Gold Nugget 364 - The Old Man

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      To every one, if he should live long enough, old age will come, with impaired powers of judgment, sensibility, and activity; but whether it will be honorable, useful, and happy depends on the course previously pursued and the character possessed.  “Clearness and quickness of intellect are gone; all taste for the pleasures and delights of sense is gone; ambition is dead; capacity of change is departed.  What is left?

      The old man lives in the past and in the future.  The early child-love for the father and mother who hung over his cradle eighty years ago remains fresh.  He cannot ‘hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women;’ but he can hear, stealing through almost a century, the old tones, thin and ghostlike, of the dear ones whom he first learnt to love.  The furthest past is fresh and vivid, and in memory of it is half his life.  Also he looks forward familiarly and calmly to the very near end, and thinks much of death.  That thought keeps house with him now, and is nearer to him than the world of living men is.  Thus one-half of his life is memory, and the other half is hope; and all his hopes are now reduced to one – the hope to die, and then to be laid down and go to sleep again beside his father and mother.  And so he returns to his city, and passes out of our sight” (Maclaren).

 

The Pulpit Commentary, II Samuel p. 485, II Samuel 19:31-40, (B. Dale)

 

Gold Nugget 364

The Old Man

 

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Gold Nugget 663 - A Father's Heart

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      On hearing of the death of his son, David retired into secrecy and poured out his soul in perhaps the most touching language to be found in the Bible.  The strength and depth of feeling expressed were evidently in proportion to the interest which all along he had cherished in this abandoned child.  Some writers have reproached David for yielding to what is termed “weakness” for a son whose just punishment ought to have been accepted with a calm acquiescence.  But the criticism on his conduct is not really justified when all the facts are considered.

      He was a man constitutionally of strong, generous feelings – kindly and tender in his bearing towards others.  A father cannot forget that he is a father; and the more holy and generous his nature, the more powerfully will the fatherly feeling assert itself. …

      Nowhere does Scripture require men to suppress natural sentiments, or, in other words, require us to cease to be true human beings when we are brought face to face with the appalling judgments of God.  Moreover, it is given to all parents to cherish hope of the most prodigal of sons while life continues … There is no complaint against the wisdom and justice of God, no trace of a spirit of discontent with the administration of Divine love; it was pure sorrow for a ruined life. …        The love of a father’s heart is not eradicated by a son’s ingratitude. …

      Had not David been a very devout man, he would not have felt such deep sorrow over the death of Absalom.  Religion makes a father a true father; it renders love of offspring a more sacred thing.  This follows from the more general truth that religion restores man to his normal state.  Such affection has no relation to the sin of the child, except, perhaps, that the sin observed tends to render the affection more yearning and pitiful. …

      To die is the common lot, and natural affection, though strong and pure, does not face death without consolations.  But when death means passage into eternity of a soul laden with guilt, and that soul once the object of delight and occasion of fondest hopes, then the most terrible of woes comes on a pious parent’s heart. …

      David could not but think of the effect on his son’s views of life and tendencies of heart produced by his own great sin, the months of alienation from God which ensued.  How far parents are answerable for the character and destiny of their children is a grave question, but unquestionably a bad example in their early years cannot but tell perniciously on their future, and woe cannot but come on the father in darkest form when he connects his own misconduct with the hopeless death of his offspring.  What manner of persons ought parents be?  Who knows what a turn a single lapse into sin may give to a youth’s destiny?

 

The Pulpit Commentary, II Samuel p. 449-450, II Samuel 18:19-33, (C. Chapmen)

 

Gold Nugget 663

A Father’s Heart

 

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Gold Nugget 362 - Dangers of Excessive Selfhood

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      Absalom had known a time when, in the assertion within his own spirit of self-hood, he virtually ceased to be a true son.  This was his fall.  The old child-affection became weak; an aversion sprang up; father was no longer regarded as a father should be, and child ceased to be genuine child.  This was the secret of all.  It was a sort of moral death. … Virtually he had said, “I will be free and do as I wish.”    This is also the essence of our sin against God. … 

