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Thursday of Borrowed Words…
We are reading around our family table, Voices from the Past: Puritan Devotional Readings, and yestrday after dinner, we read a devotional by Thomas Brooks (1608- 1680), which I thought it was proper to share with you, because it is fitting with our reading of the book, A Place for Weakness by M. Horton, over at Elizabeth’s blog.
May we have humble souls….
“The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
blessed be the name of the Lord”
Job 1: 21
“The humble soul will bless God under misery as well as under mercy, when God frowns as when he smiles, when He takes as when He gives, under crosses and losses as under blessings and mercies. The humble believer looks through all secondary causes, and sees the hand of God. He lays his hand upon his heart and sweetly sings ‘Blessed be the name of the Lord’. The language of the humble soul is: ‘If it is your will that I should be in darkness, I will bless you; and if it is your will that I should be again in light, I will bless you; if you comfort me, I will bless you; and if you afflict, I will bless; if you make me poor, I will bless; if you make me rich, I will bless’ The humble soul sees the rod in his Father’s hand; but also the honey on the top of every twig. He sees sugar at the bottom of the bitterest cup, and knows that God’s house of correction is a school of instruction.The humble soul knows that the design of God in all things is his instruction, reformation, and salvation….
O the pride of men’s hearts when the rod is upon their backs! There are many humble professors while the sun shines, while God gives, smiles and strokes. But when he frowns, and strikes, O the murmurings of proud souls! They kick when God strikes. But the humble soul wisely and patiently bears reproof. The proud scorns the reprover and his reproofs too. Pride and passion ho armed; touch them ever so gently, yet, like the nettle, they will sting you; deal roughly with them and they will become violently hostile.”
Becky
Daily On My Way to Heaven 
>This is such an important encouragement. Thank you!
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>Becky,Blogger ate your comments, too! 😦 Friend, we read this around the dinner table, also, and it's been such a blessing. It makes me want to get the writings by all these wonderful authors, though, and my walls are screaming to me that we're running out of room. LOLI miss you!Love and hugs!
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>AWESOME! Reminds me of much of Watson's book All Things for Good. One I highly[!] recommend!
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>Thanks for sharing this, Becky. I love the Puritans' perspective on suffering and affliction. The rod indeed is in our Father's hand.
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>Oh, I love this quote! Thank you for sharing it. (and for giving me yet another book to add to my ever-growing wish list!)
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