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"Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name."
Pilgrim
Yesterday at 10:43 AM
08/16/AM
"Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name."
—Psalms 29:1-2 (KJV) "1 <<A Psalm of David.>> Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength. 2 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness."
God's glory is the result of His nature and acts. He is glorious in His character, for there is such a store of everything that is holy, and good, and lovely in God, that He must be glorious. The actions which flow from His character are also glorious; but while He intends that they should manifest to His creatures His goodness, and mercy, and justice, He is equally concerned that the glory associated with them should be given only to Himself. Nor is there aught in ourselves in which we may glory; for who maketh us to differ from another? And what have we that we did not receive from the God of all grace? Then how careful ought we to be to walk humbly before the Lord! The moment we glorify ourselves, since there is room for one glory only in the universe, we set ourselves up as rivals to the Most High. Shall the insect of an hour glorify itself against the sun which warmed it into life? Shall the potsherd exalt itself above the man who fashioned it upon the wheel? Shall the dust of the desert strive with the whirlwind? Or the drops of the ocean struggle with the tempest? Give unto the Lord, all ye righteous, give unto the Lord glory and strength; give unto Him the honour that is due unto His name. Yet it is, perhaps, one of the hardest struggles of the Christian life to learn this sentence--"Not unto us, not unto us, but unto Thy name be glory." It is a lesson which God is ever teaching us, and teaching us sometimes by most painful discipline. Let a Christian begin to boast, "I can do all things," without adding "through Christ which strengtheneth me," and before long he will have to groan, "I can do nothing," and bemoan himself in the dust. When we do anything for the Lord, and He is pleased to accept of our doings, let us lay our crown at His feet, and exclaim, "Not I, but the grace of God which was with me!"
- Charles H. Spurgeon
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The Spiritual Profit in Understanding God's Provision for Meeting His Demands
chestnutmare
Sat Aug 15, 2026 10:44 AM
The Spiritual Profit in Understanding God's Provision for Meeting His Demands
~ A. W. Pink
A man profits from the Word when he is taught therefrom that God, in His infinite grace, has fully provided for His people's meeting His own demands. At this point, too, practically all present-day preaching is seriously defective. There is being given forth what may loosely be termed a "half Gospel," but which in reality is virtually a denial of the true Gospel.
Christ is brought in, yet only as a sort of make-weigh [something added to a scale to complete the required weight, i.e., the false gospel of salvation by faith in Christ plus our works]. That Christ has vicariously met every demand of God upon all who believe upon Him is blessedly true, yet it is only a part of the truth. The Lord Jesus has not only vicariously satisfied for His people the requirements of God's righteousness, but He has also secured that they shall personally satisfy them too. Christ has procured the Holy Spirit to make good in them what the Redeemer wrought for them.
The grand and glorious miracle of salvation is that the saved are regenerated. A transforming work is wrought within them: their understandings are illuminated, their hearts are changed, their wills are renewed. They are made "new creatures in Christ Jesus" (2 Corinthians 5:17). God refers to this miracle of grace thus: "I will put My laws into their mind and write them in their hearts" (Hebrews 8:10). The heart is now inclined to God's law; a disposition has been communicated to it which answers to its demands; there is a sincere desire to perform it. And thus the quickened soul is able to say, "When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek" (Psalm 27:8).
Christ not only rendered a perfect obedience unto the Law for the justification of His believing people, but He also merited for them those supplies of His Spirit which were essential unto their sanctification, and which alone could transform carnal creatures and enable them to render acceptable obedience unto God. Though Christ died for the "ungodly" (Romans 5:6), though He finds them ungodly (Romans 4:5) when He justifies them, yet He leaves them not in that abominable state. On the contrary, He effectually teaches them by His Spirit to deny ungodliness and worldly lust (Titus 2:12). Just as weight cannot be separated from a stone, or heat from fire, so cannot justification and sanctification.
When God really pardons a sinner in the court of his conscience, under the sense of that amazing grace the heart is purified, the life is rectified, and the whole man is sanctified. Christ "gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, [not "careless about" but] zealous of good works" (Titus 2:19). Just as a substance and its properties, causes and their necessary effects are inseparably connected, so are a saving faith and conscientious obedience unto God. Hence we read of "the obedience of faith" (Romans 16:26).
Said the Lord Jesus, "He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me" (John 14:21). Not in the Old Testament, the Gospels or the Epistles does God own anyone as a lover of Him save he who keeps His commandments. Love is something more than sentiment or emotion: it is a principle of action, and it expresses itself in something more than honeyed expressions, namely by deeds which please the object loved. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments" (1 John 5:3). Oh, my reader, you are deceiving yourself if you think you love God and yet have no deep desire and make no real effort to walk obediently before Him.
