Milo

What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, Romans 9:22

Context
The Calling of the Gentiles
…Does not the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common use? What if God, intending to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the vessels of His wrath, prepared for destruction? What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the vessels of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory—…

Benson Commentary
Romans 9:22-23. What if God, willing, &c. — Referring to Romans 9:18-19. That is, Although it were now his will, because of their obstinate unbelief; to show his wrath — Which necessarily presupposes sin; and to make his power known — This is repeated from Romans 9:17; yet endured — As he did Pharaoh — With much long-suffering — Which should have led them to repentance; the vessels of wrath — Those who had moved his wrath, by still rejecting his mercy; fitted for destruction — By their own wilful and final impenitence: is there any injustice in this? And that he might make known — What if, by showing such long-suffering even to the vessels of his wrath, he did the more abundantly show the greatness of his glorious goodness, wisdom, and power; on the vessels of mercy — On those whom he had himself, by his grace; prepared for glory — Is this injustice? By vessels of mercy he means such persons as were formerly miserable by being dead in trespasses and sins, but had afterward, through believing the gospel, obtained mercy, even the great mercy of the forgiveness of sins, with the fruits and consequences of it; and by the term προητοιμασεν, he means, God’s fitting them for glory, by working in them true repentance and living faith, by justifying and sanctifying them, and giving them all those qualifications necessary for the attainment of it.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
9:14-24 Whatever God does, must be just. Wherein the holy, happy people of God differ from others, God’s grace alone makes them differ. In this preventing, effectual, distinguishing grace, he acts as a benefactor, whose grace is his own. None have deserved it; so that those who are saved, must thank God only; and those who perish, must blame themselves only, Hos 13:9. God is bound no further than he has been pleased to bind himself by his own covenant and promise, which is his revealed will. And this is, that he will receive, and not cast out, those that come to Christ; but the drawing of souls in order to that coming, is an anticipating, distinguishing favour to whom he will. Why does he yet find fault? This is not an objection to be made by the creature against his Creator, by man against God. The truth, as it is in Jesus, abases man as nothing, as less than nothing, and advances God as sovereign Lord of all. Who art thou that art so foolish, so feeble, so unable to judge the Divine counsels? It becomes us to submit to him, not to reply against him. Would not men allow the infinite God the same sovereign right to manage the affairs of the creation, as the potter exercises in disposing of his clay, when of the same lump he makes one vessel to a more honourable, and one to a meaner use? God could do no wrong, however it might appear to men. God will make it appear that he hates sin. Also, he formed vessels filled with mercy. Sanctification is the preparation of the soul for glory. This is God’s work. Sinners fit themselves for hell, but it is God who prepares saints for heaven; and all whom God designs for heaven hereafter, he fits for heaven now. Would we know who these vessels of mercy are? Those whom God has called; and these not of the Jews only, but of the Gentiles. Surely there can be no unrighteousness in any of these Divine dispensations. Nor in God’s exercising long-suffering, patience, and forbearance towards sinners under increasing guilt, before he brings utter destruction upon them. The fault is in the hardened sinner himself. As to all who love and fear God, however such truths appear beyond their reason to fathom, yet they should keep silence before him. It is the Lord alone who made us to differ; we should adore his pardoning mercy and new-creating grace, and give diligence to make our calling and election sure.

June 13th

Getting there

Where the selective affinity dies and the sanctified abandon lives. Come ye after Me. Mark 1:17.

One of the greatest hindrances in coming to Jesus is the excuse of temperament. We make our temperament and our natural affinities barriers to coming to Jesus. The first thing we realize when we come to Jesus is that He pays no attention whatever to our natural affinities. We have the notion that we can consecrate our gifts to God. You cannot consecrate what is not yours; there is only one thing you can consecrate to God, and that is your right to yourself (Romans 12:1). If you will give God your right to yourself, He will make a holy experiment out of you. God’s experiments always succeed. The one mark of a saint is the moral originality which springs from abandonment to Jesus Christ. In the life of a saint there is this amazing wellspring of original life all the time; the Spirit of God is a well of water springing up, perennially fresh. The saint realizes that it is God Who engineers circumstances, consequently there is no whine, but a reckless abandon to Jesus. Never make a principle out of your experience; let God be as original with other people as He is with you.
If you abandon to Jesus, and come when He says ‘Come,’ He will continue to say ‘Come’ through you; you will go out into life reproducing the echo of Christ’s ‘Come.’ That is the result in every soul who has abandoned and come to Jesus.
Have I come to Jesus? Will I come now?

