Grace Gems

[nChrist]

A glance into heavenly bliss

("Solitude Sweetened" by James Meikle, 1730-1799)

All at once I find myself in an unbounded flood of bliss,
a spacious sea of glory; lost in wonder amidst ineffable
delights, and transported with the raptures of seraphic
harmony! While all His saints rejoice in His excellent
glory--what ardor glows in every soul--what rapture
swells in every song! O the adorable displays of His
perfections--the manifestations of His goodness--the
outlettings of His love!

Here we received out of His fullness--grace upon
grace and glory upon glory. Our possession is
worthy of our liberal Giver. We have . . .
  a kingdom which cannot be moved,
  an undefiled inheritance, which does not fade away,
  a city with foundations, whose builder and maker is God,
  garments of glory,
  a crown of righteousness,
  a crown of eternal life,
  the tree of life to feed upon,
  the fountain of life to drink of,
  the garden of God to walk in,
  life above the reach of death,
  health secured from sickness,
  pleasure without pain.

Our bodies are immortal,
our souls immaculate,
our senses sanctified,
our conceptions spiritualized,
our faculties enlarged, and
our whole soul replenished by divinity.

Our past bliss is with us in the sweet remembrance,
our present bliss entrances in the enjoyment, and
our future bliss is present with us in the full assurance
of our eternal felicity.

Thus we are forever blessed to the highest degree.

We are above all fear, beyond anxiety and doubt,
and fixed above all change.

Our service is sincere,
our adorations ardent,
our knowledge profound and satisfying.

Rapture rushes in at every part!

Our eyes are ravished with seeing the King in His
beauty, our ears with hearing the songs of the
inner temple, our nose with the fragrance of the
Rose of Sharon, the plant of renown; our feet
with standing in His holy place; our hands with
handling of the word of life; and our mouth with
the wine of our Beloved, which goes down sweetly,
causing our souls to shout aloud, and the lips to sing,
and never cease. Our experience of His fullness, our
vision of His perfections and glory, constitute our
most exalted bliss, and are the heaven of heavens!

O what torrents of eternal love teem from the throne
into our souls! O the pleasure that is in His presence!
O the exuberant rivers of joy that flow at His right hand!

O love! never to be forgotten--which has brought me
safely through so many winding labyrinths and crooked
paths, in sight of so many enemies--in spite of . . .
  a tempting devil,
  the accusations of my sins,
  the rebellion of my lusts,
  the carnality of my affections, and
  the weakness of all my graces--
to dwell at last forever in heavenly bliss!

O eternity! once the comfort of our longing expectations
--now the transport of our enlarged souls! For we are ever
with the Lord, seeing His unclouded face, wearing His divine
name, drinking at the streams of His pleasures, eating of His
hidden manna, sitting beneath the Tree of life, basking under
the beams of the Sun of righteousness, singing hallelujahs to
Him who loved us, who washed us from our sins in His blood,
and brought us here to be with Him forever!

O state of complete happiness and consummate bliss!



We have completed the publishing of Meikle's precious
book, "Solitude Sweetened"--which has 146 short
meditations on spiritual subjects. We plan to make this
outstanding book available in print in the near future.


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[nChrist]

O that dreadful house-idol

(John Flavel, "The Fountain of Life" 1671)

O that dreadful house-idol--myself!

We have need to be redeemed from ourselves,
as much as from the devil and the world!

I would like to make a sweet bargain, and shuffle
out self, and substitute Christ my Lord in place of
myself! Not I, but Christ! Not my will, but Christ's!
Not my ease, not my lusts, not my home--but Christ,
Christ!

O wretched idol, myself! When shall I see you wholly
cast out--and Christ wholly put in your place?

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[nChrist]

Altogether lovely!

("Solitude Sweetened" by James Meikle, 1730-1799)

"Yes, He is altogether lovely! This is my Beloved,
 and this is my Friend!" (Song of Solomon 5:16)

Why does the world reject the Savior of the world?
Why do they abhor Him who is altogether lovely,
and hate Him who is the best Friend of mankind?

O men of the world! what good can you desire which
is not in Christ? The excellencies of earth are but His
footstool; the excellencies of heaven are but His
throne! How excellent, then, must He himself be!

His treasures are infinite--and open for you!

In Jesus are . . .
  riches--if you are poor;
  honor--if you are despised;
  friendship--if you are forsaken;
  help--if you are injured;
  mercy--if you are miserable;
  joy--if you are disconsolate;
  protection--if you are in danger;
  deliverance--if you are a captive;
  life--if you are mortal;
  and all things--if you have nothing at all.

Time and eternity are His! He can give
you all the glorious things of eternity!

Moreover, He can deliver you . . .
  from all your fears;
  from sin--the worst of all evils;
  from self--the most hurtful of all companions;
  from death--the most dreadful of all changes;
  from Satan--the most subtle of all enemies;
  from hell--the most horrible of all prisons; and
  from wrath--the most horrifying doom of all sinners!

Now, where will you find such a one as Jesus?

Why, then, refuse life, and seek after death?

All heaven is enamored with His beauty!

The longer we look on 'created gaieties', the leaner
and less lovely they grow; so that, by the time we
have viewed them forty, fifty, or sixty years--we
see nothing but vanity in the creature! But when
ten thousand ages are employed in beholding the
perfection and beauty of Jesus--He still appears
more and more lovely--even altogether lovely!

Alas! I can say nothing of His true excellencies!
They overwhelm my laboring thought, and are
too vast for my feeble conception to bring forth!
--


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[nChrist]

Yours! Mine!

(John Flavel, "The Fountain of Life")

Lord, the condemnation was Yours,
that the justification might be mine!

The agony was Yours, that
the victory might be mine!

The pain was Yours,
and the ease mine!

The stripes were Yours, and the
healing balm issuing from them mine!

The vinegar and gall were Yours,
that the honey and sweet might be mine!

The curse was Yours, that
the blessing might be mine!

The crown of thorns was Yours,
that the crown of glory might be mine!

The death was Yours,
the life purchased by it mine!

You paid the price, that
I might enjoy the inheritance!


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[nChrist]

Lopsided religion

(Harvey Newcomb, "The Young Lady's Guide to the
Harmonious Development of Christian Character" 1843)

There is, perhaps, a peculiar tendency to lopsided
religion in our age of excitement and activity.

Nothing delights the senses like harmony. The eye rests
with pleasure on the edifice which is complete in all its
parts, according to the laws of architecture. And the
sensation of delight is still more exquisite, on viewing
the harmonious combination of colors, as exhibited in
the rainbow, or the flowers of the field. The ear, also,
is ravished with the harmony of musical sounds; and
the palate is delighted with savory dishes.

The beauty and loveliness of Christian character depend
on the harmonious culture of all the Christian graces
in due proportion. If one is deficient, and another too
prominent, the idea of deformity strikes the mind with
painful sensations; like harsh, discordant musical sounds;
or like the disproportionate combination of colors.

Where all the graces exist in due proportion, they will
form a lovely character, harmonious and beautiful as
the colors of the rainbow.

The beauty of the Christian character greatly depends
on its symmetrical proportions. A person may be very
zealous in some things, and yet quite defective in his
Christian character; and the probability is, that he has
no more true religion than shows itself in its consistent
proportions.

The new energy imparted by the regenerating grace
of God may unite itself with the strong points of his
character, and produce a very prominent development;
while, in regard to those traits of character which are
naturally weak in his constitutional temperament,
grace may be scarcely perceptible. The error lies in
cultivating, almost exclusively, those graces which are
most agreeable with our prominent traits of character.

We should bend our energies, by the grace of God,
chiefly to the development of those points of character
which are naturally weak; while we discipline, repress,
and bring under control, those which are too prominent.
This will prevent deformity, and promote a uniform
consistency of character.

The perfection of Christian character consists in the
harmonious development of the Christian graces.

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[nChrist]

Cursed sin!

(John Flavel, "The Fountain of Life" 1671)

O how inflexible and severe is the justice of God!
What, no abatement? no sparing mercy?

No, not even to His own Son!

Cultivate a deep indignation against sin.

Oh cursed sin! It was you who slew my dear Lord!
For your sake He underwent all this! If your vileness
had not been so great, His sufferings had not been
so many. Cursed sin! You were the knife which
stabbed Him! You the sword which pierced Him!


