Philippians 3

"THAT I MAY GAIN CHRIST"

⁷ But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. ⁸ Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 

  and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 

 

 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,   if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

April 30

The Overcomer's Reward

To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. (Revelation 2:17)

My heart, be thou stirred up to persevere in the holy war, for the reward of victory is great. Today we eat of heavenly food which falls about our camps; the food of the wilderness, the food which comes from heaven, the food which never fails the pilgrims to Canaan. But there is reserved for us in Christ Jesus a still higher degree of spiritual life and a food for it which, as yet, is hidden from our experience. In the golden pot which was laid up in the ark there was a portion of manna hidden away, which though kept for ages never grew stale. No one ever saw it; it was hid with the Ark of the Covenant, in the Holy of Holies. Even so, the highest life of the believer is hid with Christ, in God. We shall come to it soon, Being made victorious through the grace of our Lord Jesus, we shall eat of the King's meat and feed upon royal dainties. We shall feed upon Jesus. He is our "hidden manna," as well as the manna of the wilderness. He is all in all to us in our highest, as well as in our lowest, estate. He helps us to fight, gives us the victory, and then is Himself our reward. Lord, help me to overcome.

 God’s Palliatives


Fifthly, our text seems to intimate that God has in store something to go with our temptations. He ‘will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.’
You know how you treat your own child. There is a dose of nasty medicine to be taken, and the little one does not like it. The very sight of the spoon and cup makes the child feel worse. But mother says, ‘Now, Johnny, take this medicine, and then you shall have this lump of sugar or this fruit, to take away the taste of it.’

And when God sends a trial or trouble to one of his children, he is sure to have a choice sweetmeat to go with it. I have heard a child say, ‘I do not mind taking the medicine so long as I get the sugar,’ and I have known some of the Lord’s people say, ‘We will willingly bear sickness, pain, bereavement, temptation, persecution, if we may but have our Saviour’s presence in it all.’

Some of us will never forget our experiences in sickness; when our pain has been sharpest and worst, it has also been sweetest and best, at the same time. What do I not personally owe to the file, and the anvil, and the hammer in my Master’s workshop?

 I have often said, and I say again, that the best piece of furniture in my house is the cross of affliction. I have long ago learned to prize it, and to praise God for it, and for that which has come to me with it, for I have often found that, with the trial, the Lord has made a way of escape, that I have been able to bear it.
 
Even with the temptation to sin, the Lord often sends to the tempted soul such a revelation of the sinfulness of sin, and of the beauty of holiness, that the poison of the temptation is quite neutralised. Even with temporal trials, the Lord often gives temporal mercies; sometimes, when he has been pleased to take away a man’s wealth, he has restored to him his health, and so the man has been a distinct gainer.
 
I have known several instances in which this has occurred. When one dear child has been taken away out of a family, there has been the conversion of another of the children, which has been a wonderful compensation for the trial. And often trouble has been attended with an unusual delight in the Lord. The Word of God has been peculiarly sweet at such a time, and the minister has seemed to preach better than ever he did before, his message exactly fitting your condition just then.

You have been surprised to find that the bitterness, which came with the trouble, has passed away almost before you were aware of it; and, as death is swallowed up in victory, like one bitter drop in a glass of water, so your trouble has been diluted with sweetness, and you have scarcely tasted its bitterness. Thus the Lord, by his grace and presence and comfort, has made you so glad that you have hardly known that you have been in such trouble, because of the super-abounding mercy which came with it. Ought not that to comfort us, and to make us ready for whatever the Lord pleases to send to us, or to permit to come upon us?

Revelation 14

"VOICE OF MANY WATERS"

The Lamb and the 144,000

 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads. ² And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. 

 

³ They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. 

 

 ⁴ These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. ⁵ And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.

 God’s Assessment


Fourthly, not only should tried believers rejoice in God’s power, but they should also rejoice in God’s judgement or assessment of his people, for Paul says, ‘God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.’

God knows just how much you can bear, so leave yourself in his hands

Who beside God knows how much we are able to bear? Our consolation arises from the fact that God knows exactly how much we can bear. I have many a time heard a person say, ‘If such-and-such a thing were to happen, I should break my heart, and die.’

Well, that very thing has happened, but the person concerned did not break his heart, and he did not die. On the contrary, he behaved himself as a Christian in trial should, because God helped him wonderfully, and he played the man, and became more than conqueror, and was the brighter and the braver ever afterwards, for all the affliction through which he had passed.
 
Brother, your own strength, in some respects, is greater than you think, and, in other respects, it is less than you think; but God knows just how much you can bear, so leave yourself in his hands.
I have often admired the lovingkindness of the Lord to many of my own flock here, and have noted the great joy that our young Christians have had for a number of years, and observed how remarkably God has preserved them from temptation without and from trials within.

The Lord does not send his young children out to battle. He does not intend such little boats as these to go far out to sea. He will not overdrive these lambs. Yet the advanced Christians are just as happy as the young people are, and they are stronger and more fit for stern service, and more able to sympathise with others, who are in trouble, because of what they have themselves passed through. As they have grown stronger, God has given them more fighting to do for him, while the raw recruits have been kept at home to be drilled and disciplined.
 
You know that when there is a desperate fight being waged, and the issue of the battle seems in doubt, the commander orders ‘the old guard’ to the front. That is part of the privilege of being an old guardsman – to go into the hottest place on the field of battle; and it is one of the privileges of the advanced children of God to be tempted more than others, and to suffer more than others.
If I could have any trial or temptation, which, otherwise, would fall upon a young brother, who has only known the Lord a week or two, I would gladly say, ‘Let me have it.’ It might stagger him, and I should be sorry for him to be staggered by it, so I will willingly endure it.

