Giants used to roam the earth- men who sought God through Christ while depending on the Spirit. Men who preached and wrote and sung and talked and worked and lived and cared and shepherded all by God’s grace and for His glory. These men were Atlases on which the church world was suspended. Men that God used mightily in converting multitudes, reviving churches, leading nations, calling for repentance and faith in Christ, shining brightly in and through dark ages, and preparing the next generation to honor and serve God and man. These men formed a legacy that is still being felt today. We are here now because of what these men did then. God providentially brought about whatever has come to pass. Our amazing God uses base men to fulfill his plans.
An accurate estimation of the worth of a man is seen in how he views himself through the eyes of God. These men that I am speaking of saw themselves as nothing. They were weak, corrupt, rebellious, prideful, wicked, and debauched creatures. What set them apart was God and his grace and power being worked out in their lives with God’s purposes in mind. Their focus and driving force was the glory of God and God’s glory being reveled in. Sinful men used by God; let that sink in. What a privilege we have as the elect of God. He uses us! We are so weak and worthless but in him we are strong. We remain worthless, but that doesn’t matter- Christ is worthy. We would lose all to gain him. And by gaining Christ, we gain everything. He is our all.
-The Westminster Confession of Faith 2:1
“There is but one only, living, and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body parts, or passions; immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute; working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will, for His own glory; most loving, gracious, merciful, longsuffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him; and withal, most just, and terrible in His judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty.”
-“The universe is a bright mirror wherein the wisdom of God may be clearly be seen” [Thomas Boston, Of God and His Perfections]
-Thomas Brooks on seeking God, “God hath in himself all the good of angels, of men, and universal nature; he hath all glories, all dignities, all riches, all treasures, all pleasures, all comforts, all delights, all joys, all beatitudes. God is that one infinite perfection in himself, which is eminently and virtually all perfections of the creatures, and therefore he is firstly to be sought.” [Apples of God]
-Augustus Toplady on faith, “Faith is the eye of the soul, and the Holy Spirit’s influence is the light by which it sees.” [Observations and Reflections]
-Thomas Watson on sin, “The evil of sin is not so much seen in that one thousand are damned for it, as that Christ died for it.” [Body of Divinity]
-John Piper on preaching, “God planned for his Son to be crucified... and for hell to be terrible... so that we would have the clearest witness possible to what is at stake when we preach. What gives preaching its seriousness is that the mantle of the preacher is soaked with the blood of Jesus and singed with the fire of hell,” [Preaching as Expository Exultation for the Glory of God]
-John Calvin on salvation, “condemned, dead, and lost in ourselves, we should seek righteousness, liberation, life, and salvation in him [Jesus].” [Institutes 2.16.1]
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