Trouble, Sorrow, and Affliction - From Volume 4

For My New Year's Resolution!

My prayer  is that we would acquire Godly Characteristics which come only through pruning and adversities. May we respond to Christ with obedient and humble hearts and without grumbling.

To find out why this short prayer, read January 1 post)

This is an excerpt from the new uploaded Kindle which contains all the 11 volumes of J. C. Philpot's quotes

"And He led them forth by the right way, 
 that they might go to a city of habitation."
     Psalm 107:7

Those very times when God's people think 
they are faring ill, may be the seasons when 
they are really faring well. For instance, when 
their souls are bowed down with trouble, it 
often seems to them that they are faring ill. 
God's hand appears to be gone out against 
them. Yet perhaps they never fare better than
when under these circumstances of trouble,
sorrow, and affliction.
These things wean them from the world. 

If their heart and affections were going out 
after idols—they instrumentally bring them back. 

If they were hewing out broken cisterns 
—they dash them all to pieces. 

If they were setting up, and bowing down to 
idols in the chambers of imagery, affliction 
and trouble smite them to pieces before their
eyes—take away their gods—and leave them 
no refuge but the Lord God of hosts. 

So that when a child of God thinks he is faring very 
ill, because burdened with sorrows, temptations, 
and afflictions—he is never faring so well. The darkest 
clouds in due time will break, the most puzzling 
enigmas will sooner or later be unriddled by the 
blessed Spirit interpreting them—and the darkest 
providences cleared up—and we shall see that God 
is in them all—leading and guiding us by the right 
way, that we may go to a city of habitation.


If you are at home in the world

"We are here for only a moment, sojourners and 
 strangers in the land as our ancestors were 
 before us. Our days on earth are like a shadow, 
 gone so soon without a trace." 1 Chron. 29:15

If you possess the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob, you, like them, confess that you are a stranger;
and your confession springs out of a believing heart 
and a sincere experience. 

You feel yourself a stranger in this ungodly world.

It is not your element. 

It is not your home. 

You are in it during God's appointed time, 
but you wander up and down this world . . .
  a stranger to its company,
  a stranger to its maxims,
  a stranger to its fashions,
  a stranger to its principles,
  a stranger to its motives,
  a stranger to its lusts, 
  a stranger to its inclinations—and all in which 
this world moves as in its native element. 

Grace has separated you by God's sovereign power,
that though you are in the world, you are not of it. 

I can tell you plainly if you are at home in the 
world—if the things of time and sense are your 
element—if you feel one with . . .
    the company of the world, 
    the maxims of the world, 
    the fashions of the world, and 
    the principles of the world, 
grace has not reached your heart—the faith 
of God's elect does not dwell in your bosom. 

The first effect of grace is to separate. 

It was so in the case of Abraham. He was called 
by grace to leave the land of his fathers, and go 
out into a land that God would show him. And so 
God's own word to His people is now, "Come out 
from among them, and be separate, says the Lord, 
and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive 
you, and will be a Father unto you, and you shall 
be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." 

Separation, separation, separation from the world;
is the grand distinguishing mark of vital godliness. 

There may be indeed separation of body where there 
is no separation of heart. But what I mean is . . .
  separation of heart,
  separation of principle,
  separation of affection,
  separation of spirit. 
And if grace has touched your heart, and you are 
a partaker of the faith of God's elect—you are a 
stranger in the world—and will make it manifest 
by your life and conduct that you are such.



From a burning hell—to a blissful heaven!

"I consider that our present sufferings are
 not worth comparing with the glory that
 will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18

What is to be compared with the salvation of the
soul? What are—riches, honors, health, long life? 
What are all the pleasures which the world can 
offer, sin promise, or the flesh enjoy? What is 
all that men call good or great? What is everything 
which the eye has seen, or the ear heard, or has 
entered into the carnal heart of man—put side by 
side with being saved in the Lord Jesus Christ 
with an everlasting salvation? 