You tried believers must not imagine that God does not love you as much as he did in the days of your spiritual youth when he did not test you as he does now. He loves you quite as much as he did then, and he trusts you even more than he did then. Because he has made you stronger than you used to be, he gives you the honour and privilege of marching with the vanguard of his army, or leading the forlorn hope, or standing foot to foot with old Apollyon.
 
God knows exactly how much temptation or trial you can bear, and he will not suffer the trial to go beyond that point. But, mark you, it will go right up to that point, for there is no such thing in the world as faith that runs to waste. For every grain of faith that God gives, he usually gives the equivalent trial of some sort or other; for, if faith could ever be in excess, it would degenerate into fanaticism, or some other unholy thing. If the Lord supplies us, at our back door as it were, with his good treasure, we are to dispose of it in our front shop in our holy trading for him.

 God’s Mighty Power

The third comfort for tried and tempted believers arises from God’s power, for Paul says, ‘God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.’

God, then, has power to limit temptation. It is clear, from the Book of Job, that Satan could not tempt or try the patriarch except by divine permission, and even then his power was limited. Nor can he tempt us unless God allows him to do so.

Although the devil had great power over the elements, so that he brought disaster upon poor Job, yet there was a very definite limit to his chain, even when the Lord let him loose to a certain extent. When God set up his barriers, Satan could not go beyond them.
 
You remember that the Lord first said to Satan concerning his servant Job, ‘Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand.’ When the devil again intruded himself among the sons of God, the Lord let out more links of his chain, but there was still a most emphatic limit to his power over the patriarch, ‘Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.’

The devil would have liked to kill Job outright, but he could go no further than the Lord allowed him to go; and God still has unlimited power over the devil and over every form of temptation or trial that can ever come upon you.

If the Lord appoints for you ten troubles, he will not suffer them to be increased to eleven. If he ordains that you shall be in trouble for six years, you will not be in it for six years and a day; but, when the allotted time has expired, you shall come out of it. Nothing can resist the might of the omnipotent Jehovah.
 
If all the armies of the devil were let loose upon a single saint, who felt himself to be weak as a worm, and the Lord said to them, ‘I am his defence, and you shall not touch him,’ they could not touch him, and he would be able to say, with the utmost confidence,

‘Greater is he that is for me than all that can be against me.’

The adversaries of the righteous may rage as much as they will; but they will have to spend their strength in raging, for that is all they can do against God’s people without his express permission.
 
Not a hair of their head can be scorched by the fires of persecution unless the Lord allows it. All his people are kept by his almighty power. How greatly this ought to comfort you who are sorely tried! Every twig of the rod of correction has been made by God, and every stroke of it is counted by him.

There is not a drop more gall in your cup than the Lord has ordained. He has weighed in the scales of the sanctuary every ingredient of your medicine, and mixed it with all his infallible skill so that it may produce the cure of all your ills. Should not this make you rejoice in the Lord all the day long, and in the night seasons as well?

God Finished His Work

The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me. (Psalm 138:8)

He who has begun will carry on the work which is being wrought within my soul. The Lord is concerned about everything that concerns me. All that is now good, but not perfect, the Lord will watch over, preserve, and carry out to completion. This is a great comfort. I could not perfect the work of grace myself. Of that I am quite sure, for I fail every day and have only held on so long as I have because the Lord has helped me. If the Lord were to leave me, all my past experience would go for nothing, and I should perish from the way. But the Lord will continue to bless me. He will perfect my faith, my love, my character, my lifework. He will do this because He has begun a work in me. He gave me the concern I feel, and, in a measure, He has fulfilled my gracious aspirations, He never leaves a work unfinished; this would not be for His glory, nor would it be like Him. He knows how to accomplish His gracious design, and though my own evil nature and the world and the devil all conspire to hinder Him, I do not doubt His promise. He will perfect that which concerneth me, and I will praise Him forever. Lord, let Thy gracious work make some advance this day!

"HIS NUMBER IS 666"

The Beast from the Sea Rev:13

 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. ² Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 

 

 ³ And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. ⁴ So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

⁵ And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. ⁶ Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. ⁷ It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. 

⁸ All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

⁹ If anyone has an ear, let him hear. ¹⁰ He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

The Beast from the Earth

¹¹ Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. ¹² And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. ¹³ He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. ¹⁴ And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. 

 ¹⁵ He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶ He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

¹⁸ Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

 God’s Faithfulness


But, secondly, in our text we have a rich source of comfort in the words: ‘but God is faithful.’ ‘There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.’
 
‘God is faithful.’ Oh, how I love those words! They sound in my heart like heavenly music. ‘God is faithful.’ You are not faithful, my brother or sister; at least, I know I am not, in the full sense of the term, faithful – full of faith, and faithful. ‘But’ (a blessed ‘but’), ‘but God is faithful’! ‘If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful’ – always true to every promise he has made, always gracious to every child whom he has adopted into his family, and ‘a very present help in trouble’. He preserves us from sinking in our sea of trouble, and he delivers us from the trouble when it has accomplished the purpose for which it was sent.

‘God is faithful’ – faithful to the first promise which came into your soul when you yielded yourself to Jesus, and he whispered in your heart, ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’ Do you remember that promise, and has not the Lord been faithful to it?
‘God is faithful’ to all his promises; and in your experience, my brother or sister, he has been faithful to the promises which met your case in all your changing circumstances. Can you put your finger upon a single page of your diary, and say, ‘God was unfaithful then’?

Your friend, who ate bread with you, has lifted up his heel against you; but has your God forsaken you? Even your children have been unkind and ungrateful to you, but has the Lord ever treated you badly? Where you had the most hope among your earthly friends and acquaintances, you have had the most disappointments; but has the Lord ever been a wilderness unto you?

