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Perfection in the scriptural use of it is not at all what those make of it who boast of perfection in the flesh. A child is perfect when it is newly born: there is every toe on the tiny foot, and its eyes, and ears, and nose, and other organs are all there. But if you tell me that a child is a perfect…

Have you never seen a canvas upon which the hand of the painter has sketched with daring pencil some marvelous scene of grandeur? You see where the living color has been laid on with an almost superhuman skill. But the artist was suddenly struck dead, and the hand that worked miracles of art was palsied…

Of all the people whom I have ever met with who have told me that they were perfect, I can say that I was morally certain they were not. They had only to talk for about five minutes and they proved their own imperfection. But we shall be perfect one day. “The one who began a good work in you will finish…

When a new road is opened, it is set apart and dedicated for the public use. Sometimes a public building is opened by a king or a prince, and so is dedicated to its purpose. Beloved, the way to God through Jesus Christ is dedicated by Christ, and ordained by Christ for the use of poor believing sinners…

The lawyer always says, “You had better be careful what you say, but when you go to law, never write anything. Hold back from the use of pen and ink, for that which is written remains.” When God writes His law in our hearts, He writes that which will never be blotted out. Once let Him take the pen in…

In the sanctuary there were persons who did nothing else but wait upon the Lord. These were consecrated to their offices, for God chose the tribe of Levi, and out of the tribe of Levi he chose the house of Aaron. These persons were chosen, and then they were prepared. They underwent certain ceremonies,…

Suppose I am a sculptor. If it is not possible for me to attain to the perfection of Praxiteles or Phidias, yet I must come as near to them as I can. I shall not be a master of the sculptor’s art unless I seek to imitate those who have been the most proficient in it. Suppose also that, through the infirmity…

The Lord’s first word to Abraham is that he should leave his father and his kinsfolk, and the idolatrous house in which he lived, and go to a land that God should show to him. Away he must go. Faith must be his guide, providence his provision, and the living God his only keeper. The separate life of…

My observation of personal character has been somewhat wide, and I cannot help bearing my testimony that I am greatly afraid of men who make loud professions of superior sanctity. I have had the misfortune to have known, on one or two occasions, superfine brethren, who were, in their own ideas, far above…

“You are a very peculiar person,” said one to a Christian. “I thank you for that testimony,” answered the Christian, “for that is what I desire to be, as Peter says, ‘You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s possession” (1 Pet 2:9). “Ah!” said the other, “but there…

I suppose that when the stones for the temple were quarried in the mountains, each one received a special mark from Solomon’s seal, marking it as a temple stone and perhaps denoting its place in the sacred edifice. This would be like the first inscription, “The Lord knows those who are his.” But the…

God could not accept any sacrifice that was touched with the golden tongs or that lay upon the brazen altar so long as those golden tongs and the brazen altar were imperfect. What was done to make them perfect? Why, they were sprinkled with blood; but they had to be sprinkled with blood ever so many…

You may sometimes have seen a notice put up on certain estates in the country, “Mantraps and spring guns set here.” If so, did you ever go around to the front door of the mansion and say, “Will you tell me where the mantraps are, and whereabouts the spring guns are set?” If you had asked that question,…

I have heard it said that the good sculptor, whenever he sees a suitable block of marble, firmly believes that there is a statue concealed within it. His business is but to take away the superfluous material, and so unveil the “thing of beauty” which shall be “a joy forever.” Believer, you are that block…

A man who is in the sea, deep down under the water, taking a plunge, does not feel the weight of the water. But bring him out on the shore, put a great tub of water on his head, and see what a weight that is to him. So, while a man is in sin as his element, it is no burden to him. But when he is out…

The youthful artist, as he grasps his early pencil, can hardly hope to equal Raphael or Michelangelo, but still, if he did not have a noble ideal before his mind, he would only attain to something very mean and ordinary. Heavenly fingers point us to the Lord Jesus as the great exemplar of His people,…

By the Holy Spirit’s application of our Lord’s merits believers are completely cleansed, and there remains neither spot nor wrinkle on their acceptance with Him. But though a man may be perfectly clean who leaves his bath, yet his feet may be soiled as he goes to his room and he needs again to wash them.…

You are this day, Christian, like the seed of Israel in Canaan. You have not to escape from Egypt; you are already free. With a high hand and with an outstretched arm God has set you free from the Pharaoh of your sin; you have already passed through the wilderness of your convictions. The fiery serpents…

Holiness is not the cause of spiritual life and safety; faith is the wellspring of all. In the spring you see the hawthorn covered with a delicious luxuriance of snow-white flowers, loading the air with fragrance, but no one among the admiring gazers supposes that those sweet blossoms caused the hawthorn…

Familiarity with Christ soon begets congeniality of disposition and spirit, for those who are much with Christ become much like Christ. He who lies on a bed of spices will naturally find his garments smell of the same. A mirror upon which the sun is shining is bright itself and flashes its reflected…

Where does a man begin cleansing and reforming? Why, in his own house, of course. He might perhaps feel that he must have some filth in the farmyard, but not in his own sitting room. There may be much evil abroad that he cannot remove, yet he can begin cleaning up at home. If we want to do any good in…

To the unclean and unbelieving, holy things will always be impure. You might as well forbid the sun to shine because, when its beams fall upon a dunghill, it brings forth unwholesome reeking. Yes, but that same sun, when it falls upon the flowers, makes them shed their aromatic perfume on every hand.…

Suppose you go to a surgeon because you have some deadly cancer growing upon you. You want to have it removed, and you know there are a great many physicians who will profess to cure such things, but in reality only give temporary ease. You keep clear from all these. You are well aware that if only a…

It is wonderful what a difference love makes in the person who is possessed with it. A poor timid hen that will fly away from every passerby loves its offspring. When it has its chicks about it, it will fight like a very griffin for its young. And when the love of Christ comes into a timid believer,…