MATTHEW HENRY

Here are a few random thoughts gleaned from,

THE SECRET OF COMMUNION WITH GOD

by

Matthew Henry.

These have been an encouragement to me and hopefully

at least one can be an encouragement to you.

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"Praying is lifting up the soul to God, 

and pouring out the heart before him;"

"However, God understands the language of the heart,

and that is the language in which we must speak to God;"

"... we must see to it that God hears from us daily....

He expects and requires it....

he has obliged us to offer the sacrifice of prayer and 

praise to him continually."

"What a shame is this to us, that God is more willing

to be prayed to, and more ready to hear prayer

than we are to pray."

"I know what an influence it would have upon

the prosperity of your souls to be constant and

sincere in your secret worship, ..."

"All the business of the day will prosper the better for 

your beginning it thus with God."

"God looks not at the length of your prayers, nor shall

you be heard for your much speaking or fine speaking;"

"To wait on God, is entirely and unreservedly to refer

ourselves to his wise and holy direction, and disposals, 

and cheerfully to acquiesce in them, and comply with them."

"To wait on God, is to make his will our rule."

"It is good for us to think frequently of dying, to think

of it as oft as we go to bed; it will help to mortify

the corruptions of our own hearts,..."

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Note of interest to writers.

I am not one, but I do live in a different generation

than brother Henry did.  Thus, I am able to notice 

how "wordy" they were back in 1700 plus.

Matthew Henry has "one" sentence on page 30

of the above book which is - 136 words long.

Can you top that?

GOD'S TONIC

GOD'S TONIC

"tonic n. ...

b: something that invigorates, restores,

refreshes, or stimulates"

-Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary

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The last time I read through the book of Judges

something stood out to me.

At least two times the entire nation of Israelites

"sat before the Lord".

See Judges 20:26 & 21:2

And we know about king David sitting

before the Lord in 2 Samuel 7:18

And of course Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus

in Luke 10:39

And we all know the Scripture that says,

"but they who wait for the Lord

shall renew their strength,"

-Isaiah 40:31 (RSV)

Yes, I have read the various definitions of

waiting on the Lord.

But do you suppose that waiting and sitting

before or on the Lord might be close to

the same thing?

You know, wait as in "wait...

1 a: to remain stationary in readiness or expectation...

b: to pause for another to catch up."

-Webster

or,

"It is good that one should wait quietly

for the salvation of the Lord."

-Lamentations 3:26 (RSV)

It seems that our definition of wait is,

"Do other things while we are waiting 

for the Lord."

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Below I have included some random quotes or 

comments from or about that old exemplary

saint Andrew Murray.  These have been taken

from the book,

Andrew Murray one of God's choice saints

by W.M. Douglas

These have been an encouragement to me in

spending time with God.

 Photo courtesy of www.123rt.com

"The quiet, contemplative life led to a deeper,

truer knowledge of God..."

-p. 110

"but above all, it was prayer and quiet waiting

upon God that gave him the confidence to step

out in faith on this new venture."

-p. 126

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"I think in the present day there is not enough

retirement to seek teaching from above,

there is too much human teaching."

-p. 154

"And it is in secret that we must begin to give

ourselves to the power and working of the Holy

Ghost.  What we need are two things.

The one, faith that He is in us,

and will do a Divine work in teaching

and sanctifying us.

The other, is quiet waiting to realize

His presence, to hush our own thoughts,

and to crush all our natural activity, 

so as to give Him time and opportunity 

to take possession, and become

the new principle in our lives."

-p. 160

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"It was during this time of trial he learned the value

of silence, as practised by the Friends (Quakers)

which counteracts one of the central weakness

of Protestantism"

-p. 181

"When not writing he spent much time on the broad

stoep (verandah) in front of his study.

There he would sit and pray and meditate."

-p. 234

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"How I love your law!
I think about it all day long.
Your commandment is with me
all the time
and makes me wiser than my enemies.
I understand more than 
all my teachers,
because I meditate on your instructions.
I have greater wisdom than 
those who are old, 
because I obey your commands.
I have avoided all evil conduct,
because I want to obey your word.
I have not neglected your instructions,
because you yourself are my teacher.
How sweet is the taste of your instructions -
sweeter even than honey!
I gain wisdom from your laws,
and so I hate all bad conduct.
Your word is a lamp to guide me
and a light for my path."
-Psalms 119:97-105 (GNB)