Knowledge is a rich storehouse for the glory of the Creator and the relief of man’s estate.
A little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion. Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
Of Wolves and Sheep
Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Ezekiel 22:26
Her prophets are arrogant; they are treacherous men. Her priests profane the sanctuary and do violence to the law. Zephaniah 3:4
These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. Jude 12a
I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. Acts 20: 29-30
Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Matthew 7:15-16a
They were guilty of levity, trifling with the weightiest matters. There was no gravity or steadfastness in their life or teaching. They were treacherous because they were unfaithful to Him whom they claimed to represent, rather encouraging the people in their apostasy from the Lord. By their unholy deeds they profaned the sanctuary; they made the sacred profane. They did violence to the Law by distorting its plain intent and meaning when they were teaching the people.
Charles L. Feinberg (1909-1995) from The Minor Prophets
The Decline and Fall of Rome
The historian Gibbon concluded that there were five reasons for
the decline and fall of Rome. Gibbon was not a Christian, but here
is why he says Rome fell:
1.) The undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home,
which is the basis of human society.
2.) Higher and higher taxes; the spending of public money for
free bread and circuses for the populace.
3.) The mad craze for pleasure; sports becoming every year more exciting, more brutal, more immoral.
4.) The building of great armaments when the great enemy was
within; the decay of individual responsibility.
5.) The decay of religion, fading into mere form, losing touch with
life, losing power to guide the people.
From Thru The Bible Vol III on Zephaniah by Vernon McGee (1904-1988)
“…He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with His sword, to windblown chaff with his bow. He pursues them and moves on unscathed, by a path his feet have not traveled before. Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord – with the first of them and with the last – I am he.” Isaiah 41: 2b-4
Cinderella
The Cinderella of the church of today is the prayer meeting. This handmaid of the Lord is unloved and unwooed because she is not dripping with the pearls of intellectualism, nor glamorous with the silks of philosophy; neither is she enchanting with the tiara of psychology. She wears the homespuns of sincerity and humility and so is not afraid to kneel! Leonard Ravenhill (1907-1994)
Bent On Violence
Habakkuk 1:5-11
“Look at the nations and watch — and be 
utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your
days that you would not believe, even if
you were told.
I am raising up the Babylonians, 
that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth to seize
dwelling places not their own.
They are a feared and dreaded people;
they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor.
Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. 
Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like a vulture swooping to devour;
they all come bent on violence.
Their hordes advance like a desert wind and
gather prisoners like sand. They deride kings and scoff at rulers.
They laugh at all fortified cities;
they build earthen ramps and
capture them.
Then they sweep past like the wind and go on —
guilty men, whose own strength is
their god.”
Isaiah 5:25-30a
He lifts up a banner for the distant nations,
he whistles for those at the ends of
the earth.
Here they come,
swiftly and speedily!
Not one of them grows tired or
stumbles,
not one slumbers or sleeps;
not a belt is loosened at the waist,
not a sandal thong is broken.
Their arrows are sharp,
all their bows are strung;
their horses’ hooves seem like flint,
their chariot wheels like a
whirlwind.
Their roar is like that of the lion,
they roar like young lions;
they growl as they seize their prey
and carry it off with no one to
rescue.
In that day they will roar over it
like the roaring of the sea.
