I continue to work my way through the sermons of the old Presbyterian preacher De Witt Talmage. In one volume of his collected works I came across a sweet sermon in which he lauds mothers and encourages their children—especially adult children—to give them the honor they deserve. There is no emotion so completely unselfish as…
I am slowly (but steadily!) making my way through the collected sermons of De Witt Talmage. Though he is little-known and little-remembered today, he was considered one of the great preachers of his time. In one of his sermons I found this sweet tribute to his parents and the joy of a long marriage.
With this being Mother’s Day, and with Father’s Day fast approaching, it seemed fitting to share something that reflects on the gifts God provides through parents. Charles Spurgeon offered some words that seemed to be just right in the way they associate motherhood and fatherhood with the character of God. A father’s compassion tenderly lifts…
We are so prone to make such a mess of our lives—so prone to be wasteful with the good gifts that God has given us. And then life in this world has its ways of grieving and harming us even apart from our own sin. George H. Morrison once reflected on all this as he…
I am new to the writings of George Herbert Morrison, but was quickly taken with this quote about the Bible—about the way it meets our needs and the way it satisfies our spiritual hunger. I hope you’ll enjoy it too! Whenever the Almighty satisfies his creatures, he gives them drink as abundant as the seas.…
What a joy and what a blessing it is to pray for our spiritual leaders—to ask God to bless them, to sanctify them, and to equip them for the ministry he calls them to. This prayer by John Flavel (as found in Tim Chester’s Into His Presence) offers words we can pray on their behalf.…
Hoary is one of those words that has largely fallen into disuse, and perhaps that’s to our detriment since it’s so evocative. It simply means “grayish white” and was often used to describe the hair of older men and women. Hannah Flagg Gould used the word in this lovely poem which celebrates “the gift of…
With the Easter season fast approaching, I thought I would share a sweet poem by Robert Herrick that considers the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice along with the reality that we still suffer. Here is how he thought about these truths. Have, have ye no regard, all yeWho pass this way, to pity me,Who am a…
I have long observed that it is the rare individual who values completing a task as highly as beginning one. We are all good at setting out with great gusto, but so often, whether through poor planning or waning interest or even the vicissitudes of providence, we fail to complete what we’ve begun. If this…
Every Christian parent prays that God would extend his saving grace from one generation to the next (and, of course, to the ones after that). Every Christian prays, then, that they would see the Lord save their precious children. This was on George Swinnock’s mind when he prayed this lovely prayer many centuries ago. May…
I suppose nearly everyone holds out some kind of hope for some kind of heaven. The reality, though, is that few truly long for the heaven the Bible describes. Richard Sibbes considers this fact in an excerpt drawn from a new daily devotional collection titled Refreshment for the Soul, published recently by Banner of Truth.…
For as long as there has been truth, there has been division over the truth—over what is consistent with God’s revelation and what is aberrant, over what pleases him and what grieves his heart. Richard Baxter was no stranger to this reality and, aware of his own sinfulness, penned a prayer meant to plead God’s…
The Bible warns about the danger of a hard heart. It warns that a heart can be so hardened that it becomes resistant even to the words of God. It warns that a hard heart is an impenitent heart and that an impenitent heart is a heart that falls under God’s just judgment. In this…
It is one of the hard realities of the Christian life—we have been saved, but we still sin. We have committed ourselves to the Lord, but are sometimes still so committed to rebelling against him. We have been forgiven, yet still at times spurn his grace. I expect thoughts like these were in the mind…
We live in a world of enemies, a world of people and forces that wish to do us harm. The last enemy we must all face is death. The old preacher James Smith once pondered this enemy and gave his church both warning and encouragement. In this closing excerpt of a sermon he calls upon…
A new year has dawned. And while we tend to face a new year with energy and enthusiasm, excited by all the possibilities it will bring, perhaps we ought to pause for just a few moments to consider the reality that is set before us. Octavius Winslow would have you consider that this world and…
Merry Christmas, my friends. May this day bring you heartfelt worship and tender joys. On this day, I am pondering a lovely quote I found in one of De Witt Talmage’s sermons—a quote that calls us to not only be joyful at Christmas, but to see in Christmas proof that Christianity is a joyful faith.…
We are not naturally inclined to do the will of God. To the contrary, until God intervenes, we take joy in contradicting and disobeying him. But once God saves us we come to understand the pleasure of carrying out his commands and submitting ourselves to his will. And that’s what F.B. Meyer reflects on in…
C.S. Lewis famously said that while God whispers to us in our pleasures, he shouts to us in our pains. And, indeed, as we pass through trials and afflictions we find that God speaks his truths to us in fresh and encouraging ways. And then it’s also true that we tend not to appreciate our…
Sometimes we all need just a little bit of help when we pray. Sometimes it is good for us to borrow the prayers of other people and put them to use ourselves. And for just that reason, here’s a lovely prayer from St. Augustine (as found in the excellent little book Fount of Heaven. Perhaps…