‘David sent messengers and took her . . . he lay with her.’ – 2 Samuel 11:4.
When Israel clamored for a king, Yahweh relented and gave them Saul, but after Saul’s disobedience, God promised another king after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). When Paul the apostle was addressing the Jews at Pisidian Antioch, reviewing the salvation history of Israel, he referred to David as a man after God’s own heart, one who would do His will (Acts 13:22). So, how could a man after God’s own heart, who wrote these marvelous Psalms, who expressed a profound depth of holiness and zeal (Psalm 22, 47, 63), fall into the grievous sin of adultery and then exacerbate the problem by having his adulteress’s husband murdered? The answer-David ran nine red lights God had graciously put before him.

Red light number one. Israel was in the midst of war with the nation of Ammon when the Arameans sided with Ammon against Israel. David gathered his army and crossed the Jordan River at Helam and routed the Arameans (2 Samuel 10:15-19). The Ammonites had not yet been conquered so the war continued, but David was not there in the war theater. It was the spring of the year, after the rains, when the roads are dry, that armies would typically move out of camp and face their enemies. David stayed home. He sent Joab to conquer the Ammonites (2 Samuel 11:1). In other words, David was neglecting his kingly responsibilities. Take away-stay in the fight. Stay busy. Idle time in hotels, coffee shops, or restaurants are breeding grounds for licentious behavior.

Red light number two. ‘Now when evening came, David rose from his bed,’ (2 Samuel 11:2). What? Why is David in bed at 6 p.m.? Why is he not managing his kingdom, meeting with his key men? Answer-because David is the king and he can do whatever he pleases. If he wants to slack off his work routine, no problem. He knows the peace and prosperity of the kingdom is due to his able leadership (apparently he has forgotten that all he has and is is from God’s benevolent hand). Take away-Get up early. Never sleep past 6 a.m. Do the hard and most important tasks first. Never be enamored with your position, money, or power. It can vanish quickly like the frost at noon day.
Red light number three. David walked around on the roof of his house. Is it too much to imagine that due to the height of a king’s palace, towering over other nearby buildings, that David had observed lurid scenes before? Again, David has too much time on his hands. He reminds me of prideful Nebuchadnezzar who is walking around on the roof of his palace and sees the vast city he has constructed and congratulates himself on his mighty accomplishments (Daniel 4:28-33). He suffers insanity for a season, as a consequence. Maybe David was looking for something. Maybe he had seen Bathsheba before. Take away-eschew pride. Resist it. Run from it. Resist also the fleshly impulse to look for the other woman at work, lingering at the break room, hanging out at her office, taking her to lunch or for a cup of coffee. Eschew brazen pride. It is a killer of men, their wives, and their children.

Red light number four. David saw a woman bathing. He also noticed that she was beautiful. It is one thing to see a beautiful woman and re-direct your eyes to the task at hand.. It is another thing to linger with your look. Take away-a lingering, lustful look may very well be what catapults you into the bed of destruction.

Red light number five. David sent for her. He could do that because he was the king, and people do what the king commands them to do. He saw her, lusted after her, and sent for her. Take away-all the prayer and praise, all the writing of the Psalms were no match for the pride of the king. He was going to do exactly what he wanted to do. All your Bible reading, all your prayer, all your meetings, all your profound and moving times with God are no match for your lust if you keep running red lights.

Red light number six. David was told that the woman is Bathsheba, the wife of another man, and by the way, not merely the wife of any man, but the wife of one of David’s mighty men (2 Samuel 23:39) Talk about treachery! At the very least, since Bathsheba was married to such a humble faithful servant of the king, surely David should have backed off. Take away-the more red lights you run, the easier it becomes to run the next one. You just don’t consider, at this point, that you are running rapidly to rapacious disaster.

Red light number seven. David sent messengers. He had already done that once. He sent them again. This time, however, it was not to inquire but to take. While they were on their way, David had a few minutes to think about what he was planning to do. He could have stopped. He could have contemplated how this would destroy his family and credibility in the kingdom, but after running seven red lights, he is gaining speed toward destruction. Take away-unchecked lustful passion will overpower sound thinking every time.
Red light number eight. She came to him. There was still time to call it off. Yes, there was this beautiful young woman, whom he had just seen naked, one for whom he was lusting mightily, but he could still have walked away, sent her home without touching her. Take away-men who commit adultery are like sheep being led to the slaughter. They may be powerful men in business, church, or government but they can be woefully weak in the presence of a beautiful woman.

