1. The purification of the Church. Before the last great persecution, under Diocletian, the Church had sunk into a state of declension from the truth and vital piety through the continuance of a long season of comparative tranquillity. The same remarks will apply even to a yet earlier persecution, under Decius. During this last calamity , of Carthage, bore the following testimony: — "It must be owned and confessed that this calamity has happened to us because of our sins. Christ, our Lord, fulfilled the will of His Father, but we neglect the will of Christ. Our main study is to get money and to raise estates. We follow after pride; we are at leisure for nothing but emulation and quarrelling, and have neglected the simplicity of the faith. We have renounced the world in words only, and not in deed."

2. The trial and development of the graces of the saints. Adversity tries the mettle of our faith. It shows whether or not we are really walking under the influence of that principle which is the substance of things hoped for — the evidence of things not seen. It tests the quality of our zeal, demonstrating whether it be the mere result of the excitement produced by a crowd, or whether it has its foundation sufficiently deep in principle and affection to sustain it in being and activity when it has to work, as did Elijah, almost alone; whether it be like the flower, which blooms in summer and dies in winter; or like the hardy evergreen, which lifts its head and wears its foliage amid the severest cold. Every Christian grace is, more or less, tried, and the whole character of the man of God is tested by adversity — just as the qualities of the ship are proved by the fury of the billows on which she rides, and the might of the tempest with which she is assailed. And as a time of adversity tries, so it strengthens and matures the virtues of the Church. It imparts a robustness to the faith of believers, and an energy to their patience and zeal. It brings them into frequent and protracted communion with their God, and imparts an agonizing earnestness to their addresses to the throne of grace.

3. The display of the Divine power to deliver. It is manifest that if the Church had no trials, she could have no deliverances. God permits her to be led into straits, that He may show her how He can save, and that the recollection of past deliverances may fortify her mind against all future difficulties.

II. GOD HAS A SET TIME FOR THE DELIVERANCE OF THE CHURCH.

1. This time is unalterably fixed by the Divine wisdom and mercy.

2. It is selected as being most conducive to the Divine glory. He commonly selects the time when He sees that "the power of His people is gone, and that there is none shut up nor left " for their deliverance. Then the creature can arrogate none of the praise to himself, and it is evident that all the honour must be laid at the feet of the Almighty. The pride of all human glorying "is stained," and "the Lord alone is exalted."

3. The arrival of this time is promoted by the whole course of Providence. How admirably does the history of the Reformation in Europe in the sixteenth century illustrate this sentiment. The rising up of such men as Luther, Melanchthon, Zuingle, Calvin, Knox, and their coadjutors, and their appearance almost simultaneously upon the theatre of Europe; the extraordinary political convulsions of the times, which repeatedly served to divert the attention of the enemies of the Church from their designs upon her; the conversion to the faith of some of the potentates of Germany, and other countries, who screened most opportunely the lives of the reformers from the fury of the papists; the recent invention of the art of printing; and the revival of literature under the auspices of Erasmus, all served to aid in shaking the ponderous pillars of the papal power! The pages of general ecclesiastical history, and of particular religious communities, abound with examples of a similar character, proving that the course of Providence, and the riches of universal nature, are ever subservient to the Mediator's sceptre.

III. THE NEAR APPROACH OF THE TIME TO FAVOUR ZION IS ALWAYS INDICATED BY CERTAIN INFALLIBLE SIGNS. It is preceded by —

1. The sanctification to the Church of her trials. When God's design in the affliction of His Church is answered, the chastisement ceases.

2. The prevalence of great affection for the ordinances and people of God. One principal evidence that the Lord was about to restore the Jews to their native land, was the ardour of their reviving affection for the city and Temple of their God.

3. Faith in the Divine promises. Faith is to God's mercies what the tone of the digestive organs is to the aliment of which we partake. It enables us so to receive them as to convert them into nourishment for our spiritual life; whereas without faith they would only produce sluggishness and disease.

(John Stock.)

II. THE NECESSITY FOR TEE PROSPERITY OF THE CHURCH. I trust that some of you have a regard for the Church's prosperity; if not, you ought to have. Let me remind you why; even selfish as we may be, we ought to care for the success of the Church.

1. For our own sakes. If we do not, by Divine grace, live and labour for our fellow-creatures, their decline will have a deleterious influence upon our own piety.

2. Your families, too, are deeply interested in the prosperity of the Church. What is good for the parent is good for the child, and what is good for the child is good for the parent.

3. Also, for the sake of the neighbourhood in which you live, labour for God, seeking His blessing, that your Church may prosper.

4. Again, for the sake of our nation, seek the prosperity of Zion. If we are to be a prosperous nation, we shall not accomplish that result by our commerce, or by the force of arms, but by our Christianity. The flag of old England is nailed to the mast, not by our sailors, but by our God. But, most of all, we want to see the Church prosper for Christ's sake.