The whole world may reel to and fro, but the Rock of Ages stands secure.

‘All men are liars,’ you have said in the bitterness of your spirit, when you had trusted in them and they have failed you in the time of trial, but have you ever found Christ false to his Word? Can you not join your testimony with that of all the saints above, and the saints below, and say with Paul, ‘God is faithful’?

Even if any of you are facing a feared sickness or a painful operation, or business losses which may sink you from your present comfortable position, think of this truth, ‘God is faithful.’ The whole world may reel to and fro, like a drunken man; but the Rock of Ages stands secure.

The shooting stars of temporary prosperity may die out in everlasting night, but God is ‘the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.’ ‘God is faithful.’
Whatever your future trials are to be, put this short sweet sentence into your mouth, and keep it there, as a heavenly lozenge which shall sustain you at all times. Make it also into a jubilant refrain as you go on your way – ‘God is faithful.’

Trials and temptations will assail you; ‘but God is faithful.’ Friends will fail and forsake you; ‘but God is faithful.’ Health may be lost, and property may vanish; ‘but God is faithful.’ What do you want more than this, soldiers of Christ? Here you have breastplate, helmet, sword, shield, spear – the whole panoply of God.

"Blessed is he that watcheth."—Revelation 16:15.

E die daily," said the apostle. This was the life of the early Christians; they went everywhere with their lives in their hands. We are not in this day called to pass through the same fearful persecutions: if we were, the Lord would give us grace to bear the test; but the tests of Christian life, at the present moment, though outwardly not so terrible, are yet more likely to overcome us than even those of the fiery age. We have to bear the sneer of the world—that is little; its blandishments, its soft words, its oily speeches, its fawning, its hypocrisy, are far worse. Our danger is lest we grow rich and become proud, lest we give ourselves up to the fashions of this present evil world, and lose our faith. Or if wealth be not the trial, worldly care is quite as mischievous. If we cannot be torn in pieces by the roaring lion, if we may be hugged to death by the bear, the devil little cares which it is, so long as he destroys our love to Christ, and our confidence in Him. I fear me that the Christian church is far more likely to lose her integrity in these soft and silken days than in those rougher times. We must be awake now, for we traverse the enchanted ground, and are most likely to fall asleep to our own undoing, unless our faith in Jesus be a reality, and our love to Jesus a vehement flame. Many in these days of easy profession are likely to prove tares, and not wheat; hypocrites with fair masks on their faces, but not the true-born children of the living God. Christian, do not think that these are times in which you can dispense with watchfulness or with holy ardour; you need these things more than ever, and may God the eternal Spirit display His omnipotence in you, that you may be able to say, in all these softer things, as well as in the rougher, "We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us."

"This do in remembrance of Me."—1 Corinthians 11:24.

T seems then, that Christians may forget Christ! There could be no need for this loving exhortation, if there were not a fearful supposition that our memories might prove treacherous. Nor is this a bare supposition: it is, alas! too well confirmed in our experience, not as a possibility, but as a lamentable fact. It appears almost impossible that those who have been redeemed by the blood of the dying Lamb, and loved with an everlasting love by the eternal Son of God, should forget that gracious Saviour; but, if startling to the ear, it is, alas! too apparent to the eye to allow us to deny the crime. Forget Him who never forgot us! Forget Him who poured His blood forth for our sins! Forget Him who loved us even to the death! Can it be possible? Yes, it is not only possible, but conscience confesses that it is too sadly a fault with all of us, that we suffer Him to be as a wayfaring man tarrying but for a night. He whom we should make the abiding tenant of our memories is but a visitor therein. The cross where one would think that memory would linger, and unmindfulness would be an unknown intruder, is desecrated by the feet of forgetfulness. Does not your conscience say that this is true? Do you not find yourselves forgetful of Jesus? Some creature steals away your heart, and you are unmindful of Him upon whom your affection ought to be set. Some earthly business engrosses your attention when you should fix your eye steadily upon the cross. It is the incessant turmoil of the world, the constant attraction of earthly things which takes away the soul from Christ. While memory too well preserves a poisonous weed, it suffereth the rose of Sharon to wither. Let us charge ourselves to bind a heavenly forget-me-not about our hearts for Jesus our Beloved, and, whatever else we let slip, let us hold fast to Him.

April 26

Gracious Dealing

And the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest. (Deuteronomy 15:18)

An Israelitish master was to give his bondservant liberty in due time, and when he left his service he was to start him in life with a liberal portion, This was to be done heartily and cheerfully, and then the Lord promised to bless the generous act. The spirit of this precept, and, indeed, the whole law of Christ, binds us to treat people well. We ought to remember how the Lord has dealt with us, and that this renders it absolutely needful that we should deal graciously with others, It becomes those to be generous who are the children of a gracious God. How can we expect our great Master to bless us in our business if we oppress those who serve us?What a benediction is here set before the liberal mind! To be blessed in all that we do is to be blessed indeed. The Lord will send us this partly in prosperity, partly in content of mind, and partly in a sense of His favor, which is the best of all blessings. He can make us feel that we are under His special care and are surrounded by His peculiar love. This makes this earthly life a joyous prelude to the life to come. God's blessing is more than a fortune. It maketh rich and addeth no sorrow therewith.

1. God’s  Limiting


The first comfort, even in great trouble, is that we have not, after all, been tried in any very unusual way. ‘There hath no temptation [or trial] taken you but such as is common to man.’
You may think, my dear brethren and sisters, that you have been tried more than others but it is only your lack of knowledge of the trials of others which leads you to imagine that your own are unique. There are many others, besides yourself, in the furnace, and in quite as hot a part of it as that in which you are now placed.