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[nChrist]

You are the one who has done this!

(John Flavel, "The Fountain of Life" 1671)

"I remained speechless. I did not open my mouth
 because You are the one who has done this!"
    (Psalm 39:9)

Look upwards, when tribulations come upon you!
Look to that sovereign Lord, who commissions and
sends them upon you. You know that troubles do
not rise out of the dust, nor spring out of the
ground, but are framed in heaven.

Troubles and afflictions are of the Lord's framing and
devising, to reduce His wandering people to Himself.

You may observe much of divine wisdom in the choice,
measure, and season of your troubles.

God acts sovereignly, in electing the instruments of
your affliction; in making them as afflictive as He
pleases; and in making them obedient both to His
call, in coming and going, when He pleases. Now,
could you in times of trouble look up to this sovereign
hand, in which your souls, bodies, and all their comforts
and mercies are--how quiet would your hearts be!

Oh, when we have to do with men, and look no higher, how
do our spirits swell and rise with revenge and impatience!
But if you once come to see that man as a rod in your
Father's hand, you will be quiet. "Be still, and know that
I am God." Consider with whom you have to do; not with
your fellow, but with your God, who can puff you to
destruction with one blast of His mouth; in whose hand
you are, as the clay in the potter's hand.

It is for lack of looking up to God in our troubles, that
we fret, murmur, and despond at the rate we do.

"It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him."
    (1 Samuel 3:18)


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[nChrist]

If God should damn you for all eternity

(John Flavel, "The Fountain of Life")

If the death of Christ was that which satisfied God
for all the sins of the elect, then certainly there is
an infinite evil in sin, since it cannot be expiated
but by an infinite satisfaction. Fools make a mock
at sin, and there are but few people who are duly
sensible of, and affected with--the evil of sin.

If God should damn you for all eternity, your
eternal sufferings could not pay for the evil that is
in one vain thought! It may be you may think this is
harsh and severe--that God should hold His creatures
under everlasting sufferings for sin. But when you have
well considered, that the One against whom you sin is
the infinite blessed God, and that sin is an infinite evil
committed against Him; and when you consider how
God dealt with the angels that fell, for one sin--you
will alter your minds about it!

O the depth of the evil of sin! If ever you will see how
dreadful and horrid an evil, sin is, you must measure it
either by the infinite holiness and excellency of God, who
is wronged by it; or by the infinite sufferings of Christ,
who died to pay its penalty; and then you will have
deeper apprehensions of the evil of sin.



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[nChrist]

The fullness of His grace

(Octavius Winslow, "From Grace to Glory" 1864)

"From the fullness of His grace we have all
 received one blessing after another." John 1:16

Will you hesitate, then, child of God  to sink
your emptiness in this fullness; to drink
abundantly from this supply; to go to Jesus . . .
  with every sin, the greatest;
  with every temptation, the strongest;
  with every need, the deepest;
  with every trial, the severest;
  with your mental despondency, your lowest
spiritual frame yes, exactly as you are--and
receive from Christ's boundless grace--grace
to help you in the time of need? Hesitate not!

Every drop of Christ's fullness of grace is yours!
And you have . . .
  not a sin this grace cannot cancel,
  not a corruption it cannot subdue,
  not a trial it cannot sustain,
  not a burden it cannot enable you to bear.

Yes, the Lord will give grace! He will give us grace
for every position in which His providence places us.
He will give sustaining grace under every trial He
sends us. He will give preserving grace in every
path of peril along which He leads us. He will give
comforting grace in every afflictive dispensation
by which He seeks to promote our holiness here,
and so to advance our fitness for glory hereafter.

There is no stintiness, no limit in the Triune God.
He has given you grace for past exigencies, and He
is prepared to give you more grace for present ones!

"From the fullness of His grace we have all
 received one blessing after another." John 1:16


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[nChrist]

        The secret of true happiness

        (Harvey Newcomb, "The Young Lady's Guide to the
        Harmonious Development of Christian Character" 1843)


        The secret of true happiness lies in a cordial acquiescence in the will of God. It is sweet to lie passive in His hand--and know no will but His!