But what is obedience to God? It is far more than a mechanical performance of certain duties. I may have been brought up by Christian parents, and under them acquire certain moral habits, and yet my abstaining from taking the Lord's name in vain, and being guiltless of stealing, may be disobedience to the third and eighth commandments. Again, obedience to God is far more than conforming to the conduct of His people. I may board in a home where the Sabbath is strictly observed, and out of respect for them, or because I think it is good and wise course to rest one day in seven, I may refrain from all unnecessary labor on that day, and yet not keep the fourth commandment at all!
Obedience is not only subjection to an external law, but it is the surrendering of my will to the authority of another. Thus, obedience to God is the heart's recognition of His lordship: of His right to command, and my duty to comply. It is the complete subjection of the soul to the blessed yoke of Christ.
That obedience which God requires can proceed only from a heart which loves Him. "Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord" (Colossians 3:23). That obedience which springs from a dread of punishment is servile. That obedience which is performed in order to procure favors from God is selfish and carnal. But spiritual and acceptable obedience is cheerfully given: it is the heart's free response to and gratitude for the unmerited regard and love of God for us.
- Arthur W. Pink Profiting From the Word - Chapter 6: The Scriptures and Obedience
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"Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide."
Pilgrim
Sat Aug 15, 2026 10:23 AM
08/15/AM
"Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide."
—Genesis 24:62-64 (KJV) "62 And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country. 63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels [were] coming. 64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel."
Very admirable was his occupation. If those who spend so many hours in idle company, light reading, and useless pastimes, could learn wisdom, they would find more profitable society and more interesting engagements in meditation than in the vanities which now have such charms for them. We should all know more, live nearer to God, and grow in grace, if we were more alone. Meditation chews the cud and extracts the real nutriment from the mental food gathered elsewhere. When Jesus is the theme, meditation is sweet indeed. Isaac found Rebecca while engaged in private musings; many others have found their best beloved there.
Very admirable was the choice of place. In the field we have a study hung round with texts for thought. From the cedar to the hyssop, from the soaring eagle down to the chirping grasshopper, from the blue expanse of heaven to a drop of dew, all things are full of teaching, and when the eye is divinely opened, that teaching flashes upon the mind far more vividly than from written books. Our little rooms are neither so healthy, so suggestive, so agreeable, or so inspiring as the fields. Let us count nothing common or unclean, but feel that all created things point to their Maker, and the field will at once be hallowed.
Very admirable was the season. The season of sunset as it draws a veil over the day, befits that repose of the soul when earthborn cares yield to the joys of heavenly communion. The glory of the setting sun excites our wonder, and the solemnity of approaching night awakens our awe. If the business of this day will permit it, it will be well, dear reader, if you can spare an hour to walk in the field at eventide, but if not, the Lord is in the town too, and will meet with thee in thy chamber or in the crowded street. Let thy heart go forth to meet Him.
- Charles H. Spurgeon
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“Walk Worthy of the Lord”
NetChaplain
Fri Aug 14, 2026 4:00 PM
Article re-edited from ten years ago:
One of the many encouraging Scriptural doctrines much needed today is that God makes Christians “worthy” of His enumerable blessings—esp. that of salvation (Mat 10:37, 38; 1Co 11:27, 29; Rev 3:4). Let us not confuse the humility of preaching of past sinners, with the condemnation of present sinners! Though saints still sin they are not considered as such by Scripture. Never do see the Word relate a Christian as a “sinner” (Jhn 3:6; Rom 8:9). -NC
“The Enemy condemns us when we sin, and seeks to crush us under the weight of guilt. But the Comforter does not condemn; He convicts so that we might confess and be cleansed from all unrighteousness” (1Jn 1:9).
-MJS
“Walk Worthy of the Lord ”
Concerning the believer’s walk, it is to “walk worthy of the Lord” (Ephesians 4:1. How seldom we find such a standard of walk contended for. We hear much as to a “consistent walk,” but such a loose, indefinite character of walk is not found in Scripture—it is rather “worthy of the Lord,” Who loves us, and gave Himself for us. This is a different thought, and silences a thousand questions as to going here and there, doing this or that. The whole point is, is it “worthy of the Lord”? But more than this; His heart’s desire by the Holy Spirit is, that they may honor the Father as they ought to far having made them fit for glory— “Giving thanks to the Father, Who have made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light (Col 1:12).
The verses which follow declare that they now have present redemption: “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins: (Col 1:14). Present deliverance: “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness” (vs 13a). And present translation: “Who hath translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (vs 13b). But there is something more than the other blessings: “made meet” (vs 12) for the inheritance. And how can it be otherwise if we are “in Christ,” yea, “complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power”?
