sin

  • The Song of the Speckled Bird (Rejoicing in God's sovereign goodness to the senseless)



    Jeremiah 12:9: Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird...

    Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on Jeremiah 12:

    "Some make her a speckled, pied, or motley bird, upon the account of their mixing the superstitious customs and usages of the heathen with divine institutions in the worship of God; they were fond of a party-coloured religion, and thought it made them fine, when really it made them odious. God's turtle-dove is no speckled bird."


    Matthew 6:22  The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23  But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

    24  No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

    Hosea 7:11 (NKJV)
    Ephraim also is like a silly dove, without sense—

    Hosea 7:11  Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria. 12  When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard. 13  Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me. 14  And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against me. 15  Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me. 16  They return, but not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.

    The Song of the Speckled Bird
    (Rejoicing in God's sovereign goodness to the senseless)

    Your holy name I have despised
    Constrain me, make me single-eyed

    I have lusted, sinful pride
    In the earthly took delight

    Affections unsettled, unsanctified
    Lust conceived, the wandering eye

    Though ransomed from a futile life,
    A speckled bird, unfaithful bride!

    Aimless conduct, fleshly flight
    Deadly journey: woe and blight

    Played the harlot, Your will defied
    Discarded the Truth, ingested lies

    Silly, senseless dove – wise in mine own eyes
    Without heart, like the uncircumcised

    Foolish fancies, profane flight
    Cherished darkness, spurned the Light

    My way corrupt, my feet did slide
    Forsook Your glory for pig sty

    Turn me, draw me to Your side
    Be merciful to me, be kind

    Will You leave the ninety-nine
    Awake, arise, and visit this vine!

    Lord, rescue me, hear my cries!
    Wash me in Your crimson tide!

    Broken hearted, mournful sighs:
    I must have Thee! – Jesus Christ!

    Blessed is the wife You chastise
    In my darkness, You shall be Light

    Though I have fallen, I shall arise
    My Redeemer has fully justified

    I have an Advocate, Jesus Christ
    In steadfast love, You do delight

    To Your Fount, I come – I swiftly fly!
    O! Wash me, Lamb of God, or I die!

    You alone are my flawless Surety
    Forgive me, cleanse me from my impurity

    To my wounds, Your balm apply
    Shine Your face, my soul revive

    Behold my mouth opened wide
    True Bread, fill me, or I die!

    For You alone I pant and cry
    Who else has the words of life?

    Came to my senses, yet 'twas not I
    Sovereign grace drew me, opened my eyes

    Apart from mercy, I was bound and chained
    But Your Spirit breathed, Your love constrained

    Through the impulse Sovereign and Divine
    You compelled and called me: "You are Mine!"

    "The thief has come to steal, kill, and destroy
    To deceive and hinder from true Joy"

    "Come to My feast, the supper Divine
    Leave your husks, return, My ransomed bride!"

    "Eat My manna and drink My wine
    Feed on Me and be satisfied!"

    Psalm 110:3  Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.

    II Corinthians 5:14: For the love of Christ constraineth us...

    Luke 15:11 He also said: "A man had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the estate I have coming to me.' So he distributed the assets to them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all he had and traveled to a distant country, where he squandered his estate in foolish living. 14 After he had spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he had nothing. 15 Then he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to eat his fill from the carob pods the pigs were eating, but no one would give him any. 17 When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have more than enough food, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I'll get up, go to my father, and say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. 19 I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired hands. 20 So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. 21 The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.' 22 "But the father told his slaves, 'Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Then bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let's celebrate with a feast, 24 because this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' So they began to celebrate. (HCSB)

    I John 1:3  That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4  And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. 5  This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6  If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

    2:1  My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

    Micah 7:8  Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me. 9  I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness...