      Self-will asserted its power.  God became one, and he another.  Union was gone.  This is our Saviour’s teaching in the parable of the prodigal son.  The young man was weary of his father, and wanted to do as he liked away from him.  If we examine our hearts, it will be found to be the same with ourselves.  Sin is, negatively, destitution of the sonship feeling; positively, the assertion of self-hood as against God.  In this lies its desperate evil, its incurable vice, its secret of doom. …

      As soon as Absalom’s heart was gone, he began to use up his beauty, his eloquence, his scheming, every faculty of his nature, to render himself happy in his self-hood, and to be able to dispense with his father’s favour.  In human nature all gifts flow in the line of one master-feeling.  Hence when the dominant feeling is alienation from God, the entire man goes away, and all powers are made subservient to self as against the rightful dominion of God.  The prodigal son used his patrimony away from his father.  Sinners use up their patrimony for self, and not in harmony with God.  Kindness is abused.

      For a time Absalom simply cherished the feeling of alienation and knew the misery of a lost love.  But evil is a force, and we cannot remain as we are when it once enters the soul.  The wretchedness of a lost love put him on the way to get rid of the authority which existed in spite of his loss of loving delight in it.  Thought begets thought, and so in due time positive rebellion arose. …

      There is a corresponding phase in the life of many a sinner.  It is misery to be loveless and to know at the same time that God lives.  Hence, thoughts flow in suggesting how, by what skepticism, or disbelief, or defiance, or desperation in vice, he can be dislodged from the conscience.  Possibly the war becomes violent.  No more welcome thought to some men that that God is not.  Lost love means in the end antagonism. …             

      Unhappy Absalom found abettors and flatterers.  His independent spirit accorded with the temper of others.  His endeavours to live without his father’s love and blessing seemed most successful, for never did men make so much of him as now when he has shaken off the yoke of dependence and has gone in for a free life.  His “strength was firm.”  The aim of his ambition seemed within reach.  Wise and astute men encouraged and helped him, and forces were placed at his disposal.

      So all seems to go well for a while with those who are alienated from God the Father.  No visible punishment comes on them.  They are free from restraints to which once they submitted.  They “become as gods, knowing good and evil”.  Others, some of them wise and learned and astute, encourage them in their mode of life and join in their aims.  The forces of wit, learning, science, worldly sagacity, combine to enable them to put down the authority to which they ought to submit. …

      Absalom finds his forces scattered by a force the strength of which he did not expect to meet.  The mighty array of power on his side receives a check.  He has to learn that the authority despised can make itself felt.  And in the course of Providence there are times when events remind sinners that God still rules over forces which they cannot resist, that powers are at work before which they have to bow.  Sickness, bereavement, adverse conditions of life, ruin of wicked helpers, pangs of conscience, and personal wretchedness, come and beat down the proud array of wit, learning, jovial companionship, and stoutness of will … The conscience sees, as with prophet’s eye, the dark shadows of the future in passing events.  

      The pride of Absalom’s person was the means of hastening his death.  The hair which had been so much admired, which he counted as a treasure, and made him conspicuous in Israel, now combined with the silent forces that ran through the forest trees to bring him into the judgment for which his course of rebellion had been preparing him.  When God’s time has come, he has many instruments for effecting his purpose. 

      The best gifts of sinful men sometimes get so entangled with the stable order of nature as to prematurely bring their life to an end.  There are always “branches” stretching out in the natural order of things, forming objects against which the powers and possessions of men run, to their detriment and speedy death.  The young man’s natural vigour, of which he is proud, may run against a resisting force which shatters it in proportion to its strength.  Brilliant intellects, in their defiance of God, have, in modern times, become so absorbed in literary work bearing on their infidelity, as to be caught early in the arms of death.  Of how many may it be said that their beauty has been their destruction!

      The attention of all, especially of the young, should be called to the fact that the right feeling of sonship is that of loving submission, and that the loss of this towards earthly parents is really the fruit of a loss of the filial feeling towards the heavenly Father. … Young men may take warning against the terrible power of evil when once they break the bonds of love to parents, and in this first and chief sin they have their germ of unspeakable crimes and woes.

