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.

May the Lord be with you and bless you today, my friends.

Westminster Books has a deal this week on an excellent new book about Psalm 23. They’ve got another batch of good books discounted as well.
Meanwhile, one of my favorite J.I. Packer books is on sale today in the Kindle edition.
The Mission Field We Don’t Think About
“When I discuss the need for Christians to minister in care facilities, most people are unaware of how bad the situation is. Many picture large facilities with clean, private rooms and resident chaplains paid to provide pastoral care. Such facilities are outliers.” This is an important article from TGC.
Retirement: The New Afterlife?
I suppose this article at least somewhat relates to the previous one. “It used to be that people believed in an afterlife. The Christian hope is that ‘the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us’ (Romans 8:18). But take away the hope of a glorious future beyond this life and we have to try and find it here and now.”
What Is Effeminacy? A Survey of Scripture and History
The term effeminate has made a comeback in recent years, but in this article Steven Wedgeworth shows that many people are not using it within its historical context.
Be A Man, Go To Church
Anne Kennedy offers some interesting reflections inspired by Nancy Pearcey’s The Toxic War on Masculinity.
How does Reformed theology view the future of Israel compared to dispensationalism? (Video)
Here is a timely answer to a question many are asking: What does Reformed theology have to say about the future of Israel? And how does that differ from dispensationalism?
Rebuked by Blessing
“Have you ever been rebuked by bananas? Probably not. But Darlene Deibler was.” That sounds like a story worth reading, doesn’t it?
Flashback: Extending the Borders and Enlarging the Territory
Day by day we take more and more of the vast possession that is ours in Christ. And always and ever we look with expectation to the day the battles will finally be over, the land will finally be fully conquered, and we shall reign forever with Him.

If you neglected to water your garden, you would not wonder for a moment why it was drying up. Then, when you are neglecting to water the soul in vigorous, spiritual exercises, why do you wonder at your being so spiritually dull? —Charles Ebert Orr

My thanks goes to the Good Book Company for sponsoring the blog this week to tell you about the excellent God’s Big Promises Bible Storybook.

Today’s Kindle deals include mostly classics but at least one newer book as well.
(Yesterday on the blog: Cessationist: The Film)
The Battle for the Body
Is Carl Trueman overstating it? I’m not actually sure. “As the fourth century wrestled with the doctrine of God, the fifth with Christology and the nature of God’s grace, and the Reformation era with sacraments and salvation, so our age wrestles with the question of anthropology. What does it mean to be human? More specifically, what does it mean to be an embodied human? For we now find ourselves not so much in a battle for the Bible but in a battle for the body.”
Apple’s Mother Nature Ad: It’s Protestant Paganism.
Glen Scrivener: “You can imagine the pitch: Mother Nature visits Apple HQ to conduct a performance review. In the writers’ room at Saturday Night Live it would gain instant traction: It’s Gaia in the boardroom as a take-no-prisoners businesswoman.” He’s talking about that new Apple commercial that was universally panned.
Places I Can’t Go
This is a sweet reflection on parenting older kids. “I am grateful that the kids grew up and were able to leave home and fly; they are capable and thriving, and I feel excitement and joy for them in each new adventure. But sometimes, when I say goodbye before a long separation, I have a fleeting but powerful yearning for them to be back under my roof.”
The Element of Physical Attraction in Romantic Relationships
Here’s quite a long and interesting look at the element of physical attraction in romantic relationships—not something I’ve ever seen an article on, to my knowledge.
Can You Focus on the Bible Too Much?
I find bibliolatry one of the laziest charges a person can make against a Christian.
Loving the Truth and Speaking in Love
“The noisy gongs of acerbic and judgmental discernment bloggers, podcasters, vloggers and conference speakers are scattered throughout our social media feeds…and they’re here to stay. The uncharitableness with which such individuals speak online immediately ought to leave a bad taste in the mouth of Christ’s true lambs.” Yes!
Flashback: The Ones Who Sow and the Ones Who Reap
Though some may go unrecognized here, they shall be commended by the one who sees and knows all things. The ones who sow shall rejoice as much as the ones who reap, the ones who supported as much as the ones who accomplished.

In God’s plan, waiting is not an interruption or obstruction of the plan; waiting is part of the plan. —Paul David Tripp