Note what Paul says: ‘There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man.’ It is a human temptation, not a superhuman one, which has assailed you; that is to say, one which can be withstood by men, not one that must inevitably sweep them away.
 
Satan has tempted you, young man, but God has allowed you to be assailed in a way which is suitable as a test to you. The trials that have come upon you have been moderated to your capacity as a man. The Lord knows that you are but animated dust, so he has not permitted you to be treated as if you were made of steel or iron. He has himself dealt with you as an earthen vessel – a thing of clay in which he has caused life to dwell. He has not broken you with his rod of iron, as he would have done if he had smitten you with it.

‘But I am very sorely tempted,’ says one. Yes, perhaps you are; but the Lord has given you the history of the children of Israel in the wilderness, to let you see that you have not been tempted more than they were. ‘Ah!’ says another, ‘but I find myself placed in a very peculiar position, where I am greatly tried. I have to labour hard, and I have much difficulty in earning my daily bread, and I am beset with trials of many kinds.’ Well, dear friend, even though what you say is perfectly true, I am not certain that your position is any more likely to bring temptation than was that of the children of Israel in the wilderness.

‘Ah!’ you say, ‘but they did not have to work to earn their bread. The manna came to them every morning, and they had only to gather it, and to eat it. They were not engaged in commercial transactions; there were no markets in the desert – no Corn Exchange, no Stock Exchange, no Smithfield, no Billingsgate – no taking down the shutters in the morning, and putting them up again at night, and going a great part of the day without any customers. They were separated from all other nations, and were in a peculiarly advantageous position.’

Yet, dear friends, you need not wish to be placed in such a position, because, advantageous as it was in some respects, the Israelites there were evidently tempted to all sorts of sins, and fell into them very grievously. Having often read the story of their forty years’ sojourn in the wilderness, you know their sad history. With so favourable a position granted to them, under the Lord’s own special guardianship, and enriched with many choice mercies, we might have expected that they would have been free from temptation – or, at any rate, that they would not have fallen into its snare. Yet it was not so, for the devil can tempt in the wilderness quite as well as in the city, as we know from the experience of Christ himself.

The devil would tempt you even if your bread were given to you every morning, instead of your having to earn it; he would tempt you if you had no business to attend to, and never had to go into the world to meet with your fellow men. In fact, the story of the Israelites teaches me that it is best for you to work, and best for you to be poor, and best for you not to make money as fast as you would like, and best for you to be surrounded by cares of various kinds.

If divine grace has helped others overcome the covetous desire, and the lusting of the spirit, it can help you do the same...

I think I judge rightly that the people of God, the saved ones, do not fall into such gross sins as the Israelites did in the wilderness; so that the saints’ position, though it may appear worse than that of Israel, is really better.

To what, my dear brethren and sisters, are you tempted? Are you tempted to lust after evil things? They lusted for the meat that was not suitable to the climate, nor good for their health; and they despised the manna, which was the very best food they could have. Do you ever get a craving for what you ought not to desire? Are you growing covetous? Do you long for ease? Do you wish for wealth? Do you love pleasure? Well, dear friends, this temptation has happened to others before; it happened to those people in the wilderness.

You are not the first to be tempted in that fashion; and if divine grace has helped others to overcome the covetous desire, and the lusting of the spirit, it can help you to do the same. But, mark also that if others have fallen through such temptations, and perished in the wilderness, you, too, apart from divine grace, will do the same. Therefore you have urgent need to cry to the Strong for strength, lest you also should fall even as they did.

Are you tempted to idolatry? It is a very common temptation to make an idol of a child, or of some particular pursuit in which you are engaged. Is there anything in the world that is so dear to you that the very thought of losing it makes you feel that you would rebel against God if he took it away from you? Remember what John was inspired to write: ‘Little children, keep yourselves from idols.’

But if you are tempted to idolatry, do not forget that this is a thing that is common to men. In the wilderness, the Israelites were tempted to set up a golden calf, and to worship it, and even to practise other idolatrous rites which were too foul for me to describe. They were tempted to idolatry, so it is not an uncommon temptation; and if you also are tempted in a similar fashion, you must cry to God for grace to resist and to overcome the temptation.

Are you tried, sometimes, even with that terrible temptation which is mentioned in the verse where Paul says, ‘Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed’? Has strong passion sometimes suggested to you that which your soul abhors? Have you been, at times, forced to the very brink of that dread abyss of uncleanness, till you have had to cry, with the psalmist, ‘My feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped’? Ah! this temptation also is not uncommon to men; and even those who live nearest to God, and are the most pure in heart, sometimes have to blush before the Lord that such evil suggestions should ever come into their minds.

And have you, too, been tempted ‘to tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents’? They wanted God to change his plans and purposes concerning them; and they found fault with him, and said that he had brought them into the wilderness to destroy them. Do you feel that your present troubles are too severe – that they should not have been sent to you – at least, not so many and so heavy as they are?

If so, and if you feel that you have a cause for complaint against the Most High, and that you want him to change his methods of dealing with you so as to suit your whims and fancies – alas! sad as such a state of mind is, it is only too ‘common to man’.

And, possibly, you may also have been tempted to murmur, ‘as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.’ I must withdraw that word ‘possibly’, for I am greatly afraid that many professing Christians do murmur, and that they do not always realise what a gross sin it is to murmur, seeing that it is an act of distinct rebellion against God.

But, should you at any time feel a murmuring spirit rising up within your heart, you must not say, ‘This is a trial which nobody else has ever experienced.’ Alas! it is a very human temptation, which is exceedingly ‘common to man’.