      Let those who in the height of sinful prosperity imagine that all is going well, remember that, though they thus rejoice, yet for all these things God will bring them into judgment.  Both the righteous and the wicked may accept it as a certainty that, in some way or other, the very inanimate creation will sooner or later be subservient to the ends of justice.  The best monument we can rear to ourselves, or that others can raise to our memory, is that blessed memory of the just which rest on a life of love to earthly parents and righteous fulfillment of all the obligations we owe to God and man. 

The Pulpit Commentary, II Samuel p. 443-444, II Samuel 18:1-18, (C. Chapman)

See also:  Ecclesiastes 11:9

Gold Nugget 362

Dangers of Excessive Selfhood

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Gold Nugget 361 - What We Carry Out

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       Let us study, not so much what we may secure, as what we are able to enjoy existence without.  Men multiply their cares often as they multiply their means; and some men, with competency in a cottage, have not been sorry that they lost a palace.

      “Contentment is great gain;” it sets the mind free from anxious care; it prevents the straining after false effect; it has more time to enjoy the flowers at its feet, instead of straining to secure the meadows of the far-away estate.

      Men must leave everything; they can carry nothing away.  That is certain; and yet the word must be read thoughtfully.  Nothing save conscience and character and memory.  Still the words are true, that we can carry nothing out; for these are not “things,” but part of our personality.  The body returns to the dust, but the spirit – to God who gave it.  Let this check all undue anxiety, and cure our foolish envy as we look around upon all the coveted positions of men.  “We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we carry nothing out.”

 

The Pulpit Commentary, I Timothy p. 134, I Timothy 6:6, (W. M. Statham)

 

Gold Nugget 361

What We Carry Out

 

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Gold Nugget 360 - Immortal Seeds

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      At birth … we are sown into this world – immortal seeds we all are which the hand of the great Husbandman scatters over the earth.  … In the grain it is not the germ, but the husk, the shell, which dies.  The wrappage of the germ was made to rot. … The human body is the mere shell and wrappage of the man.  It was made to die. … The husk is not the germ, the body is not the man.  It is his house that must crumble, it is his garment that must wear out.

      After death of the grain there is a resurrection of the seed that comes forth into new forms of life and beauty.  It is not the husk that rises, but the germ.  After the burial of the body the man comes forth into new life.  The body rots, the man rises.

      Whether Paul refers here to the resurrection of the body from the grave or not, one thing is clear, that at death there is a real resurrection of the soul.  As when the husks of the seed rot in the earth the seed itself is quickened, so when the body falls into the dust the soul springs forth into new life – a life of woe or bliss, according to its moral character.  There is a resurrection, a standing-up of every soul at death.  “The dust returns to dust, the soul to God who gave it.” 

      Will the body itself rise from the grave after it has gone to dust?  It may, and we see some evidence to enable us to cherish the cheering hope.  Whether this be a delusion or not, one thing is certain – the soul rises up at the fall of the body to its dust, and this is a most real and solemn resurrection. 

      We “know that when the earthly house of this our tabernacle is dissolved, we have a building of God above, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

 

The Pulpit Commentary, I Corinthians p. 502-503, I Corinthians 15:36, (David Thomas)

 

Gold Nugget 360

Immortal Seeds

 

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Gold Nugget 359 - Why Did God Create Man?

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      Why did God create man?  What was the purpose?  Is there a purpose? These are questions that have been continually asked and pondered from our very beginnings. The sure answer, for most of mankind, has been difficult to achieve.  And, although the reason and purpose for human existence has been the central focus of all great philosophers throughout the ages, their answers have been incomplete and dissappointing.      

      However, the great question “Why did God create man?” is essentially the same as a simple question that is seldom asked:  “Why do parents have children?”  We rarely hear such a question.  And why not?  Because we all intuitively know the answer.  And although we, within our innermost being, know the answer, it rather difficult to clearly explain and put into words.  The answer, at its core, can almost be explained as a divine craving … as if we were somehow made in the image of God!

