INSIGHTS & NOTES FROM
CHAPTER 17
"The sin of sinners is never forgotten till it is forgiven." "Justly are men stripped of that which they have served their idols with & have made the food & fuel of their lusts." "Sin works a discontinuance of our comforts & deprives us of the enjoyment of that which God has given us." "...putting that confidence in the wisdom & power, the kindness & faithfulness, of men, which should be placed in those attributes of God only, making our applications to men & raising our expectations from them as principal agents" "Those that trust to their own righteousness & strength, & think they can do well enough without the merit & grace of Christ, thus make flesh their arm, & their souls cannot prosper in graces or comforts; they can neither produce the fruits of acceptable services to God nor reap the fruits of saving blessings from him; they dwell in a dry land." "The duty required of us - to trust in the Lord" "It is to make the Lord our hope, his favour the good we hope for & his power the strength we hope in." "Those that make God their hope (1.) They shall flourish in credit & comfort, like a tree that is always green, whose leaf does not wither, they shall be cheerful to themselves & beautiful in the eyes of others." "they shall be fruitful in holiness, & in all good works. Those who trust in God, & by faith derive strength & grace from him, shall not cease from yielding fruit;" "...God is Judge himself, & he alone, because he, & none besides, knows the hearts of the children of men." "God knows more evil of us than we do of ourselves, which is a good reason why we should not flatter ourselves, but always stand in awe or the judgment of God." "Let us therefore be wise in time - what we get to get it honesty, & what we have to use it charitably, that we may lay up in store a good foundation & be wise for eternity." "God is to all that are his a fountain of living waters. There is a fulness of comfort in him, an over-flowing, ever-flowing fulness, like that of a fountain; it is always fresh, & clear, & clean, like spring water, while the pleasures of sin are puddle-waters." "Those that come to God to be healed ought to be abundantly satisfied in the all-sufficiency of their physician." "If God hold us up, we shall live; if he protect us, we shall be safe." "God does not, & therefore ministers must not, desire the death of sinners, but rather that they may turn & live." "Those that by faith make God their confidence shall have him for their comfort in the worst of times." "God's ministers have work to do which they need not be either ashamed or afraid to go on in, but they do need to be helped by the divine grace to go on in it without shame or fear." CHAPTER 18 "Those that would know God's mind must observe his appointments, & attend where they may hear his words." "Thus are our times in God's hand, & not in our own, & it is in vain for us to strive with him." "God formed us out of the clay, & we are still as clay in his hands; & has not he the same power over us that the potter has over the clay? & are not we bound to submit, as the clay, to the potter's wisdom & will?" "Sin is the great mischief-maker between God & a people; it forfeits the benefit of his promises & spoils the success of their prayers." "It is a terrible thing, enough to make one tremble to think of it, that those who have made their condition sad by sinning should make it desperate by refusing to reform." "Those that revolt from God will justly be made the scorn of all about them, &, having reproached the Lord, will themselves be a reproach." "What good can be done with those who hear the word of God with a resolution not to heed it or believe it." "Call a man ungrateful & you can call him no worse." "Those will not be won upon by the kindness of God & his prophets will certainly at length feel the just resentments of both." CHAPTER 19 "...those that would win souls must be wise." "Persons of rank & figure have an opportunity of honouring God by a diligent attendance on the ministry of the word" "There is no fleeing from God's justice but by fleeing to his counsel, by humbling themselves under his mighty hand, shall find that God will make void their counsel & blast their projects." "Whatever men may think to the contrary, the executions of Providence will fully answer the predictions of the word, & God will appear as terrible against sin & sinners as the scripture makes him" "We have need therefore to pray that God, by his grace, would deliver us from hardness of heart & contempt of his word & commandments." CHAPTER 20 "God can make the most daring sinner a terror to himself, & will find out a way to frighten those that frighten his people from doing their duty." "Happy are those who have secured to themselves precious things in God's precious promises, which are out of the reach of soldiers." "Lively preachers are the scorn of careless unbelieving hearers." "He (Jeremiah) was tempted to quit his work & give it over, partly because he himself met with so much hardship in it & partly because those to whom he was sent, instead of being edified & made better, were exasperated & made worse" "He found the grace of God mighty in him to keep him to his business, notwithstanding the temptation he was in to throw it up" "He that tries the righteous tries the unrighteous too, & he is very well qualified to do both; for he sees the reins & the heart, he certainly knows men's thoughts & affections, their aims & intentions, & therefore can pass an unerring judgment on their words & actions." "Whatever injuries are done us, we must not study to avenge ourselves, but must leave it to that God to do it to whom vengeance belongs, & who hath said, I will repay." "It is proper to express our hope in God by our praising him, & our praising God by our singing to him. That which is the matter of the praise is, He hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of the evil-doers" "Those that are faithful in well-doing need not fear them that are spiteful in evil-doing, for they have a God to trust to who has well-doers under the hand of his protection & evil-doers under the hand of his restraint." "If there were not another life after this, we should be tempted many a time to wish that we had never know this; for our few days here are full of trouble." "When the heart is hot, let the tongue be bridled." "Father in heaven, lead us not into temptation!" Matthew Henry's Commentary: Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 517 - 541.
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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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