So, summing up all that I have been saying, and looking round upon this congregation, and upon all of you who know the Lord – although it would be impossible for me to recount all the different forms of temptation and trial through which you have gone, yet this is a matter of fact – ‘there hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man.’


We are all in the same boat, brothers and sisters, so far as temptation and trial are concerned. We are all warring the same warfare; your duty may call you to one part of the field, and mine may call me to another part, but the bullets whiz by me as well as by you. There is no nook so quiet but it has its own special dangers, and there is no Valley of Humiliation so lowly but it has its peculiar temptations.
 
Sins are everywhere; they sit down with you at your table, and they go with you to your bed. Snares are set for you in your home and in the street – in your business and in your recreations. Snares are not absent from your pains, and they are abundant in your pleasures.

Everywhere, and under all circumstances, must we expect to be tried; this experience is common to men. The remembrance that it is so ought to be somewhat of a comfort to us in every time of trial and temptation.

The Woman Persecuted

 

REV:12

¹³ Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. 

 ¹⁴ But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 

 ¹⁵ So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 

¹⁶ But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 

 ¹⁷ And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Satan Thrown Out of Heaven; His time is short!

Rev: 12

⁷ And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, ⁸ but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 

 ⁹ So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 

 ¹¹ And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 

 ¹² Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them!

Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea!

For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

Comfort for Tried Believers

From The Sword & Trowel 2008, issue 2 by C. H. Spurgeon

This tender yet challenging message from a pastor’s heart deals remarkably with personal temptation, and includes many profound observations.

‘There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it’ (1 Corinthians 10.13).
This verse immediately follows the warning to ‘him that thinketh he standeth’ to ‘take heed lest he fall’. We none of us know what we are really made of until we are tried and tested. It is a very easy thing to imagine yourself to be strong, but it is a very different matter to find that you have sufficient strength when you actually need it.
Let none of us imagine himself to be proof against the temptations of Satan, or even the grosser vices to which the flesh is prone. It may only need for you to be attacked at a certain point, and in a certain way, and you will be overcome even as others have been. The wisest way is to believe ourselves neither to be wise nor strong, and therefore to lie humbly at the feet of him who can make us both wise and strong. It ought to cool the hot blood of self-conceit in anyone to remind him that, although he ‘thinketh he standeth’, it is simply because he has not been tempted as others have been who have fallen.
After the apostle Paul had, by this warning, rebuked the boastings of those who thought they were standing securely, he thought of the far larger number of persons who never think that they can stand, but who are in constant anxiety lest they should fall.

1. God’s Limitings

The first comfort, even in great trouble, is that we have not, after all, been tried in any very unusual way. ‘There hath no temptation [or trial] taken you but such as is common to man.’
You may think, my dear brethren and sisters, that you have been tried more than others but it is only your lack of knowledge of the trials of others which leads you to imagine that your own are unique. There are many others, besides yourself, in the furnace, and in quite as hot a part of it as that in which you are now placed. Note what Paul says: ‘There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man.’ It is a human temptation, not a superhuman one, which has assailed you; that is to say, one which can be withstood by men, not one that must inevitably sweep them away.
Satan has tempted you, young man, but God has allowed you to be assailed in a way which is suitable as a test to you. The trials that have come upon you have been moderated to your capacity as a man. The Lord knows that you are but animated dust, so he has not permitted you to be treated as if you were made of steel or iron. He has himself dealt with you as an earthen vessel – a thing of clay in which he has caused life to dwell. He has not broken you with his rod of iron, as he would have done if he had smitten you with it.
‘But I am very sorely tempted,’ says one. Yes, perhaps you are; but the Lord has given you the history of the children of Israel in the wilderness, to let you see that you have not been tempted more than they were. ‘Ah!’ says another, ‘but I find myself placed in a very peculiar position, where I am greatly tried. I have to labour hard, and I have much difficulty in earning my daily bread, and I am beset with trials of many kinds.’ Well, dear friend, even though what you say is perfectly true, I am not certain that your position is any more likely to bring temptation than was that of the children of Israel in the wilderness.
‘Ah!’ you say, ‘but they did not have to work to earn their bread. The manna came to them every morning, and they had only to gather it, and to eat it. They were not engaged in commercial transactions; there were no markets in the desert – no Corn Exchange, no Stock Exchange, no Smithfield, no Billingsgate – no taking down the shutters in the morning, and putting them up again at night, and going a great part of the day without any customers. They were separated from all other nations, and were in a peculiarly advantageous position.’
Yet, dear friends, you need not wish to be placed in such a position, because, advantageous as it was in some respects, the Israelites there were evidently tempted to all sorts of sins, and fell into them very grievously. Having often read the story of their forty years’ sojourn in the wilderness, you know their sad history. With so favourable a position granted to them, under the Lord’s own special guardianship, and enriched with many choice mercies, we might have expected that they would have been free from temptation – or, at any rate, that they would not have fallen into its snare. Yet it was not so, for the devil can tempt in the wilderness quite as well as in the city, as we know from the experience of Christ himself.
The devil would tempt you even if your bread were given to you every morning, instead of your having to earn it; he would tempt you if you had no business to attend to, and never had to go into the world to meet with your fellow men. In fact, the story of the Israelites teaches me that it is best for you to work, and best for you to be poor, and best for you not to make money as fast as you would like, and best for you to be surrounded by cares of various kinds.

If divine grace has helped others overcome the covetous desire, and the lusting of the spirit, it can help you do the same...