      The desire for humans to have children goes far beyond simple animalistic instinct and has nothing to do with satisfying carnal cravings.  Our desire stems from our having obtained a nature that has been embedded with a spirit from God and, yes, wonderfully made in His image.  Our craving to have offspring, to create beings in our own image, is in essence the same desire as our Father.   

            How wonderful it is that the answers to some of the most profound questions of life truly dwell within our innermost being.  And thankfully, no man can keep us from the revealing light of truth if we search for it with all our heart.  But alas, how sad it is that our selfishness and self-centered hearts can distort and block the clear light of God’s truth with the dim and foolish notions of the world.

      It is interesting that mankind has always so innately understood the desire for human beings have children, but has had the utmost difficulty in understanding why God, the Father, would desire the same.  

      The following “nugget” is an exceptional discourse, drawn from the scriptures, that attempts to shine a concentrated light on God’s (and our) natural motive for having children.    – cah   

           

*************

 

Why did God create man?  Many think that life is not worth living.  Existence is so much pure misfortune.  The denial of the Christian faith and hopeless pessimism seem ever to go together.  But a preliminary question may be asked – Why did God create anything? …

      God is love, and one necessity of such nature is that he should find objects on which to lavish that love.  It cannot remain unexercised.  Creation, therefore, seemed to be a necessity of love.

      But another need is that such love should meet with response.  Love yearns for response, to be met by an answering love.  But this involved the necessity of the creation of beings who should not be moved by mere instinct, but should posses mind, intelligence, and the capacity of love.  Hence was requisite something more than any of the already created inhabitants of the seas, the air, or the land, could supply.  A different, higher being had to be brought into existence; man was needed, since he only could render the response the heart of the Creator desired.  All other creatures could obey the laws of their being; man could love the Law-giver.

      And yet another craving of the Divine love, as of all like pure love, is for worthy response.  It cannot bear that the response it yearns for should be given to inferior objects; it desires to be chosen and preferred above all these.  But such worthy response of deliberate choice can only be made when counter-objects of attraction are present.  Therefore, that such choice may be possible for us, we are placed in a world where all around us are myriad lures and baits appealing to all sides of our nature, and many of them with mighty power.  Hence is it that the love of his people is so precious in his esteem, for it means that they have turned their backs upon all these rivals of God, and have given to him the love he asks for and deserves.

      And even this love is capable of enhancement in his esteem.  It is so when, as with Job, it clings to God in spite of sorest trial and distress; when the man is in the very depths, when to all outward appearance everything is lost and thrown away by such clinging to God; when it has to hang on by naked faith, as at some time or other it has had to do in all God’s saints, and with some of them, as in the martyr ages, it has had to be always so.

      But love like that, oh how precious is it! How grateful to the heart of God!  We can understand somewhat of this when some dear child of ours, rather than grieve or disappoint us, has readily endured persecution and pain.  What do we not think of that child?  What proof of our love will we withhold from him?

      But such proof of our love, or of that of God, cannot be given unless there has been the previous trial.  And that is why we are placed in a world of trial, often cruel, prolonged, and severe.  We are thus given the opportunity of winning the highest prizes of the kingdom of God.  Hence man has to go “forth to his work, and to his labour until the evening.”  Life is no child’s play for him, no place of mere sensuous enjoyment.  If he chooses to make it so, he shuts himself out of the kingdom of God.  No cross, no crown.  Only so can we win back the image of God in which we were first created.  This is “the prize of our high calling.”

 

The Pulpit Commentary, Psalms II p.406, Psalms 104:23, (S. Conway)

 

Gold Nugget 359

Why Did God Create Man?

 

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Gold Nugget 358 - With all the Heart

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      God does not discover himself to men unexpectedly … God draws near to those who do not seek him, to urge them to search and find him.  He seeks us before we seek him.  Our search is the response of our hearts to his invitation.  But this search must be made.  The promise of finding is attached to the condition of seeking.  The prodigal must return to his father before he can receive the welcome home.