June 13

“My own peace I give to you.” (John 14:27.) (Weymouth.)

TWO painters each painted a picture to illustrate his conception of rest. The first chose for his scene a still, lone lake among the far-off mountains.
The second threw on his canvas a thundering waterfall, with a fragile birch tree bending over the foam; and at the fork of the branch, almost wet with the cataract’s spray, sat a robin on its nest.
The first was only stagnation; the last was rest.
Christ’s life outwardly was one of the most troubled lives that ever lived: tempest and tumult, tumult and tempest, the waves breaking over it all the time until the worn body was laid in the grave. But the inner life was a sea of glass. The great calm was always there.
At any moment you might have gone to Him and found rest. And even when the human bloodhounds were dogging Him in the streets of Jerusalem, He turned to His disciples and offered them, as a last legacy, “My peace.”
Rest is not a hallowed feeling that comes over us in church; it is the repose of a heart set deep in God.—Drummond.

My peace I give in times of deepest grief,
Imparting calm and trust and My relief.

My peace I give when prayer seems lost, unheard;
Know that My promises are ever in My Word.

My peace I give when thou art left alone—
The nightingale at night has sweetest tone.

My peace I give in time of utter loss,
The way of glory leads right to the cross.

My peace I give when enemies will blame,
Thy fellowship is sweet through cruel shame.

My peace I give in agony and sweat,
For mine own brow with bloody drops was wet.

My peace I give when nearest friend betrays—
Peace that is merged in love, and for them prays.

My peace I give when there’s but death for thee—
The gateway is the cross to get to Me.

—L. S. P.

13 JUNE

But I want it Now!

‘It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.’ Lamentations 3:26
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Nehemiah 4:1–23

Observe the need of such a word as this. It is much like the design of the parable which our Lord delivered to encourage us to pray earnestly and not to faint. The reasons arise:
(i) partly from the manner of his dispensation—he has promised to hear and answer—but it is likewise his pleasure to exercise our faith and patience. He seldom carries on his work any other way. When he promised Israel deliverance, he permitted Pharaoh to double his opposition. When he set them upon rebuilding the temple, he permitted their enemies to interrupt them. So when he stirs up a soul to seek his salvation, he seems at times to hide his face; their fears prevail, and their ease seems to grow worse. Yet his purpose stands good, and he tells them it is good for them both to hope and quietly wait.
(ii) partly from the tendency of our spirits to impatience and unbelief. A convinced sinner seeks mercy, but he must have it immediately; he can brook no delay, and is often brought to say or think, Wherefore should I wait any longer?
FOR MEDITATION:
The lion that on Sampson roared,
The world and Satan join their strength,
And thirsted for his blood;
To fill their souls with fears;
With honey afterwards was stored,
But crops of joy they reap at length,
And furnished him with food.
From what they sow in tears.

Believers, as they pass along,
Afflictions make them love the Word,
With many lions meet;
Stir up their hearts to prayer;
But gather sweetness from the strong,
And many precious proofs afford,
And from the eater, meat.
Of their Redeemer’s care.

The lions rage and roar in vain,
The lions roar but cannot kill,
For JESUS is their shield;
Then fear them not, my friends,
Their losses prove a certain gain,
They bring us, though against their will,
Their troubles comfort yield.
The honey JESUS sends.

SERMON: LAMENTATIONS 3:26 [2/3]

Context
A Gentle Answer Turns Away Wrath
…Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. A man takes joy in a fitting reply — and how good is a timely word! The path of life leads upward for the wise, that he may avoid going down to Sheol.… Proverbs 15:23