"The glory of his patience. We wonder, when we see a notorious sinner, how God can let his thunders still lie by him, and his sword rust in his sheath. And, indeed, when such are converted, they wonder themselves that God did not draw his sword out, and pierce their bowels, or shoot one of his arrows into their hearts all this while. But God, by such a forbearance; shews himself to be God indeed, and something in this act infinitely above such a weak creature as man is: 'I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim; for I am God, and not man,' Hosea 11:9. When God had reckoned up their sins before, and they might have expected the sentence after the reading the charge, God tells them, he would not destroy them, he would not execute them, because he was God. If he were not a God, he could not keep himself from pouring out a just vengeance upon them. If a man did inherit all the meekness of all the angels and all the men that ever were in the world, he could not be able to bear with patience the extravagances and injuries done in the world the space of one day; for none but a God, i.e. one infinitely longsuffering, can bear with them.
Not a sin passed in the world before the coming of Christ in the flesh, but was a commendatory letter of God's forbearance, 'To declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God,' Rom. 3:25. And not a sin passed before the coming of Christ into the soul, but gives the same testimony, and bears the same record. And the greater number of sins, and great sins are passed, the more trophies there are erected to God's longsuffering; the reason why the grace of the gospel appeared so late in the world, was to testify God's patience. Our apostle takes notice of this long-suffering towards himself in bearing with such a persecutor. 'Howbeit, for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him,' 1 Tim. 1:16. This was Christ's end in letting him run so far, that he might shew forth not a few mites, grains, or ounces of patience, but all longsuffering, longsuffering without measure, or weight, by wholesale; and this as a pattern to all ages of the world; upotupwsin for a type: a type is but a shadow in respect of the substance. To shew, that all the ages of the world should not waste that patience, whereof he had then manifested but a pattern.
A pattern, we know, is less than the whole piece of cloth from whence it is cut; and as an essay is but a short taste of a man's skill, and doth not discover all his art, as the first miracle Christ wrought, of turning water into wine, as a sample of what power he had, was less than those miracles which succeeded; and the first miracle God wrought in Egypt, in turning Aaron's rod into a serpent, was but a sample of his power which would produce greater wonders; so this patience to Paul was but a little essay of his meekness, a little patience cut off from the whole piece, which should always be dealing out to some sinners or other, and would never be cut wholly out till the world had left being. This sample or pattern was but of the extent of a few years; for Paul was but young, the Scripture terms him a young man, Acts 7:58, about thirty-six years of age, yet he calls it all longsuffering. Ah, Paul! Some since have experienced more of this patience; in some it has reached not only to thirty, but forty, fifty, or sixty years.
2. Grace. It is partly for the admiration of this grace that God intends the day of judgment. It is a strange place: 'When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe in that day,' 2 Thess. 1:10. What, has not Christ glory enough in heaven with his Father? Will he come on purpose to seek glory from such worthless creatures as his saints are? What is that which glorifies Christ in them? It is the gracious work he has wrought in them."
Stephen Charnock
"It is a new year and I am sure that many Christians have resolved to be more consistent in their times of personal devotions than they were in the previous year. I thought it might be helpful, then, to share a method I have been using for my times with the Lord. I hope others can join in the discussion, sharing the methods they use. While there is no single right way to do personal devotions, I do believe there are some that are better than others, and like you, I am always eager to learn how I may make my devotions more beneficial.
A common trap believers fall into is making their time of personal devotion a selfish time. Without structure, prayers often become mere lists of perceived needs, wants and desires and reading Scripture becomes a chore and a burden. Many Christians feel guilty, admiring and desiring the biblical examples of those, like David, who delighted in the Lord and in His Word. They sincerely desire to have a passion for prayer and Scripture, yet find themselves lukewarm at best.
It is my sincere hope that we can share different ways of daily delighting in the Lord and sharing time with Him. If you have a method or some pointers you would like to share, please feel free to do so by linking us to an article on your blog (if you have one) or by posting a comment in the forum.
And without any further ado, I will tell you about the structure I have been using, which I call An Hour of Personal Worship..."
"...Mystery, for the orthodox, is not the irrational, but simply the partially understood; mystery is understandable, and someday, at least in heaven, will be. It looks contradictory but greater knowledge resolves the apparent contradiction. A mystery is something that man could never figured out but God reveals. The Cross is a mystery. Man could have never discovered the means to resolve the demands of justice—Holy justice, Perfect justice, and our need for mercy. Only the Cross resolves the dilemma..."
For a complete context, click here