Last Sunday we looked at 1 Peter 3:1-7 and considered God's call to a gospel-driven marriage. I mentioned a few things that I promised would be up at the blog today. So here you go.
Female Piety
I shared a quote from John Angell James' classic, Female Piety: The Young Woman's Guide through Life to Immortality. This is one of Jen;s favorite books and she recommends it to all women.
That beautiful woman glittering in all the profusion of diamonds--the admiration and envy of the party or the ball room, must before long be a mass of putrefaction too ghastly to be looked upon--and then a hideous skeleton, a collection of bones, a heap of dust! And where will be the immortal spirit? Will it wear the cast-off jewels of the body? O no! These remain, rescued from the grasp of the 'king of terrors', but only to ornament other bodies!
But turn now to that other female, the woman who, regardless of the decoration of the body, was all intent upon the beauty of the soul. Look at her, who was clothed with the robe of righteousness and the garment of salvation, and decorated with the ornaments of a meek and quiet spirit. She too dies; but the indestructible and immortal spirit over which death has no dominion, goes not unadorned into the presence of the Eternal; for the jewels with which it decorated itself on earth are as indestructible as its own nature, and go with it to shine in the presence of God!
John A. James, Female Piety
Quest for Meekness and Quietness of Spirit
Matthew Henry's A Discourse on Meekness and Quietness of Spirit is one of the most influential books I have ready outside of Scripture. It's in my personal Top Ten Christian books, and it is a great compliment to what we looked at yesterday. Henry wrote,
A calm and quiet spirit receives the comfort of the relationship most thankfully, studies the duty of the relationship most carefully, and bears the inconvenience of the relationship—for there is no unmixed comfort under the sun—most cheerfully and easily.
The Love of God
We sang a new song yesterday, though it was written a hundred years go, and I wanted to remind you of the lyrics.
The Love of God, by Frederick M. Lehman
The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.
Refrain:
Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.
When hoary time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
We sang the traditional melody, but Ascend the Hill has a great cover of that song that you should check out as well.
The Relevant Read
Every Sunday we recommend a book that is relevant to the message preached that day. This Sunday it was The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God by Tim and Kathy Keller.