INSIGHTS & NOTES FROM
CHAPTER 51
"How the people of God are... described. They are such as follow after righteousness, such as are very desirous & solicitous both to be justified & to be sanctified, are pressing hard after this, to have the favour of God restored to them & the image of God renewed on them." "Those that are now advanced would do well to remember how low they began." "It is the greatest comfort of the church to be made serviceable to the glory of God, & to be as his garden in which he delights." "Those are God's people & his nation who are subject to him as their King & their God, pay allegiance to him, & put themselves under his protection accordingly." "...wherever there is the righteousness of God there shall be his salvation." "God's arm shall judge the people that are impenitent , & yet on his arm shall others trust & be saved by it" "Those whose happiness is bound up in Christ's righteousness & salvation will have the comfort of it when time & days shall be no more." "Let us not fear the reproach of men; for 1. They will be quickly silenced... 2. The cause we suffer for cannot be run down. The falsehood of their reproaches will be detected, but truth shall triumph" "The church sees her case bad, her enemies many & mighty, her friends few & feeble; & therefore she depends purely upon the strength of God's arm for her relief." "Sinners, when they are brought out of the slavery of sin into the glorious liberty of God's children, may come singing, as a bird got loose out of the cage." "Those we fear we must look upon as frail & mortal, & consider what a foolish thing it is for the servants of the living God to be afraid of dying men, that are here today & gone tomorrow." "Our inordinate fear of man is a tacit forgetfulness of God." "Happy is the man that fears God always. Proverbs 28:14; Luke 12:4, 5." "When God works great deliverances for his church, & especially when he shall complete the salvation of it in the great day, he will thereby own that poor despised handful to be his people, whom he has chosen & loved." "It is a call to awake... out of the stupor of despair" "Those that will not be counselled cannot be helped." "It is often the lot of God's church to be afflicted, & God has always something to say to her then which she will do well to hearken to." CHAPTER 52 "The joy of the Lord will be our strength (Neh. 8:10)" "The gospel proclaims liberty to those who were under the burden of sin, finding relief in Christ, shake themselves from the dust of their doubts & fears & loose themselves from those bands; for if the Son make them free, they shall be free indeed." "God will do something to vindicate his own honour, something for his great name" "Those that share in mercies ought to join in praises." "God's arm is a holy arm, stretched out in purity & justice, in defence of holiness & in pursuance of his promise." "Those that are in the way of their duty are under God's special protection" "...the gospel brings to light things new & unheard of, which will awaken the attention & engage the reverence of kings & kingdoms." CHAPTER 53 "Of the many that hear the report of the gospel there are few, very few, that believe it." "What a pity is it that such rich grace should be received in vain, that precious souls should perish at the pool's side, because they will not step in & be healed!" "Carnal hearts see no excellency in the Lord Jesus, nothing that should induce them to desire an acquaintance with him or interest in him" "Oppression is a sore affliction; it has made many a wise man mad (Eccl. 7:7); but our Lord Jesus, though, when he was oppressed, he was afflicted, kept possession of his own soul." "We have all gone astray from God our rightful owner, alienated ourselves from him, from the ends he designed us to move towards & the way he appointed us to move in. We have gone astray like sheep, which are apt to wander, & are unapt, when they have gone astray, to find the way home again." "Instead of walking obediently in God's way, we have turned willfully & stubbornly to our own way, the way of our own heart, the way that our own corrupt appetites & passions lead us to." "All that are justified are justified by having their sins laid on Jesus Christ, &, though they were ever so many, he is able to bear the weight of them all." "Christ was in pain that we might be at ease; he gave satisfaction to the justice of God that we might have satisfaction in our own minds, might be of good cheer, knowing that through him our sins are forgiven us." "While the world stands Christ will have a church in it, which he himself will be the life of." "The work of man's redemption is in the hands of the Lord Jesus, & it is in good hands." "...it should be a satisfaction to us if we can do any thing to serve the interests of God's kingdom in the world. Let it always be our meat & drink, as it was Christ's, to do God's will." "Christ conquered for us, & through him we are more than conquerors." CHAPTER 54 "The more numerous the church grows the more cautious she must be to fortify herself" "How sweet the returns of mercy would be to them when God should come & comfort them according to the time that he had afflicted them." "God's anger endures for a moment, but he will gather his people when they think themselves neglected." "...God's kindness shall never depart from his people, for whom he loves he loves to the end; nor shall the covenant of his peace ever be removed, for he is the Lord that has mercy on his people." "All that are taught of God are taught to love one another (I Thess. 4:9)" "The day is coming when God will reckon with wicked men for all their hard speeches which they have spoken against him. Jude 15." "In those for whom God designs a heritage hereafter he will work righteousness now." Matthew Henry's Commentary: Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 287 - 315.
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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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