For consider what we are saved FROM, 
as well as what we are saved UNTO. 

From a burning hell—to a blissful heaven!

From endless wrath—to eternal glory!

From the dreadful company of devils and damned 
spirits, mutually tormenting and tormented—to
the blessed companionship of the glorified saints, 
all perfectly conformed in body and soul to the image 
of Christ, with thousands and tens of thousands of 
holy angels—and, above all, to seeing the glorious 
Son of God as he is, in all the perfection of His beauty, 
and all the ravishments of His presence and love. 

To be done forever with . . .
  all the sorrows, troubles, and afflictions of this life;
  all the pains and aches of the present clay tabernacle;
  all the darkness, bondage, and misery of the body of sin and death.

To be perfectly holy in body and soul, being in both 
without spot, or blemish, or any such thing, and ever 
to enjoy uninterrupted communion with God! 

This Hard School of Painful Experience - Volume 3

For My New Year's Resolution!

My prayer  is that we would learn to draw near to God and stand on the authority of the truth, the whole truth of His word. 

To find out why this short prayer, read January 1 post) 

This is an excerpt from the new uploaded Kindle which contains all the 11 volumes of J. C. Philpot's quotes

Download This Free Kindle HERE 

In times of trial and darkness, the saints and servants 
of God are instructed. They see and feel what the flesh 
really is, how alienated from the life of God—they learn 
in whom all their strength and sufficiency lie—they are 
taught that in them, that is, in their flesh, dwells no 
good thing—that no exertions of their own can maintain 
in strength and vigor the life of God—and that all they 
are and have, all they believe, know, feel, and enjoy, 
with all their ability, usefulness, gifts, and grace—flow 
from the pure, sovereign grace—the rich, free, undeserved, 
yet unceasing goodness and mercy of God. 

They learn in this hard school of painful experience 
their emptiness and nothingness—and that without Christ 
indeed they can do nothing. They thus become clothed 
with humility, that lovely, becoming garb—cease from 
their own strength and wisdom—and learn experimentally 
that Christ is, and ever must be, all in all to them, and 
all in all in them.


Many difficulties, obstacles, and hindrances

"Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press
 on to know Him!" Hosea 6:3

The expression, "press on," implies that there are many 
difficulties, obstacles, and hindrances in a man's way, 
which keep him back from "knowing the Lord." Now the 
work of the Spirit in his soul is to carry him on in spite 
of all these obstacles—to lead him forward—to keep 
alive in him the fear of God—to strengthen him in his 
inner man—to drop in those hopes—to communicate 
that inward grace—so that he is compelled to press on. 

Sometimes he seems driven, 
sometimes drawn, 
sometimes led, and 
sometimes carried, 
but in one way or another the Spirit of God so 
works upon him that, though he scarcely knows 
how—he still "presses on." 

His very burdens make him groan for deliverance—his 
very temptations cause him to cry for help—the very 
difficulty and ruggedness of the road make him want 
to be carried every step—the very intricacy of the path 
compels him to cry out for a guide—so that the Spirit 
working in the midst of, and under, and through every 
difficulty and discouragement, still bears him through, 
and carries him on—and thus brings him through every 
trial and trouble and temptation and obstacle, until He 
sets him in glory. 

It is astonishing to me how our souls are kept alive.
The Christian is a marvel to himself. Carried on, and 
yet so secretly—worked upon, and yet so mysteriously;
and yet led on, guided, and supported through so many 
difficulties and obstacles—that he is a miracle of mercy
as he is carried on amid all . . .
  difficulties,
  obstacles,
  trials, and
  temptations.

Preserving Grace Before Regeneration - Volume 2

For My New Year's Resolution!