III. THE ONLY MEANS OF REVIVAL IN GOD'S CHURCH. What is it? We may hear of some great evangelist going through the land; surely he will revive the Churches. We will hold a convocation of the clergy, and they shall devise means of reviving the Churches. Not so thinks the psalmist; he says, "Thou shalt arise," as if God had nothing to do but to arise, and then His Church would arise, too; for, when God arises, Zion begins to prosper. How easy are the methods by which God accomplishes His great works!

IV. THE SIGNS THAT GOD'S CHURCH IS BEING BLESSED (ver. 14). What are the "stones" of Zion?

1. The Church of God is built of living stones, — that is, the children of God; and it is a good sign when God's servants take pleasure in one another, and "favour the dust," — that is, not the ministers, nor the deacons, but the poor members.

2. The next translation we will give of this word "stones" is, the doctrines of the Bible. You say, "I do not see so much in doctrines, after all." Then you will not see much prosperity. I love so much what I believe to be true, that I would fight for every grain of it; not for the "stones" only, but for the very "dust thereof." I hold that we ought not to say that any truth is non-essential; it may be non-essential to salvation, but it is essential for something else.

3. The stones of Christ's Church are the ordinances, and God's people ought to take care that they love her "stones," and favour her "dust."

4. It is a good sign of the Church's prosperity when the ministry of the Word and the prayer-meeting are well attended; — especially the latter. If you say, "It is only a prayer-meeting," even that is the "dust " of Zion, and God's people "take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof," — the little services as well as the great services.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

1. The enemies of vital godliness triumph.

2. Iniquity abounds, and the love of many cools.

3. Worldliness.

4. Sorrow.

5. Darkness. Zion is under a cloud. The world asks: "Where is thy God?"

II. ZION'S FRIENDS.

1. They love its ruins and dust.

2. The very mournful state of Zion produced a gracious effect upon the hearts of its friends.

III. ZION'S HOPE.

1. Zion's hope is in God.

2. God's time to work deliverance is when His people are ready.

3. God's time, yea, God's set time, has come, when hopeful signs appear among God's people.It would be presumption to expect God to work for us if we were inactive. The love of God's people for Zion prompts their prayers; their knowledge of God inspires hope.

(E. Compton.)

     1055   God, grace and mercy
     4903   time
     4971   seasons, of life

Psalm 102:13-14

     5339   home

Psalm 102:13-16

     7271   Zion, as symbol

That True Solace is to be Sought in God Alone
Whatsoever I am able to desire or to think of for my solace, I look for it not here, but hereafter. For if I alone had all the solaces of this world, and were able to enjoy all its delights, it is certain that they could not endure long. Wherefore, O my soul, thou canst be fully comforted and perfectly refreshed, only in God, the Comforter of the poor, and the lifter up of the humble. Wait but a little while, my soul, wait for the Divine promise, and thou shalt have abundance of all good things …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

That He who is About to Communicate with Christ Ought to Prepare Himself with Great Diligence
The Voice of the Beloved I am the Lover of purity, and Giver of sanctity. I seek a pure heart, and there is the place of My rest. Prepare for Me the larger upper room furnished, and I will keep the Passover at thy house with my disciples.(1) If thou wilt that I come unto thee and abide with thee, purge out the old leaven,(2) and cleanse the habitation of thy heart. Shut out the whole world, and all the throng of sins; sit as a sparrow alone upon the house-top,(3) and think upon thy transgressions …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

The Never Changing One.
"JESUS Christ the same yesterday, and to-day and forever" (Heb. xiii:8). Blessed truth and precious assurance for us poor, weak creatures, yea, among all His creatures the most changing; He changeth not. "For I am the Lord, I change not" (Mal. iii:6). "Of old hast Thou laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. They shall all perish, but Thou shalt endure: yea all of them shall wax old like a garment, as a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed; …
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

The Unchangeableness of God
The next attribute is God's unchangeableness. I am Jehovah, I change not.' Mal 3:3. I. God is unchangeable in his nature. II. In his decree. I. Unchangeable in his nature. 1. There is no eclipse of his brightness. 2. No period put to his being. [1] No eclipse of his brightness. His essence shines with a fixed lustre. With whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.' James 1:17. Thou art the same.' Psa 102:27. All created things are full of vicissitudes. Princes and emperors are subject to …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Our Last ChapterConcluded with the Words, "For Childhood and Youth are Vanity"...
Our last chapter concluded with the words, "For childhood and youth are vanity": that is, childhood proves the emptiness of all "beneath the sun," as well as old age. The heart of the child has the same needs--the same capacity in kind--as that of the aged. It needs God. Unless it knows Him, and His love is there, it is empty; and, in its fleeting character, childhood proves its vanity. But this makes us quite sure that if childhood can feel the need, then God has, in His wide grace, met the …
F. C. Jennings—Old Groans and New Songs

Notes on the Fourth Century
Page 238. Med. 1. In the wording of this meditation, and of several other passages in the Fourth Century, it seems as though Traherne is speaking not of himself, but of, a friend and teacher of his. He did this, no doubt, in order that he might not lay himself open to the charge of over-egotism. Yet that he is throughout relating his own experiences is proved by the fact that this Meditation, as first written, contains passages which the author afterwards marked for omission. In its original form …
Thomas Traherne—Centuries of Meditations