Red light number nine. He lay with her. He did it. He committed adultery and now everything will change for David, Bathsheba, their respective families, and the kingdom. Take away-you never sin in a vacuum. Libertarianism is not the real world. Your actions do matter to your nation, community, church, and most of all, to your family. How many children have been emotionally and spiritually traumatized by the sexual sin of their parents.

Are you too close to someone other than your spouse? Run for your life. Flee to Jesus. Ask Him for mercy. Don’t be a fool. I promise you, you will regret your actions for the rest of your life. Can you be forgiven? Of course you can, and some of you have fallen into this sin and you know you are forgiven, been restored to your loving Saviour. But the consequences remain. They will never leave you in this life. Don’t go there.
– Al Baker

The gospel of Jesus Christ is clearly the message of the entire Bible. Any honest reader of Scripture, who has a basic understanding of God’s Word recognizes that Christ is the focus of the Bible, and the gospel itself, the good news of what God has done in Christ for sinful men, is the only remedy for a lost world. But the gospel and its implications to all of life have often been used only evangelistically. The church has often failed to see the many applications of the gospel to the Christian in all areas of life and growth. The truth is that the gospel is the basis of everything in the Christian’s life. We must be “gospelized”– gospel-centered, gospel-focused, and making the gospel the central reality in all our living.

There are various applications of the gospel relative to the ministry, such as the worship life of the church. Christ himself must be the focus in our singing, prayers, and in all preaching and teaching. Any church that departs from keeping the gospel central in its ministry, that ministry will cease being effective. There are also other areas where the church must remain gospel-centered, such as missions, social work, personal evangelism, and our relationship with government and society. But I want to focus here on a more specific and narrow application of the gospel, that being the pastoral counseling and shepherding of those who lack or struggle with assurance of salvation.

The doctrine of assurance is greatly neglected in our day, in terms of both understanding it biblically and in gospel preaching. We do not have time here to address the issue of assurance more deeply, only to say that Christians and Christian leaders must make a distinction between a person’s possession of salvation and the possession of assurance. These two things are not the same. One does not always follow the other. There are people who are converted and who possesses assurance of their salvation, and there are people who are converted who have very little assurance, and in some cases, no assurance.

What is the answer and the means of helping them? There are various issues involved relative to assurance, but at the heart of the issue is the gospel itself and our believing it. I would argue that a clear understanding of the doctrinal truth of the gospel and a person’s acceptance with God through Christ is the only certain remedy for a lack of assurance. This has great implications for effective pastoring counseling. This is often neglected or forgotten, but may be the most important issue in pastoral counseling. Here’s why.

When a pastor deals regularly with a person who lacks assurance, what is he to point them to? Here is a man or woman who makes a clear profession of faith in Christ, is consistent in worship, has a tender heart, loves the preaching of the truth, and loves to be with other Christians, but they cannot gain personal assurance. What will help them the most? When they pour out their heart to you, desiring guidance and counsel, where do you take them? Do we have them focus on their own struggle and inward need, to get them to analyze their condition? Or do you take them to the cross, outside of themselves, to freshly see what Another One has done perfectly for them? This, and this alone, is where they can find assurance—the gospel.

The battle for assurance is one of the most significant battles Christians often face. One of the hardest trials any Christian can go through is to have little or no assurance of salvation. It is also one of the most challenging areas of pastoral counseling. The difficulty is what approach to take in trying to help such a person without trying to give them assurance yourself. They may have inconsistent assurance, little assurance, or no assurance. The reason for the lack of assurance is also often very difficult to discern—are they living in some unconfessed sin? Are they just battling besetting sins and are being condemned by the devil or by themselves? Are they laboring under unbelief that they are not good enough for God to love them? Are they basing their acceptance with God on their works or their performance? Are they physically or emotionally exhausted, chemically deficient, or battling physical sickness? Or the greater question may be, have they ever been truly converted at all?

