Help Me To Be Thankful Always

A Psalm or Song for the sabbath day.

“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High.” (Psalm 92.1)

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

(I Thessalonians 5.18)

“Is any merry, let him sing psalms.” (James 5.13b) 

What return shall I make to my ever-blessed Redeemer for all the favours he hath bestowed upon me? Help, I entreat you, help me to be thankful, and as you abound in prayer, abound in praises. I find my heart too backward to this divine exercise. I am ready enough to ask for mercies, but alas! how slow to return thanks! Indeed sometimes God touches me from above, and my heart, hard as it is, is melted down and quite overcome with the sense of his free grace in Christ Jesus towards me. But I want always to go on my way rejoicing; I want the heart of a seraphim;

 I want to sing as loud as they

Who shine above in endless day. 

I could almost say more than they, and why should I not return angelic thanks? But my heart is as yet unhumbled, I see not what I am, what I deserve, and therefore set not a due value on the divine mercies. Pray therefore, …, that I may receive my sight, that my eyes may be opened, and that seeing what God hath done for me, I may break out into songs of praise, and by such heart-transforming divine exercises be gradually trained up for eternal uninterrupted communion with that heavenly choir, who cease not chanting forth day and night hallelujahs to Him that sitteth upon the throne and to the Lamb for ever.

 – George Whitefield, Letter XXXIII (Jan. 25, 1738), George Whitefield’s Letters: For the Period 1734 to 1742, pp. 35-36 

The whole life of a Christian should be nothing but praises and thanks to God. We should neither eat, nor drink, nor sleep, but eat to God, and sleep to God, and work to God, and talk to God; do all to his glory and praise. 

– Richard Sibbes, “Divine Meditations and Holy Contemplations,” in The Works of Richard Sibbes, Vol. 7, p. 185

What's in a Name?

George Whitfield:

I embrace the calvinistical scheme, not because Calvin, but Jesus Christ, I think,  has taught it to me. (Letter dated September 24, 1742)

Charles Spurgeon:

Did you say that such-and-such a thing is believed by you because you found it in Calvin's Institutes? I am a Calvinist, and a lover of that grand man's memory and doctrine; but I believe nothing merely because Calvin taught it, but because I have found his teaching in the Word of God. (Sermon number 2584 Metropolitan Tabernacle 44:517)

And I have my own private opinion that there is no such a thing as preaching Christ and him crucified, unless you preach what now-a-days is called Calvinism. I have my own ideas, and those I always state boldly. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel, if we do not preach justification by faith, without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in his dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering, love of Jehovah; nor do I think we can preach the gospel, unless we base it upon the peculiar redemption which Christ made for his elect and chosen people; nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called, and suffers the children of God to be burned in the fires of damnation after having believed. Such a gospel I abhor. The gospel of the Bible is not such a gospel as that. We preach Christ and him crucified in a different fashion, and to all gainsayers we reply, "We have not so learned Christ." (Sermon number 98 New Park Street Pulpit 1:100)

It is no novelty, then, that I am-preaching; no new doctrine. I love to proclaim these strong old doctrines, which are called by nickname Calvinism, but which are surely and verily the revealed truth of God as it is in Christ Jesus. By this truth I make a pilgrimage into the past, and as I go, I see father after father, confessor after confessor, martyr after martyr, standing up to shake hands with me. Were I a Pelagian, or a believer in the doctrine of free-will, I should have to walk for centuries all alone. Here and there a heretic of no very honorable character might rise up and call me brother. But taking these things to be the standard of my faith, I see the land of the ancients peopled with my brethren-I behold multitudes who confess the same as I do, and acknowledge that this is the religion of God?s own church. (Sermon on Election 1:551) 

Again, I must say, I am not defending certain brethren who have exaggerated Calvinism. I speak of Calvinism proper, not that which has run to seed, and outgrown its beauty and verdure. I speak of it as I find it in Calvin?s Institutes, and especially in his Expositions. I have read them carefully. I take not my views of Calvinism from common repute but from his books. Nor do I, in thus speaking, even vindicate Calvinism as if I cared for the name, but I mean that glorious system which teaches that salvation is of grace from first to last.  (Sermon number 385 Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit 7:554) 

The old truth that Calvin preached, that Augustine preached, that Paul preached, is the truth that I must preach to-day, or else be false to my conscience and my God. I cannot shape the truth; I know of no such thing as paring off the rough edges of a doctrine. John Knox's gospel is my gospel. That which thundered through Scotland must thunder through England again. (Defence of Calvinism) 

To me, Calvinism means the placing of the eternal God at the head of all things. (An All Round Ministry, p. 337)

Calvinism is the Gospel. (Sermons, Vol. 1, p. 50)

Calvinism did not spring from Calvin. We believe that it sprang from the great Founder of all truth. (Sermons, Vol. 7, p. 298)

I am not a Calvinist by choice, but because I cannot help it. (Sermons, Vol. 18, p. 692)

Robert L. Dabney:

We Presbyterians care very little about the name Calvinism. We are not ashamed of it; but we are not bound to it. Some opponents seem to harbor the ridiculous notion that this set of doctrines was the new invention of the Frenchman John Calvin. They would represent us as in this thing followers of him instead of followers of the Bible. This is a stupid historical error. John Calvin no more invented these doctrines than he invented this world which God had created six thousand years before. We believe that he was a very gifted, learned, and, in the main, godly man, who still had his faults. He found substantially this system of doctrines just where we find them, in the faithful study of the Bible, Where we see them taught by all the prophets, apostles, and the Messiah himself, from Genesis to Revelation.

Calvin also found the same doctrines handed down by the best, most learned, most godly, uninspired church fathers, as Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas, still running through the errors of popery. He wielded a wide influence over the Protestant churches; but the Westminster Assembly and the Presbyterian churches by no means adopted all Calvin's opinions. Like the Synod of Dort, we draw our doctrines, not from any mortal man or human philosophy, but from the Holy Ghost speaking in the Bible. Yet, we do find some inferior comfort in discovering these same doctrines of grace in the most learned and pious of all churches and ages; of the great fathers of Romanism, of Martin Luther, of Blaise Paschal, of the original Protestant churches, German, Swiss, French, Holland, English, and Scotch—and far the largest part of the real scriptural churches of our own day. (The Five Points of Calvinism)

The Voice of George Whitefield

Benjamin Franklin, though a Deist (Autobiography, p. 181: "I soon became a thorough Deist") and a high-ranking Freemason, was fond of attending the sermons of George Whitefield (who died 240 years this week, on September 30, 1770). He compared these auditory experiences to enjoying good music.

Autobiography, p. 191:

By hearing him often, I came to distinguish easily between sermons newly composed, and those which he had often preached in the course of his travels. His delivery of the latter was so improved by frequent repetition, that every accent, every emphasis, every modulation of voice, was so perfectly well turned and well placed, that, without being interested in the subject, one could not help being pleased with the discourse; a pleasure of much the same kind with that received from an excellent piece of music.

Whitefield was famous for preaching outdoors to large crowds of hearers. His voice was remarkable for its ability to carry and many testified of its range.

Edward M. Panosian, "George Whitefield: The Awakener," in Mark Sidwell, ed., Faith of Our Fathers: Scenes from Church History, p. 146:

That voice has been occasion for considerable wonder in the two centuries since it was last heard on earth. When preaching out of doors—which had become for him more the rule than the exception—Whitefield would position himself so that his voice could be carried downwind to reach the greatest number of hearers. That number was often recorded as more than twenty-thousand in the journals of eyewitnesses. They testify also that Whitefield’s voice could be heard more than a mile away.

But Franklin is his most famous earwitness, and with his acute mental faculties, he devised a method of ascertaining just how far Whitefield's voice could carry.

Autobiography, pp. 190-191:

The last time I saw Mr. Whitefield was in London, when he consulted me about his Orphan House concern, and his purpose of appropriating it to the establishment of a college.

He had a loud and clear voice, and articulated his words so perfectly, that he might be heard and understood at a great distance; especially as his auditors observed the most perfect silence. he preached one evening from the top of the Court House steps, and on the west side of Second Street, which crosses it at right angles. Both streets were filled with his hearers to a considerable distance. Being among the hindmost in Market Street, I had the curiosity to learn how far he could be heard, by retiring backwards down the street towards the river; and I found his voice distinct till I came near Front Street, when some noise in that street obscured it. Imagining then a semicircle, of which my distance should be the radius, and that it was filled with auditors, to each of whom I allowed two square feet, I computed that he might well be heard by more than thirty thousand. This reconciled to me the newspaper accounts of his having preached to the twenty-five thousand people in the fields, and to the history of generals haranguing whole armies, of which I had sometimes doubted.