And yet how many Christians in the present day while really in Christ and having His atoning work as the foundation of all their hope of glory, are nevertheless looking for something yet to be done in their souls to make them meet for glory (confirmed for heaven—NC). Hence, it is not uncommon to hear some speak of affliction and trial as squaring and fitting them as stones for the heavenly temple. Others talk of the present sufferings purifying them for glory; or of ripening them, until they become like a stock of corn ready for the garner. Their souls have never entered in that precious declaration of the Holy Spirit, that the Father hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, and that our privilege now is thanking Him for it.
That affliction does afterward yield peaceable fruits of righteousness to them that are exercised thereby; and that through the trials we profit and are made partakers of His holiness, are most assuredly true; but being made meet for heaven is something not to be done, but has been done. The idea of saints getting by their trials, etc., more and more meet for glory, denies the truth of man’s total ruin in the flesh, sets aside the workmanship of God in the new creation, and questions the value of the redemptive work of the Savior; for “by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified” (Heb 10:14).
Scripture tells us that Christ is “made of God unto us righteousness” (1Cor 1:30), that “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes.” He is also spoken of as our life—“Christ, who is our life” (Col 3:4). If then we are regarded by the Father now as not in the flesh, but in Christ, complete in Him who is our life and righteousness; and further, that He now speaks of us as accepted in the Beloved, and that “as Christ is, so are we in this world,” it becomes simple enough.
It was the Father who loved us and chose us in His Son; it is the Father who now welcomes us through Him, accepts us in Him, assures us that His Cross has judicially rolled away all our sin and guilt; so that now we are in the new creation, and brought into the new relationship of children, and are partakers of the divine nature.
- Hugh Henry Snell (1817-1892)
MJS daily devotional for August 14:
“At first the heart hunger for maturity in the Lord Jesus is personal, subjective—and necessarily so. Later, when the path to maturity is known and entered upon, this hunger is projected to His Body, and becomes sacrificially objective.” -MJS
“The great lack in servants is not having a sufficiently self-less walk, because you cannot lead anyone beyond where you have been led yourself. Moses was himself many years in the wilderness before he led the people. I cannot ask anyone to leave anything that I have not left myself. It is not the man who sees defects, but the man who removes them who is being used of God.”
“Will you choose the path of death that others may have life? Will you choose to ‘fill up the afflictions of Christ for His Bride’s sake’? But what does it mean? It means living, weeping, suffering, loving with infinite patience, infinite tenderness, unwearyingly love for every member of the Body of Christ. It means the whole being bound up, not in your own progress, but in the progress of the Body of Christ. It means sinking all the personal element into the service of God, wanting neither credit, nor notice, nor recognition. It means an utter dropping of yourself, and a handing over of yourself to God to be poured out for His Body’s sake, the Church.”
“The unwearied care of our Father for us, His patient grace, His gentleness, His leading us on from the world nearer, in spirit, to Himself, indicate what should be the character of our love’s activity towards one another. Our joy in the Father’s presence, as He Himself and His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, are made manifest to our hearts, gives us the character of the joy of true fellowship one with another.” -Henry Forbes Witherby (1836-1907)
http://www.abideabove.com/hungry-heart/
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"Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through Thy work."
Pilgrim
Fri Aug 14, 2026 9:26 AM
08/14/AM
"Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through Thy work."
—Psalms 92:1-6 (KJV) " 1 <<A Psalm [or] Song for the sabbath day.>> [It is a] good [thing] to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: 2 To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, 3 Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound. 4 For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. 5 O LORD, how great are thy works! [and] thy thoughts are very deep. 6 A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this."
Do you believe that your sins are forgiven, and that Christ has made a full atonement for them? Then what a joyful Christian you ought to be! How you should live above the common trials and troubles of the world! Since sin is forgiven, can it matter what happens to you now? Luther said, "Smite, Lord, smite, for my sin is forgiven; if Thou hast but forgiven me, smite as hard as Thou wilt"; and in a similar spirit you may say, "Send sickness, poverty, losses, crosses, persecution, what Thou wilt, Thou hast forgiven me, and my soul is glad." Christian, if thou art thus saved, whilst thou art glad, be grateful and loving. Cling to that cross which took thy sin away; serve thou Him who served thee. "I beseech you therefore, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." Let not your zeal evaporate in some little ebullition of song. Show your love in expressive tokens. Love the brethren of Him who loved you. If there be a Mephibosheth anywhere who is lame or halt, help him for Jonathan's sake. If there be a poor tried believer, weep with him, and bear his cross for the sake of Him who wept for thee and carried thy sins. Since thou art thus forgiven freely for Christ's sake, go and tell to others the joyful news of pardoning mercy. Be not contented with this unspeakable blessing for thyself alone, but publish abroad the story of the cross. Holy gladness and holy boldness will make you a good preacher, and all the world will be a pulpit for you to preach in. Cheerful holiness is the most forcible of sermons, but the Lord must give it you. Seek it this morning before you go into the world. When it is the Lord's work in which we rejoice, we need not be afraid of being too glad.
- Charles H. Spurgeon
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