The Nature of Justification
Justification in the active sense (iustificatio, {GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH OXIA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA}) is defined by the Tridentine Council as "a translation from that state wherein man is born a child of the first Adam, to the state of grace and of the adoption of the sons of God through the second Adam, …
Joseph Pohle—Grace, Actual and Habitual

Notes on the Third Century
Page 161. Line 1. He must be born again, &c. This is a compound citation from John iii. 3, and Mark x. 15, in the order named. Page 182. Line 17. For all things should work together, &c. See Romans viii. 28. Page 184. Lines 10-11. Being Satan is able, &c. 2 Corinthians xi. 14. Page 184. Last line. Like a sparrow, &c. Psalm cii. Page 187. Line 1. Mechanisms. This word is, in the original MS., mechanicismes.' Page 187. Line 7. Like the King's daughter, &c. Psalm xlv. 14. Page 188. Med. 39. The best …
Thomas Traherne—Centuries of Meditations

After the Scripture.
"In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God created He him."--Gen. v. 1. In the preceding pages we have shown that the translation, "in Our image," actually means, "after Our image." To make anything in an image is no language; it is unthinkable, logically untrue. We now proceed to show how it should be translated, and give our reason for it. We begin with citing some passages from the Old Testament in which occurs the preposition "B" which, in Gen. i. 27, stands before image, where …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Third Sunday after Trinity Humility, Trust, Watchfulness, Suffering
Text: 1 Peter 5, 5-11. 5 Likewise, ye younger, be subject unto the elder. Yea, all of you gird yourselves with humility, to serve one another: for God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; 7 casting all your anxiety upon him, because he careth for you. 8 Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 whom withstand stedfast …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

Characters and Names of Messiah
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. S uch was the triumphant exultation of the Old Testament Church! Their noblest hopes were founded upon the promise of MESSIAH; their most sublime songs were derived from the prospect of His Advent. By faith, which is the substance of things hoped for, they considered the gracious declarations …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Covenanting Predicted in Prophecy.
The fact of Covenanting, under the Old Testament dispensations, being approved of God, gives a proof that it was proper then, which is accompanied by the voice of prophecy, affording evidence that even in periods then future it should no less be proper. The argument for the service that is afforded by prophecy is peculiar, and, though corresponding with evidence from other sources, is independent. Because that God willed to make known truth through his servants the prophets, we should receive it …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Letter xvi to Rainald, Abbot of Foigny
To Rainald, Abbot of Foigny Bernard declares to him how little he loves praise; that the yoke of Christ is light; that he declines the name of father, and is content with that of brother. 1. In the first place, do not wonder if titles of honour affright me, when I feel myself so unworthy of the honours themselves; and if it is fitting that you should give them to me, it is not expedient for me to accept them. For if you think that you ought to observe that saying, In honour preferring one another …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

History of the Interpretation.
1. AMONG THE JEWS. This History, as to its essential features, might, a priori, be sketched with tolerable certainty. From the nature of the case, we could scarcely expect that the Jews should have adopted views altogether erroneous as to the subject of the prophecy in question; for the Messiah appears in it, not in His humiliation, but in His glory--rich in gifts and blessings, and Pelagian self-delusion will, a priori, return an affirmative answer to the question as to whether one is …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Testimonies.
"Without faith it is impossible to please God."--Heb. xi. 6. In order to prevent the possibility of being led into paths of error, faith is directed, not to a Christ of the imagination, but to "the Christ in the garments of the Sacred Scripture," as Calvin expresses it. And therefore we must discriminate between (1) faith as a faculty implanted in the soul without our knowledge; (2) faith as a power whereby this implanted faculty begins to act; and (3) faith as a result,--since with this faith (1) …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Spiritual Hunger Shall be Satisfied
They shall be filled. Matthew 5:6 I proceed now to the second part of the text. A promise annexed. They shall be filled'. A Christian fighting with sin is not like one that beats the air' (1 Corinthians 9:26), and his hungering after righteousness is not like one that sucks in only air, Blessed are they that hunger, for they shall be filled.' Those that hunger after righteousness shall be filled. God never bids us seek him in vain' (Isaiah 45:19). Here is an honeycomb dropping into the mouths of …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

An Analysis of Augustin's Writings against the Donatists.
The object of this chapter is to present a rudimentary outline and summary of all that Augustin penned or spoke against those traditional North African Christians whom he was pleased to regard as schismatics. It will be arranged, so far as may be, in chronological order, following the dates suggested by the Benedictine edition. The necessary brevity precludes anything but a very meagre treatment of so considerable a theme. The writer takes no responsibility for the ecclesiological tenets of the …
St. Augustine—writings in connection with the donatist controversy.

The Being of God
Q-III: WHAT DO THE SCRIPTURES PRINCIPALLY TEACH? A: The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man. Q-IV: WHAT IS GOD? A: God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. Here is, 1: Something implied. That there is a God. 2: Expressed. That he is a Spirit. 3: What kind of Spirit? I. Implied. That there is a God. The question, What is God? takes for granted that there …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament