Friday, February 12, 2016

Let not the strong, the rich, the wise,
Of knowledge, wealth, or power be vain,
What mortals covet most, most prize.
When won, how few can long retain!
Heaven's noblest gift may prove a snare,
Unsanctified by faith and prayer.

He slept on pleasure’s lap, and woke
Shorn of his strength!  Poor Samson found
The Lord had left him, when he broke
The vow with which his life was bound;
Blind, chained, enslaved, returning strength
Brought death with his revenge at length.

The wily traitor was betray'd
In his own craft; though woven well,
The net which for his king he laid
Entangled wise Achitophel;
Folly o'erruled what wisdom plann'd.
He perished by his own false hand.

"Soul, take thine ease; eat, drink, rejoice,
Through length of years," the rich man said;
"Thou fool! this night," replied the voice
That calls the living to the dead,
"Thy soul shall be required of thee.
Whose then shall all thy treasures be?"

Wise to salvation through His Word,
And rich in faith His kingdom's heir,
Strong in the strength of Christ my Lord;
Be this my portion! 'tis my prayer:
For this would I count all things loss,
And glory only in the cross.
               James Montgomery


.....Man would not be without religion: it would not be respectable; and therefore he is content to devote one-seventh of his time to religion, or, as he thinks and professes, to his eternal interests, and then he has six-sevenths to devote to his temporal interests; but whether he works for time or eternity, it is for himself, in reality.  Such is "the way of Cain....."
.....How different the way of the man of faith!  Abel felt and owned the curse; he saw the stain of sin, and, in the holy energy of faith, offered that which met it, and met it thoroughly---met it divinely.  He sought and found a refuge in God Himself; and instead of building a city on the earth, he found but a grave in its bosom.  The earth, which on its surface displayed the genius and energy of Cain and his family, was stained underneath with the blood of a righteous man.  Let the man of the world remember this; let the man of God remember it; let the worldly-minded Christian remember it.  The earth which we tread upon is stained by the blood of the Son of God.  The very blood which justifies the Church condemns the world.  The dark shadow of the cross of Jesus may be seen by the eye of faith, looming over all the glitter and glare of this evanescent world.  "The fashion of this world passeth away....."  It will soon all be over, so far as the present scene is concerned.....
                                                                                                                                      C. H. Mackintosh  

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