"i delight to do thy will, o my God" (Psalm 40:8)
did Christ find pleasure in abasement and torment, in suffering and dying for me, and can i find no pleasure in praying, hearing, meditating and enjoying the sweet duties of communion with Him? did He come so cheerfully to die for me, and do i go so dead-heartedly to prayers and sacraments to enjoy fellowship with Him? was it a pleasure to Him to shed His blood, and is it none to me to apply it, and reap the benefits of it?
oh, let there be no more grumblings, lazy excuses, shiftings of duty, or dead hearted and listless performances of them, after such an example as this. be ready to do the will of God; be ye also ready to suffer it. and as to sufferings for Christ, they should not be grievous to Christians that know how cheerfully Christ came from the bosom of the Father to die for them.
what have we to leave or lose in comparison with Him? what are our sufferings to Christ's? alas! there is no comparison! there was more bitterness in one drop of his sufferings than in a sea of ours. to conclude: your delight and readiness in the paths of obedience is the very measure of your sanctification. (John Flavel, from 'the Treasury of David', by Spurgeon)
did Christ find pleasure in abasement and torment, in suffering and dying for me, and can i find no pleasure in praying, hearing, meditating and enjoying the sweet duties of communion with Him? did He come so cheerfully to die for me, and do i go so dead-heartedly to prayers and sacraments to enjoy fellowship with Him? was it a pleasure to Him to shed His blood, and is it none to me to apply it, and reap the benefits of it?
oh, let there be no more grumblings, lazy excuses, shiftings of duty, or dead hearted and listless performances of them, after such an example as this. be ready to do the will of God; be ye also ready to suffer it. and as to sufferings for Christ, they should not be grievous to Christians that know how cheerfully Christ came from the bosom of the Father to die for them.
what have we to leave or lose in comparison with Him? what are our sufferings to Christ's? alas! there is no comparison! there was more bitterness in one drop of his sufferings than in a sea of ours. to conclude: your delight and readiness in the paths of obedience is the very measure of your sanctification. (John Flavel, from 'the Treasury of David', by Spurgeon)
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