The fruitless fig tree
That God that dwells in heaven above,
Whose glory none can tell:
He condescends, in matchless love,
With worthless man to dwell.
Devotional
When we survey the eternal God
When we survey the eternal God,
As nature’s spring and bliss;
What wonders doth the scene afford;
And God, how great he is!
Jesus was hungry
After not eating for forty days, Jesus was hungry. When you read it in isolation it seems like such an understatement. My stomach is growling now, barely three hours after my last meal. He’s not just hungry, he is famished: literally, he is craving food.
The cross of Christ the Christian’s glory
Behold the words of Christ fulfilled!His promise is made good we see,That as he was on earth reviled,So must our faithful followers be. Since he, the master of the house,The prince of devils here was deemed,Then sure his servants cannot chooseBut be as ill by men esteemed. Lo, the disciple …
Reflections on the Conversion of Paul
Jesus breaks into the lives of sinners and saves them of his own accord. He must, because no one can make that move for himself.
The discipline of community
Josh is one of my best friends. He and I have known each other since elementary school. We both went to Bible college and seminary. We are both fans of Cleveland sports. We’re both married. We both have kids. We haven’t seen each other that much, though, in the past …
On Wycliffe, the Morning Star of the Reformation
When papal darkness over our isleIts dim diffusion spread,Then Romish priests, by subtle wiles,The ignorant misled. Then gospel light did faintly shine,And few beheld its rays,Till mercy shot her beams divine,And did a Wycliffe raise.
Thoughts on a transient sight of God in his holiness and purity
When thou dost lead me forth, O Lord,To take a view of thee,To see the beauty of thy word,Thy fixed and firm decree: To see thy holiness so bright,That far outshines the sun,Exceeds the glory of that light,Which through the world doth run,
The convinced sinner imploring the Spirit of adoption
Lord, could I lift a filial eyeBefore thy throne of grace,And, Abba Father, humbly cry,And see thy smiling face, How would it raise my groveling mindFrom all things here below!I’ll gladly leave the world behind,And to thine altar go.
The convinced sinner fleeing to Christ
Lord, having broke thy holy law,I blush and am ashamed.My frozen heart begins to thaw,And I am self-condemned. But in the volume of thy wordI see some sweet relief:I would believe thy gospel, Lord,Help thou my unbelief!
An evening hymn
To the dear Guardian of my hours,An evening song shall rise;Assist me, ye celestial powers,And bless this sacrifice. Thy mercies, Lord, are ever new,Thy goodness, O how great!Who can refund the honours due,Or equal thanks repeat?
A Morning Hymn
Great God of nature, heavenly KingBeneath whose awful sway,The cheerful sun, with rapid wing,Directs the flying day. My waking soul, with upward eyeSalutes the dawning light;Blesses the ruler of the sky,And glories in his might.
The believer’s song of praise for adoption
What shall I render, Lord, to theeFor thy surprising grace,That thou hast made my soul to seeThy reconciled face. That I, who was with stains of sinSo horridly defiled,Should thus be washed and taken inFor thine adopted child. When nothing but a bath divine,Of Jesus’ dying blood,Could fit this leprous …
The place called Hell
All words have particular meanings but some words are spoken so frequently as to pass into common usage as verbal punctuation. In particular, I’m thinking of the word hell. It gets used in a variety of methods, and is used so commonly as verbal punctuation, that most have lost sight …
Counting the cost
Everything in life has a price, but have you ever thought about the cost of Christian discipleship? Is there a monetary value placed upon it? If you’d only watched some of the prosperity gospel preachers on TV, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the cost of Christian discipleship was similar …
What’s the big deal about Easter?
This time of year, you see a lot of marketing efforts to sell chocolates and bunny stuff, all very loosely associated with that most sacred of Christian holidays, Easter or Resurrection Day. Unfortunately, most of the advertising has nothing to do with the real reason for marking the day. Easter is …
