The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11 by Thomas Watson. Excerpt 73

Toward the end of his book, Watson tells us how a Christian grows:

A true Christian grows in beauty. Grace is the best complexion of the soul; it is at the first plantation, like Rachel, fair to look upon; but still the more it lives, the more it sends forth its rays of beauty. Abraham’s faith was at first beautiful; but at last did shine in its orient colours, and grew so illustrious, that God himself was in love with it, and makes his faith a pattern to all believers.

A true Christian grows in sweetness. A poisonous weed may grow as much as the hyssop or rosemary, the poppy in the field as the corn, the crab as the pearmain; but the one hath a harsh sour taste, the other mellows as it grows: an hypocrite may grow in outward dimensions, as much as a child of God, he may pray as much, profess as much: but he grows only in magnitude, he brings forth only sour grapes, his duties are leavened with pride; the other ripens as he grows; he grows in love, humility, faith, which do mellow and sweeten his duties, and make them come off with a better relish. The believer grows as the flower, he casts a fragrancy and perfume.

A true Christian grows in strength: he grows still more rooted and settled. The more the tree grows, the more it spreads its root in the earth: a Christian who is a plant of the heavenly Jerusalem, the longer he grows, the more he incorporates into Christ, and sucks spiritual juice and sap from him; he is a dwarf in regard of humility, but a giant in regard of strength, — he is strong to do duties, to bear burdens, resist temptations.

Thomas Watson lived from 1620-1686, in England. He wrote several books which survive. This blog, God willing, will post excerpts from his The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11, over a number of weeks, on Sundays.

My source for the text is here, and I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this text (and many others) available. The previous excerpt is here.
  
Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak because of lack, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content in it. (World English Bible, public domain.)  

What God hath promised, by Annie Johnson Flint

1. God has not promised skies always blue,

Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;

God has not promised sun without rain,

Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

Refrain:

But God has promised strength for the day,

Rest for the labor, light for the way,

Grace for the trials, help from above,

Unfailing kindness, undying love.

2. God has not promised we shall not know

Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;

He has not told us we shall not bear

Many a burden, many a care.

3. God has not promised smooth roads and wide,

Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;

Never a mountain rocky and steep,

Never a river turbid and deep.

What God Hath Promised, by Annie Johnson Flint, 1919, public domain. 9 9 9 9. Modernized by changing "hath" to "has."

Thanks for reading.

 

Excerpts from Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton, 47

It is one of the hundred answers to the fugitive perversion of modern “force” that the promptest and boldest agencies are also the most fragile or full of sensibility. The swiftest things are the softest things. A bird is active, because a bird is soft. A stone is helpless, because a stone is hard. The stone must by its own nature go downwards, because hardness is weakness. The bird can of its nature go upwards, because fragility is force. In perfect force there is a kind of frivolity, an airiness that can maintain itself in the air. Modern investigators of miraculous history have solemnly admitted that a characteristic of the great saints is their power of “levitation.” They might go further; a characteristic of the great saints is their power of levity. Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly. This has been always the instinct of Christendom, and especially the instinct of Christian art. Remember how Fra Angelico represented all his angels, not only as birds, but almost as butterflies.

Orthodoxy, first published in 1908, by G. K. Chesterton, is in the public domain, and available from Project Gutenberg. The previous post in this series is here. Thanks for reading! Read Chesterton.

Strength in the New Testament

The New Testament mentions strength, and related words, a few times. I used the ESV search facility to find some of these (other versions may differ somewhat, and I may not have searched for all variants).

Here are some of the references, with remarks.

In Mark 12:28-30, Jesus told a questioner that the most important commandment was to love God with all your strength. Strength, then, must have to do, at least in this case, with resolve, will, determination, and the like.

In Luke 21:34-36, He warns the disciples about what is to come, and tells them to pray for strength, so strength, lest there be any doubt, can be divinely augmented. We should probably all pray for strength.

In Romans 1:11-12, Paul told the Romans that he wished he could impart a spiritual gift to them, to strengthen them. Spiritual gifts, then, apparently can add to the strength of a body of believers, and/or to individuals.

In Romans 4, Paul describes the faith of Abraham. He says, among other things, that ". . . he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God" (verse 20, last part).

In 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, Paul writes: "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love." I would judge that strength without the sort of love described in 1 Corinthians 13 isn't really the kind of strength that God wants us to have.

In 2 Corinthians 12:10, Paul says that he is strong when he is weak, one of the many paradoxes in the Bible. Most likely he was exalting the strength of God, which works when ours can't and doesn't. The author of Hebrews, in Hebrews 11:32-34, lists some of the heroes of faith, who were also made strong when they were weak in themselves.

Ephesians 6:10 and 1 Peter 4:10-11 also tell us that our strength must come from the Lord.

In 2 Timothy 2:1-3, Paul tells Timothy that he must be strengthened through Christ's grace.

And, finally, so does Phillipians 4:12-13, where Paul says, in verse 13: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Be strong in Him!

Thanks for reading.