Matthew Henry Commentary Challenge

Perhaps the most famous and beloved of any Reformed Bible commentary is that of Matthew Henry. Elsewhere, I have written about the background to its production. Today I write to encourage others to take up the "Matthew Henry Commentary Challenge." Prayerfully consider reading the whole of this devotional and practical commentary beginning at the first of the new year. That is what I plan to do, if the Lord wills.

David Bogue and James Bennett, History of the Dissenters, Vol. 3, pp. 17-18:

[George Whitefield] is said to have studied this book [Matthew Henry's commentary] literally on his knees, to have read it through four times, and to the end of his life, to have spoken of the author with the most profound veneration, ever calling him the great Mr. Henry.

There are many different editions: concise, abridged, study Bible and unabridged, single or multi-volume, online or hardcopy. The unabridged edition will, I think, provide the most spiritual benefit to the diligent student of God's Word, but I would encourage anyone who is willing to take up whichever edition is most feasible for them.

Philip Doddridge, Lectures on Preaching, in Works, Vol. 5, p. 474:

Henry is perhaps the only commentator so large that deserves to be entirely and attentively read through. -- The remarkable passages, I think, should be marked.

Other saints from the past have taken up and highly commended this exercise. To do so once in your life, if not more, I believe, will deepen one's understanding of the Word and provide the means for much rich meditation and spiritual fruit.

It is a challenge for many to read through the Bible in one year, let alone a large companion commentary. It is not a light thing to take up such a project, and perhaps some will do so only to discover that this project wasn't for them, or distractions will overtake them in their noble effort (it is worth pondering Luke 14.28 as you consider this challenge). Yet, I think there is benefit for all to be had here, whether or not one finishes (and I expect it to take more than a year, especially as one meditates upon this spiritual feast, which requires "digestion" not speed reading). I am not setting benchmarks or deadlines, but I do plan to post devotional gems as I read through the commentary, as well as encouragements along the way.

Letter from Charles Spurgeon to his son Charles, quoted in The Autobiography of Charles H. Spurgeon: 1856-1878, p. 296:

Read Matthew Henry right through, if you can, before you are married; for, after that event, I fear that Jacob may supplant him.

Join with me, if you, dear Reader, are willing, and take up your commentary on the whole Bible by Matthew Henry, and begin reading it daily starting on January 1, 2010.

May God richly bless our studies of his Word and this devotional commentary.

From Prison to Palace

When brought very low by this world's trials and tribulations, what a comfort it is to consider Joseph, who was brought from the lowest prison to the greatest palace in the land. So shall it be with you, poor afflicted Christian, by the grace of Joseph's God. Consider these words from some of the most eloquent and spiritually gifted writers who charted the pilgrim's progress from prison to palace.

John Bunyan, apart from being the famous author of The Pilgrim's Progress, wrote this sweet meditation ("A Few Sighs From Hell," in The Works of John Bunyan, Vol. 3, p. 707):

Let dissolution come when it will, it can do thee [Christian] no harm, for it will be but only a passage out of a prison into a palace; out of a sea of troubles into a haven of rest; out of a crowd of enemies to an innumerable company of true, loving, and faithful friends; out of shame, reproach, and contempt, into exceeding great and eternal glory. For death shall not hurt thee with his sting, nor bite thee with his soul-murdering teeth; but shall be a welcome guest to thee, even to thy soul, in that it is sent to free thee from thy troubles which thou art in whilst here in this world dwelling in the tabernacle of clay.

George Whitefield wrote to a correspondent (John Gillies, Memoirs of the Rev. George Whitefield, p. 80):

Suffer we must. Ere long perhaps we may sing in prison, and have our feet in stocks. But faith in Jesus turns a prison into a palace, and makes a bed of flames become a bed of down.

The last letter written by Puritan Christopher Love from the Tower of London to his beloved wife contained these words (Don Kistler, A Spectacle Unto God: The Life and Death of Christopher Love, pp. 100-101):

From the Tower of London
August 22, 1651
The Day of My Glorification

My most gracious beloved,

I am now going from a prison to a palace. I have finished my work, I am now to receive my wages. I am now going to heaven where are two of my children, and leaving thee on the earth where are three of my babes. Those two above need not my care, but the three below need thine. It comforts me to think two of my children are in the bosom of Abraham and three of them will be in the arms and care of so tender a godly mother.

I know thou art a woman of a sorrowful spirit, yet be comforted; though thy sorrow be great for thy husband's going out of the world, yet thy pains shall be the less in bringing thy child into the world. Thou shalt be a joyful mother, though thou beest a sad widow. God hath many mercies in store for thee; the prayers of a dying husband for thee will not be lost. To my shame I speak it: I never prayed so much for thee at liberty as I have done in prison.

