is a very desirable thing, much for the glory of God & the peace & welfare of the universe, that men should know & consider themselves to be but men, depending creatures, mutable, mortal & accountable." CHAPTER 10 "God's withdrawings are very grievous to his people at any time, but especially in times of trouble." "The sinner proudly glories in his power & success." "Wicked people will not seek after God (that is, will not call upon him); they live without prayer, & that is living without God. They have many thoughts, many projects & devices, but no eye to God in any of them, no submission to his will nor aim at his glory." "Men will not seek after God because they think they have no need of him, their own hands are sufficient for them;" "Let those that suffer by proud oppressors hope that God will, in due time, appear for them; for those that are abusive to them are abusive to God Almighty too." "To whom should the injured subjects appeal but to the sovereign? Help, my Lord, O King! Avenge me of my adversary." "He will put an end to the fury of the persecutors." "He that protects us is the Lord of heaven..." "God speaks the word Satan shall by his instruments no more deceive (Rev. 20:3), no more oppress." Matthew Henry's Commentary: Job To Song Of Solomon, Mac Donald, pgs. 261 - 276.
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CHAPTER 3
"Perils & frights should drive us to God, not drive us from him." "Even our sorrow for sin must not hinder either our joy in God or our hope in God." "True Christian fortitude consists more in a gracious security & serenity of mind, in patiently hearing & patiently waiting, than in daring enterprises with sword in hand." "...how little fidelity & constancy are to be found among men!" "An active believer, the more he is beaten off from God, either by the rebukes of Providence or the reproaches of enemies, the faster hold he will take of him & the closer will he cleave to him;" "God's people can lift up their heads with joy, knowing that all shall work for good to them, they will own it as God that is the lifter up of their head, that gives them both cause to rejoice & hearts to rejoice." "Care & grief do us good & no hurt when they get us a praying, & engage us, not only to speak to God, but to cry to him, as those that are in earnest." "...we lie down & sleep, & awake again to the light & comfort of another day; & whence is it, but because the Lord has sustained us with sleep as with food?" "It is a great mercy when we are in trouble to have our minds stayed upon God" "When, at any time, the power of the church's enemies seems threatening, it is good to remember how often God has broken it; & we are sure that his arm is not shortened. He can stop their mouths & tie their hands." "God's people, though they may lie under the reproaches & censures of men, are surely blessed of him, who blesses indeed, & therefore can command a blessing." CHAPTER 4 "All the notice God is pleased to take of our prayers, & all the returns he is pleased to make to them, must be ascribed not to our merit, but purely to his mercy" "When men condemn us unjustly, this is our comfort, It is God that justifies;" "Those that love the world, & seek the things that are beneath, love vanity, & seek lies;" "Godly men are God's separated, sealed ones; he knows those that are his, & has set his image & superscription upon them; he distinguishes them with uncommon favours;" "Always keep up a holy reverence of the glory & majesty of God, & a holy dread of his wrath & curse, & dare not to provoke him." "Honour him, by trusting in him only, & not in your wealth nor in an arm of flesh; trust in his providence, & lean not to your own understanding; trust in his grace, & go not about to establish your own righteousness or sufficiency." "We look with an eye of faith further than we can see with an eye of sense." "When God puts grace in the heart he puts gladness in the heart;" "True joy is God's gift, not as the world giveth. John 14:27." "...let us commit ourselves & all our affairs to the guidance & custody of the divine Providence, & be satisfied that all shall be made to work for good to us if we keep ourselves in the love of God." CHAPTER 5 "...a prayer-hearing God; such he has always been ever since men began to call upon the name of the Lord, & yet is still as ready to hear prayer as ever." "If we pray fervently, & in faith, we have reason to hope" "The assurance God has given us of his readiness to hear prayer should confirm our resolution to live & die praying." "Let those therefore who delight in sin know that God has no delight in them;" "The workers of iniquity are very foolish. Sin is folly, & sinners are the greatest of all fools;" "God is greatly to be feared by all the worshippers." "The mercy of God should ever be both the foundation of our hopes & the fountain of our joy in every thing wherein we have to do with him." "...God's people. They are the righteous (v. 12); for they put their trust in