My prayer  is that God would take away all unholy dispositions in my heart and in yours

To find out why this short prayer, read January 1 post) 

This is an excerpt from the new uploaded Kindle which contains all the 11 volumes of J. C. Philpot's quotes

Download This Free Kindle HERE  

Preserving grace before regeneration

"To those who have been called,
 who are loved by God the Father
 and preserved in Jesus Christ."
    Jude 1

What a mercy it is for God's people that before
they have a 'vital union' with Christ—before they
are grafted into Him experimentally—they have an
'eternal, immanent union' with Him before all worlds.
It is by virtue of this eternal union that they come
into the world . . .
   at such a time,
   at such a place,
   from such parents,
   under such circumstances,
as God has appointed.

It is by virtue of this eternal union that the circumstances
of their lives are ordained. By virtue of this eternal union
they are preserved in Christ before they are effectually
called. 

They cannot die until God has brought about a vital
union with Christ!

Whatever sickness they may pass through—whatever 
injuries they may be exposed to—whatever perils assault
them on sea or land—die they will not, die they cannot;
until God's purposes are executed in bringing them into
a vital union with the Son of His love.

Thus, this eternal union watched over every circumstance
of their birth, watched over their childhood, watched over
their manhood, watched over them until the appointed
time and spot, when "the God of all grace," according to
His eternal purpose, was pleased to quicken their souls,
and thus bring about an experimental union with the Lord
of life and glory.

Man's Religion and God's Religion

For My New Year's Resolution!

My prayer for me and you is that God would work in our hearts and teach us how to be incurably desperate for Him. I don't know about you but I have such a thirst for God to make unceasingly, a remnant broken and humble at His feet.  (to find out why this short prayer, read January 1 post) 

This is an excerpt from the new uploaded Kindle which contains all the 11 volumes of J. C. Philpot's quotes

Download   http://mjandre.com/Free-Ebooks-Den

"That no flesh should glory in His presence."
1 Corinthians 1:29

Man's religion is to build up the creature. 
God's religion is to throw the creature down in
the dust of self-abasement, and to glorify Christ.

What a mystery are you! 
"So I find this law at work—When I want to do
good, evil is right there with me." Rom. 7:21

Are you not often a mystery to yourself?

Warm one moment—cold the next!

Abasing yourself one hour—
exalting yourself the following!

Loving the world, full of it, steeped up to
your head in it today—crying, groaning, and
sighing for a sweet manifestation of the love
of God tomorrow!

Brought down to nothingness, covered with
shame and confusion, on your knees before
you leave your room—filled with pride and self
importance before you have got down stairs!

Despising the world, and willing to give it all
up for one taste of the love of Jesus when in
solitude—trying to grasp it with both hands
when in business!

What a mystery are you! 

Touched by love—and stung with hatred!

Possessing a little wisdom—and a great deal of folly!

Earthly minded—and yet having the affections in heaven!

Pressing forward—and lagging behind!

Full of sloth—and yet taking the kingdom with violence!

And thus the Spirit, by a process which we may feel
but cannot adequately describe—leads us into the
mystery of the two natures perpetually struggling
and striving against each other in the same bosom.
So that one man cannot more differ from another,
than the same man differs from himself. 

But the mystery of the kingdom of heaven is this—
that our carnal mind undergoes no alteration, but
maintains a perpetual war with grace. And thus,
the deeper we sink in self abasement under a
sense of our vileness, the higher we rise in a
knowledge of Christ, and the blacker we are in
our own view—the more lovely does Jesus appear.

What stupid blockheads!

"Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them.
Matthew 15:16

What lessons we need day by day to teach
us anything aright, and how it is for the most
part, "line upon line, line upon line—here a
little, and there a little." O . . .
what slow learners!
what dull, forgetful scholars!
what ignoramuses!
what stupid blockheads!
what stubborn pupils!

Surely no scholar at a school, old or young,
could learn so little of natural things as we seem

to have learned of spiritual things after . . .
so many years instruction,
so many chapters read,
so many sermons heard,  so many prayers put up,
so much talking about religion.

How small, how weak is the amount of
growth—compared with all we have read
and heard and talked about!