There are many reasons that can be the root cause of the lack of assurance. It is, at times in some cases, virtually impossible to know the root cause. For one person, it may be purely spiritual reason and another person’s struggle may be completely different. A prolonged experience of no assurance is one of the most discouraging and difficult experiences a true believer can go through. I have often said that, in some ways, it would be much easier to face a physical sickness than to be a true Christian who lives with the agony of having little or no assurance of their acceptance with God, feeling or believing that God doesn’t love them.

Pastorally, here is what often happens with such persons. Picture such a person coming over and over again to their pastor or elder. One day, they come and say, “I need to talk to you; I just don’t think I am saved.” Discussion begins and then ends. The next week it happens again: “I know what you said is true, but I have no feelings about God being with me or loving me.” And the statements continue in different ways, even for months.

“How can I know Christ died for me?”

“What if I only think I’m saved and I deceive myself and go to hell?”

“What if I did not have pure motives when I thought I believed in Christ, and I was a false convert?”

“What if I come to Christ and he won’t receive me?”

“I regret so much the horrible things I’ve done in the past; I can’t get over it and it haunts me so much; how could God ever forgive such bad things?”

“I don’t really think I repented deeply enough for God to save me.”

“I have tried to come to Jesus, but it doesn’t seem like I can get saved.”

“I don’t know if I have truly believed or not.”

“Won’t I feel any different when God really saves me?”

“If I was truly a Christian, I don’t think I would doubt God’s love for me.”

On and on it goes. How do you counsel such a person? It can drive a pastor to discouragement if he is trying to find some new or innovative thought or way to give help to such people. Over the years, I have found there is only one truth such people must be brought back to, and that is the death of Christ for them and his free offer of salvation to them. Regardless of their questions, doubts, or struggle, the issue is always the same—will they believe that Christ died for them, and will they come to him, and in coming, will they believe he receives them freely? Christ is freely offered to them in the gospel, and they are invited and commanded to come to him without delay and without excuse. This is the gospel’s answer to a lack of assurance. The objective redemptive work of Christ is the only basis of assurance. They will never gain assurance by looking within themselves; in fact, that often is the cause of the lack of assurance in many people.

The gospel is always the answer in the battle with assurance. It can boil down often to one of several causes: 1) they are yielding to specific sins that are robbing them of assurance; 2) they are trying to be accepted by God on the basis of their own works or performance; 3) they have a physical, psychological, or chemical imbalance illness that is the root of their spiritual struggle; 4) they are in pure unbelief, not believing that God has forgiven their sins; 5) they are not a believer at all, and will not have assurance until they come to Christ.

In such cases, the person should see a doctor and get a full physical exam to eliminate the possibility of a physical problem. Spiritual struggles can be rooted in physical problems. But once that is dealt with, the answer is always the gospel.

If a person is a believer, it is the gospel they need to be reminded of. They do not need to be told to look inside their own hearts; they do not need to be convinced by a sincere friend that they are a Christian; they do not need to rack their minds to find out where they are wrong, etc; the propensity toward introspection for a weak-minded believer who cannot gain assurance is very real, and no one facing this battle should be directed to look inward to find relief.

The only answer is to direct the struggling soul, over and over again, to the objective unchanging standard of Christ and what he has done for sinners. If a person is condemned for their sins, if a person believes God could not love them, if a person is convinced God is willing to save anyone except them, if a person is convinced they have committed the unpardonable sin—the only reply to any of those scenarios is to set before them the perfect work of Christ on their behalf that makes and keeps us right with God.

It is only in believing the gospel that they will gain peace and assurance. If they are a true believer, but are yielding to specific sins, the gospel is also the answer. They must see that Christ died for those sins, and the sins are robbing them of their relationship with the Lord and robbing them of assurance. If they are trying to gain assurance based on their works, performance and goodness, then the answer is the same. Nothing can make us accepted by God except the gospel. The perfect atoning work of Christ is the only basis of our acceptance with God. This is why at times the best thing a person could do who lacks assurance is to take a deep and long look at the doctrine of justification by faith, and the doctrine of the death of Christ in the place of sinners.

This is the wisest path and approach to take for pastors in helping weak saints with their battle for assurance. We cannot tell them they are saved, we cannot simply give them assurance because it won’t last, and we cannot somehow talk them into a logical gaining of assurance. The gospel itself must become very clear in their minds, and only the Holy Spirit can apply it. So in pastoring people who lack assurance, pastors need to be a broken record. We have one and only one message to doubters. If they are lost, the gospel is the answer; if they are a believer, the gospel is still the answer. Point them to flee to the Savior and believe the work he did for them. The gospel itself is the greatest tool in pastoring the doubting Christian. This, and this alone, can bring peace to the doubting soul.

