...Alas, that so many preachers abandon their habit of study as soon as they are ordained! The Bible is an inexhaustible mine of spiritual treasures, and the more its riches are opened to us (by hard digging) the more we realize how much there is unpossessed, and how little we really understand what has been received. "If any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know" (1 Cor. 8:2).  –A.W. Pink

This Discourse was preached before the Synod of Merse and Teviotdale, at their meeting in Kelso, Scotland, on October 27, 1840.

"My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared Me, and was afraid before My name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips; he walked with Me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity"-Malachi 2:5-6

"How much more would a few good and fervent men effect in the ministry than a multitude of lukewarm ones!" said Oecolampadius, the Swiss Reformer -- a man who had been taught by experience, and who has recorded that experience for the benefit of other churches and other days.

Every workman knows the necessity of keeping his tools in a good state of repair, for "if the iron be blunt, and he does not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength." If the workman lose the edge from his adze, he knows that there will be a greater draught upon his energies, or his work will be badly done. Michaelangelo, the elect of the fine arts, understood so well the importance of his tools, that he always made his own brushes with his own hands, and in this he gives us an illustration of the God of grace, who with special care fashions for himself all true ministers...

SPURGEON'S friends and even casual acquaintances remarked on his hearty laughter. His humor also found expression in his sermons and writings, for which he was sometimes criticized. Spurgeon responded that if his critics only knew how much humor he suppressed, they would keep silent. At the same time, Spurgeon's life was saturated with suffering. We know about his sufferings intimately owing to his frequent and candid descriptions of them. What torments did Spurgeon suffer? How did he reconcile his painful experiences with his view of a gracious God?

Pastor Charles R. Parsons describes an hour's interview with George Mueller toward the close of his life:

A warm summer day found me slowly walking up the shady groves of Ashley Hill, Bristol. At the top there met my gaze the immense buildings which shelter over two thousand orphans, built by a man who has given to the world the most striking object lesson in faith it has ever seen.

"Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God."-Acts 20:26-27

When Paul was parting from his Ephesian friends, who had come to bid him farewell at Miletus, he did not request of them a commendation of his ability; he did not request of them a recommendation for his fervid eloquence, his profound learning, his comprehensive thought, or his penetrating judgment. He knew right well that he might have credit for all these, and yet be found a castaway at last.

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear" (Hebrews 11:1)

It is a question worth pondering as to whether there is much serious prayer being offered up in our busy age. There is undoubtedly a welter of other things being attempted: files of paper are prepared on a host of topics; memoranda by the score are recorded; statistics are noted; committees are formed and then disbanded; agendas are drawn up and discussed; ideas are floated and debated; proposals are offered and turned this way and then that.

But it is more than knowledge of the love of God as taught in Scripture which preachers need.  They must themselves be possessed by the love of which they speak.  Invitations to trust in Christ preached without love are no invitations at all...

Although Pentecost marked a new epoch and method of the Holy Spirit's activity, yet throughout all time God's work has been done through the Spirit's agency. Were we asked what is the essential and indispensable equipment for the work of God, we should unhesitatingly say: The anointing and filling with the Holy Spirit!

What is the principle thing in Christianity? On what does all finally depend, and what is the surest sign of a state of grace? These questions, my brethren, are not difficult to answer. The principal thing, and the surest touchstone of Christianity, is this: that our godliness should shine forth in our fife, business, and all our walk and conversation; in our sufferings, in avoiding of evil, in patience, in meekness, in placability, in compassion, in industry, and in a faithful discharge of our daily calling. "Let your light so shine before men," said the Lord,

A paradox is defined to be a "tenet or proposition contrary to received opinion, and seemingly absurd, but true in fact."

IT is generally conceded to be an incontrovertible fact that there has been, and is, very little spiritual awakening as a result of the preaching of the ministers of Norway. A generation or two ago there were, it is true, a number of spiritual awakenings as a result of pastoral preaching. But then, too, the pastors of that day had themselves experienced a spiritual awakening, an awakening the burden and the leadership of which took place in the theological auditorium of the Royal Frederick University.

TO THE CANDIDATES FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH.

Matthew 20:16, sets forth the grand principle of divine sovereignty. "The last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen." God has a right to do what He will with His own. Will anyone dare to question this? If so, it is plain he has never felt his true place as utterly lost. The only resource for a lost sinner is God's sovereign grace. There is no man who can stand before God on the ground of his own righteousness. All are guilty...

In a former article I said that the lack of an enduement of power from on high should be deemed a disqualification for a pastor, a deacon or elder, a Sunday School superintendent, a professor in a Christian college, and especially for a professor in a theological seminary. Is this a hard saying? Is this an uncharitable saying? Is it unjust? Is it unreasonable? Is it unscriptural? Suppose any one of the apostles, or those present on the day of Pentecost, had failed through apathy, selfishness, unbelief, indolence, or ...