Contemplations
The Unfailing Mercies of God
“And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of...
Our Divine Mediator
“Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.” (John 10:17) God’s eternal plan of redemption hinges on the singular role of His Son, Jesus Christ, as the sole Mediator between a holy God and sinful humanity (1 Tim. 2:5)....
Paths to Repentance
“Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain.” (Philippians 2:16) The road to true repentance is not traveled in isolation. Though it is a personal experience, God in His providence...
Harmonizing with the Word
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:16) In Colossians 3:16, Paul gives us an example of one way in which...
The God Who Dwells With the Broken
“For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” (Isaiah...
Held Together by the Eternal Christ
“And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:17) In Colossians 1, Paul carefully distinguishes a twofold preeminence belonging to Christ, necessary for guarding both His glory and the truth of the Gospel. The first preeminence is...
The Word That Searches and Sanctifies
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that...
The Son Who Condemned Sin in the Flesh
"For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh." (Romans 8:3) The law of God is holy, just, and good. And as such, we are unable and insufficient...
The Assurance of Election
“Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.” (1 Thessalonians 1:4) In an attempt to understand the often overwhelming doctrine of election, we need to not see it as God’s hidden will or a matter of uncovering His secret decrees. Rather, in seeking to know for...
Neglecting Christ While Pursuing the World
“And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 3:11) Fallen man, by nature, continually looks for excuses to...
The Residence of God
“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John...
Reverently Fearing God and His Goodness
“Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.” (Psalm 26:2) Psalm 26:2 reveals a heart bold enough to invite God’s omniscient scrutiny, one that trusts His goodness while fearing His holiness. Jonathan Edwards, in his Resolutions, urges believers to...
The Living God Who Quickens All Things
“I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickens all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession.” (1 Timothy 6:13) God is called the “living God” to distinguish Him from all false gods, and to set Him apart from every...
By Whom All Things Consist
“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things...
Answering Your Faithfulness with Mine
"I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD." (Ezekiel 24:14) Scripture connects the...
Standing Firm Against Heresy
“I will worship toward thy holy temple and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” (Psalm 138:2) At various times throughout church history heresies have surfaced within the church that challenge...
All Things Created for Him
“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things...
The Danger of Mistaking Judgment for Favor
“And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.” (Acts 14:11) Acts 14 records a moment that appears, on the surface, to be admiration and awe when the...
The Father’s Perfect Care
“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Matthew 10:30) God’s intricate care for His people extends to the smallest details of their lives. Matthew 10:30 tells us that He even knows the number of hairs on our head! This truth assures us that nothing that...
The Glory of God’s Law
“These words the LORD spoke unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.” (Deuteronomy 5:22)...
The Fountain of all Blessedness
"And blessed be His glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with His glory; Amen, and Amen." (Psalm 72:19) The Lord is infinitely blessed in Himself for He is the fountain of all being and blessedness. He rejoices in His own perfection and in the...
A Call to Celebrate God’s Promises
“Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob and glorified himself in Israel.”(Isaiah 44:23) This passage in Isaiah 44:23...
Chosen in Grace
“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” (Ephesians 1:5–6) Before the foundation of the...
The All-Seeing Light
“He reveals the deep and secret things: he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.” (Daniel 2:22) One facet of God’s glory is found in the perfection of His knowledge which is immediate, complete, and unchanging. Nothing is ever hidden from...
Hold Fast to the Risen Christ
“Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.” (Luke 24:39) The risen Lord did not leave His disciples to wonder. He did not ask them to accept a spiritual explanation detached from...
Established on the Faithful Promise
“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the...
The Assurance of Election
“Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.” (1 Thessalonians 1:4) The doctrine of election—that God has chosen certain individuals for salvation before the foundation of the world—offers believers a unique assurance. In 1 Thessalonians 1:4, Paul reminds the...
Seeing Nothing, Trusting Everything
“Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spoke unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire.” (Deuteronomy 4:15) God reminds Israel of something easy to forget and even easier to resist. When He spoke...
