vassal of the King

From Octavius Winslow : God rules the kingdom of providence . His hand is moving and controlling all events and circumstances , national and social, public and private; giving birth, and shape, and tint to those phenomena in the history of nations , and to those affairs in the history of individuals , which to human perception are often enshrouded in mystery so dreadful and profound. Let this view of God's providential reign hush all murmurings at our lot, making us content with such things as we have, assured that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Let it bow our soul in meek submission to His sovereign will , in view of those painful and inexplicable events which sometimes cast the darkest shade upon our sunniest landscape, and dash from our lips their sweetest cup of joy.

From James Hervey (1789): Who, that looks upward to the midnight sky; and, with an eye of reason, beholds its rolling wonders; who can forbear enquiring [ sic ], Of what were their mighty orbs formed ? Amazing to relate, they were produced without materials. They sprung from emptiness itself. The stately fabric of universal nature emerged out of nothing .  What instruments were used by the Supreme Architect to fashion the parts with such exquisite niceness, and give so beautiful a polish to the whole? How was it all connected into one finely-proportioned and nobly finished structure? A bare fiat accomplished it all. Let them be , said God. He added no more; and at once the marvelous ediface arose, adorned with every beauty, displaying innumerable perfections, and declaring amidst enraptured seraphs its great Creator's praise. "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth" (Ps.33:6). (Quoted from AW Pink, The

From Stephen Charnock: Not all the vials of judgment that have or shall be poured out upon the wicked world, nor the flaming furnace of a sinner's conscience, nor the irreversible sentence pronounced against the rebellious demons, nor the groans of the damned creatures, give such a demonstration of God's hatred of sin, as the wrath of God let loose upon His Son. Never did Divine holiness appear more beautiful and lovely than at the time our Saviour's countenance was marred in the midst of His dying groans. This He Himself acknowledges in Psalm 22. When God had turned His smiling face from Him, and thrust His sharp knife into His heart, which forced that terrible cry from Him, 'My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?' He adores this perfection—Thou art holy. (Quote from AW Pink, The Attributes of God [Baker, 1975], 54).

The Holy Spirit is, emphatically, the gracious Spirit . All that he does for us, and all that he works within us — is of grace. His grace is his glory, and he glories in his grace. We may obtain his presence, and receive his blessing in answer to prayer — but we can never deserve either, nor can we by any works we perform merit them.  He graciously . . . quickens the dead, instructs the ignorant, liberates the captives, restores the wanderers, comforts the dejected, strengthens the weak, and sanctifies the impure. His work is his delight, and to see us holy and happy his pleasure! —James Smith

Teach Your Children the Fear of the LORD Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church Psalm 34:11 Text [34:12 Hebrew]:  לְכוּ־בָנִים שִׁמְעוּ־לִי יִרְאַת יְהוָה אֲלַמֶּדְכֶם Psalm 34:10 Author’s Translation: Come, O children, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Teach Your Children to Fear the LORD The primary teachers that God gives to children to teach them the words, ways, and works of God is their parents. One of the highest duties that parents have is the delightful privilege and lofty duty to teach their children the fear of the LORD. It should be noted that in Psalm 34:11, the psalmist gathers the children (“come”) and then commits to teaching them verbally (“listen to me”). This here lays forth a helpful model for parental instruction of children. Parents should gather the children and verbally instruct the children daily. The book of Proverbs reveals why this is so important as it is the fear of the LORD that is wisdom (1:7-8). If a ch