A Consolatory Letter to the Parents of Geoffrey. (Weekly Pulpit. A Consolatory Letter to the Parents of Geoffrey. But while all held their peace, the Son [441] said, AthanasiusSelect Works and Letters or AthanasiusCovenant Duties. Did the Almighty pause in the middle of creation and leave His work unfinished? "(Archbishop Temple. "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me: Thy right hand shall save me."--PS. "Come, and let us return to the Lord: for He hath torn, and He will heal us. We do not agree with Momus, neither are we of his mind who desired to have a window in his breast that all men might see his heart. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." The friends of God are glad in the sure hope of being more and more consciously under His eye. Hence Paul Leo the GreatWritings of Leo the GreatSense in Which, and End for which all Things were Delivered to the Incarnate Son. I. "The Lord will perfect that which concerns me. v. 14), the earth was cursed, Hades was opened, Paradise shut, Heaven offended, man, lastly, corrupted and brutalised (cf. It is perfectly plain from the elevated central point of view where we now stand, and in the focal light in which we now see, that no man can be justified before God upon the ground of personal character; for that character, when subjected to God's exhaustive scrutiny, withers and shrinks away. Nay, more, this process of self-inspection may go on indefinitely, and the man grow more and more thoughtful, and obtain an everlastingly augmenting knowledge of what he is and what he does, so that it shall seem to him that he is penetrating so deeply into those dim and shadowy regions of consciousness where the external life takes its very first start, and then he may be sure that God understands the thought that is afar off, and deep down, and that at this lowest range and plane in his experience he besets him behind and before.II. vi. [2105] And these without all controversy we take to be humble. )PeopleDavid, PsalmistPlacesJerusalemTopicsAbandon, Accomplish, Age, Chief, Complete, Concerneth, Concerns, David, Endures, Endureth, Eternal, Everlasting, Fall, Forever, Forsake, Fulfil, Fulfill, Hands, Kindness, Love, Loving, Lovingkindness, Loving-kindness, Mercy, Musician, O, Perfect, Psalm, Purpose, Steadfast, WorksOutline1. I. And though we thought that we had suffered loss from the tardiness of their coming, yet we find gain from their more abundant charity; seeing that from this delay in point Saint Gregory the Greatthe Epistles of Saint Gregory the GreatThe Coming Revival"Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?"--PS. --The Life and Writings of St. Hilary of Poitiers. Hear my prayer, O God; and hide not Thyself from my petition. The Lord is nigh unto them that call upon Him; He also will hear their cry, and will help them.--Psalm cxlv. So that whenever we are on the point of doing or saying anything cowardly, or mean, or false, or impure, or proud, or conceited, or unkind, the remembrance that God is looking on shall instantly flash across us and help us to beat down our enemy. So that whenever we are on the point of doing or saying anything cowardly, or mean, or false, or impure, or proud, or conceited, or unkind, the remembrance that God is looking on shall instantly flash across us and help us to beat down our enemy. 1. And this will generally be just when we are tempted to do wrong, or perhaps just when we are actually beginning to do it: some secret sin of which no one knows or dreams perhaps, some self-indulgence, which we dare not deny that God condemns. Do the Moral Virtues pertain to the Contemplative Life? 24).(W. To Dominicus, Bishop. October 27th, 2022 The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your Hands. 3. Enter your email address and we will send you a link to reset your password. For it is written, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace (Gal. And here is a particular attribute, a particular perfection in God, singled out signalized. For if God's exhaustive knowledge of the human heart waken dread in one of its aspects, it starts infinite hope in another. "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me: Thy right hand shall save me."--PS. To Dominicus, Bishop. In the day when I cried Charles KingsleyOut of the DeepWherefore a Few Witnesses, which the Lord Deigns to Suggest to My Mind32. That of welcoming the Divine searching (vers. David praises God for the truth of his word4. 15. He is a "faithful Creator," and if you are seeking to answer the end for which He made you, His everlasting honour binds Him to fulfil His part. We have received with the utmost gratification the letters of your Fraternity, which have reached us somewhat late by the hands of Donatus and Quodvultdeus, our most reverend brethren and fellow-bishops, and also Victor the deacon with Agilegius the notary. 2. A Psalm by David. Those who are always hearing pure and high principles set forth as the guides of life learn to value and to know them even faster than they can learn to live by them. That of a prayerful seeking of the Divine guidance (ver. His omnipotence (vers. But there are other reasons for the comparative neglect into which he has fallen. (Admonition 23.) His plans and purposes as displayed in these miracles of creation, are precious beyond measure. The Lord's invitation to follow him is individual and personal, and it is compelling. Verse 8. It is here proposed to show, that every incumbent duty ought, in suitable circumstances, to be engaged to in the exercise of Covenanting. 