Bits and Pieces – 140th Edition – November 13, 2022

“A friend loveth at all times”  [Proverbs 17:17]

     Cicero said, “Friendship is the only thing in the world of which all mankind are agreed.”  In all ages men have esteemed, extolled, and treasured friendship.  It has been well described as “the most beautiful and fragrant flower that man meets in his earthly pilgrimage.

     What heart is not stirred by the loveliness of the bond of friendship between Jonathan and David?  Alas, such friendship is rare indeed.  How wondrous is that grace that enables us to say of the Lord of glory, “This is my friend” [Song of Solomon 5:16].

     The true extent of friendship must be measured not in word, but in deed.  “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” [John 15:13].  This is the greatest act of friendship among men. Love’s “crowning deed,” as C.H. Spurgeon called it.  How unparalleled, therefore, is the friendship of our Lord Jesus.  He loved us and laid down His life for us, His enemies [Rom. 5:10]

     True friendship is ever characterized by constancy.  “Swallow- friends, that fly to you in summer, but are gone in winter, such friends there is no loss of”  [Matthew Henry].  The Saviour is the Friend who loveth at all times.  There is no fickleness about Him.  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

      It has been well said, “Christ’s friendship prevails when human friendship fails.”  He is an unfailing friend.  He never forsakes His friends.  He loves unto the end.  Jonathan Edwards, on his deathbed, asked, “Where is Jesus of Nazareth, my old and faithful friend? I know that He will be with me now that I need His help.”  And so He was, for that faithful servant died triumphantly.  Christian, rejoice daily in this thy Friend. [Rev. Michael Patrick].

     If religious books are not widely circulated among the masses in this country, I do not know what is to become of us as a nation.  If truth be not diffused, error will be: If God and His word are not known and received, the devil and his works will gain the ascendancy; if the evangelical volume does not reach every hamlet, the pages of a corrupt and licentious literature will; if the power of the Gospel is not felt throughout the length and breadth of the land, anarchy and misrule, degradation and misrule, corruption and darkness, will reign without mitigation or end. [Daniel Webster. 1823].

     The Bible is not an ordinary book but is God’s Divine instruction book for the peoples of this earth.  But nations and individuals tend to discount it.  What is wrong, we wonder with God’s law?

     The first four commandments deal with man’s duty to God.  The last six commandments focus on our duty to each other.

     Is there anything wrong with commanding to honour one’s parents?  Or refusing to kill?  Or to oppose adultery?  Or of not being covetous, which is the root of much evil?

     Surely, these virtues would be a boon to any nation.  They are reliable virtues for any people.  The vast majority of Canadians are, at least, nominally Christian.  God’s law is good both for individuals and nations.  If they would obey it there would be a marked reduction in violence and crime.

“I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause: which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvelous things without number”  [Job 5:8-9]

     You may try, of course, to search out God’s marvelous things.  Scientists have spent their lives (and budgets) trying to find the limits of the physical world. They have plumbed the oceans, explored the hidden mysteries of space, and travelled into the heart of the atom.

     Yet for every answer they discover, they find another thousand questions.  How much more unsearchable the vast expanses of His grace!  Become an explorer today in the illimitable regions of “the unsearchable riches of Christ”  [J.B. N, Jr.]

     “He who is the Bread of Life began His life hungering.  He who is the Water of Life ended His ministry thirsting.  Jesus hungered as a man yet fed the hungry as God.  He was weary yet He is our rest.  He paid tribute yet He is the King. He was called a devil, but cast out demons.  He prayed yet He hears our prayers.  He wept, and has dried our tears.  He was led as a Lamb to the slaughter, yet He is the good Shepherd.  He gave His life and by dying destroyed death.”