I think I judge rightly that the people of God, the saved ones, do not fall into such gross sins as the Israelites did in the wilderness; so that the saints’ position, though it may appear worse than that of Israel, is really better.
To what, my dear brethren and sisters, are you tempted? Are you tempted to lust after evil things? They lusted for the meat that was not suitable to the climate, nor good for their health; and they despised the manna, which was the very best food they could have. Do you ever get a craving for what you ought not to desire? Are you growing covetous? Do you long for ease? Do you wish for wealth? Do you love pleasure? Well, dear friends, this temptation has happened to others before; it happened to those people in the wilderness. You are not the first to be tempted in that fashion; and if divine grace has helped others to overcome the covetous desire, and the lusting of the spirit, it can help you to do the same. But, mark also that if others have fallen through such temptations, and perished in the wilderness, you, too, apart from divine grace, will do the same. Therefore you have urgent need to cry to the Strong for strength, lest you also should fall even as they did.

"If any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him."—Revelation 3:20.

HAT is your desire this evening? Is it set upon heavenly things? Do you long to enjoy the high doctrine of eternal love? Do you desire liberty in very close communion with God? Do you aspire to know the heights, and depths, and lengths, and breadths? Then you must draw near to Jesus; you must get a clear sight of Him in His preciousness and completeness: you must view Him in His work, in His offices, in His person. He who understands Christ, receives an anointing from the Holy One, by which He knows all things. Christ is the great master-key of all the chambers of God: there is no treasure-house of God which will not open and yield up all its wealth to the soul that lives near to Jesus. Are you saying, "O that He would dwell in my bosom "Would that He would make my heart His dwelling-place for ever"? Open the door, beloved, and He will come into your souls. He has long been knocking, and all with this object, that He may sup with you, and you with Him. He sups with you because you find the house or the heart, and you with Him because He brings the provision. He could not sup with you if it were not in your heart, you finding the house; nor could you sup with Him, for you have a bare cupboard, if He did not bring provision with Him. Fling wide, then, the portals of your soul. He will come with that love which you long to feel; He will come with that joy into which you cannot work your poor depressed spirit; He will bring the peace which now you have not; He will come with His flagons of wine and sweet apples of love, and cheer you till you have no other sickness but that of "love o'erpowering, love divine." Only open the door to Him, drive out His enemies, give Him the keys of your heart, and He will dwell there for ever. Oh, wondrous love, that brings such a guest to dwell in such a heart!

April 25

What to Leave Children

The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him. (Proverbs 20:7)

Anxiety about our family is natural, but we shall be wise if we turn it into care about our own character. If we walk before the Lord in integrity, we shall do more to bless our descendants than if we bequeathed them large estates.  A father's holy life is a rich legacy for his sons. The upright man leaves his heirs his example, and this in itself will be a mine of true wealth, How many men may trace their success in life to the example of their parents! He leaves them also his repute. Men think better of us as the sons of a man who could be trusted, the successors of a tradesman of excellent repute, Oh, that all young men were anxious to keep up the family name! Above all, he leaves his children his prayers and the blessing of a prayer-hearing God, and these make our offspring to be favored among the sons of men. God will save them even after we are dead. Oh, that they might be saved at once!
Our integrity may be God's means of saving our sons and daughters. If they see the truth of our religion proved by our lives, it may be that they will believe in Jesus for themselves.

Lord, fulfill this word to my household!

"ALIVE FOREVERMORE!"

⁹ I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 

 ¹⁰ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, ¹¹ saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

¹² Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. 

¹⁴ His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; ¹⁵ His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 

¹⁶ He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. 

 ¹⁷ And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸ I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

1 Corinthians 15:55              “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

 

 “O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?”

"And because of all this we make a sure covenant."—Nehemiah 9:38.

HERE are many occasions in our experience when we may very rightly, and with benefit, renew our covenant with God. After recovery from sickness when, like Hezekiah, we have had a new term of years added to our life, we may fitly do it. After any deliverance from trouble, when our joys bud forth anew, let us again visit the foot of the cross, and renew our consecration. Especially, let us do this after any sin which has grieved the Holy Spirit, or brought dishonour upon the cause of God; let us then look to that blood which can make us whiter than snow, and again offer ourselves unto the Lord. We should not only let our troubles confirm our dedication to God, but our prosperity should do the same. If we ever meet with occasions which deserve to be called "crowning mercies" then, surely, if He hath crowned us, we ought also to crown our God; let us bring forth anew all the jewels of the divine regalia which have been stored in the jewel-closet of our heart, and let our God sit upon the throne of our love, arrayed in royal apparel. If we would learn to profit by our prosperity, we should not need so much adversity. If we would gather from a kiss all the good it might confer upon us, we should not so often smart under the rod. Have we lately received some blessing which we little expected? Has the Lord put our feet in a large room? Can we sing of mercies multiplied? Then this is the day to put our hand upon the horns of the altar, and say, "Bind me here, my God; bind me here with cords, even for ever." Inasmuch as we need the fulfillment of new promises from God, let us offer renewed prayers that our old vows may not be dishonoured. Let us this morning make with Him a sure covenant, because of the pains of Jesus which for the last month we have been considering with gratitude.

Revelation 12

The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon

 

 

 

 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. ² Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.

³ And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. ⁴ His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. 

 ⁵ She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. 

⁶ Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

1 Thessalonians 4

 "A QUIET LIFE"

Plea for Purity

 Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God;   for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;  that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,   not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;   that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified.   For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.   Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.

A Brotherly and Orderly Life

 

But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;   and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more;   that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you,   that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.

1 Timothy 2

 

Pray for All Men

 

 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,   for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.   For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,   who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.   For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,   who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,   for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

BeyondTheVeilDaily; There is a delicate balance between "the quiet life, and the call to the"utter most parts of the earth". They are intricately knit together by the hand of God, an umbilical bond. One can not live without the other. The man who learns to lives in this truth, has found true balance, and entered into the promise rest of Hebrews!