6. To reprove some prevalent impieties in human conduct.(1)Atheism.(2)Indifferentism.3. There is, therefore, nothing wrong in our forgetting that we are in the presence of God any more than there is anything foolish in our forgetting that we need air to breathe or light to see by, or that if we fall we may hurt ourselves: just in the same way as we very often, and quite rightly, forget that we are in the company of men who will take notice of our faults. 19 III. If God makes your son His son also, what do you lose or what does he himself lose? 23, 24). For those that are at variance are to be admonished to know most certainly that, in whatever virtues they may abound, they can by no means become spiritual if they neglect becoming united to their neighbours by concord. Whenever servants of the Lord come together and examine what it is that they need to be, there must be a vision of Christ. But if that knowledge whereby man knows himself is mysterious, then certainly that whereby God knows him is far more so. He prophesies that the kings of the earth shall praise God7. And lest the presence of God should be too much for us, Christ has taken human nature on Him, and has provided that He will be always with us as long as the world shall last. So that whenever we are on the point of doing or saying anything cowardly, or mean, or false, or impure, or proud, or conceited, or unkind, the remembrance that God is looking on shall instantly flash across us and help us to beat down our enemy. One day the Lord spoke to me through a particular scripture. Thomas AquinasOn Prayer and The Contemplative LifeEpistle Xlvii. But while all held their peace, the Son [441] said, It is here proposed to show, that every incumbent duty ought, in suitable circumstances, to be engaged to in the exercise of Covenanting. xlix. Therefore the first natural bond of human society is man and wife. Letter Xliii a Consolatory Letter to the Parents of Geoffrey. S. Thomas, On the Beatific Vision, I., xii. And this will generally be just when we are tempted to do wrong, or perhaps just when we are actually beginning to do it: some secret sin of which no one knows or dreams perhaps, some self-indulgence, which we dare not deny that God condemns. As low as $30/day. G. T. Shedd, D. D.: One of the most remark. Here, then, is your confidence. (1)He knows our actions, ways, words, thoughts. David praises God for the truth of his word4. v. 14), the earth was cursed, Hades was opened, Paradise shut, Heaven offended, man, lastly, corrupted and brutalised (cf. Patience under trial and strength in adversity thrive under the all-seeing eye. vi. The simple question, then, which meets us is, Wilt thou know thyself here, and now, that thou mayest accept and feel God's pity; or wilt thou keep within the screen, and not know thyself until beyond the grave, and then feel God's judicial wrath? 19 III. Now, in this condition of things, God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him might not perish, but have everlasting life. In a declaration of faith, you speak to yourself to build up your faith, to activate your faith in God and to encourage yourself in the Lord. He has suffered thus, partly from a certain obscurity in his style of writing, partly from the difficulty of the thoughts which he attempted to convey. We become unconscious of everything by long use. God has made us so. AugustineOf Holy Virginity. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius John Edgar McFadyenIntroduction to the Old TestamentLinksPsalm 138:8 NIVPsalm 138:8 NLTPsalm 138:8 ESVPsalm 138:8 NASBPsalm 138:8 KJVPsalm 138:8 Bible AppsPsalm 138:8 ParallelPsalm 138:8 Biblia ParalelaPsalm 138:8 Chinese BiblePsalm 138:8 French BiblePsalm 138:8 German BiblePsalm 138:8 CommentariesBible Hub, II. THE GROUNDS ON WHICH THE CONVICTION IS BASED. He is always involved in our lives as the Sovereign Orchestrator. (Weekly Pulpit. Ps. When David said the lord will perfect that which concerns him, David wasn't saying how I wish the lord perfect that which concerns me. Self-consciousness has been the problem of the philosophic mind in all ages; and the mystery is not yet unravelled. Rom. Self-consciousness has been the problem of the philosophic mind in all ages; and the mystery is not yet unravelled. OURSELVES. Those who live much in refined and educated society acquire refinement insensibly. S. Thomas, On the Beatific Vision, I., xii. And here let us look upon the bright as well as the dark side of this subject. v. 22). This is living with God. The former are made and fulfilled by its glorious Originator; the latter are enjoined and obligatory on man. The answer is a daily walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. Have you obtained a religion which is not the work of God? Our relation toward such a God should be 1. 16:15 .) Psalm 138:8 - " The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands." (KJV) The month of July kicks off the second leg of our prayer and fasting in RCCG worldwide. That of siding with Him against evil (vers. ad probam IV. "I dwell with him that is of a humble and contrite heart, to revive the heart of the contrite ones."--ISA. 8). lxxxv. G. T. Shedd, D. D.: One of the most remark. ad probam IV. iii. 24).