God, are well assured of his power & all-sufficiency, venture their all upon his promise, & are confident of his protection in the way of their duty; & they love his name, are well pleased with all that by which God has made himself known, & take delight in their acquaintance with him." "Let all that are entitled to God's promises have a share in our prayers; grace be with all that love Christ in sincerity." "...we must by faith put ourselves under God's guidance & care, & then please ourselves with his mercy & grace & with the prospect of God's triumphs at last over all his enemies & his people's triumphs in him & in his salvation." CHAPTER 6 "To the living God we must... address ourselves, who is the only physician both of body & mind" "It has often been the lot of the best of men to be men of sorrows; our Lord Jesus himself was so." "Sorrow for sin ought to be great sorrow; so David's was; he wept so bitterly, so abundantly, that he watered his couch." "'Return, O Lord! receive me into thy favour again, & be reconciled to me." "It is an unspeakable privilege that we have a God to go to in our afflictions, & it is our duty to go to him, & thus to wrestle with him, & we shall not seek in vain." "Those that sincerely seek God's glory, & desire & delight to praise him, may pray in faith." "When God has done great things for us, this should put us upon studying what we shall do for him." "Those that will not give glory to God shall have their faces filled with everlasting shame." "...we must give glory to God, as a God ready to hear prayer, must own his goodness to us in hearing our prayers, & must encourage ourselves to wait upon him & to trust in him in the greatest straits & difficulties." Matthew Henry's Commentary: Job To Song Of Solomon, Mac Donald, pgs. 247 - 261. CHAPTER 41
"It is good to remember the battle before we engage in a war" "As God does not inflict upon us the evils we have deserved, so he does bestow upon us the favours we have not deserved." "It is the picture of a hard-hearted sinner, that despises the terrors of the Almighty & laughs at all the threatenings of his word." "The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, & the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, & thus the Lord alone shall be exalted." CHAPTER 42 "Corrupt passions & practices arise either from some corrupt principles or from the neglect & disbelief of the principles of truth; & therefore true repentance begins in the acknowledgement of the the truth. II Timothy 2:25." "If God's thoughts concerning us be thoughts of good, to give us an unexpected end, he cannot be withheld from accomplishing his gracious purposes, whatever difficulties may seem to be in the way." "In true repentance there must be not only conviction of sin, but contrition & godly sorrow for it, sorrow according to God. II Corinthians 7:9. Such was Job's sorrow for his sins." "It is a great mercy to have a good education, & to know the things of God by the instructions of his word & ministers." "By the teachings of men God reveals his Son to us; but by the teachings of his Spirit he reveals his Son in us (Gal. 1:16); & so changes us into the same image. II Corinthians 3:18." "Self-loathing is evermore the companion of true repentance." "Let us leave it to God to govern the world, & make it our care, in the strength of his grace, to govern ourselves & our own hearts well." "True penitents shall find favour with God, & what they have said & done amiss shall no more be mentioned against them." "If God says, Well done, good & faithful servant, it is of little consequence who says otherwise." "God is often angry at that in us which we are ourselves proud of & sees much amiss in that which we think was done well." "Satisfaction must first be made for wrong done, according as the nature of the thing requires, before we can hope to obtain from God the forgiveness of sin." "Our quarrels with God always begin on our part, but the reconciliation begins on his." "Peace with God is to be had only in his own way & upon his own terms, & they will never seem hard to those who know how to value the privilege, but they will be glad of it upon any terms, though ever so humbling." "He that rightly endures temptation, when he is tried, shall receive a crown of life (Jam. 1:12), as Job, when he was tried, received all the wealth, & honour, & comfort, which here we have an account of." "His troubles began in Satan's malice, which God restrained; his restoration began in God's mercy, which Satan could not oppose." "God will take care that none shall lose by him." "We know not what good times we may yet be reserved for in our latter end." "God has ways to repair the losses & balance the griefs of those who are written childless, as Job was when he had buried all his children." Matthew Henry's Commentary: Job To Song Of Solomon, Mac Donald, pgs. 225 - 236. |
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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