J. Hudson Taylor

“ But it is helpful to remember that the glorious orb itself contains infinitely more light than all the dewdrops ever did or ever will reflect. And so of our heavenly Father: Himself the great Source of all that is noble and true, of all that ever has been loving and trustworthy, each beautiful trait of each beautiful character is but the dim reflection of some ray of His own great perfection. And the sum total of all human goodness, and tenderness, and love is but as the dewdrops to the sun. ”

“ How well we know in actual life what the light of the countenance means! How the mother’s smile brings light and gladness into the heart of the child! How the welcoming look of a friend is at once understood! In Daniel 9: 16, 17, the prophet prays, "O Lord...I beseech Thee, let Thine anger and Thy fury be turned away from Thy city, Jerusalem;...and cause Thy face to shine upon Thy sanctuary that is desolate." ”

“ It is beautiful to see the fond love of a young mother as she passes her fingers through the silken locks of her darling child, her treasure and her delight; but she never counts those hairs. He only, who is the source of mother-love, does that! And shall not we, who are not our own, but bought with a price, gladly render to Him all we are and have, every member of our body, every fiber of our being, every faculty of our mind, all our will-power, and all our love? ”

“ We all know how the mother-love delights to lavish itself on the objects of its care. With a patience that never tires, and an endurance almost inexhaustible, and a care all but unlimited, how often has the mother sacrificed her very life for the welfare of her babe. But strong as is a mother’s love, it may fail; God’s love never. "Can a woman forget her suckling child that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee."
It was one of the objects of our Saviour’s mission to reveal to us that, in Christ Jesus, God is also our Father. ”

“ The burden-bearing of the Levites was not to last for ever; once in the Promised Land that service ceased. Nor will our opportunity of burden-bearing be for long; the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior will soon summons the watchful and waiting ones to meet Him in the air. A million a month in China are dying without God; now we may seek to win them; now we may suffer to win them. May none of us lose the opportunity of self-denial and service while it lasts! ”

“ 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.
Are we practically enjoying this blessing, and experiencing this peace which passes all understanding? Are we finding that when He makes quietness, none can make trouble? ”

“ 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. ”

“ Flowing from God’s heart of love first came the privilege of Nazarite consecration; and then, by the act of consecration, His loving heart is so gladdened that it further overflows in these rich benedictions.
Looking, on the other hand, at the human side, we may learn that the soul which is fully consecrated always receives the blessing of God. Where that blessing is not enjoyed, there is always something unreal or defective in the consecration. ”

“ God wants our love; "My son, give Me thine heart." He wants our sympathy; He wants the gifts and offerings that are prompted by love. Shall He look to us in vain? Our David still thirsts, not for the waters of the well of Bethlehem, but for the souls for which He died. ”

“ Is it not that just as separation to God issues in blessing, so does blessing from God constrain to service, and especially to the highest form of service, that which is most God-like, that of Giving? God so loved the world that He gave; Christ so loved the Church that He gave; the Holy Spirit so loves the Church that He gives; and redeemed ones, created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works, when led by the Spirit, first give themselves unto God, and the delight in such other free-will offerings as the Lord may enable them to present. ”

“ Verses 13-15. "And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation; And he shall offer his offering unto the Lord, one he-lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt-offering, and one ewe-lamb of the first year without blemish for a sin-offering, and one ram without blemish for peace-offerings, and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, and their meant-offering, and their drink-offerings." ”

“ Blessing is the moving of the heart towards an object of affection and complacency. The out-going of the heart is naturally accompanied by gift or ascription, as the case may be. When our hearts bless the Lord, we sing a song of praise to Him for the great love wherewith He hath loved us; but the blessing is not the song. It is the feeling that prompts it. When the Lord blesses His people with peace and plenty, it is His open Heart that moves His loving Hand.
Again, blessing is always accompanied with joy; it is a joy, and it gives joy, both to the giver and the receiver. ”

“ When sin is put away the Spirit again lifts up His countenance upon us, and peace fills the heart.
The Peace of the Spirit The Lord Jesus, when on earth, said, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." But here it is the Spirit who is spoken of as bestowing peace: why is this? 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. ”

“ There was no need in Israel of a kinsman-redeemer in times of prosperity; but when bereavement and poverty afforded opportunity to the creditors to seize the possession, then a kind and wealthy kinsman-redeemer was a blessing indeed. We are reminded of the beautiful history of Ruth; how sweetly the gracious words of Boaz fell on the ear of the young stranger and what blessing that kinsman brought into her heart and life! The Friend that sticketh closer than a brother is precious at all times, but never so valued as in times of adversity ”