(W. v. 22). The law and covenant of God are co-extensive; and what is enjoined in the one is confirmed in the other. I had arranged the last remaining hours of my India business trip to stop by several places before heading to the Chennai airport. So, too, by living in the presence of God and, as it were, in the courts of heaven, we shall assuredly learn something of a heavenly tone, and shake off some of that coarse worldliness, that deeply ingrained selfishness, that silly pride and conceit which now spoils our very best service. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me. the regular habit of reading the Bible at a fixed time, the occasional reminders of ourselves that God is looking on, these are our chief means of learning to remember His presence. (Weekly Pulpit. Wherefore a few witnesses, which the Lord deigns to suggest to my mind, I proceed to mention, from out the teaching of Christ concerning humility, such as perhaps may be enough for my purpose. He professes his confidence in GodDictionary of Bible ThemesPsalm 138:86708predestination8125guidance, promise8441goalsPsalm 138:7-81265hand of GodLibraryFaith in PerfectionIn the opening, I must remark that this is not the heritage of all mankind. The brilliant searchlight sweeping the broad ocean and revealing even the smallest craft on its surface is but a faint type of the Eternal Light from which no sinner can hide his sin. 13-16).4. 1, 2. II. xlix. He learnt his theology, as we shall see, from Eastern authorities, and was not content to carry on and develop the traditional teaching of the West; and the disciple St. To Dominicus, Bishop. xlix. In short, to live with God is to be perpetually rising above the world; to live without Him is to be perpetually sinking into it, and with it, and below it. And this will generally be just when we are tempted to do wrong, or perhaps just when we are actually beginning to do it: some secret sin of which no one knows or dreams perhaps, some self-indulgence, which we dare not deny that God condemns. We could never discharge our duties properly if we were to be perpetually distracted by the consciousness of what was around us: and, above all, we might be daunted by the perpetual thought of the presence of God, and so be paralyzed instead of helped. 19-22).3. But while all held their peace, the Son [441] said, AthanasiusSelect Works and Letters or AthanasiusCovenant Duties. 18 " Ep., cxxx. "Come, and let us return to the Lord: for He hath torn, and He will heal us. Think of all those who, on the night of the Passover, came out of Egypt, but yet never entered into Canaan; their carcasses fell in the wilderness, because of their unbelief. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. He may be an uncommonly thoughtful person, and little of what is done within his soul may escape his notice; nay, we will make the extreme supposition that he arrests every thought as it rises, and looks at it; that he analyzes every sentiment as it swells his heart; that he scrutinizes every purpose as it determines his will; even if he should have such a thorough and profound self-knowledge as this, God knows him equally profoundly and equally thoroughly. The simple question, then, which meets us is, Wilt thou know thyself here, and now, that thou mayest accept and feel God's pity; or wilt thou keep within the screen, and not know thyself until beyond the grave, and then feel God's judicial wrath? And this perpetual though not always conscious sense of God's presence would, no doubt, if we would let it have its perfect work, gradually act on our characters just as the presence of our fellow-men does. Get a grip at this, thou troubled one, and by a personal faith say, "The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me." v. 14), the earth was cursed, Hades was opened, Paradise shut, Heaven offended, man, lastly, corrupted and brutalised (cf. From the just we learn justice; from the charitable we catch an infection of charity; from the generous we receive the instinct of generosity. Chapter i. Self-consciousness has been the problem of the philosophic mind in all ages; and the mystery is not yet unravelled. v. 14), the earth was cursed, Hades was opened, Paradise shut, Heaven offended, man, lastly, corrupted and brutalised (cf. vi. The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works thy own hands. 12), while the devil was exulting against us;--then God, in His loving-kindness, not willing man made in His own image to perish, said, Whom shall I send, and who will go?' This is living with God. (1)There is the error that supposes that formal worship can be of any real worth. 7 ad 3m II. He has suffered thus, partly from a certain obscurity in his style of writing, partly from the difficulty of the thoughts which he attempted to convey. The law and covenant of God are co-extensive; and what is enjoined in the one is confirmed in the other. "Whatever concerns me," says he, "the Lord will perfect.". St. Hilary of Poitiers is one of the greatest, yet least studied, of the Fathers of the Western Church. The daily prayer in the closet, the endeavour to keep the attention fixed when praying with others, either in our regular services or in family worship. It is perfectly plain from the elevated central point of view where we now stand, and in the focal light in which we now see, that no man can be justified before God upon the ground of personal character; for that character, when subjected to God's exhaustive scrutiny, withers and shrinks away. 13-16).4. 