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AMEN KAYAK AND AMEN ALL!

GRACE TO ALL BRETHREN!

O Supreme Moving Cause,

May I always be subordinate to thee,

be dependent upon thee,

be found in the path where thou dost walk,

and where thy Spirit moves,

take heed of estrangement from thee,

of becoming insensible to thy love.

Thou dost not move men like stones,

but dost endue them with life,

not to enable them to move without thee,

but in submission to thee, the first mover.

O Lord, I am astonished at the difference

between my receivings and my deservings,

between the state I am now in and my past

gracelessness,

between the heaven I am bound for and

the hell I merit.

Who made me to differ, but thee?

for I was no more ready to receive Christ

than were others;

I could not have begun to love thee hadst thou not

first loved me,

or been willing unless thou hadst first made me so.

O that such a crown should fit the head of such

a sinner!

such high advancement be for an unfruitful

person!

such joys for so vile a rebel!

Infinite wisdom cast the design of salvation

into the mould of purchase and freedom;

Let wrath deserved be written on the door of hell,

But the free gift of grace on the gate of heaven.

I know that my sufferings are the result of my

sinning,

but in heaven both shall cease;

Grant me to attain this haven and be done

with sailing,

and may the gales of thy mercy blow me safely

into harbour.

Let thy love draw me nearer to thyself,

wean me from sin, mortify me to this world,

and make me ready for my departure hence.

Secure me by thy grace as I sail across this

stormy sea.

A PURITANS PRAYER!

"Afterward."
- Hebrews 12:11

How happy are tried Christians, afterwards. No calm more deep than that
which succeeds a storm. Who has not rejoiced in clear shinings after rain?
Victorious banquets are for well-exercised soldiers. After killing the
lion we eat the honey; after climbing the Hill Difficulty, we sit down in
the arbour to rest; after traversing the Valley of Humiliation, after
fighting with Apollyon, the shining one appears, with the healing branch
from the tree of life. Our sorrows, like the passing keels of the vessels
upon the sea, leave a silver line of holy light behind them "afterwards."
It is peace, sweet, deep peace, which follows the horrible turmoil which
once reigned in our tormented, guilty souls. See, then, the happy estate
of a Christian! He has his best things last, and he therefore in this
world receives his worst things first. But even his worst things are
"afterward" good things, harsh ploughings yielding joyful harvests.
Even now he grows rich by his losses, he rises by his falls, he lives by
dying, and becomes full by being emptied; if, then, his grievous
afflictions yield him so much peaceable fruit in this life, what shall be
the full vintage of joy "afterwards" in heaven? If his dark nights are as
bright as the world's days, what shall his days be? If even his starlight
is more splendid than the sun, what must his sunlight be? If he can sing
in a dungeon, how sweetly will he sing in heaven! If he can praise the
Lord in the fires, how will he extol him before the eternal throne! If
evil be good to him now, what will the overflowing goodness of God be to
him then? Oh, blessed "afterward!" Who would not be a Christian? Who would
not bear the present cross for the crown which cometh afterwards? But
herein is work for patience, for the rest is not for to-day, nor the
triumph for the present, but "afterward.
" Wait, O soul, and let patience have her perfect work.

C.H.SPURGEON

SOLI DEO GLORIA!