      Men are waiting for God to visit them, reveal himself to them, do something that will bring them back to him.  They may wait for ever, and in vain.  God is waiting for us.  It is our part to arise and seek him.  This search must be with all the heart. …

      The search will be successful.  God may not be found at first, or, being found may not be recognized in the way expected.  But Scripture and experience both testify to the utility and fruitfulness of the soul’s search after God. …

      The success of the search will be its own reward.  The finding of God is described as a blessing of the restoration.  It will bring other and lower benefits in its train, but it is itself the greatest boon.  “Blessed are they that seek God with all the heart, for they shall find him,” – that is enough for a perfect beatitude.  To find God is to find our light, our rest, our home.  To know him is life eternal; to commune with him is the joy of heaven. 

 

The Pulpit Commentary, Jeremiah p. 592, Jeremiah 24:13-14, (W. F. Adeney)

See also:   Isaiah 65:1, Psalms 27:8, Matthew 7:7

 

Gold Nugget 358

With all the Heart

 

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Gold Nugget 357 - Secular Government

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      Individual men cannot wage a war or declare a truce.  But the units constitute nations.  If each is peaceable the nation is peaceable.  Insignificant people have vast power for harm if they choose to execute it.  It should be understood that seditious conduct is not only a political offence, it is a sin in the sight of God, a cruelty to the many people who it disturbs and injures. …

      We all reap benefits from the state.  It is mean to accept them without taking our part in bearing the burdens of the state.  There are people who deny the right of Christian men to take part in “worldly politics,” yet these people are glad to avail themselves of the protection and other advantages which are provided for them by the secular government they affect to despise. …

      We are members one of another.  There is a general harmony and health of the whole body, over and above the well-being of each member, when all work together for the mutual good.  As individual men, we have great reason to be thankful for the general prosperity of the nation and for the maintenance of public peace. …

      To be in opposition is no excuse for being in sedition.  Unless we can change the government it is foolish and wrong to revolt against it.  The nation is larger than the government. 

 

The Pulpit Commentary, Jeremiah p. 590, Jeremiah 29:7, (W. F. Adeney)

 

Gold Nugget 357

Secular Government

 

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Gold Nugget 356 - The Most Eloquent Enforcement

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      When there is no sign of reasonableness in our antagonist, or no prospect of immediate success, it is well to submit quietly and to wait God’s time.  This is the test of spiritual reality.  True Christianity will show itself in earnest, unobtrusive actions and patient waiting for Christ.  The most eloquent enforcement of the gospel is a quiet, consistent life.

 

The Pulpit Commentary, Jeremiah p. 584, Jeremiah 28: 1-17, (A. F. Muir)

 

Gold Nugget 356

The Most Eloquent Enforcement

 

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Gold Nugget 355 - The Originating Power

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      It is a fundamental axiom of science that everything that has a beginning must have a cause.  The universal testimony of experience is against the notion that existences could spring forth spontaneously from nothing, or that organisms could come of themselves from a lawless chaos. 

      The theory of an endless chain of causation is illogical.  If this is regarded as cyclic we have nothing to account for the motion of the whole cycle.  The notion is parallel to that of a wheel revolving because the several parts of the circumference press on those which are before them – a mechanical absurdity.  If, however, the chain is regarded as infinitely long, we have another absurdity.  Since it is made up of finite links each of which is no perfect cause in itself, we have not solved the question, we have only driven it back to the infinite distance.  It is the grand lesson of the first chapter of the Book of Genesis – whatever we may think of the details of that chapter – that it comes to our rescue with the assertion of a personal Creator, the only doctrine that will fit the requirements of the case.

      The rights of the Creator rest on the fact that all things were created by his energy.  We do not know what subordinate agencies God my employ.  But in any case the fundamental power must be his.  He cannot delegate powers of creation in the sense of investing any beings with them without any dependence on his power.  The power must be God’s, though the channel through which it flows may be some lower agency.  The doctrine of evolution would not touch this fact.

      The important question is not as to the method of creation, but as to the originating power.  This lies behind the question of design.  It is the question of primitive causation.  Whether with successive sudden emergencies or through gradual development, it is equally true that God has created the world by his great power and by his outstretched hand. 

 

The Pulpit Commentary, Jeremiah p. 575, Jeremiah 27:5, (W. F. Adeney)

 

Gold Nugget 355 

The Originating Power

 

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