        The doctrine of a 'particular providence' is precious to the Christian's heart. It enables him to see the hand of God in every event. Hence the sinfulness of a repining, discontented, unsubmissive temper. It is difficult to reconcile the habitual indulgence of such a sinful disposition--with the existence of grace in the heart. The first emotion of the new-born soul is submission to the will of God.

        We are prone to lose sight of the 'hand of God' in the little difficulties and perplexities which are of every-day occurrence, and to look only at 'second causes'. We often do the same, in more important matters. When we are injured or insulted by others, we are disposed to murmur and complain, and give vent to our indignation against the immediate causes of our distress; forgetting that these are only the 'instruments which God employs' for the trial of our faith, or the punishment of our sins.

        In this doctrine of the secret agency of divine Providence, we have the strongest motive for a hearty and cheerful resignation to all the troubles and difficulties, trials and afflictions, which come upon us in this life--whatever may be their immediate cause. We know that they are directed by our heavenly Father, whose "tender mercies are over all His works," and who "does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men."

        Whatever may be our afflictions, so long as we are out of hell, we are monuments of His mercy. "Why does a living man complain--a man for the punishment of his sins?"

        We are assured "that all things work together for good, to those who love God." The afflictions of this life, are the faithful corrections of a kind and tender Father. "For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and He scourges every son whom He receives." How consoling the reflection--that all our sufferings are designed to mortify and subdue our corruptions, to wean us from the world, and lead us to a more humble and constant sense of dependence upon God! How ungrateful for a child of God to repine at the dealings of such a tender and faithful Father!

        God will give us all that He sees is best for us. And surely we ought to be satisfied with this; for He who sees the end from the beginning, must know much better than we--what is for our good. It is our duty to maintain a contented and cheerful spirit in every situation of life. If God directs all our ways, and has promised to give us just what He sees we need, we surely ought to rest satisfied with what we have; for we know it is just what the Lord, in His infinite wisdom and unbounded goodness--sees fit to give us.



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[nChrist]

Vagrant butterflies

(Thomas Reade)

Earthly vanities can never satisfy the enlarged
desires of an immortal soul. This is the reason
why worldly people are so restless and changeable.

Temporal objects soon cloy and satiate, therefore
worldlings fly from flower to flower like vagrant
butterflies--until death closes their idle chase
after an unreal happiness!

Did they possess true wisdom, they would
discover the source of true felicity.

Christ and happiness are inseparable. If we
find true happiness, it is because we have
found Christ; for . . .
  the pardon of sin,
  peace with God,
  purity of heart, and
  the hope of glory,
cannot fail to render the believer blessed.



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[nChrist]

Peevish for toys and trifles

(James Meikle, "Solitude Sweetened")

O for what trifles, will men cast away
their precious souls!

It is proper only to children, not to men--to be
peevish for toys and trifles. So let the men of
this world lament the loss of worldly vanities. But
let the heirs of God, the joint-heirs with Christ,
rejoice that the treasures of eternity are theirs!

"But blessed are your eyes, for they see."
Happy are those who have the eyes of their
mind opened, and clearly see . . .
  the deformity of sin,
  the beauty of holiness,
  the excellency of piety,
  the necessity of the new birth,
  the preciousness of Christ,
  the glory of eternal realities.

I see the mutable and fickle state of temporal
things, and therefore hold a loose grip on the
creature, however dear, however near--and
set my affections on things which are above!


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[nChrist]

O Lord! I desire to be humbled

Under a sense of my sins and unmerited mercies,
I desire through grace, in sincerity and humility of
soul, to approach to the Author of all my mercies,
and to lay before You, O merciful Father! all my
plans--desiring Your divine direction.

And, in the first place, I confess my own sins. I
desire to be humbled under my natural proneness
to evil and aversion to good; for my many sinful
thoughts, which You, O Lord, know; for my wrong
conceptions of the great Jehovah, and the smallness
of my holy fear when in Your presence, calling on
You before whom all the earth should tremble.

