Undated Promises

"Though we find promises of God throughout Scripture, they don't come with specific dates and times. Therefore, when our circumstances contradict God's character and promises, we're tempted to supply God with a time frame and demand that He fulfill His promises according to it....It takes faith to wait tranquilly for something for which we have a promise from God, but no date."

--C.J. Mahaney, Humility: True Greatness

A Dangerous Prayer

"Thy kingdom come is a dangerous prayer, for it means the death of your own sovereignty. It means your life will be shaped by the will of another. It means that you will experience the messiness, discomfort, and difficulty of God's refining grace. It means surrendering the center of your universe to the One who alone deserves to be there. It means loving God above all else and your neighbor as yourself. It means experiencing the freedom that can only be found when God breaks your bondage to you! It means finally living for the one glory that is truly glorious, the glory of God."

--Paul David Tripp, Whiter than Snow: Meditations on Sin and Mercy

The Condescension of the Christ

Sing Highest Praises to Our King
M. Justin Wainscott © 2009

Sing highest praises to our King,
Who left His throne above;
And clothed Himself in flesh to bring
The blessings of His love.

The glory He had long enjoyed,
He humbly set aside;
How great the means which Christ employed
To save a sinful Bride!

In Bethlehem by virgin birth,
As prophets did foretell;
Our God descended to the earth,
And didst among us dwell.

Yes, see Him in the manger lay,
But let us ne’er forget;
This precious Child was born to pay
Our cursed, sinful debt.

This perfect Lamb for sinners slain,
Who died and rose again,
Now sits on David’s throne and reigns
In vict’ry over sin.

So let our longing hearts all burn
With zeal for Christ our King,
And for the day of His return,
When He shall reign supreme!

For Unto Us A Child Is Born

A truly beautiful portion of Scripture set to a truly beautiful piece of music:

A Mirror Into Which We See Ourselves

The following poem may look a bit lengthy, but I assure you it reads quickly and it is well worth the time it may take you to get through it. Let it be a balm for your soul; drink deeply from it; and rejoice in the grace of the gospel.

Aren't You Glad You're Not Like David?
Paul David Tripp, in Whiter than Snow: Meditations on Sin and Mercy

Aren't you glad you're not like David,
Such blazoned sin, how could he?
Aren't you glad you're not like Saul,
Making up his own rules; what was he thinking?
Aren't you glad you're not like Cain,
Violence against his own brother?
Aren't you glad you're not like Rebekah,
Such planned deceit?
Aren't you glad you're not like the Israelites,
So easily seduced by idols?
Aren't you glad you're not like Absalom;
How could he be so jealous?
Aren't you glad you're not like Elijah;
How could he forget God, be so depressed?
Aren't you glad you're not like Nebuchadnezzar;
How could he be so obsessed with power?
Aren't you glad you're not like Samson;
How could he be so easily deceived?
Aren't you glad you're not like Jonah;
How could he run from the Father's call?
Aren't you glad you're not like the Pharisees,
So religiously right yet spiritually wrong?
Aren't you glad you're not like Judas,
Selling the Messiah for a little bit of silver?
Aren't you glad you're not like the Corinthians,
So much better at division than at serving the Lord?
But wait.
You are like them, and so am I.
There is simply no denying it.
Their stories are a mirror into which we see ourselves.
We too are jealous and easily deceived.
We too are proud and obsessed with power.
We are better at division while we run from God.
We too get angry and get seduced by idols.
In sorrow we must say,
We stand with David,
And Saul,
And Rebekah,
And Jonah,
And Elijah,
And the rest.
These stories are for us to look into and see us,
So that we are not able to buy into
The lie of our own righteousness.
But instead,
Run to His mercy,
Hold onto His unfailing love,
And finally rest
In His great compassion.
Aren't you glad you can step out of the darkness of self-deceit,
And admit who you are?

The Deceptive, Blinding Power of Sin

"On our own, you and I will never develop a competency for recognizing our sin. We'll always need help.