    18  Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. 19  He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. 20  Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

    Matthew 5:4  Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted... 6  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

    I Peter 1:13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

    17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. (NKJV)

    Romans 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

    Related:

    Advent #3 WHY HAS JESUS COME? not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance
    Blessed Be God for His Kindness Which Leads Us to Repentance
    Letter 25 on assurance and fighting for joy (a strong craving ≠ His joy)
    Jesus' yoke --> fullness of joy (Letter 31 on assurance & fighting for joy)
    true repentance leads to joy (Letter 37 on assurance & fighting for joy)
    Prevail | apart from sovereign grace
    postcards from England: "Flower in the Crannied Wall" (Tennyson)
    don't waste your new year ~ teach us, satisfy us, make us glad (Psalm 90:12-15)
    Ash Wednesday: Do you despise yourself? | Job 42
    What is Biblical mourning? (Ash Wednesday)
    Biblical mourning, assurance and false guilt
    Christian, are you bearing fruit in keeping with repentance?
    Dearest idol, how can I find rest
    Things to Look for in a Church: Humility before God leading to confession, repentance & fruits worthy of repentance

    Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

    Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

    Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.  Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

    Work found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spotted_Dove_(Streptopelia_chinensis)_on_a_Kapok_(Ceiba_pentandra)_tree_in_Kolkata_W_IMG_3476.jpg / CC BY-SA 3.0

  • my desire: "fearless and uncompromising" like Duncan Campbell, Moses, and Paul

    From Andrew A. Woolsey's "Channel of Revival: A Biography of Duncan Campbell," (The Faith Mission: Edinburgh, 1974, reprinted 1982), 127-129 (boldface mine):

        There was nothing complicated about Duncan's preaching. It was fearless and uncompromising. He exposed sin in its ugliness and dwelt at length on the consequences of living and dying without Christ. With a penetrating gaze on the congregation, and perspiration streaming down his face, he set before men and women the way of life and the way of death. It was a solemn thought to him that the eternity of his hearers might turn upon his faithfulness. He was standing before his fellowmen in Christ's stead and could be neither perfunctory nor formal. His words were not just a repetition of accumulated ideas, but the expression of his whole being; he gave the impression of preaching with his entire personality, not merely with his voice.

        It was prophetic preaching, not diplomatic, and the hearers were called to make a clear choice, for there was middle path. During the revival the wrath of God was emphasized and the coming judgment. God has given him this emphasis. Once he tried to be more pleasing in the presentation of truth but without effect and in spite of constant criticism continued to press the flaming sword into the very heart of the foe, resisting every effort to make him retreat. Leaving a service one night after listening to a famous preacher who was noted for his 'positive gospel', he found himself beside another minister who had often censured his ministry. The sermon they had listened to was on Paul's word to the Philippian jailor: 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.'

        'What did you think of that?' his critic asked. 'Not telling him to flee from the wrath to come!'

        'Maybe not,' replied Duncan slowly 'but you must remember that the dear many was already in full flight.'

        While he thundered the judgments of God unsparingly on those who continued in sin, there was a beautiful tenderness when he addressed those seeking Christ in true repentance. The jewel of grace shone more brightly against the backcloth of law and judgment. Indeed, those who listened sometimes saw his countenance glow with light as he dwelt on the love of Christ and God's welcome to returning sinners.

        Undoubtedly the insistence on a true knowledge of sin and genuine repentance was one of the reasons for the deep conviction of sin which characterised the movement. At times the preacher's voice was drowned with the sound of men and women weeping uncontrollably; on occasions he found it necessary to stop preaching because of the distress manifested by those whose consciences had been awakened. Men, broken in spirit, wept openly over their sin. Here is one working at peats on the moor and suddenly bursts into a flood of tears. 'Why am I crying?' he asks 'I didn't used to be so soft.' He remembers the two ships that had gone down under him at Dunkirk and he had shown no fear; now he trembles. Hastening home he goes to the barn and yields with the prayer: 'Oh God if it's my surrender You want, You've got it now.'

        Another, who had been given up by the ministers as totally indifferent, is cycling along the road with the Word of God pounding in his brain causing him to dismount; it seems that hell has opened up, spitting out balls of fire on the road before him.