I also desire to be humbled for my limiting God,
as if he were not Almighty; for not placing all my
faith and hope on Him alone, but on appearances
and probabilities; for my ingratitude to God for
His many matchless mercies to me in feeding and
clothing me, and giving me favor in the eyes of
men with whom I had to do. Providence has never
failed me, but always supplied me; yet in the time
of prosperity I sinned, and joined with sinners in
their follies, which now I lament, and desire to be
humbled for.

O to learn the language of Your rod!

O Lord! I desire to be humbled for . . .
  all my prevailing lusts and passions;
  my spiritual pride,
  my ignorance of the things of God,
  my barrenness under the gospel,
  my lukewarmness about the things of Christ;
  my carelessness about pious duties.

Ah! that ever I should doubt the good will of Him
who heard my cry and delivered me out of the hand
of my fierce afflictions, manifesting His mighty power.
I desire to be humbled for my earthly-mindedness
and my desire after temporal things--riches, honor,
and glory--which perish and pass away. I desire to be
humbled for that great mountain of sins accumulated
on me since my last season of prayer.

And now I desire to lay before You my petitions. And
first of all, O to be daily getting nearer and nearer You;
to be growing more and more acquainted with lovely
Jesus, increasing more and more in grace, becoming
more and more like You, and daily less conformed to
the world; to be delighting more and more in spiritual
things, given more and more to meditation on the glory
to be revealed, loving Him more and more, who loved me!

O to be delighting in God all the day long, living in His
fear as before Him always, learning more and more
submission to His disposals in providence, and more
and more persuaded of the rectitude of His will, the
equity of His law, the longness of His patience, and
His care of His own. O to get some victory over
prevailing sin, and that which so easily besets me!
O, Let never the greed for money get a hold of my
heart; keep me from covetousness.

Now, O Lord, in the hope that You will hear, I lay
all my petitions before You. Choose what you will,
cast away what you will--I will be content. I commit
myself to You. I take You as my God and Father,
for my Savior, for my Sanctifier forever. O hear!

I desire in truth, O majestic Jehovah! to call these
heavens over my head, the hills and mountains around
me, the growing grass--to be witnesses, that I this
day subscribe with my hand to be Yours, wholly
Yours. Amen, amen! So be it!

James Meikle, July, 1752.
(from a paper found among his remains)


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[nChrist]

It quenches the thirst of the soul

(Horatius Bonar, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ")

"My blood is the true drink!" John 6:55

The blood of the Lamb contains the true drink for the
soul. It quenches the thirst of the soul--the thirst
of parching produced by an evil conscience and a sense
of wrath. It removes the wrath and the sense of wrath,
by showing us that wrath transferred to the Substitute.

It relieves the conscience when first we come into
contact with it; and it keeps it relieved from day
to day, as we drink it by faith.

It is 'the true drink.'

It calms!

It revives!

It refreshes!

It soothes!

It is like cold water to the thirsty lips under a
scorching sun. Nothing but the blood can allay
this thirst; nothing else can be . . .
  drink for the soul,
  drink for the intellect,
  drink for the conscience,
  drink for the heart!


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[nChrist]

Snares, gins, and traps!

(James Meikle, "The Traveler" 1730-1799)

I am exposed to temptations from every quarter.
As my finite wisdom cannot prevent my being
tempted, so my feeble power cannot resist being
overtaken by them. I have Your grace to adore,
that I am not overcome with every temptation
which assaults me.

Human nature is like a pile of dry wood shavings;
and temptation is like a spark of fire cast into it.
It must be divine power that hinders all from going
into a blaze! O kind compassion! O tender mercy!
O glorious grace! I am nothing; hence I shall think
humbly of myself--but highly of Your grace.

What a thorny path is human life! How is it strewed
with snares, gins, and traps--for head and feet, for
heart and hands. If I lift up my head in pride, I fall
into the condemnation of the devil. If I am not watchful
in my goings, I am cast into a net by my own feet, and
walk into a snare. Vanity is ready to fill my heart, and
wickedness my hands. Satan has his deceptive and
powerful weapons against each of my bodily senses.
I am beset with snares on every side!

Two lessens I am taught, which, through grace,
I never shall forget:
1. To be distrustful of myself.
2. To be confident in God, and strong in His grace.

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present
 help in trouble." Psalm 46:1

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of
 grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace
 to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16


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