Richer Blood Than Ours
De Witt Talmage was considered a great preacher in his day, though it is rare to see him quoted or referenced in modern times. Still, I have benefited a lot by reading his sermons, and perhaps especially one he preached on Isaiah 52:3. He preached it at a time when many were objecting to the notion of atonement and to the necessity of an atonement of blood. Here is a brief, beautiful excerpt. It’s well worth reading it aloud.
Money is good for a great many things, but it can not do anything in this matter of the soul. You can not buy your way through. Dollars and pounds sterling mean nothing at the gate of mercy. If you could buy your salvation, heaven would be a great speculation, an extension of Wall Street. Bad men would go up and buy out the place, and leave us to shift for ourselves. But as money is not a lawful tender, what is?
I will answer: Blood! Whose? Are we to go through the slaughter? Oh, no; it wants richer blood than ours. It wants a king’s blood. It must be poured from royal arteries. It must be a sinless torrent.
But where is the king? I see a great many thrones and a great many occupants, yet none seem to be coming down to the rescue.
But after a while the clock of night in Bethlehem strikes twelve, and the silver pendulum of a star swings across the sky, and I see the King of Heaven rising up, and He descends, and steps down from star to star, and from cloud to cloud, lower and lower, until He touches the sheep-covered hills, and then on to another hill, this last skull-covered, and there, at the sharp stroke of persecution, a rill incarnadine trickles down, and we who could not be redeemed by money are redeemed by precious and imperial blood.
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Now Available: Seasons of Sorrow
Today is the day: Seasons of Sorrow is now officially available. If you pre-ordered a copy, you should already have it or it should already be on its way. If you didn’t pre-order a copy, then you can order it right now and it will be shipped immediately.
Seasons of Sorrow is an honest look at grief and fears, faith and hope. Combining personal narrative, sound theology, and the best writing I am capable of, this is a book for anyone who has loved and lost, for anyone who has endured suffering and sorrow.
The background is probably familiar to most of you. On November 3, 2020, Aileen and I received the shocking news that our son Nick had died. A twenty-year-old student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, he had been participating in a school activity with his fiancée, sister, and friends, when he fell unconscious and collapsed to the ground.
Neither students nor a passing doctor nor paramedics were able to revive him. We received the news at our home in Toronto and immediately departed for Louisville to be together as a family. While on the plane, I began to process my loss through writing. In Seasons of Sorrow, I share real-time reflections from the first year of grief—through the seasons from fall to summer.
It is my sincere hope that Seasons of Sorrow will benefit both those that are working through sorrow and those who may be attempting to bring comfort to others. I mean for it to show people how God is sovereign over loss and that he is good in loss, to help them see how they can pass through times of grief while keeping and even strengthening their faith, to learn how biblical doctrine can work itself out even in life’s most difficult situations, and to understand how it is possible to love God more after loss than you loved him before.
I would be honored and delighted if you would buy it and read it—or perhaps buy it and give it to someone who would benefit from it.I have prepared a couple of additional resources that may prove helpful:
A Letter to Parents – This is a letter I have prepared addressed to parents who have lost a child. If you plan to give bereaved parents a copy of Seasons of Sorrow, you may like to print this and include it with the book.
Helpful Things To Say To Grieving Parents – If you are walking through the loss of a child with a friend or family member, this article will help you know how you can best serve them in their darkest hour.Endorsements
‘If ever there was a book Tim Challies needed to write, it’s this one. And it’s a book I needed to read. Within these pages, you will do more than enter Tim’s story of enormous loss; you will come out on the other side having gained a softer heart and a renewed courage to persevere through your own dark seasons of affliction.’ — Joni Eareckson Tada, founder of the Joni and Friends International Disability Center
‘Seasons of Sorrow is a beautiful book. Reading it is like holding a precious gift, like standing on holy ground.’ — Paul David Tripp, pastor, speaker, author of New Morning Mercies and Suffering: Gospel Hope When Life Doesn’t Make Sense
‘Seasons of Sorrow cut straight to my soul. I read it within a few weeks of the unexpected deaths of two close friends and while my wife struggles bravely with stage 4 cancer. Tim’s heartfelt pain and Christ-centered perspective spoke to both my heart and my head.’ — Randy Alcorn, author of Heaven and If God Is Good
‘Tim Challies has taken us into his confidence by writing with such self-searching honesty. It is a painful pleasure to be invited into these sacred moments of grief and to be helped by the reminder that God is too kind ever to be cruel and too wise ever to make a mistake.’ — Alistair Begg, senior pastor, Parkside Church, and host of the Truth for Life radio program
‘Believers need this book, and only Tim Challies could have written it. I am so thankful that Nick was a student at Boyce College, and his influence as a young Christian was remarkable.’ — Albert and Mary Mohler
‘In the pages of this book, grieving people will find companionship, insight, and genuine encouragement for the journey.’ — Nancy Guthrie, author of Hearing Jesus Speak into Your Sorrow and cohost of Respite Retreats for grieving parents
‘This book is brilliant, not because of Tim Challies’s eloquence, but because of his tears! The buoyancy of faith that shines from every page often left me teary-eyed, thanking God for his grace to his people during their darkest times. What priceless grace!’ — Conrad Mbewe, pastor of Kabwata Baptist Church and founding chancellor of the African Christian University
‘If you have lost a loved one to death, as everyone has, or if you have buried a child, as many have, Tim Challies is your friend. Your brother. Your lifeline.’ — Robert and Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, bestselling authors -
I Pray That This Sinner May Be Saved
We all know people who don’t know the Lord and, therefore, we all know what it is to plead for their salvation. This prayer by Philip Doddridge is drawn from Tim Chester’s new collection Into His Presence and gives words that can perhaps guide you in your prayers of supplication.