John Cragge wrote in A Cabinet of Spiritual Jewels (1657):

This then may serve for a ground of comfort to every soul distressed with the tedious bitterness of this life; for short sorrow here, we shall have eternal joy; for a little hunger, an eternal banquet; for light sickness and affliction, everlasting health and salvation; for a little imprisonment, endless liberty; for disgrace, glory. Instead of the wicked who oppress and afflict them, they shall have the angels and saints to comfort and solace them, instead of Satan to torment and tempt them, they shall have Jesus to ravish and affect them. Jospeh's prison shall be turned into a palace; Daniel's lions' den into the presence of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah; the three children's hot fiery furnace, into the new Jerusalem of pure gold; David's Gath, into the tabernacle of the living God.

Jeremy Taylor wrote so eloquently in a sermon ("The Faith and Patience of the Saints; or, The Righteous Cause Oppressed," in The Whole Works of the Right Rev. Jeremy Taylor, Vol. 4, p. 469):

So much, as moments are exceeded by eternity, and the sighing of a man by the joy of an angel, and a salutary frown by the light of God's countenance, a few groans by the infinite and eternal hallelujahs; so much are the sorrows of the godly to be undervalued, in respect of what is deposited for them in the treasures of eternity. Their sorrows can die; but so cannot their joys. And, if the blessed martyrs and confessors were asked, concerning their past sufferings, and their present rests, and the joys of their certain expectation, you should hear them glory in nothing, but in the mercies of God, and in 'the cross of the Lord Jesus.' Every chain is a ray of light, and every prison is a palace, and every loss is the purchase of a kingdom, and every affront in the cause of God is an eternal honour, and every day of sorrow is a thousand years of comfort, multiplied with a never ceasing numeration; days without night, joys without sorrow, sanctity without sin, charity without stain, possession without fear, society without envy, communication of joys without lessening; and they shall dwell in a blessed country, where an enemy never entered, and from whence a friend never went away.

Elegiac Tribute to George Whitefield

The following elegiac poem was written by Phyllis Wheatley, an African-American slave girl, and was published along with Ebenezer Pemberton's funeral sermon for George Whitefield.

On the Death of the Rev. Mr. GEORGE WHITEFIELD. 1770.

HAIL, happy saint, on thine immortal throne,
Possest of glory, life, and bliss unknown;
We hear no more the music of thy tongue,
Thy wonted auditories cease to throng.
Thy sermons in unequall'd accents flow'd,
And ev'ry bosom with devotion glow'd;
Thou didst in strains of eloquence refin'd
Inflame the heart, and captivate the mind.
Unhappy we the setting sun deplore,
So glorious once, but ah! it shines no more.
Behold the prophet in his tow'ring flight!
He leaves the earth for heav'n's unmeasur'd height,
And worlds unknown receive him from our sight.
There Whitefield wings with rapid course his way,
And sails to Zion through vast seas of day.
Thy pray'rs, great saint, and thine incessant cries
Have pierc'd the bosom of thy native skies.
Thou moon hast seen, and all the stars of light,
How he has wrestled with his God by night.
He pray'd that grace in ev'ry heart might dwell,
He long'd to see America excell;
He charg'd its youth that ev'ry grace divine
Should with full lustre in their conduct shine;
That Saviour, which his soul did first receive,
The greatest gift that ev'n a God can give,
He freely offer'd to the num'rous throng,
That on his lips with list'ning pleasure hung.
"Take him, ye wretched, for your only good,
"Take him ye starving sinners, for your food;
"Ye thirsty, come to this life-giving stream,
"Ye preachers, take him for your joyful theme;
"Take him my dear Americans, he said,
"Be your complaints on his kind bosom laid:
"Take him, ye Africans, he longs for you,
"Impartial Saviour is his title due:
"Wash'd in the fountain of redeeming blood,
"You shall be sons, and kings, and priests to God."
Great Countess,* we Americans revere
Thy name, and mingle in thy grief sincere;
New England deeply feels, the Orphans mourn,
Their more than father will no more return.
But, though arrested by the hand of death,
Whitefield no more exerts his lab'ring breath,
Yet let us view him in th' eternal skies,
Let ev'ry heart to this bright vision rise;
While the tomb safe retains its sacred trust,
Till life divine re-animates his dust.

*The Countess of Huntingdon, to whom Mr. Whitefield was Chaplain.