Never forget that others see what you do not. Where you're blind to sin, their vision is often twenty-twenty."

--C.J. Mahaney, Humility: True Greatness

Two Attractive But Dangerous Lies

"All fallen human beings tend to buy into two attractive but dangerous lies. These are the lies that were on the tongue of the serpent on that fateful day of manipulation and disobedience in the garden. The first lie is the lie of autonomy, which tells me that I am an independent human being with the right to invest my life however I choose. The second lie is the lie of self-sufficiency, which declares that I have everything I need within myself to be what I am supposed to be and do what I am supposed to do. Because we do not want to live for God, but for ourselves, we are easily seduced, at the mundane, everyday level, by these lies."

--Paul David Tripp, Whiter Than Snow: Meditations on Sin and Mercy

Russell Moore on "Why I'm Ungrateful"

Great post by Russell Moore here (a very apt word at this Thanksgiving season).

Praise and Thanksgiving to God

A prayer from The Valley of Vision:

O my God...

For the soul Thou hast created,
For adorning it, sanctifying it, though it is fixed in barren soil;
For the body Thou hast given me,
For preserving its strength and vigor,
For providing senses to enjoy delights,
For the ease and freedom of my limbs,
For hands, eyes, ears that do Thy bidding;
For Thy royal bounty providing my daily support,
For a full table and overflowing cup,
For appetite, taste, sweetness,
For social joys of relatives and friends,
For ability to serve others,
For a heart that feels sorrows and necessities,
For a mind to care for my fellow-men,
For opportunities of spreading happiness around,
For loved ones in the joys of heaven,
For my own expectation of seeing Thee clearly....

I bless Thee and thank Thee.

The Consoling, Heart-Cheering Word of God

"When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul." (Psalm 94:19)

Lord, Why Was I A Guest?

How Sweet and Awful Is the Place
Isaac Watts, 1674-1748

How sweet and awful is the place,
With Christ within the doors,
While everlasting love displays
The choicest of her stores.

Here every bowel of our God
With soft compassion rolls;
Here peace and pardon, love and blood,
Is food for dying souls.

While all our hearts and all our songs
Join to admire the feast,
Each of us cry, with thankful tongues,
"Lord, why was I a guest?"

Why was I made to hear Thy voice,
And enter while there's room;
When thousands make a wretched choice,
And rather starve than come?

'Twas the same love that spread the feast
That sweetly forced us in;
Else we had still refused to taste,
And perished in our sin.

True Piety or Just a Reputation for Piety?

"The person who prays more in public than in private reveals that he is less interested in God's approval than in human praise. Not piety but a reputation for piety is his concern."

--D.A. Carson

Ferguson and Begg on The Beeson Podcast

Beeson Divinity School recently launched The Beeson Podcast, and the two most recent episodes are:

Preaching and Ministry with Sinclair Ferguson

The Shaping of a Pastor with Alistair Begg

Click here for more information or to listen.

The Holy Scriptures and the Common Tongue

"I totally disagree with those who are unwilling that the Holy Scriptures should be translated into everyday languages and read by unlearned people. Christ wishes his mysteries to be made known as widely as possible....I wish that they were translated into all the languages of all Christian people....I wish that the farm laborer might sing parts of them at his plow, that the weaver might hum them at his shuttle, and that the traveler might ease his weariness by reciting them."

--Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536)

What Wondrous Grace Was This!

Join, Every Tongue, To Sing
Joseph Hart, 1712-1768

Join, every tongue, to sing
The mercies of the Lord;
The love of Christ, our King,
Let ev'ry heart record.
He saved us from the wrath of God,
And paid our ransom with His blood!

What wondrous grace was this!
We sinned, and Jesus died;
He wrought the righteousness,
And we were justified.
We ran the score to lengths extreme,
And all the debt was charged on Him.

Hell was our just desert,
And He that hell endured;
Guilt broke His guiltless heart
With wrath that we incurred;
We bruised His body, spilt His blood,
And both became our heavenly food.