The Voice of Faith in the Valley of Achor: Vol. 2 [of 2]: being a series of letters to several friends on religious subjectsChurch, J. (John)
Religion
The Voice of Faith in the Valley of Achor: Vol. 2 [of 2]: being a series of letters to several friends on religious subjects
Church, J. (John)
Christian life; Church, J. (John), approximately 1780-approximately 1825 -- Correspondence; Clergy -- England -- Correspondence
forgiven us, that God is at peace with us, that the law is magnified, sin
put away, a door open in heaven that no sin in future can shut; death
left stingless, judgment not at all dreaded, because we shall see _him_
whom we _adore_, _admire_, and _love_; we shall be made like _him_, we
shall get rid of sin.
Sin, our worst enemy before,
Shall vex our eyes and souls no more;
But every power find sweet employ
In Christ’s eternal world of joy.
I beg the Lord, the Holy Spirit, to give you supernatural ideas of
Christ, so as to endear _him_ to your heart, and make you long to tell of
_his name_ and fame; to make you wise; to be as wise as Paul, and as
eloquent as Apollos; that you might point forth the Divine excellencies
of Jesus to poor sinners. I trust your life will be spared for this
purpose, it is the only thing worth living for. Christ is the darling of
the Father, and the grand object of the Spirit’s glorification: angels
adore _him_, saints admire _him_, and in our poor feeble way, oh that we
could love _him_ with every power and passion, with every member and
faculty of body, soul and spirit. May this instrument of ten strings
sweetly sound _his_ dear fame. The most painful lesson we have to learn,
is the evil of our hearts, the malice of the devil, the weakness of our
own arm, and our utter impossibility to do any one good thing without
Christ: separated from _him_, we can do nothing, no more than a dead
branch can grow, that is cut off and thrown aside. The nature, extent,
and spirituality of the law, and our condemnation by it, the person, the
glory, and work of Christ, as the head of the church, and the Saviour of
the body. This is the main subject, and the various displays of the
offices of God, the Holy Spirit, as the glorifier of Christ. This
subject is the Gospel itself, and the longer I live, the more blessed I
see this truth. The Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
This is an encouragement to my soul, and the very basis of my hope. Here
alone is the way of access to God, to the Throne, and to Heaven. May the
Spirit sanctify, and bless you; bear testimony with your spirit, that you
are a child of God. This will be spiritual health in bodily sickness;
this will light life in death, and gild the gloomy horrors of the tomb,
as the celebrated Dr. Young says, and with which I conclude my epistle.
Religion! thou the soul of happiness,
And, groaning Calvary, of thee: there shine
The noblest truths: there strongest motives sting:
There sacred violence assaults the soul;
There nothing but compulsion is forborne.
Can love allure us? or can terror awe?
He weeps!—the falling drop puts out the sun.
He sigh!—the sigh earth’s deep foundation shakes.
If in _his_ love so terrible, what then
_His_ wrath inflam’d? _His_ tenderness on fire?
Like soft, smooth oil, out-blazing other fires?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account