Psalm 25:1-22

Faith, constant meditation on the Scriptures, obedience, humility, . . . 3. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). The Scriptures purify, instruct, strengthen, enlighten and inform. The blessed man will meditate in them day and night. 4. To be entirely safe from the devil's snares the man of God must be completely obedient to the Word of the Lord. The driver on the highway is safe, not when he reads the signs...

I said that the causes of religious confusion were four, and I named misunderstanding of the nature of truth as one of them.

The others are lack of love, unbelief and nonobedience.

"Wisdom is a loving spirit," says the Wisdom of Solomon. "He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way" (Psalms 25:9), says David, the father of Solomon, and these set forth a truth which the whole Bible joins to celebrate; namely,...

What a mercy to have a God to go to, a throne of grace set before us, and the precious name of Jesus to plea. How encouraging the examples set before us in God's holy word. Let us imitate them who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

We are going into the world; the business of the day is before us; our hearts are false and fickle; let our prayer be, "OH, KEEP MY SOUL". Keep me from sin, let me not indulge it in my heart, or commit it in my life - keep me from Satan, suffer him...

The man that fears God must have faith in His word, love to His character, a desire to please Him in all things, a fear to offend Him in anything, a realization of His omniscience, and be looking forward to His appearing.

Beloved, is this our character? It is said of such, " His soul shall dwell at ease :" free from slavish fears - from soul-distressing cares and anxieties - in a state of contentment and solid peace. And well he may; for he has God for his portion - the eternal...

When the believer has begun with trembling feet to walk in the way of the Lord, he asks to be still led onward like a little child upheld by its parent's helping hand, and he craves to be further instructed in the alphabet of truth. Experimental teaching is the burden of this prayer. David knew much, but he felt his ignorance, and desired to be still in the Lord's school: four times over in two verses he applies for a scholarship in the college of grace. It were well for many professors if...

It is well for us when prayers about our sorrows are linked with pleas concerning our sins-when, being under God's hand, we are not wholly taken up with our pain, but remember our offences against God. It is well, also, to take both sorrow and sin to the same place. It was to God that David carried his sorrow: it was to God that David confessed his sin. Observe, then, we must take our sorrows to God. Even your little sorrows you may roll upon God, for he counteth the hairs of your head; and...

It is possible to be so busy that our souls become barren. Too much activity causes us to be occupied too much with our work and too little with our God. Preachers who do not spend much time alone in meditation and communion with the Lord soon give out second-hand messages that have little or no spiritual power. We should all pray, "Lord, deliver me from the barrenness of a busy life." Many believers are afraid to be alone. They must be with others, talking, working or traveling. No time is...

Be content to lose the idea of thine own importance; cease to be wrapped up in the contemplation of thine own claims and rights. Be not counting on honors to be rendered thee, hour by hour, from this man and from that. Give up the vain idea that every hour owes thee an ample tribute of manifold benefits. Shrink into non-importance, and take the position of a simple servitor, whose business it is to do, to suffer, and to give thanks.

When you have become thus inconsiderable in your own...

Of the fear here so honorably spoken of, suffice it now to say that it is not by any means a sentiment that repels from God, but on the contrary one that draws to God. They that fear the Lord, in the honorable and Scriptural sense, are they who are powerfully affected by the promise here given. To the great majority of men, alas, to many who assume the name of Christians, the promise here recorded possesses no charm. Their spirits are no way stirred within them by the prospect of being made...

John 5:1-15

"One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years." John 5:5. It is not easy to be sick year after year. Prolonged invalidism very seriously tests the quality of life. Some people fret and chafe in such experiences. Pain is hard to bear. Then their illness seems a sad interruption to their activities, breaking into their plans for lifework. It is much easier to go to...