        In the fields, or at the weaving looms, men were overcome and prostrated on the ground before God. One said; 'The grass beneath my feet and the rocks around me seem to cry: "Flee to Christ for refuge!"'

        The agony of conviction was terrible to behold, but Duncan rejoiced knowing that out of the deep travail would be born a rich, virile Christian experience, unlike the cheap, easy-going 'believism' that produces no radical moral change. An old man underlined this in his prayer when he said bluntly: 'Lord, now that You have us in the big pot, boil us as well!'

    * * *

    It's far too easy for any of us to fear and to compromise. It's far too easy for ME to fear men rather than God. It's far too easy for ME to compromise! It's far too easy for ME to seek to please men rather than pleasing God! This is a temptation I constantly face, but I know that along with the apostle Paul, I CANNOT rightly claim to be a servant of Christ so long as I am seeking to please men...

    Galatians 1:10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

    And I also know what our Lord had to say about those who feared men rather than God:

    Matthew 10:26  “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27  What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28  And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29  Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30  But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31  Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32  So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33  but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

    34  “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35  For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36  And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. 37  Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38  And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39  Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

    This morning, I was rereading the accounts of Moses' repeated visits to Pharaoh.

    During that time, there were four opportunities when Pharaoh dangled before Moses' ears four different compromises (Exodus 8:25; 8:28; 10:8-11; 10:24):

    Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.

    So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away...

     So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, “Go, serve the LORD your God. But which ones are to go?” Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.” But he said to them, “The LORD be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go!

    Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go, serve the LORD; your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.”

    Yes, these were certainly options, but not one of them was in line with God's uncompromising will for His people!

    We learn a great deal from Moses' response to Pharaoh in Exodus 8:27:

    "We must go three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as he tells us."

    "AS HE [the LORD our God] TELLS US." In other words, we can't serve the LORD in any way other than the way HE TELLS US. No matter the circumstances, no matter our feelings, no matter what anyone else is telling us – our obedience to the living God must be based on what the LORD our God has told us in His Holy Word. We see the disastrous results for King Saul when he did not serve the LORD as the LORD had told him (see I Samuel 13 & 15). We make a fatal error whenever we begin to rely on ourselves, i.e. - when we begin to consider and think through a situation using our own human wisdom and try to solve a problem using our own fleshly resources, when we toss aside the Word of God and no longer bow down to God's sovereign authority. We can't ever fight the battles of God using Saul's fleshly armor! Unless we seek the will of God through prayer and the Word of God, unless we ask for the Holy Spirit of God to lead us into all truth and to pour out upon us what He alone can supply, we'll be led astray onto the broad path of expediency and common sense. We have to remember that God's thoughts and God's ways are higher than ours. God's thoughts and God's ways often don't make sense to us. His wisdom is inscrutable. We are not His counselor! The LORD is GOD, after all, is He not? The way of the Spirit of God is always the way of life; while the way of flesh of man is always the way of death:

    There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
    (Proverbs 14:12)

    When the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness, let's never forget how our Lord Himself did battle: He used the Word of God! May we each take heed that we might not fall! May I take heed that I might not fall!

    Notice Moses emphatic, uncompromising, and unwavering tone: "We must." And as Moses answers Pharaoh's proposals, we find him using the same words in Exodus 10:9 and 10:25-26:

    Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.”

    But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the LORD our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the LORD until we arrive there.”


    "WE MUST." Moses was concerned about the people of God worshiping the LORD in the exact way GOD Himself had prescribed. Aren't we constantly tempted to remake God into our own image and worship Him in the way that seems right to us? Aren't we flooded with temptations to make that smallest little compromise? Don't we find a million and one reasons rising up to rationalize our disobedience to God's Word?

