It is the one great weakness of journalism as a picture of our modern existence, that it must be a picture made up entirely of exceptions. We announce on flaring posters that a man has fallen off a scaffolding. We do not announce on flaring posters that a man has not fallen off a scaffolding. Yet this latter fact is fundamentally more exciting, as indicating that that moving tower of terror and mystery, a man, is still abroad upon the earth. That the man has not fallen off a scaffolding is really more sensational; and it is also some thousand times more common. But journalism cannot reasonably be expected thus to insist upon the permanent miracles. Busy editors cannot be expected to put on their posters, “Mr. Wilkinson Still Safe,” or “Mr. Jones, of Worthing, Not Dead Yet.” They cannot announce the happiness of mankind at all. They cannot describe all the forks that are not stolen, or all the marriages that are not judiciously dissolved. Hence the complete picture they give of life is of necessity fallacious; they can only represent what is unusual. However democratic they may be, they are only concerned with the minority. – G. K. Chesterton, The Ball and the Cross
Posts Tagged ‘Quote’
More Manly Men
It is man’s business to pray; and it takes manly men to do it. It is godly business to pray and it takes godly men to do it. And it is godly men who give over themselves entirely to prayer. Prayer is far-reaching in its influence and in its gracious effects. It is intense and profound business which deals with God and His plans and purposes, and it takes whole-hearted men to do it. No half-hearted, half-brained, half-spirited effort will do for this serious, all-important, heavenly business. The whole heart, the whole brain, the whole spirit, must be in the matter of praying, which is so mightily to affect the characters and destinies of men. – E. M. Bounds, Essentials of Prayer
God is Powerful to (Keep) Save(d)
‘Tis by God’s power also that we are preserved in a state of grace. I Pet. 1:5, “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.” As grace is at first from God, so ’tis continually from him, and is maintained by him, as much as light in the atmosphere is all day long from the sun, as well as at first dawning, or at sun-rising.
Men are dependent on the power of God, for every exercise of grace, and for carrying on that work in the heart, for the subduing of sin and corruption, and increasing holy principles, and enabling to bring forth fruit in good works, and at last bringing grace to its perfection, in making the soul completely amiable in Christ’s glorious likeness, and filling of it with a satisfying joy and blessedness; and for the raising of the body to life, and to such a perfect state, that it shall be suitable for an habitation and organ for a soul so perfected and blessed. These are the most glorious effects of the power of God, that are seen in the series of God’s acts with respect to the creatures.
Man was dependent on the power of God in his first estate, but he is more dependent on his power now; he needs God’s power to do more things for him, and depends on a more wonderful exercise of his power. It was an effect of the power of God to make man holy at the first; but more remarkably so now, because there is a great deal of opposition and difficulty in the way. ‘Tis a more glorious effect of power to make that holy that was so depraved and under the dominion of sin, than to confer holiness on that which before had nothing of the contrary. ‘Tis a more glorious work of power to rescue a soul out of the hands of the devil, and from the powers of darkness and to bring into a state of salvation, than to confer holiness where there was not prepossession or opposition. Luke 11:21-22, “When a strong man armed keepeth his place, his goods are in peace: but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.” So ’tis a more glorious work of power to uphold a soul in a state of grace and holiness, and to carry it on till it is brought to glory, when there is so much sin remaining in the heart, resisting, and Satan with all his might opposing, than it would have been to have kept man from falling at first, when Satan had nothing in man. – Jonathan Edwards, God Glorified in the Work of Redemption, by the Greatness of Man’s Dependence upon Him, in the Whole of It, The Sermons of Jonathan Edwards, 72-73
Pray
For, as for my heart, when I go to pray, I find it so loth to go to God, and when it is with him, so loth to stay with him, that many times I am forced in my prayers, first to beg of God that he would take mine heart, and set it on himself in Christ, and when it is there, that he would keep it there. Nay, many times I know not what to pray for, I am so blind, nor how to pray, I am so ignorant; only, blessed be grace, the Spirit helps our infirmities (Psa 86:11). – John Bunyan
When I read that, I knew it sounded familiar. I had just read something very similiar in J. Oswald Sanders’ book Spiritual Leadership:
“When I go to prayer,” confessed an eminent Christian, “I find my heart so loath to go to God, and when it is with Him, so loath to stay.” Then self-discipline has a role. “When you feel most indisposed to pray, yeild not to it,” he counseled, “but strive and endeavor to pray, even when you think you cannot.” – Sanders, p. 86
At any rate, Sanders & Bunyan are right, prayer is work. It is hard to get started and hard to remain in once it has been started. Bunyan’s perspective, which didn’t come through so clearly in Sanders, is that without the Spirit, we cannot pray. We don’t know how we should pray, we don’t know what to pray for and without the Spirit, our prayers cannot be acceptable to God any way. Even then, it is still a difficult thing. I needed to remember this to spur me on to struggle into prayer more regularly.
Circumcision Type
While doing some research for my exegetical paper on Colossians 2:11, I came across this material in Benjamin Keach’s Preaching from the Types and Metaphors of the Bible. Keach was a signatory of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith (a daughter of the Westminster Confession) and has a catechism attributed to him (though there is some question about who authored it). I liked the guy right off the bat because he argued for congregational singing amongst the Particular Baptists in England. Also, he was listed as the pastor at Horse-lie-down, Southwark. I guess a more contemporary spelling would be “Horsely Down” but the old one is more fun.
Anyway, here’s the quote:
- Circumcision was the cutting off the foreskin of the flesh; signifying the cutting off of the lusts of the heart and life, or parting with the corruption of nature, which rebels against the Spirit, Col. ii. 11
- Circumcision puts the body to pain. So those who come under the Circumcision of the heart, are sensible of much spiritual pain upon the account of sin, Gen. xxxiv. 25.
- As that part cut off was never set to the body again, but was taken away, so in this spiritual Circumcision, sin must not be parted with for a time only, but must be cast off for ever.
- The Circumcised person was admitted in the Church and family of God. So he that is spiritually Circumcised becomes a fit person for baptism, and so to be admitted into the Church of God.
- Such who were not Circumcised, were not to be admitted to the privileges of the Church, and outward worship of God. So the Uncircumcised in heart and life ought not to be admitted unto the spiritual privileges of the Gospel, and communion of the saints.
- The Uncircumcised person was looked upon by God’s people as a hateful person; see with what contempt David beheld Goliath upon this account, “This Uncircumcised Philistine,” &c., 1 Sam. xvii. 36. So those who are not Circumcised in heart, are hate to God.
- Circumcision was a sign of the righteousness of faith: so the spiritual Circumcision of the heart, i.e. putting away the body of sin, &c., is a sign of the truth of grace, and of an interest in the righteousness of Christ Jesus.
I think I’m going to put this in the conclusion of my exegetical paper. :)