“ It is the purpose of God that in the present dispensation His people should have and enjoy full assurance of salvation through the offering of Jesus Christ once for all; and more than this, should know that He who "died for their offences, and was raised again for their justification," henceforth "liveth unto God;" in order that His people may likewise "reckon themselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God, in Jesus Christ our Lord." In Jesus Christ there is no condemnation. In Jesus Christ, the law of the spirit of life hath set me "free from the law of sin and of death." ”

“ We frequently use the word so vaguely as to lose much of its preciousness, and to overlook the primary meaning in some of its secondary significations. For instance, we use it frequently as s synonym of praise, and in speaking of blessing God, we think of praising Him. But blessing does not merely mean praise, for God blesses us. Again, sometimes we use it for some gracious gift, as when we speak of the blessing of peace or of plenty. But blessing does not only signify gift, for when we bless God we do not give to Him peace or plenty. ”

“ When we speak of God as a Father we must not forget that He is only such in its full meaning to those who have become His children by faith in Christ Jesus; and that the sad and solemn words of the loving Saviour to the unconverted were, "Ye are of your father, the devil." ”

“ A little child playing with his toys may be both happy and satisfied. But it hears the mother’s footsteps, it sees the mother open the door, and instantly the toys are dropped and forgotten; the little arms are stretched out, and the little feet are running to meet the welcome mother. Nor is this all; the great, motherly arms are as quickly stretched forth towards the child, and with longer steps the mother hastens to meet the little one, and clasps it to her bosom, the loving little arms entwining themselves around her neck. ”

“ Let the work only be one of God’s planning, and executed according to His mind, and the hearts that are in sympathy with Him will gladly respond with suitable and abundant offerings. For is not the willingness to give as much a part of His working as the skill to use that which is given? Then, in the givers and in their gifts, in the workers and in their work, the Divine heart finds infinite complacency. ”

“ God’s requirement was absolute, and where not fulfilled the vow was broken; the sin-offering had to be offered, and the service recommenced.
The Heinousness of Sin The teaching here, and that of offerings for sins of ignorance, is much needed in this day, when there is a dangerous tendency in some quarters to regard sin as misfortune, and not as guilt. The awful character of sin is shown to mankind by its consequences. Man’s heart is so darkened by the Fall, and by personal sinfulness, that otherwise he would regard sin as a very small matter. ”

“ The burnt-offering tells us of the perfect and accepted righteousness of Christ, in virtue of which the imperfect believer and his imperfect service are accepted by God. But it also reminds the believer of his privilege to surrender himself as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is to be the reasonable (intelligent) service (that is, ritual or worship) of each day and hour. ”

“ God's Delight in Love Gifts Is it not in order to reveal the heart of God? To show His delight in the loving offerings of His servants? The record is not tedious to Him; and it becomes marvelously interesting to us, when we get the key, and are brought into sympathy with the heart of Him who finds infinite satisfaction in each gift, of each one of His children, which is the outcome of gratitude and love. ”

“ We have often walked in the field in the early morning, and have noticed how the rising sun has turned each dewdrop into a glittering gem; one ray of its own bright light makes a little sun of each of the million drops that hang from the pendent leaflets and sparkle everywhere. ”

“ He is indeed a wonderful Saviour! What light the incarnate Word of God (Who is Light) has thrown on the written Word of God! The law in its legal requirements He has fulfilled, bringing in everlasting righteousness, which is imputed to all those who are indeed in Him. He has also fulfilled the Law in its manifold typical aspects, Himself the Temple, the Priest, and the Sacrifice; Himself the Altar, the Offerer, and the Victim ”

“ The Sin-Offering and The Peace-Offering The sin-offering, as its name indicates, recognized the offerer as guilty and defiled, but obtaining forgiveness and cleansing through the death of the victim in his stead. We see Christ as our sin-offering in Isaiah 53:4-10. But guilt removed still leaves the believer needing the imputed righteousness of Christ, and acceptance before God, which are the aspects of Christ’s death foreshadowed, as we have seen by the burnt-offering. ”

“ The Son of God is the Kinsman who has the right to redeem, the Friend who sticketh closer than a brother, the One who has come, not only to be the Light of the world, but in an especial sense to be the Light of His own redeemed ones. ”

“ What conclusions do our brothers, sisters, children, friends draw from our lives? Our true self-denial, self emptying, and giving for Christ’s cause practically show our real estimate of the value of the Cross of Christ, our real love for the Christ who was crucified for us. ”

“ It may be that we have separated ourselves to carry out our own will, or thought, or plan of service, instead of surrendering ourselves and our will, to learn and to do His will. But it is real consecration to God that puts us into the position in which He can pour out His richest blessings upon us. ”

“ Has wrong been done, and restitution to the extent of our ability not been made? Is there any matter in which God has a controversy with us? Or are we indulging ourselves in anything about which we have doubt? Are we withholding anything from God which is His due? ”