    Know this: apart from the persevering grace of God at work in us and apart from the love of God constraining us, each one of us would very quickly end up running after the imagination of our own evil hearts (~ Jer. 16:12, KJV), doing what's right in our own eyes (Judges 21:25), turning our backs on the LORD our God (II Chron. 29:6), and saying to the one true God: "We are lords; we will come no more unto thee" (Jer. 2:31, KJV). How pathetic that we would even consider forsaking the fountain of living water to hew broken cisterns! (Jer. 2:13) How loathsome that we might forsake the cold flowing waters for strange waters! (Jer. 18:14)

    Jude 1:24  Now unto him that is able to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, 25  To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. (adapted)

    I've found myself between a rock and a hard place on many occasions, and particularly quite often as of late... God forbid that I succumb to fear and compromise!

    ~ Lord God, multiply Your grace toward me, so I might be strengthened to offer myself to You as a living sacrifice. Work in me to will and to do of Your good pleasure, that I might not shrink back, but be fearless and uncompromising – no matter the cost. ~

    Like the apostle Paul, I long to finish my course and the ministry I received to testify to the gospel of the grace of God fearlessly and without compromise:

    Acts 20:18 “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19  serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20  how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21  testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 22  And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23  except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. 24  But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. 25  And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. 26  Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, 27  for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. 28  Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29  I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30  and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31  Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears..."

    Impossible with me, but possible WITH GOD, as Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:

    10  But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

    In much of the western world today, the church is so very far from the bright and shining torch we're intended to be (Isaiah 62). We are in a state of great ruination, much as we read of in Psalm 74. We are a reproach and disgrace to the name of our holy God. We're looking very much like the temple and the city of Jerusalem after the exile (e.g. - see the books of Ezra, Haggai, Zechariah, Nehemiah). We must consider our ways! The gold has grown dim (Lam. 4:1), and it grows dimmer day by day, as you hear of the erosion of denomination after denomination, as we you find further slippages of doctrinal truth. My friends, the lampstands have been removed from congregations and denominations that were once known for their orthodoxy, and they are being removed as you read these words. We are now reaping what what has been sown over the course of many, many years as fleshly, man-centered, expedient, and people-pleasing decisions have made by a whole host of people throughout the course of many, many years – people who chose not to be fearless and uncompromising. Instead of being valiant for the truth, they chose to shrink back in fear and to make little compromises here and there. I don't want to be counted among those people! O! for the grace of God to abound so I might be fearless and uncompromising all the days of my life, like Duncan Campbell, Moses, and Paul!

    So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
    (James 4:17)

    "Peace if possible, truth at all costs."
    (Martin Luther)

     And Elijah came near to all the people and said,
    “How long will you go limping between two different opinions?
    If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.”

    And the people did not answer him a word.
    (I Kings 18:21)

    For more about Duncan Campbell, please read my last post, God's greatest gift to any generation, and this Brief Biography of Duncan Campbell.

    Why I blog and the only kind of recommendation I should seek
    dedication 2010 (reflections on God's Word & God's grace) ~ no sugar coating...
    the minister's examination: "Who is my master?"
    Make war (Herod, blogging, appetites, the glory of God & the Word of God)
    learning to run without fear
    I can't keep walking on eggshells here (more on Revelife, Calvinism, the Body of Christ and self)
    I don't want to walk anyone into Hell
    Postcards from God in England: the frisking at Heathrow
    many will come and deceive - will you do whatever it takes?
    my flesh lusts against the Spirit the Spirit lusts against my flesh
    the world says . . . You say . . . I say (a prayer of dedication)
    Kingdom-Obsessed People don't seek "great things" for themselves
    If I look (looking at him, loved him - Mark 10:17-22) ~ ministry's sorrow
    the world says . . . You say . . . I say (a prayer of dedication)
    Reformation Rebels: Are you willing to be a rebel for the sake of the Church?
    even among the voices (Bible reading: Nehemiah 6:1-14)

    What is a nominal Christian?
    With the New Year come new resolutions, but have you become entirely new? (Lloyd-Jones)
    the Holy Spirit and Life
    why we need a new heart (Bible reading - Matthew 5)
    Barabbas we save, Jesus Christ we slay (the mockery of profession ~ decisional regeneration)
    Have you believed with your heart ... all your heart? (The Ethiopian Eunuch - Acts 8:37)
    Are you kissing the Son? (Psalm 2)
    Charo Washer's Testimony: "you either do pass these tests of 1 John, or you don't"
    What is Biblical mourning? (Ash Wednesday)
    Biblical mourning, assurance and false guilt

    Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Emphasis mine.

    Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

    Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tissot_Moses_Speaks_to_Pharaoh.jpg  / CC BY-SA 3.0 / {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}

  • The Glory of God in Sovereign Electing Grace

         
    O! Vast ocean of Love that lifted me
    From the depths, the pit of iniquity

    Nay! Not just lifted, for I was dead
    My heart was stone, I had no breath

    How can a carcass whisper a plea
    Apart from the Incorruptible Seed?

    How could I come unless the Father drew?
    How could I raise myself up from the tomb?

    How can the blinded ever come to see
    A sight of the knowledge of God's glory?

    Was not secured by my most zealous strivings
    How could flesh defeat the devil's contrivings?

    Could this leopard change e'en a single spot?
    Through my first birth see the kingdom of God?

    How could this enemy e'er repent
    Unless God's kindness to me was sent?

    Jehovah opened my heart to heed
    Appointed to eternal life, I did believe

    But for Christ's quick'ning, how could I believe?
    How could I possess faith unless He bequeathed?

    How could I choose when my will was bound?
    From head to toe, nothing in me was sound

    How could I hear His voice, taste and see
    Unless He was my Shepherd, and I His sheep?

    How could I seek a God whom I did not know?
    Grace was irresistible – He led me home!

    To show His glory's riches, make His power known
    Not to me, O LORD, all glory to Thee alone!

    The purpose of God according to election stands
    It is of Him who calls, not of the will of man

    The Father grants, 'tis His good pleasure decides
    On whom He will have mercy, on whom wrath abides

    To be chosen in Christ before dawn of time
    O! Holiest of mysteries! How sublime!

    Foreknown and predestined before I saw the light of day
    Called not according to my works, but His purpose and grace

    His ways are higher! O! Tremble at His word!
    There is forgiveness that He might be feared!

    Dare you wrest from God the glory due His name?
    Object of mercy, will you rob Him of His fame?

    Has not the Potter all power over the clay
    To declare His goodness and to display His name?

    Proclaim His excellencies and magnify the Lord!
    Children of God, may our boast be only in the Lord!

    Nicodemus answered in perplexity,
    "I marvel. How can these things be?"

    These are hard things, who can understand?
    Revealed to babes, but hid from wisest man

    O, Lord, how great Your works, Your thoughts deep
    The thoughts of man, they are but vanity!

    From Charles H. Spurgeon's "A Defense of Calvinism":

         Well can I remember the manner in which I learned the doctrines of grace in a single instant. Born, as all of us are by nature, an Arminian, I still believed the old things I had heard continually from the pulpit, and did not see the grace of God. When I was coming to Christ, I thought I was doing it all myself, and though I sought the Lord earnestly, I had no idea the Lord was seeking me. I do not think the young convert is at first aware of this. I can recall the very day and hour when first I received those truths in my own soul—when they were, as John Bunyan says, burnt into my heart as with a hot iron, and I can recollect how I felt that I had grown on a sudden from a babe into a man—that I had made progress in Scriptural knowledge, through having found, once for all, the clue to the truth of God. One week-night, when I was sitting in the house of God, I was not thinking much about the preacher's sermon, for I did not believe it. The thought struck me, How did you come to be a Christian? I sought the Lord. But how did you come to seek the Lord? The truth flashed across my mind in a moment—I should not have sought Him unless there had been some previous influence in my mind to make me seek Him. I prayed, thought I, but then I asked myself, How came I to pray? I was induced to pray by reading the Scriptures. How came I to read the Scriptures? I did read them, but what led me to do so? Then, in a moment, I saw that God was at the bottom of it all, and that He was the Author of my faith, and so the whole doctrine of grace opened up to me, and from that doctrine I have not departed to this day, and I desire to make this my constant confession, "I ascribe my change wholly to God."