– Mack Tomlinson

The gospel of Jesus Christ is clearly the message of the entire Bible. Any honest reader of Scripture, who has a basic understanding of God’s Word recognizes that Christ is the focus of the Bible, and the gospel itself, the good news of what God has done in Christ for sinful men, is the only remedy for a lost world. But the gospel and its implications to all of life have often been used only evangelistically. The church has often failed to see the many applications of the gospel to the Christian in all areas of life and growth. The truth is that the gospel is the basis of everything in the Christian’s life. We must be “gospelized”– gospel-centered, gospel-focused, and making the gospel the central reality in all our living.

There are various applications of the gospel relative to the ministry, such as the worship life of the church. Christ himself must be the focus in our singing, prayers, and in all preaching and teaching. Any church that departs from keeping the gospel central in its ministry, that ministry will cease being effective. There are also other areas where the church must remain gospel-centered, such as missions, social work, personal evangelism, and our relationship with government and society. But I want to focus here on a more specific and narrow application of the gospel, that being the pastoral counseling and shepherding of those who lack or struggle with assurance of salvation.

The doctrine of assurance is greatly neglected in our day, in terms of both understanding it biblically and in gospel preaching. We do not have time here to address the issue of assurance more deeply, only to say that Christians and Christian leaders must make a distinction between a person’s possession of salvation and the possession of assurance. These two things are not the same. One does not always follow the other. There are people who are converted and who possesses assurance of their salvation, and there are people who are converted who have very little assurance, and in some cases, no assurance.

What is the answer and the means of helping them? There are various issues involved relative to assurance, but at the heart of the issue is the gospel itself and our believing it. I would argue that a clear understanding of the doctrinal truth of the gospel and a person’s acceptance with God through Christ is the only certain remedy for a lack of assurance. This has great implications for effective pastoring counseling. This is often neglected or forgotten, but may be the most important issue in pastoral counseling. Here’s why.

When a pastor deals regularly with a person who lacks assurance, what is he to point them to? Here is a man or woman who makes a clear profession of faith in Christ, is consistent in worship, has a tender heart, loves the preaching of the truth, and loves to be with other Christians, but they cannot gain personal assurance. What will help them the most? When they pour out their heart to you, desiring guidance and counsel, where do you take them? Do we have them focus on their own struggle and inward need, to get them to analyze their condition? Or do you take them to the cross, outside of themselves, to freshly see what Another One has done perfectly for them? This, and this alone, is where they can find assurance—the gospel.

The battle for assurance is one of the most significant battles Christians often face. One of the hardest trials any Christian can go through is to have little or no assurance of salvation. It is also one of the most challenging areas of pastoral counseling. The difficulty is what approach to take in trying to help such a person without trying to give them assurance yourself. They may have inconsistent assurance, little assurance, or no assurance. The reason for the lack of assurance is also often very difficult to discern—are they living in some unconfessed sin? Are they just battling besetting sins and are being condemned by the devil or by themselves? Are they laboring under unbelief that they are not good enough for God to love them? Are they basing their acceptance with God on their works or their performance? Are they physically or emotionally exhausted, chemically deficient, or battling physical sickness? Or the greater question may be, have they ever been truly converted at all?

There are many reasons that can be the root cause of the lack of assurance. It is, at times in some cases, virtually impossible to know the root cause. For one person, it may be purely spiritual reason and another person’s struggle may be completely different. A prolonged experience of no assurance is one of the most discouraging and difficult experiences a true believer can go through. I have often said that, in some ways, it would be much easier to face a physical sickness than to be a true Christian who lives with the agony of having little or no assurance of their acceptance with God, feeling or believing that God doesn’t love them.

Pastorally, here is what often happens with such persons. Picture such a person coming over and over again to their pastor or elder. One day, they come and say, “I need to talk to you; I just don’t think I am saved.” Discussion begins and then ends. The next week it happens again: “I know what you said is true, but I have no feelings about God being with me or loving me.” And the statements continue in different ways, even for months.

“How can I know Christ died for me?”

