Wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Matthew 24:28.

My soul! These are the words of Jesus, none of which should be suffered to fall to the ground. No doubt much instruction is contained in this passage. An eagle is a bird of prey: and Job saith, that the eagle hasteneth to the prey as the swift ships. Job_9:26.  In all birds of prey there is great discernment, a vast quickness of scent to smell their proper food afar off; and thus natural instinct, added to a ferocious appetite, compel those creatures to fly swift to their prey, and to devour the carcase. Is there nothing in all this that suits thee, my soul? Oh yes: If Jesus hath given thee a real principle of life in himself, which becomes a spiritual quickening from day to day, and from one hour to another, thy hungering and thirsting for Jesus will be as earnest and as importunate as the instinct of nature in those birds for daily food. Pause, my soul, and say—is it so? Dost thou seek after Jesus in his ordinances, in his word, in retirement, in meditation, in prayer, in providences; and, in short, in all the various ways by which thou mayest enjoy him, as a famished bird would hasten to his prey? If Jesus be indeed the one blessed object of thy desire, will not this be manifested by the earnestness of thy desires? Did David long for the waters of Bethlehem when thirsty? Did he declare,” that as the hart panteth for the waterbrooks,” so he longed for the enjoyment of God? Here then, my soul, mayest thou learn how to estimate the real standard of thy affections to thy Jesus. Oh for grace to have the soul exercised day and night, and never, never to give over those longings, like pregnant women, until the full desires of the soul in Jesus, and upon Jesus, be fully gratified. Methinks as the eagles gather together unto the carcase, so should believers be found feasting upon Jesus. In Jesus, and his glorious Excellencies, every thing is suited to the wants of the believer: his name, his person, his work, his blood, his righteousness; every perfection, every promise, every experience we have had in him in times past, becomes food to the soul. So that the spiritual cravings of the soul, when the soul is in health and strength, like the natural cravings of the bird of prey, act like the same instinct to lead to and to feed upon Jesus. See then, my soul, whether this morning thou art risen with a keen appetite for Jesus. Surely thou hast tasted that the Lord is gracious in times past. And if thou art in health of soul, wilt thou not as much hunger again for this heavenly food, as the body of an healthy man craves for his morning meal? Oh blessed Lord, give me this appetite. Excite an hungering in me for thee. Let it be for thyself; not for thy gifts only, not for thy graces only, sweet as these are; but, blessed Jesus, let it be for thyself. And let this desire be continual: every day, and all the day. And let it be wholly to thee, in all that belongs to thee. I mean, after every thing in Jesus; thy cross, if needful, as well as thy crown; a love to thy precepts, as well as thy promises. And, O let this desire be so insatiable, so earnest, so unceasing, that nothing I have of thee may so satisfy me that I should long no more after thee; but rather provoke my soul’s appetite, and tend but to inflame my heart and longings more and more, till, from tasting of thee here below, thou bringest me to the fountain-head of enjoyment above, where my longing eyes and longing soul shall feast upon Jesus and his love for ever and for ever.  Amen.

– Robert Hawker

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ…” Romans 1:16

The Natural man is ashamed of the gospel because the Gospel of Jesus Christ says that all men are sinners and that offends man’s dignity.  The religious person says:  “We be not sinners.”  That’s what they said to Christ; “we be not sinners”.

Christ said, “The Son of man is come to seek and to save the lost.” Paul said, “Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief.” They said, “We be not sinners.”  Then, those outside the church say; “Well, we are not any worse sinners than the people in the church; we are no worse than they are.”

Then, the people out in profanity and blasphemy and evil, they say, “Well, we are not so bad; we’ve got some good traits.”  But, what does the Scripture say? The Scripture says:  “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God:

“All we like sheep have gone astray. We’ve turned everyone to his own way.”  The Scripture says:  “To offend in one point of the law, (just one jot or tittle), is to be guilty of the whole law of God.”

The Word of God says: “What the law saith it saith to them who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world become guilty before God. Your sins have separated you from God.”

That’s the first point of offense. That’s the first stumbling block; the Gospel of Christ addresses all men as sinners, not good sinners, not pretty good sinners, not pretty bad sinners, but just sinners, they are all grouped, under one heading:

“There’s none good, there’s none righteous, there’s none that seeketh after God. They are altogether become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good, no not one.”

Why is the true Gospel offensive? I didn’t say that religion is offensive; the natural man is religious.  I didn’t say that the average message of salvation is offensive, it’s not.

It tells the sinner what he can do in order to purchase salvation, what he can do in order to merit heaven, what he can do in order to merit God’s favor.  But, the Gospel of Christ is offensive.

– Henry Mahan

“Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as
love thy salvation say continually, let God be magnified” (Psalm 70:4).

Every believer can truly identify and say with David that we love the
salvation that God has abundantly, eternally and sovereignly given to the poor and needy sinner in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no doubt that everyone is in need of salvation (Rom. 3:23), but few seem to have any real interest. The warning of scripture is, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” (Heb. 2:3).  Why does the true believer love the salvation of God?  Let me give you several scriptural reasons:

1.   We love God’s salvation because of the experience of it in the heart.
This salvation is not only a perfect work accomplished for us at Calvary
with His justifying blood atonement, it is also a work of God the Holy
Spirit making application to the sinner’s heart (John 16:8-15). Salvation
that is revealed in scripture is an experience of the grace of God revealing Christ to the heart (Phil. 1:6).

2.   We love God’s salvation because of the method of it (1 Peter 3:18). The method of this salvation was devised, implemented and executed by God Almighty.  It is the way of sovereign grace through the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ who satisfied the demands of God’s justice and supplied every need for the guilty sinner (Phil. 4:19).

3.  We love God’s salvation because of the sureness of it (Rom. 4:16). We
run no risk when we trust the eternal welfare of our soul upon Jesus Christ the Righteous; it is truly a safe salvation (Psa. 62:6-8). He guarantees and gives eternal life to all those who believe on His name (John 3:36).

4.  We love God’s salvation because of the completeness of it (Col. 2:9-10).  Nothing remains unfinished or lacking. God’s salvation is not waiting upon the sinner to add something to make it complete or effectual. Only that which God provided will be accepted (Gen. 22: 8). Sin is put away (Heb. 9:26), redemption is accomplished (Heb. 9:12), righteousness is established (Phil. 3:7-9) and reconciliation is achieved (2 Cor. 5:18).

5.  We love God’s salvation because of the Person of it (1 John 5:10-12).
Jesus Christ Himself is the sum, substance and subject matter of the gospel (Rom. 1:1-3). “He is altogether lovely” (Song of Sol. 5:16). Salvation is not in a profession, place nor a position but rather in a glorious Person.  Surely, anyone who does not love this salvation must be a lover of self, and a hater of the God of all grace (1 Peter 5:10). Surely, those who love God’s salvation can say, “Let God be magnified” (1 Cor. 1:30-31).

– Tom Harding, Pastor, Zebulon Baptist Church, Pikeville, KY

“.  .  .  A sinner’s peace cannot come from himself, nor from the knowledge of himself, nor from thinking about his own acts and feelings, nor from the consciousness of any amendment of his old self.

Whence, then, is it to come?  How does he get it?

It can only come from God; and it is in knowing God that he gets it. God has written a volume for the purpose of making himself known; and it is in this revelation of his character that the sinner is to find the rest that he is seeking.  God himself is the fountainhead of our peace; his revealed truth is the channel through which this peace finds its way into us; and his Holy Spirit is the great interpreter of that truth to us:  “Acquaint now thyself with him (God), and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.”  (Job 22:21).  Yes, acquaintanceship with God is peace!”

– Horatius Bonar