    II Timothy 2:9  [God] who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began...

    Romans 9:10  And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11  though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, NOT because of works but because of HIS CALL— 12  she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13  As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

    14  What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15  For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16  So then it depends NOT on human will or exertion, but ON GOD, who has mercy. 17  For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show MY POWER in you, and that MY NAME might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18  So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

    19  You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20  But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21  Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use? 22  What if God, desiring to SHOW HIS WRATH and to MAKE KNOWN HIS POWER, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23  in order to MAKE KNOWN THE RICHES OF HIS GLORY for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24  even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25  As indeed he says in Hosea,

    “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
    and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”
    26  “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
    there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”

    Ephesians 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4  even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5  he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6  TO THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORIOUS GRACE, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8  which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9  making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10  as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

    11  In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12  so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be TO THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORY.

    I Peter 2:9  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may PROCLAIM THE EXCELLENCIES OF HIM WHO CALLED YOU out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10  Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

    Related:

    Spurgeon's Sermon on Election (II Thes. 2:13-14)

    Jesus' rejoicing and thanksgiving (Luke 10:21-24) ~ Hidden from the wise, revealed unto babes
    True Calvinism is NOT . . .
    Why I'm a happy Calvinist! (Resting in the sovereignty of God)
    "I can't keep walking on eggshells here (more on Revelife, Calvinism, the Body of Christ and self."
    Bible Reading: Things To Look for in a Church: What We Find in Solomon's Temple, #2: God's Sovereignty in Salvation
    Letter 7 on assurance and fighting for joy (remember His love for us while we were sinners)

    why we need a new heart (Bible reading - Matthew 5)
    the Holy Spirit and Life
    Why preach the Gospel? # 2: Dead men need Life!
    All ye who hear ... Lazarus, come forth! Lazarus, take heed!

    we did not choose, He chose us, worthy the Lamb, solus Christus
    Wake up and tremble, rightly ascribe
    no glory to me, o my Savior ~ only because You chose to favor | a spiritual birthday celebration
    All of Your grace, All to Your glory (this day in 1982)
    "Salvation unto Us Has Come by God's free grace & favor"
    I am a leopard - Christ is a lion ~ The Resurrection Celebration
    Linger, linger, linger – so you might know God's love
    Lenten Reflections: Plucked
    Lenten Reflections: Come now, consider – Consider His ways!
    Outcast vine, faithless bride ~ What beauty? What did you see?
    From top of head to soles of feet ~ O my Father! ... O my Advocate!
    Blessed Be God for His Kindness Which Leads Us to Repentance

    God reveals Himself to some but not to all, yet we are sent to proclaim Christ to all
    every brand snatched is a brand dispatched ~ Reflections on 9/11, Redemption & God's Mission

    Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Emphasis mine.

    Work found at http://www.artbible.info/art/large/370.html / {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}
    Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kneden_van_klei.jpg / CC BY-SA 3.0
    Work found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Crijn_Hendricksz.jpeg / CC BY-SA 3.0 / {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}

naphtali_deer

About me...

Christian hedonist in training. Pressing on to know more and more of the joy of the LORD. Pleading with God to rend the heavens and revive and refresh my own soul, as well as His Church, to His praise, honor and glory.

Thank God. He can make men and women in middle life sing again with a joy that has been chastened by a memory of their past failures. ~ Alan Redpath

My other websites

tent of meeting: Prayer for reformation & revival

(See also Zechariah821. Zechariah821 is a mirror site of tent of meeting, found on WordPress)

deerlifetrumpet: Encouragement for those seeking reformation & revival in the Church

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