Hebrews 4:1

[ The Promise of Rest ] Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.

Hebrews 4:9
 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.

Revelation 10

"THE LITTLE BOOK

 

 

 

I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.   He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,   and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars.

 

When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices.   Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me,

 

 

“Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.”

 The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven   and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer,   but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.

John Eats the Little Book

 Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.”
 So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.”
And he said to me, “Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”

 Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter.   And he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”

The Clothing of Humility - Putting on the Garments

From The Sword & Trowel 2012, issue 1 by Dr Peter Masters

Pride rages in today's atheistic society, yet a great Fruit of the Spirit is humility. Christians are called to be humble and follow the example of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is a challenge but also an exhortation to humility.

‘Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble’ (1 Peter 5.5).
 
What an amazing exhortation this is in these days of assertive self-confidence! As Christian believers we are to be ‘subject one to another’, not assertive, not resistant to advice, not resistant to mutual admonition between ourselves, but ready to respect the experience and light of others. Then there follows this powerful command – ‘be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.’

1 Think More of Others than Self

Firstly, humility will think less of self and more of others (Philippians 2.4). How do we become clothed with humility? When we find ourselves thinking too much about ourselves and our concerns, whether hunting for self-advantage, or feeling sorry for ourselves, we must offer emergency prayer to God and switch off this whole train of thought, turning our minds to the affairs of others and praying for them.

Humility thinks more of others than it thinks of self. Through prayer and desire, with the putting to death of self-centred thinking, and the conscious redirection of our minds to the needs of other people, especially their need of the Gospel, we put on the clothing of humility.

Firstly, humility will think less of self and more of others (Philippians 2.4). How do we become clothed with humility? When we find ourselves thinking too much about ourselves and our concerns, whether hunting for self-advantage, or feeling sorry for ourselves, we must offer emergency prayer to God and switch off this whole train of thought, turning our minds to the affairs of others and praying for them. Humility thinks more of others than it thinks of self.

Through prayer and desire, with the putting to death of self-centred thinking, and the conscious redirection of our minds to the needs of other people, especially their need of the Gospel, we put on the clothing of humility.

2 A Servant Spirit

Secondly, humility is ready to do anything for the Lord. It never recoils from any necessary task saying, ‘I am not doing that; it is beneath me. It is unreasonable to ask it of me.’ If something is advantageous to the cause, or will relieve the distress of others, humility is always willing to do it.

This is not only the standard for every believer, but it is a good test or measure of our humility. I remember hearing about a young man who had just secured his PhD in theology and been appointed as an assistant pastor. He sent a letter to the church leaders listing all the things that were beneath his dignity, such as putting out chairs for his youth meeting.

Everything we have will be at the disposal of our Master, because humility is servanthood 

Humility thinks like a servant, firstly of the Lord and also of others. The model of Christian life in the New Testament is that of a bondslave who is always looking out for the wishes of his master, and this is exactly our ideal attitude.

Nothing is too much for a bondslave of Christ. Will we take up work in the Sunday School, teaching or driving a collecting vehicle, or setting up and clearing away? Or is it inconvenient because we like to rest, or read, or visit others for social pleasure, or even watch television?

To be clothed with humility means there will be nothing we will not do to please Christ, and also to assist other believers, whatever their needs. Everything we have will be at the disposal of our Master, because humility is servanthood. Nothing which needs to be done for Christ is too much trouble or too lowly for the humble person, and putting on the clothing of humility means that we tell ourselves this every day.

3 See Our Own Weaknesses

Thirdly, humility is always ready to see one’s own weaknesses and to try harder. It is naturally inclined to self-examination and self-assessment, and it is determined to be more diligent and to learn.
Humility really believes in constant improvement, and values criticism.

It is ready to see relevant points even in hostile and unreasonable criticism, because its greatest concern is to please the Lord and to advance the cause. It is willing to be shaped by circumstances or by people, especially by husband or wife, and even by children. Prickly self-defence is a symptom of pride, whereas the clothing of humility is a longing to improve.

To put on the clothing of humility includes a daily review of sins and faults, whether of thoughts, words or deeds, whether of sins committed or duties not carried out. Pride skims over self--examination, or practises it only occasionally and superficially, but the baring of one’s heart to God in daily repentance fosters a humility which is genuine and lasting.

4 Seek no Recognition

Fourthly, humility is willing to go unrecognised, unthanked and unpraised for what it does, however unfair it may seem. As soon as the thought enters the mind: ‘No one ever thanks me for what I do; I have received no acknowledgement and no thanks,’ humility sweeps that thought aside, counting every act of service a privilege from the Lord. True humility bears no -resentment.

Moses was the meekest of men, who for most of his leadership of the Israelites received little apparent praise to sweeten the undying unreasonableness of the people. The Saviour himself endured constant hostility, and so did Paul. They were certainly loved by many, but opposed and attacked by many more.
Humility keeps no record of ingratitude and refuses to think about it. So let us put on the following garment: a constant sense of gratitude and privilege that we can serve the Lord and other people.

5 Never Unpleasant

Fifthly, humility is never rough, abrasive or unkind toward other people, nor does it have a critical spirit. It is pride that returns evil for evil, that cannot bear being offended or decried. It is pride that criticises and finds fault in everything but itself. To be clothed with humility is to adopt a determination to maintain a courteous reaction to everything outwardly, while remembering that we represent our Lord and Saviour in every situation.

Great care is needed to avoid the habit of criticising others. The devil knows that if he can plant a critical spirit in us, our pride will be boosted far more than by flattery or riches. We must test all things, and criticism in the right spirit is needed to maintain the purity of doctrine and practice in the church.