15. David praises God for the truth of his word4. In short, to live with God is to be perpetually rising above the world; to live without Him is to be perpetually sinking into it, and with it, and below it. Though the transgressor is ignorant of much of his sin, because, at the time of its commission, he sins blindly as well as wilfully, and unreflectingly as well as freely; and though the transgressor has forgotten much of that small amount of sin, of which he was conscious, and by which he was pained, at the time of its perpetration; though, on the side of man, the powers of self-inspection and memory have accomplished so little towards this preservation of man's sin, yet God knows it all, and remembers it all. For the Lord is good and His love is eternal, and His faithfulness endures to all generations." (Ps. We have received with the utmost gratification the letters of your Fraternity, which have reached us somewhat late by the hands of Donatus and Quodvultdeus, our most reverend brethren and fellow-bishops, and also Victor the deacon with Agilegius the notary. And though we thought that we had suffered loss from the tardiness of their coming, yet we find gain from their more abundant charity; seeing that from this delay in point Saint Gregory the Greatthe Epistles of Saint Gregory the GreatThe Coming Revival"Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?"--PS. --The Life and Writings of St. Hilary of Poitiers. (4)In the dark as well as the light.3. Now, in this condition of things, God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him might not perish, but have everlasting life. This is the communion with Him, and with Christ, which unquestionably helps the struggling, the penitent, the praying, more than anything else. If God makes your son His son also, what do you lose or what does he himself lose? )PeopleDavid, PsalmistPlacesJerusalemTopicsAbandon, Accomplish, Age, Chief, Complete, Concerneth, Concerns, David, Endures, Endureth, Eternal, Everlasting, Fall, Forever, Forsake, Fulfil, Fulfill, Hands, Kindness, Love, Loving, Lovingkindness, Loving-kindness, Mercy, Musician, O, Perfect, Psalm, Purpose, Steadfast, WorksOutline1. "When a foul crime has been perpetrated, tender-hearted Christian women who would not harm a hair of the enemy's head, but would rather feed him, will express keen resentment, and will be disquieted in mind till they hear that the perpetrator has been convicted and duly punished." In the day when I cried Charles KingsleyOut of the Deep. Before the Searcher of hearts all mankind must appeal to mere and sovereign mercy. The Lord will make all things complete for me: O Lord, your mercy is eternal; do not give up the works of your hands. He learnt his theology, as we shall see, from Eastern authorities, and was not content to carry on and develop the traditional teaching of the West; and the disciple St. Therefore the first natural bond of human society is man and wife. In a declaration of faith you are speaking to yourself which was what David was doing in this verse. And though we thought that we had suffered loss from the tardiness of their coming, yet we find gain from their more abundant charity; seeing that from this delay in point Saint Gregory the Greatthe Epistles of Saint Gregory the GreatThe Coming Revival"Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?"--PS. xlix. And here let us look upon the bright as well as the dark side of this subject. There is, therefore, nothing wrong in our forgetting that we are in the presence of God any more than there is anything foolish in our forgetting that we need air to breathe or light to see by, or that if we fall we may hurt ourselves: just in the same way as we very often, and quite rightly, forget that we are in the company of men who will take notice of our faults. This is the communion with Him, and with Christ, which unquestionably helps the struggling, the penitent, the praying, more than anything else. Hence Paul Leo the GreatWritings of Leo the GreatSense in Which, and End for which all Things were Delivered to the Incarnate Son. For those that are at variance are to be admonished to know most certainly that, in whatever virtues they may abound, they can by no means become spiritual if they neglect becoming united to their neighbours by concord. For whereas man sinned, and is fallen, and by his fall all things are in confusion: death prevailed from Adam to Moses (cf. The daily prayer in the closet, the endeavour to keep the attention fixed when praying with others, either in our regular services or in family worship. Gregory to Dominicus, Bishop of Carthage [1454] . 18 " Ep., cxxx. He must be prepared for the Kingdom that has been prepared for him Saint Bernard of ClairvauxSome Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of ClairvauxThat the Ruler Should be Always Chief in Action. For that voice more readily penetrates the hearer's heart, which the speaker's life, (Admonition 23.) He will revive us."--HOS. Do the Moral Virtues pertain to the Contemplative Life? 6. GOD ACCURATELY AND EXHAUSTIVELY KNOWS ALL THAT MAN MIGHT, BUT DOES NOT, KNOW OF HIMSELF. He has suffered thus, partly from a certain obscurity in his style of writing, partly from the difficulty of the thoughts which he attempted to convey.