Almighty God, with you all things are possible. To you therefore I humbly apply myself on behalf of this dear immortal soul, this person who is perishing in their sins, and hardening themselves against that everlasting gospel which has been the power of God to the salvation of so many thousands and millions.
Oh, that after all their hardness and impenitence, you would still be pleased, by the sovereign power of your effectual grace, to awaken and convert them! You who made the soul can cause the sword of conviction to enter it. Oh, that in your infinite wisdom and love you would find a way to intervene, and save this sinner from death, from eternal death! You know, O God, they are a dying creature. You see a moment marked in the book of your decrees which will seal them up in an unchangeable state. Oh, that you would lay hold on them while they are still part of the living! Oh, let your sacred Spirit work while they are still within the sphere of his operations.
Work, O God, by whatever method you choose; only have mercy upon them so they do not sink into the depths of damnation and ruin, on the very brink of which they so evidently appear. Oh, that you would bring them, if that be necessary, and seem to you most expedient, into any depths of calamity and distress. Glorify your name, O Lord, and glorify your grace, in the method which your infinite wisdom shall deem most expedient. Only grant, I pray you, with all humble submission to your will, that this sinner may be saved.
To him who has loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and has made us kings and priests to God, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.
Amen. -
A La Carte (April 28)
Grace and peace to you on this fine day.
Westminster Books has a deal this week on Richard Gaffin’s magnum opus.
(Yesterday on the blog: One Way To Know You’re Being Persecuted)
The Lost Art of Courage
“There appears to be one of two extremes common among the people of God—the extremes of the lion. Either shrinking back when we ought not. Or viciously thundering forth when we ought not. It seems the church may need to regain the lost art of courage, for there are those who shy away from battles that must be taken up, and there are those who don bravado and (seemingly) do nothing but battle. What may be lacking in these two poles is the biblical concept of ‘meekness’—or courage, rightly carried.”
When the Going Gets Tough
“When faced with an option between two paths, one paved with more difficulty than the other, the choice is usually simple: take the easier path. But, the choices aren’t always straightforward.” Erik Raymond applies this to both pastors and church members.
How to get better sermons
Al Gooderham: “Sometimes pastors take themselves too seriously. Sometimes pastors can have a big ego. Sometimes pastors need bringing down a peg or too. Sometimes pastors seem to think we should hang on their every word, as if we’re blessed to have them open God’s word to us Sunday by Sunday. I’m pretty sure those pastors are out there but I wonder how many of them there are because I don’t know many (any?) like that.”
No Blood Money in the Temple Treasury
“Man’s ability for self-deception is astounding, and we get a glimpse of it in the chief priests who gave false counsel to have Jesus executed.” But if we look honestly, we may get a glimpse of it in ourselves as well.
A Strategic Retreat
“There’s a lot to see, above the screen. It is slower, and more subtle, but it is alive with beauty and meaning. And I want to see it, and have the mental space to recognise it for what it really is, and carrying social media around with me in my pocket everywhere didn’t help me do that.” Indeed…
Pastor, You’ll Burnout If Your Idea Of Hard Work Is Worldly
I found a number of thought-provoking applications in this article from TGC Africa: “We project the rhythms of 21st century routines onto the apostolic age. But our the pace and routines of life in the 21st century are entirely different from Paul’s and his friends.”
Flashback: Netflix’s Biggest Competition
It turns out that Netflix doesn’t actually consider Amazon (or HBO or Hulu or any other similar company) its true competition. Netflix’s main competitor is something far more elemental: sleep.You can be sure of this: If God draws near to the shamed and outcast, he will meet you in the insecurities of daily life. —Ed Welch