Thankful for the Truth That Exposes Our Sin
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8) The apostle John leaves no room for doubt about the true condition of humanity in his first epistle, declaring that anyone who claims to be without sin deceives himself....
Our Heavenly Father Knows
“Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” (Matthew 6:8) The scene in Matthew 6 involves a crowd of people gathered to hear what Jesus had to say. And on this particular day the Lord is teaching them...
God’s Holy Order
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but...
Man’s Journey from Innocence to Eternity
“Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.” (Ecclesiastes 7:29) One of the most searching verses in all of Scripture is found in Ecclesiastes 7:29: “Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright;...
God’s Providential Governance
“Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.” (Nehemiah 9:6)...
The Power of God Over Spiritual Enemies
“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoices; and with my song will I praise him.” (Psalm 28:7) The believer’s greatest battles are not fought on visible fields, nor with earthly weapons. Rather...
Christ the Source and End of All Things
“All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:3-4) Scripture declares Christ as the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end (Rev. 1:8, 21:6, 22:13). It also testifies...
Children of God: Confirmed by Faith
“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26) Assurance of salvation is one of the sweetest comforts of the Christian life, yet one of the hardest to attain. Many believers struggle to feel certain of their standing before God. Yet...
The Image of the Invisible God
“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created...
Confessing Our Ruin
“Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.” (Ecclesiastes 7:29) The words of Solomon in this passage present a piercing summary of the human condition. In a single sentence he declares both the dignity of...
Asking God to Direct Every Choice
“And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen.” (Acts 1:24) This verse in the first chapter of Acts teaches a foundational principle that all believers should practice. The occasion is a vacancy...
Humbled Beneath Sovereign Providence
“He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.” (Psalm 78:49) The sovereignty of God extends over all, even over the powers of darkness. Scripture never presents Satan as an independent ruler...
Every Needed Grace
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17) This text in the first chapter of James’ epistle describes God as One who gives, freely and...
The Wrath of the Lamb
“And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.” (Revelation 6:16) As Revelation 6:16 declares, the coming day of judgment will expose the futility of every refuge outside...
Led by the Good Shepherd
“For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.” (Psalm 33:4) The shepherd image woven throughout Scripture stands as one of the most comforting pictures of how God cares for His people. When Jesus declared in John 10:11, “I am the good...
Grace That Works In Us
“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13)...
Called to Charity
“That ye may be the children of Your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45) The call of Christ is a call to charity, to live not only in purity before God...
Justification – Our Divine Acquittal
“For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”(Romans 5:10) The doctrine of justification is an essential element of the Gospel message. And if this seminal doctrine is to...
Seeking God
“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:8) Multiple passages throughout Scripture urge us to seek the Lord. One such verse is found in 1...
A Fervent Zeal Against Wickedness
“And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.” (John 2:17) When Christ entered the temple and drove out those who defiled it, His disciples remembered the psalm that foretold His passion: “The zeal of thine house hath...
The Power That Leaves No One Innocent
“But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” (James 4:6) In a world that applauds ambition and self-promotion, the call to humility stands as a radical counterpoint. Nevertheless, Romans 12:2 urges me not...
The Heart Tried by God
“But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.” (1 Thessalonians 2:4) As a consequence of the Fall, the fellowship man enjoyed with God in the Garden was severed. But our...
Fearless Before Men, Reverent Before God
“In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.” (Proverbs 14:26) The fear of God is one of the richest and most misunderstood graces in the Christian life. Scripture repeatedly commends it, and yet we continue to think of...
The Condition of the Heart
“This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.” (Ecclesiastes 9:3) Ecclesiastes...
The Power of Divine Deliverance
“But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead.” (2 Corinthians 1:9) The Lord often brings His people into deep and painful difficulties in order to loosen their confidence in created things and...
Taste and See!
“O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” (Psalm 34:8) Psalm 34:8 invites me to experience God’s goodness through trust, a theme echoed in David’s testimony of divine deliverance: “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and...