Sunday Sampler

I thought perhaps I could make a habit of sharing samples from my devotional reading on Sundays. Here's take one.

"And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Now, therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines." Judges 13:3-5.

It is interesting to me to notice how often, as the Old Testament saints waited for God to fulfill His promise of a Seed who should deliver them, God sent men to deliver them temporarily, and how often in doing so He opened a womb that had not before borne a child.

"For this reason, it seems to me that Ambrose beautifully stated an example of this righteousness in the blessing of Jacob: noting that, as he did not of himself deserve the right of the first-born, concealed in his brother's clothing and wearing his brother's coat, which gave out an agreeable odor, he ingratiated himself with his father, so that to his own benefit he received the blessing while impersonating another. And we in like manner hide under the precious purity of our first-born brother, Christ, so that we may be attested righteous in God's sight." Calvin, Institutes, chapter XI, section 23.

That is a view of the matter that I'd never considered before!

"Do consider what a loving God we have, who would not be so much in love with his only Son as to keep him to himself when we needed him; a God that accounts himself most glorious in those attributes that are most for our comfort. He accounts himself glorious not so much for his wisdom, for his power or for his justice, as for his mercy and grace, for his philanthropia, his love of man. Shall we not therefore be even inflamed with a desire to gratify him, who has joined his glory with our salvation: who accounts himself glorious in his mercy above all other attributes?...What a comfort this is to sinful man, that in casting himself upon Christ and upon God's mercy in Christ, he yields glory to God; that God has joined his glory with our special good; that here is a sweet concurrence between the chief end and the highest good of man!" Richard Sibbes, Glorious Freedom