“What if I only think I’m saved and I deceive myself and go to hell?”

“What if I did not have pure motives when I thought I believed in Christ, and I was a false convert?”

“What if I come to Christ and he won’t receive me?”

“I regret so much the horrible things I’ve done in the past; I can’t get over it and it haunts me so much; how could God ever forgive such bad things?”

“I don’t really think I repented deeply enough for God to save me.”

“I have tried to come to Jesus, but it doesn’t seem like I can get saved.”

“I don’t know if I have truly believed or not.”

“Won’t I feel any different when God really saves me?”

“If I was truly a Christian, I don’t think I would doubt God’s love for me.”

On and on it goes. How do you counsel such a person? It can drive a pastor to discouragement if he is trying to find some new or innovative thought or way to give help to such people. Over the years, I have found there is only one truth such people must be brought back to, and that is the death of Christ for them and his free offer of salvation to them. Regardless of their questions, doubts, or struggle, the issue is always the same—will they believe that Christ died for them, and will they come to him, and in coming, will they believe he receives them freely? Christ is freely offered to them in the gospel, and they are invited and commanded to come to him without delay and without excuse. This is the gospel’s answer to a lack of assurance. The objective redemptive work of Christ is the only basis of assurance. They will never gain assurance by looking within themselves; in fact, that often is the cause of the lack of assurance in many people.

The gospel is always the answer in the battle with assurance. It can boil down often to one of several causes: 1) they are yielding to specific sins that are robbing them of assurance; 2) they are trying to be accepted by God on the basis of their own works or performance; 3) they have a physical, psychological, or chemical imbalance illness that is the root of their spiritual struggle; 4) they are in pure unbelief, not believing that God has forgiven their sins; 5) they are not a believer at all, and will not have assurance until they come to Christ.

In such cases, the person should see a doctor and get a full physical exam to eliminate the possibility of a physical problem. Spiritual struggles can be rooted in physical problems. But once that is dealt with, the answer is always the gospel.

If a person is a believer, it is the gospel they need to be reminded of. They do not need to be told to look inside their own hearts; they do not need to be convinced by a sincere friend that they are a Christian; they do not need to rack their minds to find out where they are wrong, etc; the propensity toward introspection for a weak-minded believer who cannot gain assurance is very real, and no one facing this battle should be directed to look inward to find relief.

The only answer is to direct the struggling soul, over and over again, to the objective unchanging standard of Christ and what he has done for sinners. If a person is condemned for their sins, if a person believes God could not love them, if a person is convinced God is willing to save anyone except them, if a person is convinced they have committed the unpardonable sin—the only reply to any of those scenarios is to set before them the perfect work of Christ on their behalf that makes and keeps us right with God.

It is only in believing the gospel that they will gain peace and assurance. If they are a true believer, but are yielding to specific sins, the gospel is also the answer. They must see that Christ died for those sins, and the sins are robbing them of their relationship with the Lord and robbing them of assurance. If they are trying to gain assurance based on their works, performance and goodness, then the answer is the same. Nothing can make us accepted by God except the gospel. The perfect atoning work of Christ is the only basis of our acceptance with God. This is why at times the best thing a person could do who lacks assurance is to take a deep and long look at the doctrine of justification by faith, and the doctrine of the death of Christ in the place of sinners.

This is the wisest path and approach to take for pastors in helping weak saints with their battle for assurance. We cannot tell them they are saved, we cannot simply give them assurance because it won’t last, and we cannot somehow talk them into a logical gaining of assurance. The gospel itself must become very clear in their minds, and only the Holy Spirit can apply it. So in pastoring people who lack assurance, pastors need to be a broken record. We have one and only one message to doubters. If they are lost, the gospel is the answer; if they are a believer, the gospel is still the answer. Point them to flee to the Savior and believe the work he did for them. The gospel itself is the greatest tool in pastoring the doubting Christian. This, and this alone, can bring peace to the doubting soul.

