Sweet Essence

“Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine.” —
1 Timothy 4:16.

"EVERY workman knows the necessity of keeping his tools in a good state
of repair, for “if the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must
he put to more strength.” If the workman lose the edge from his adz, he
knows that there will be a greater draught upon his energies, or his work
will be badly done. Michael Angelo, the elect of the fine arts, understood
so well the importance of his tools, that he always made his own brushes
with his own hands, and in this he gives us an illustration of the God of
grace, who with special care fashions for himself all true ministers. It is true
that the Lord, like Quintin Matsys in the story of the Antwerp well-cover,
can work with the faultiest kind of instrumentality, as he does when he
occasionally makes very foolish preaching to be useful in conversion; and
he can even work without agents, as he does when he saves men without a
preacher at all, applying the word directly by his Holy Spirit; but we cannot
regard God’s absolutely sovereign acts as a rule for our action. He may, in
his own absoluteness, do as pleases him best, but we must act as his plainer
dispensations instruct us; and one of the facts which is clear enough is this,
that the Lord usually adapts means to ends, from which the plain lesson is,
that we shall be likely to accomplish most when we are in the best spiritual
condition; or in other words, we shall usually do our Lord’s work best
when our gifts and graces are in good order, and we shall do worst when
they are most out of trim. This is a practical truth for our guidance, when
the Lord makes exceptions, they do but prove the rule."