But it is a mercy that the Lord saves whom
He will save—and that we are saved by free
grace—and free grace alone!

Take me as I am with all my sin and shame

"Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
save me, and I shall be saved." Jer. 17:14

Here is this sin! Save me from it!

Here is this snare! Break it to pieces!

Here is this lust! Lord, subdue it!

Here is this temptation! Deliver me out of it!

Here is my proud heart! Lord, humble it!

Here is my unbelieving heart! Take it away,
and give me faith; give me submission to
Your mind and will.

Take me as I am with all my sin and
shame and work in me everything well
pleasing in Your sight.

Nothing but a huge clod of dust

"Set your affection on things above—not
on things on the earth." Colossians 3:2

Everything upon earth, as viewed by the eyes
of the Majesty of heaven—is base and paltry.

Earth is after all, nothing but a huge clod of
dust, and as such, as insignificant in the eyes
of its Maker as the small dust of the balance,
or the drop of the bucket.

What, then, are . . .
its highest objects,
its loftiest aims,
its grandest pursuits,
its noblest employments,
in the sight of Him who inhabits
eternity; but base and worthless?

Vanity is stamped on all earth's attainments.

All earthly pursuits and high accomplishments . . .
wealth,
rank,
learning,
power, or
pleasure,
end in death!

The breath of God's displeasure soon
lays low in the grave all that is rich
and mighty, high and proud.

But that effectual work of grace on the heart,
whereby the chosen vessels of mercy are
delivered from the power of darkness and
translated into the kingdom of God's dear
Son, calls them out of . . .
those low, groveling pursuits,
those earthly toys,
those base and sensual lusts in which other
men seek at once their happiness and their ruin.

How can they escape? 

"He will keep the feet of His saints."
1 Samuel 2:9

The Lord sees His poor scattered pilgrims
traveling through a valley of tears—journeying
through a waste-howling wilderness—a path
beset with baits, traps, and snares in every
direction.

How can they escape? 

Why, the Lord 'keeps their feet'. He carries them
through every rough place—as a tender parent
carries a little child. When about to fall—He
graciously lays His everlasting arms underneath
them. And when tottering and stumbling, and
their feet ready to slip—He mercifully upholds
them from falling altogether.

But do you think that He has not different ways
for different feet? The God of creation has not
made two flowers, nor two leaves upon a tree
alike—and will He cause all His people to walk
in precisely the same path? No. We have . . .
each our path,
each our troubles,
each our trials,
each peculiar traps and snares laid for our feet.

And the wisdom of the all-wise God is shown by His
eyes being in every place—marking the footsteps of
every pilgrim—suiting His remedies to meet their
individual case and necessity—appearing for them
when nobody else could do them any good—watching
so tenderly over them, as though the eyes of His
affection were bent on one individual—and carefully
noting the goings of each, as though all the powers
of the Godhead were concentrated on that one
person to keep him from harm!

God will meet all your needs

"And my God will meet all your needs according
to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:19

Until we are brought into the depths of poverty,
we shall never know nor value Christ's riches.

If, then, you are a child of God, a poor and
needy soul, a tempted and tried believer in
Christ, "God will meet all your needs."

They may be very great.

It may seem to you, sometimes, as though there
were not upon all the face of the earth such a
wretch as you—as though there never could be
a child of God in your state . . .
so dark,
so stupid,
so blind and ignorant,
so proud and worldly,
so presumptuous and hypocritical,
so continually backsliding after idols,
so continually doing things that you
know are hateful in God's sight.

But whatever your need be—it is not beyond the
reach of divine supply! And the deeper your need,
the more is Jesus glorified in supplying it.

Do not say then, that . . .
your case is too bad,
your needs are too many,
your perplexities too great,
your temptations too powerful.

No case can be too bad!

No temptations can be too powerful!

No sin can be too black!

No perplexity can be too hard!

No state in which the soul can get, is beyond
the reach of the almighty and compassionate
love, that burns in the breast of the Redeemer!