– Mack Tomlinson

Prayer is not just receiving things from God, that is the most initial
stage; true prayer is getting into perfect communion with God
– Oswald Chambers

The devil is not terribly frightened of our human efforts and
credentials. But he knows his kingdom will be damaged when we
begin to lift up our hearts to God.
– Jim Cymbala

The prayer that sparks revival begins long before the countryside
seems to awaken from its slumber in sin. It starts when men fall
on their knees and cry out to God. That’s where true intimacy
with God takes place and we begin the journey of being
transformed into the image of Christ. And as men are transformed,
the course of a nation can be changed.
– Wellington Boone

I am perfectly confident that the man who does not spend hours
alone with God will never know the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
– Oswald J. Smith

Prayer is not just receiving things from God, that is the most initial
stage; true prayer is getting into perfect communion with God
– Oswald Chambers

The devil is not terribly frightened of our human efforts and
credentials. But he knows his kingdom will be damaged when we
begin to lift up our hearts to God.
– Jim Cymbala

The prayer that sparks revival begins long before the countryside
seems to awaken from its slumber in sin. It starts when men fall
on their knees and cry out to God. That’s where true intimacy
with God takes place and we begin the journey of being
transformed into the image of Christ. And as men are transformed,
the course of a nation can be changed.
– Wellington Boone

I am perfectly confident that the man who does not spend hours
alone with God will never know the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
– Oswald J. Smith

Some special specific verses that have been life-giving to me in recent weeks; apply them to your life and situation.

Jer. 2:2 – “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, and how you followed me in the wilderness.” This is the Lord speaking to His people regarding their past love and devotion, and how they followed Him in the past; as I read this, I was stirred to remember the early days of my Christian walk, and how fresh and real it was; I prayed this verse as I read it recently, asking the Lord to give me that newness again.

Jer. 2:8 – “Those who handle the law did not know me.” One of the great problems in the American church is simply this–preachers and pastors don’t know God, either at all or in any deep way; many are either lost or are so shallow, they don’t even know what it truly means to truly know God.

Jer. 2:17 – “Have you not brought this upon yourself by forsaking the Lord your God?” Concerning any nation, when a nation declines and is being destroyed by disasters, major issues, and severe problems, the fact is, God is turning that nation over to its sin and allowing more severe judgment to occur; even our Republication presidential candidate recently was asked if he had ever asked God for personal forgiveness, to which, he replied, “I don’t think I have ever needed to ask forgiveness for anything.” To that, Jer. 2:35 speaks: “Behold, I will bring you to judgment for saying, ‘I have not sinned.’ Whether DT was saying he had never sinned, I don’t know, but his was a pagan answer, at best.

Again, Jer. 5:24-25: “They do not say in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives autumn and spring rain . . . your iniquities have turned these away, and your sins have deprived you of good.”

Jer. 14:8, Jeremiah’s view of God and name for God- “O You hope of Israel, its Savior in time of trouble.” He has always been, and will always be, the Savior of His people in times of trouble.

Jer. 15:16 is wonderful– “Your words were found and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.” This is our need and provision, to eat His words and find them give us fresh joy and delight.

– Mack T.

For those wanting to participate by live-streaming the conference, more info can be found on the conference generally at
www.fellowshipconferencenewengland.com

All sessions Eastern Standard Time

Schedule of sessions

Thursday
Session 1 – 2:30 pm
Session 2 – 5:45 pm
Session 3- 7:15 pm

Friday
Session 4 – 9:30 am
Session 5 – 11:15 am
Session 6 – 6:30 pm

Saturday
Session 7 – 8:30 am
Session 8 – 10:15 am
Session 9 – 1:30 pm

Here is the link

livestream.com
http://livestream.com/accounts/20855352/events/6057440

you will have to sign in with your email to watch, but those emails won’t be used for anything else except this access;

Text either number below with questions if it doesn’t work
Josh at 207 595 8728
or
Darius 708 574 2846

Hope you can enjoy some of the conference;

Mack T.

Daily Thoughts: The Power of the Holy Spirit in Portland, Maine

Although Edward Payson (1783-1827) is largely forgotten today, he was well-known in the first half of the 19th century. According to Iain Murray, Payson’s biography by Asa Cummings “was probably the most influential ministerial biography to appear in the United States in the first half of the 19th century.” His influence was so large that thousands of 19th-century parents named their children after him.

Payson pastored for twenty years in Portland, Maine. During his ministry, he had a remarkable prayer life, praying hours daily, and preached with great reality and power. Payton saw 5 different periods of spiritual awakening, between 1807, his first year there, until his final year in 1827.

