James Hudson Taylor

“ We feel that we can never thank GOD sufficiently for our privileged lot, who have been blessed with true and loving Christian parents. But if this be the case with regard to the dim and at best imperfect earthly reflections, what of the glorious Reality--the great FATHER--the source of all fatherhood, of all protection--of all that is blessed here, and true, and noble, and good--and of all the glories to which we look forward in the future? "The LORD GOD is a Sun and Shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly." ”

“ The world can never be to her what it once was; the betrothed bride has learnt to love her Lord, and no other society than His can satisfy her. His visits may be occasional and may be brief; but they are precious times of enjoyment. Their memory is cherished in the intervals, and their repetition longed for. There is no real satisfaction in His absence, and yet, alas! He is not always with her: He comes and goes. Now her joy in Him is a heaven below; but again she is longing, and longing in vain, for His presence. Like the ever-changing tide, her experience is an ebbing and flowing one ”

“ Were we always so to live, how beautiful Christian life would become! how much more worthy a witness we should bear to the world of Him whose witnesses we are! May the life we are living be characterised by the growth in grace which will glorify GOD; and may tell-tale faces, and glad hearts, and loving service be to each one of us as "a ribband of blue," reflecting the very hue of heaven, and reminding ourselves and one another of our privileges to "remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them." ”

“ "And I will go!
I may no longer doubt to give up friends, and idol hopes,
And every tie that binds my heart. . . .
Henceforth, then, it matters not, if storm or sunshine be my earthly lot, bitter
or sweet my cup;
I only pray, God, make me holy,
And my spirit nerve for the stern hour of strife." ”

“ Who would not wish henceforth to have no private property in himself—in his members—in his possessions—in his family—in his affections; but, in fullest consecration, to acknowledge and recognize God's right and to be no longer a robber of God?
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel ... And they shall put My Name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them."
Here we have the blessing that God delights to give to those who have dedicated themselves and their all to Him. ”

“ We have already found the explanation of the fairness of the bride in her reflecting like a mirror the beauty of the Bridegroom. Well may He with satisfaction describe her beauty while she is thus occupied with Himself! The lips that speak only of Him are like a thread of scarlet; the mouth or speech which has no word of self, or for self, is comely in His sight. [41]
How sweet His words of appreciation and commendation were to the bride we can well imagine; but her joy was too deep for expression; she was silent in her love. ”

“ The natural sun is inconceivably great, we cannot grasp its magnitude; it is inconceivably glorious, we cannot bear to gaze for one moment on its untempered light. The source to us of all heat, we have to shield ourselves from its tropical power, though millions of miles from its surface: the sustainer of the essential conditions of physical life, and the great ruler and centre of the solar system--how great and glorious is the natural sun! And yet it may be the very smallest of all the countless suns that GOD has made! ”

“ It was to me a very grave matter, however, to contemplate going out to China, far away from all human aid, there to depend upon the living God alone for protection, supplies, and help of every kind. I felt that one's spiritual muscles required strengthening for such an undertaking. There was no doubt that if faith did not fail, God would not fail; but, then, what if one's faith should prove insufficient? ”

“ Because the Spirit of God makes real things real to us, and enables us practically to enjoy the blessings procured for us by the death and resurrection and priestly ministry of the Lord Jesus. Many a believer to whom Christ has left peace, knows little of it; but those who are filled with the Spirit are filled with peace. They have peace with God; they have also heart-peace in the midst of conflict and turmoil; and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, guards their hearts and thoughts. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace. ”

“ She is not ashamed of her lowly origin, for she fears no shame: perfect love has cast out fear. The royal state of the King, with its pomp and grandeur, may be enjoyed by-and-by: now, more sweet with Him at her side to make the garden fruitful; to give to Him all manner of precious fruits, new and old, which she has laid up in store for Him; and best of all to satisfy Him with her own love. Not only is she contented with this fellowship of service, but she could fain wish that there were no honours and duties to claim His attention, and for the moment to lessen the joy of His presence. ”

“ We learn, too, that in such consecration there is no merit on which man may rest, or in which he may boast; we are at best unprofitable servants, accepted only in the Beloved, complete only in Him. Yet such consecration gives joy to God, and opens the way to wonderful revelations of blessing; blessing which when enjoyed constrains to service, to gift, to recognition of the preciousness of the Altar, of the Cross—a service in which God Himself finds delight, and on which He never wearies to dwell. ”

“ She would fain claim him fully, without giving up herself fully to him; but it can never be: while she retains her own name, she can never claim his. She may not promise to love and honour if she will not also promise to obey: and till her love reaches that point of surrender she must remain an unsatisfied lover—she cannot, as a satisfied bride, find rest in the home of her husband. While she retains her own will, and the control of her own possessions, she must be content to live on her own resources; she cannot claim his. ”

“ We are not, therefore, independent workers, for there is a fundamental difference between fruit and work. Work is the outcome of effort; fruit, of life. A bad man may do good work, but a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. The result of work is not reproductive, but fruit has its seed in itself. The workman has to seek his material and his tools, and often to set himself with painful perseverance to his task. The fruit of the Vine is the glad, free, spontaneous outcome of the life within; and it forms and grows and ripens in its proper season.
And what is the fruit which the believer should bear? ”

“ THE BLESSING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. "Jehovah, the Spirit, lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace."
The blessing of the Spirit is essential to the completeness of the benediction. We are struck, however, with the similarity of this blessing to that which precedes it; nor is the similarity surprising. For, as the Son came to reveal the Father, so the Spirit has come to reveal the Son. Christ was a true Comforter; but His personal work on earth being finished, He ascended on high to minister for His people as their High Priest in the presence of God. ”

“ How is it that believers so often fail to enjoy this promised blessing? Is it not that we fail to be anxious for nothing, and to bring everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving before GOD? We may bring nine difficulties out of ten to Him, and try to manage the tenth ourselves, and that one little difficulty, like a small leak that runs the vessel dry, is fatal to the whole; like a small breach in a city wall, it gives entrance to the power of the foe. ”

“ A little spray of blossom, so tiny as to be scarcely perceived, is easily spoiled, but thereby the fruitfulness of a whole branch may be for ever destroyed. And how numerous the little foxes are! Little compromises with the world; disobedience to the still small voice in little things; little indulgences of the flesh to the neglect of duty; little strokes of policy; doing evil in little things that good may come; and the beauty and the fruitfulness of the vine are sacrificed!
We have a sad illustration of the deceitfulness of sin in the response of the bride. ”

“ The shining of the face of Jehovah, the Son, dispels the darkness and the gloom, manifests the presence of the Friend in need, and shows us the Redeemer, who not only [Pg 65] delivers, but becomes the Bridegroom of the soul.
"Make His face shine upon thee." The face is perhaps the most wonderful part of the wonderful human body. Of all the faces that God has made no two are exactly alike, even when quiescent; and though we do occasionally meet with those that bear a very close resemblance, intimate friends, who know the play of the countenance, never mistake. ”