INSIGHTS & NOTES FROM
CHAPTER 3
"...every change concerning us, with the time & season of it, is unalterably fixed & determined by a supreme power; & we must take things as they come, for it is not in our power to change what is appointed for us." "Every purpose has its time." "There is a time for men to plant, a time of the year, a time of their lives; but, when that which was planted has grown fruitless & useless, it is time to pluck it up." "A time to rend the garments, as upon occasion of some great grief, & a time to sew them again, in token that the grief is over." "A time when it becomes us, & is our wisdom & duty, to keep silence, when it is an evil time (Amos 5:13), when our speaking would be the casting of pearl before swine, or when we are in danger of speaking amiss (Psalms 39:2); but there is also a time to speak for the glory of God & the edification of others" "We must make the best of that which is, & must believe it best for the present, & accommodate ourselves to it: He has made every thing beautiful in his time" "Though we see not the complete beauty of Providence, yet we shall see it, & a glorious sight it will be, when the mystery of God shall be finished." "God has not left himself without witness of his righteous, equal & beautiful ordering of things, but has set it forth, to be observed in the book of the world, & this he has set in men's hearts." "We must be pleased with our lot in this world, & cheerfully acquiesce in the will of God concerning us, & accommodate ourselves to it." "Every man's life is his opportunity of doing that which will make for him in eternity." "With an eye of faith we may see, not only the period, but the punishment of the pride & cruelty of oppressors (Psalms 92:7)" "If God have prospered the work of our hands unto us, let us rejoice in it, & take the comfort of it, & not make it a burden to ourselves & leave others the joy of it" "It is not for us to know the times & seasons that shall be after us" "Since death is a final farewell to this life, let us look before us to another life." CHAPTER 4 "Wise men will consider these oppressions, & contrive to do something for the relief of them that are oppressed. Blessed is he that considers the poor." "It is sad to see power misplaced, & that which was given men to enable them to do good perverted to support them in doing wrong." "It is sad to see so little humanity among men." "The condition of the saints that are dead, & gone to rest with God, is upon many accounts better & more desirable than the condition of living saints that are yet continued in their work & warfare." "Better never to have been born than be born to see the evil work that is done under the sun, to see so much wickedness committed, so much wrong done" "Those that excel in virtue will always be an eye-sore to those that exceed in vice, which should not discourage us from any right work, but drive us to expect the praise of it, not from men, but from God" "Idleness is a sin that is its own punishment." "Those that cannot live on a little, it is to be feared, would not live as they should if they had ever so much." "Worldly people pretending to be wise for themselves, are really enemies to themselves." "He that serves himself only has himself only for his paymaster" "But he that is kind to another has a good reward; the pleasure & advantage of holy love will be an abundant recompence for all the work & labour of love." "If a man fall into sin, his friend will help to restore him with the spirit of meekness; if he fall into trouble, his friend will help to comfort him & assuage his grief." "Christians warm one another by provoking one another to love & to good works" "If an enemy find a man alone, he is likely to prevail against him; with his own single strength he cannot make his part good, but, if he have a second, he may do well enough: 2 shall withstand him." "In our spiritual warfare we may be helpful to one another as well as in our spiritual work; next to the comfort of communion with God, is that of the communion of saints." "...where 2 are closely joined in holy love & fellowship, Christ will by his Spirit come to them, & make the third, as he joined himself to the 2 disciples going Emmaus, & then there is a threefold cord that can never be broken. They that dwell in love, dwell in God, & God in them." "Nothing is more slippery than the highest post of honour without wisdom & the people's love." "Folly & wilfulness commonly go together, & those that most need admonition can worst bear it" "Providence sometimes raises the poor out of the dust, to set them among princes. Psalms 113:7. Wisdom has wrought not only the liberty of men, but their dignity, raised them from the dunghill, from the dungeon, to the throne." CHAPTER 5 "Let our disappointments in the creature turn our eyes to The Creator" "In the word & prayer there is a balm for every wound" "Address thyself to the worship of God with a solemn pause, & take time to compose thyself for it" "...keep thy affections from running out towards wrong objects, for in the business of God's house there is work enough for the whole man" "Wicked minds cannot choose but sin, even in the acts of devotion" "We must diligently attend to the word of God read & preached." "We must resolve to comply with the will of God as it is made known to us" "Speak, Lord, for thy servant hears" "WE must be very cautious & considerate in all our approaches & addresses to God" "What we utter before God must come from the heart, & therefore we must not be rash with our mouth, never let our tongue outrun, our thoughts in our devotions: the words of our mouth must always be the product of the meditation of our hearts." "We must... not talk to God as boldly & carelessly as we do to one another" "Let us speak to God, & of him, in his own words, words which the scripture teaches" "We must take heed that we never vow any thing that is sinful" "...though oppressors be high, God is above them" "God is higher than the highest of creatures, than the highest of princes, than the king" "Godliness with contentment, is great gain." "The sleep of the diligent Christian & his long sleep, is sweet; for, having spent himself & his time in the service of God, he can cheerfully return to God & repose in him as his rest." "We must not do the business of our calling as a drudgery, & make ourselves slaves to it, but we must rejoice in our labour" "A cheerful spirit is a great blessing; it makes the yoke of our employments easy & the burden of our afflictions light." CHAPTER 6 "He is weak indeed, who has not power to use what God gives him, for God gives him not that power, but withholds it from him, to punish him for his other abuses of his wealth." "What we have we have in vain if we do not use it" "Those that live in wilful ignorance, & know nothing to purpose, are no better than an untimely birth that has not seen the sun nor known any thing." "The desires of the soul find nothing in the wealth of the world to give them any satisfaction." "Better is the sight of the eyes, making the best of that which is present, than the wandering of the desire, the uneasy walking of the soul after things at a distance, & the affecting of a variety of imaginary satisfactions." "Our lot, whatever it is, is that which is appointed us by the counsel of God, which cannot be altered, & it is therefore our wisdom to reconcile ourselves to it & cheerfully to acquiesce in it." "If all the comforts of life be vanity, life itself can have no great reality in it to constitute a happiness for us." "Vanity of vanity, all is vanity." Matthew Henry's Commentary: Job To Song Of Solomon, Mac Donald, pgs. 995 - 1016.
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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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