Known as Praying Payson of Portland, he would not have liked such a title, but his reputation spread widely as a man who spent hours in private prayer and communion with God. Archibald Alexander, one of the pre-imment leaders of revival in New England, said in 1844 that “no man in our country has left behind him a higher character for eminent godliness than Edward Payson.”

Payson was a pastor during seasons of revival. In 1813 he spoke of “never having seen so much of God’s power displayed at one time.” He wrote his mother the next year, as he traveled home to Portland, describing God’s power in a period of revival: “I came home thoroughly drenched by the shower of divine influences, which began to fall; I soon found, upon returning home, that the cloud had followed me, and was beginning to pour itself down upon my people; we appointed a season of thanksgiving, and a blessing seemed to follow it. I then invited a number of young men to our house for a meeting; I expected twenty at the most, but the first evening, forty came, then sixty, and finally seventy came. About thirty of these are seriously inquiring about salvation, and there is a real appearance that the work is spreading. Meanwhile, I am rejoicing and astonished to see what God is doing, so that I can scarcely get an hour’s sleep.”

Payton later wrote on April 1, 1816: “Our revival still lingers, and even increases slowly. I have conversed with about forty persons who are entertaining hopes of their conversion and with sixty others who are inquiring about their salvation. Twenty-three souls have been added to the church since the year’s beginning, and the work is evidently not over. There is also quite a revival at Bath, south of us here. Nearly two hundred apparently have been awakened there. Seventy-one persons were converted and added to a church at one time recently. In New York and Baltimore, there are also revivals occurring.

Such seasons of spiritual quickening in Portland continued in future years, later again in 1816, 1822, and in 1827, the final year of Payson’s life.

Such divine visitations of reviving grace in Christ’s church have come in the history of New England and in various parts of our country. New England, as well as every state in our country, is greatly in need of such a work of grace again. The God of Edward Payson still lives in Portland and is being sought again there in a serious way across New England, so pray for His work there, and use this encouragement to pray for God to revive His work in the midst of the years where you are. Our national election this fall will mean nothing for our future if God does not do a new work.

– Mack Tomlinson

Ryle believed that pastors must take time to sit at the firesides in the homes of the people, hear their thoughts, and speak faithfully about the things of God. He believed that a man who only speaks of Christ from behind a pulpit should not be surprised at having small usefulness. Real love for people will take a preacher into their homes, and will affect the way those same people hear him in public.

Ryle said that the objective of the Christian historian is “to see and trace the goodness of God taking care of His church in every age by His providence.”

Ryle’s ministry exposed deeply the error of many Anglicans and the official position of Roman Catholicism of what happened to infants when they are baptized by the priest– “Before administering baptism to children, the priest shall say . . . . Almighty and immortal God, we call upon thee for these infants, that they, coming to thy holy baptism, may receive the remission of their sins by spiritual regeneration.” In conclusion, the congregation is assured that the prayer has been answered, “It hath pleased Thee to regenerate this infant.” (Edwardian Prayer Book, revised 1559 and 1662). The Catholic Catechism of 1559 asserts, “It is certain by God’s word, that children, being baptized, have all things necessary for their salvation, and will be undoubtedly saved.” In answer to the first questions in that catechism, “What is your name?” and “Who gave you this name?”, the answer is, “My Godfathers and Godmothers in my baptism, wherein I was made a member of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven.” These words all convey one impression: the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration takes place at the child’s baptism. – Iain Murray

Spurgeon on J. C. Ryle — In writing a review on Ryle’s book, Practical Religion, the Baptist preacher wrote–“Little more needs to be said of this volume, than that it sustains the author’s well-earned reputation for evangelical simplicity and power. With all her faults, he loves the Church of England still, but he loves the souls of men much more, and most of all, he love the gospel of their salvation. This is a gospel to be loved. Men’s ideas of the wrath to come may be judged by the earnestness with which they exhort others to flee from it.

Ryle- How many go to church merely as a formal practice. How few are really in earnest about the salvation of their souls! Go to the most godly and orderly parish in our land at this moment. Ask any well-informed child of God living there how many true Christians it contains, and what is the proportion of the converted to the unconverted. Mark well the answer he gives. I doubt if you will find a parish in Great Britain where even one third of the people are converted. [Today in Britain and America it’s much, much lower.]

– Iain Murray and Mack Tomlinson