TRUSTY MATTHEW HENRY

I recently read a short biography of dear Matthew Henry. A remarkable servant of God indeed. The little bio which I read is rare, so I won't tell you the name. I will say that you can read some bios of Brother Henry on the net that will be worth your time. I remember in my early days of ministry when I worked in a Christian bookstore, most everyone had Matthew Henry's Commentary, at least the abridged edition. Remarkably it has been around for 303 years, though not as many are sold in this day of spiritual decline. You can find online editions on the net free at a number of sites like crosswalk.com (You have to use the classic Bible commentary section). You can download it free, along with a number of other good Bible helps by going to esword.com (use the link on the left).

Here are some examples of why I love this brother so much:

CHURCH PEACE
“The way to preserve the peace of the church is to preserve its purity.”

GOD'S USE OF MORTAL MEN
"God makes what use He pleases of men, of mighty men, of those that act with the greatest freedom; and, when they think to do as they please, He can overrule them and make them do as He pleases. Nay, in those very things wherein they are serving themselves, and look no further than that, God is serving His own purposes by them and making them to perform all His pleasure. Rich princes shall do what poor prophets have foretold."

GOD'S VIEW OF MAN AND WIFE
“Eve was not taken out of Adam's head to top him, neither out of his feet to be trampled on by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected by him, and near his heart to be loved by him.”

CHRIST OR POSSESSIONS
“Whatever we have of this world in our hands, our care must be to keep it out of our hearts, lest it come between us and Christ.”

PREACHING TO YOURSELF
(Matthew Henry must have meant this admonition as the following example shows).

Many years ago, Matthew Henry, a well-known Bible scholar, was once robbed of his wallet. Knowing that it was his duty to give thanks in everything, he meditated on this incident and recorded in his diary the following:

"Let me be thankful, first, because he never robbed me before; second, because although he took my purse, he did not take my life; third, because although he took all I possessed, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed".

Matthew Henry (1662-1714)
English Non-conformist Bible commentator

ANYONE FOR BIBLE STUDY?

"What some people call 'Bible Study' is too often just a group of unprepared people exchanging their ignorance."

Warren Wiersbe

"What matters is what the Bible says, not our interpretations about what the Bible says."

W. F. Bell

"All is not wise that wise men say; nor all good that good men do; the best of men are but men at the best."

Augustus Toplady

"But we desire that the Scripture speak like itself, as in the language of Canaan, that it may be understood even of the very vulgar." The King James Version Translators, 1611

"The Bible is, strictly speaking, not a book but a library."

Frederic W. Farrar

"The Bible is a window in this prison world, through which we may look into eternity."

Timothy Dwight

(Compiled by W. F. Bell January, 2009)

SALVATION- J.C. PHILPOT

Remember me, O Lord, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation” (Psalm 106:4).

How is a man brought and taught to want to be “visited with” God’s salvation? He must know something first of condemnation. Salvation only suits the condemned. “The Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost,” and therefore salvation only suits the lost. A man must be lost—utterly lost—before he can prize God’s salvation. And how is he lost? By losing all his religion, losing all his righteousness, losing all his strength, losing all his confidence, losing all his hopes, losing all that is of the flesh; losing it by its being taken from him, and stripped away by the hand of God. A man who is brought into this state of utter beggary and complete bankruptcy—to be nothing, to have nothing, to know nothing—he is the man who in the midnight watches, in his lonely hours, by his fireside, and at times well-nigh night and day, is crying, groaning, begging, suing, seeking, and praying after the manifestation of God’s salvation to his soul.

“O visit me with thy salvation.” He wants a visit from God; he wants God to come and dwell with him, take up his abode in his heart, discover Himself to him, manifest and reveal Himself, sit down with him, eat with him, walk with him, and dwell in him as his God. And a living soul can be satisfied with nothing short of this. He must have a visit. It profits him little to read in the Word of God what God did to His saints of old; he wants something for himself, something that shall do his soul good; he wants something that shall cheer, refresh, comfort, bless and profit him, remove his burdens, and settle his soul into peace. And therefore he wants a visitation—that the presence and power, the mercy and love of God should visit his soul.