But an innate negative spirit is by its nature superior, arrogant, despising and self-blinding, all at the same time. We must tear away from us the perpetual fault-finding tendency, even when it appears in subtle form, such as in a sense of humour which majors on ridiculing other people and their ways.

To put on the clothing of humility means to adopt a positive, kindly, supportive, encouraging spirit whenever possible, never rushing to assume the role of spiritual magistrate over others.

6 Always Approachable

Sixthly, humility is never aloof, but approachable by others. It will always accommodate others, never utilising coldness to discourage conversation or fellowship. It will engage with both the youngest and the oldest fellow believer, and embrace all sorts and nationalities. It has the spirit and disposition urged upon us in James 2, where the poor man is to be welcomed and respected just like the rich.

And, of course, humility forgives and forbears, major words featuring repeatedly in the New Testament.
It is pride that will not let go of offence, but the garment of humility is always ‘peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated’ (James 3.17).

7 A Good Listener

Seventhly, humility is more than approachable: it is a good listener, willing and patient with others, their point of view, their ideas, their hopes, their pains and their woes. Humility is patient and sympathetic, ready to hear out a person’s case before making a response.

Pride is hasty, always thinking it has something better to do, and if it imagines it knows the solution to people’s problems it will cut them short with its pronouncement before they have fully explained them.

Humility respects other people, especially fellow believers, feeling it owes them helpfulness, and remembering the immense debt it owes to past help from others. Pride never remembers its indebtedness to other believers, and feels no duty to younger saints today. To put on humility means to adopt a listening spirit.

8 Uncomplaining

Eighthly, humility does not complain about its present lot in life (God’s providence) but happily obeys the command: ‘Be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee’ (Hebrews 13.5).

Humility never forgets that believers have grace, life, spiritual understanding, communion with God, guidance, help, Heaven and every conceivable blessing, so that any circumstances that God has appointed in this world are his gracious will and calling.

Humility wants and accepts God's will, and trusts his wise providence

This does not mean that we should not strive to improve our earthly lot. If someone is living in one room and has an unfulfilling job, of course he should do his best to get a better situation and better accommodation.

Parents should desire a good home for their children where possible. But such things should not be pursued as a proud quest for superiority and luxury.

If unsatisfactory conditions can be changed, then we should do our best to change them, but if they cannot be changed for the present, we should be willing to glorify God in them, and trust in him. Humility wants and accepts God’s will, and trusts his wise providence. Humility prays for relief, certainly, but until it comes, trusts the Lord and submits to him. Humility remembers 2 Corinthians 12.7-10.

To put on the garment of humility is to shun unnecessary luxury in possessions or clothing, to avoid the cult of designer labels, and to pursue a reasonable lifestyle. (Nothing inflames pride like luxury and superior goods.) And the clothing of humility is donned when we suppress murmurings and complaints about our earthly portion.

9 Knowledge-Seeking

Ninthly, humility always wants more knowledge of the Word. It takes a very realistic view of how little it already knows of the deep things of God, and pines for greater understanding and appreciation of God’s being and ways, of how he deals with his people, of what he has in store for them, of his promises, of how life should be conducted, and of how problems may be solved from a right use of the Word.

Humility never says, ‘I know much; I can slow down; I am well equipped.’ It never preens itself on having been in the kingdom for many years.
It feels its need, fearing the consequences if personal devotions should be missed, and glorying in the syllabus of learning, which lies ahead all the way to the end of life’s journey.

Humility in a preacher, Sunday School teacher, or witnessing Christian is always improving its manner of presentation and approach, feeling these are never good enough. To put on humility is to put on the lifelong task of refinement, and making progress for the Lord our chief happiness and labour.

10 Thankful in all Things

Tenthly, humility thanks God constantly. Do we drive a car? How often do we complete a journey in safety and step into our home without remembering that God should be thanked? Pride wants to give the credit to skilled driving, but humility knows that it is by the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, and thanks him for every journey safely completed.

But we should also commit to God every journey, or at least pray for help at the beginning of every day. If this seems unreasonable, then it is pride, not humility, that has taken hold of us. Of course, this extends far beyond driving, because true humility commits all activities to the Lord in prayer. Only pride finds this tiresome and excessive. Dependence upon God and specific gratitude to him is a vital part of putting on humility.

11 No Mental Fantasies

Our eleventh characteristic of humility is that it does not construct mental fantasies or daydreams that place self on centre-stage as the star performer. It does not write a script of self-exultation. Many good people

Self-elevating daydreams and mental fantasies feed pride and involve putting off humility

will testify to having done this, speaking of how when riding on a bus, or walking about, or doing something ‘mechanical’, the mind has enjoyed creating its own ‘soap’, imagining some situation in which self is the outstanding person.

This is a particular pastime with many young people, but humility is not at all keen to be celebrated by this personal, inner fiction. It may seem harmless, but it is seldom humble, and humility sees the offensive elements, and keeps clear. Self-elevating daydreams and mental fantasies feed pride and involve putting off humility. To don the clothes of humility we should always have ready a better ‘thought agenda’ in line with Philippians 4.8, thus avoiding the snare of vain imaginings.

12 View Christ Much

Our final feature of humility is really the first and greatest. Humility makes much of Christ. Whenever his works and attributes are extolled in worship, humility truly admires and praises him. In personal reading of Scripture, humility pauses at every view of Christ, reflects and admires him.

No sight of him is passed over lightly or taken for granted, so that our values and tastes are continuously primed and shaped by him, and we want to be like him, and conformed to his image. Paul states the principle in 2 Corinthians 3.18 – ‘But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.’ To admire Christ above all else, and to emulate him, is to put on the clothing of humility.