From: Suzianty Herawati
"Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went
not; for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber." --1 Kings 22:48
Solomon's ships had returned in safety, but Jehoshaphat's vessels never
reached the land of gold. Providence prospers one, and frustrates the desires
of another, in the same business and at the same spot, yet the Great Ruler is
as good and wise at one time as another. May we have grace to-day, in the
remembrance of this text, to bless the Lord for ships broken at Ezion-geber, as
well as for vessels freighted with temporal blessings; let us not envy the more
successful, nor murmur at our losses as though we were singularly and specially
tried. Like Jehoshaphat, we may be precious in the Lord's sight, although our
schemes end in disappointment.
The secret cause of Jehoshaphat's loss is well worthy of notice, for it is
the root of very much of the suffering of the Lord's people; it was his
alliance with a sinful family, his
fellowship with sinners. In 2 Chron. 20:37, we are told that the Lord sent a
prophet to declare, "Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the Lord
hath broken thy works." This was
a fatherly chastisement, which appears to have been blest to him; for in the
verse which succeeds our morning's text we find him refusing to allow his
servants to sail in the same vessels with those of the wicked king. Would to
God that Jehoshaphat's experience might be a warning to the rest of the Lord's
people, to avoid being unequally yoked together with unbelievers! A life of
misery is usually the lot of those who are united in marriage, or in any other
way of their own choosing, with the men of the world. O for such love to Jesus
that, like Him, we may be holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners;
for if it be not so with us, we may expect to hear it often said, "The Lord
hath broken thy works."
SDG,
CH Spurgeon
================================================
From: Suzianty Herawati
"There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness." --2 Timothy 4:8
Doubting one! thou hast often said, "I fear I shall never enter heaven."
Fear not! all the people of God shall enter there. I love the quaint saying of
a dying man, who exclaimed,
"I have no fear of going home; I have sent all before me; God's finger is on
the latch of my door, and I am ready for Him to enter."
"But," said one, "are you not afraid lest you should miss your inheritance?"
"Nay," said he, "nay; there is one crown in heaven which the angel Gabriel
could not wear, it will fit no head but mine.
There is one throne in heaven which Paul the apostle could not fill; it was
made for me, and I shall have it." O Christian, what a joyous thought! thy
portion is secure; "there remaineth a rest."
"But cannot I forfeit it?"
No, it is entailed. If I be a child of God I shall not lose it. It is mine as
securely as if I were there. Come with me, believer, and let us sit upon the
top of Nebo, and view the goodly land, even Canaan. Seest thou that little
river of death glistening in the sunlight, and across it dost thou see the
pinnacles of the eternal city? Dost thou mark the pleasant country, and all its
joyous inhabitants? Know, then, that if thou couldst fly across thou wouldst
see written upon one of its many mansions, "This remaineth for such a one;
preserved for him only. He shall be
caught up to dwell for ever with God." Poor doubting one, see the fair
inheritance; it is thine. If thou believest in the Lord Jesus, if thou hast
repented of sin, if thou hast been renewed in heart, thou art one of the Lord's
people, and there is a place reserved for thee, a crown laid up for thee, a
harp specially provided for thee. No one else shall have thy portion, it is
reserved in heaven for thee, and thou shalt have it ere long, for there shall
be no vacant thrones in glory when all the chosen are gathered in.
SDG,
CH Spurgeon
===============================================
From: Suzianty Herawati
"Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and
their children another generation." --Joel 1:3
In this simple way, by God's grace, a living testimony for truth is always
to be kept alive in the land--the beloved of the Lord are to hand down their
witness for the gospel, and the covenant to their heirs, and these again to
their next descendants. This is our first duty, we are to begin at the family
hearth: he is a bad preacher who does not commence his ministry at home. The
heathen are to be sought by all means, and
the highways and hedges are to be searched, but home has a prior claim, and woe
unto those who reverse the order of the Lord's arrangements. To teach our
children is a personal duty; we cannot delegate it to Sunday School Teachers,
or other friendly
aids, these can assist us, but cannot deliver us from the sacred obligation;
proxies and sponsors are wicked devices in this case: mothers and fathers must,
like Abraham, command their households in the fear of God, and talk with their
offspring concerning the wondrous works of the Most High. Parental teaching is
a natural duty--who so fit to look to the child's well-being as those who are
the authors of his actual being? To
neglect the instruction of our offspring is worse than brutish.
Family religion is necessary for the nation, for the family itself, and for the
church of God. By a thousand plots Popery is covertly advancing in our land,
and one of the most effectual means for resisting its inroads is left almost
neglected, namely, the instruction of children in the faith. Would that parents
would awaken to a sense of the importance of this matter. It is a pleasant duty
to talk of Jesus to our sons and daughters, and the more so because it has
often proved to be an accepted work, for God has saved the children through the
parents' prayers and admonitions. May every house into which
this volume shall come honour the Lord and receive His smile.
SDG,
CH Spurgeon
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