Grace Gems

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The golden idol is but clay after all!

(Arthur Pink, "A Fourfold Salvation" 1938 )

    God delivers us from the love and pollution of sin--by bitter disappointments. God has plainly warned us of the vanity of all earthly pursuits. "When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 2:11) This was written by one who was permitted to gratify the physical senses as no other ever has. Yet we do not take this warning to heart, for we do not really believe it. On the contrary, we persuade ourselves that satisfaction is to be found in things under the sun--that the creature can give contentment to our hearts. As well attempt to fill a circle with a square! The heart was made for God--and He alone can meet its needs. But by nature we are idolaters, putting things in His place. Those things we invest with pleasing qualities which they do not possess, and sooner or later our delusions are rudely exposed to us, and we discover that the pleasing images in our minds are only dreams--that the golden idol is but clay after all!

    God may so order His providences, that our earthly nest is destroyed. The winds of adversity compel us to leave the downy bed of carnal ease and luxury. Grievous losses are experienced in some form or other. Trusted friends prove fickle, and in the hour of need fail us. The family circle, which had so long sheltered us and where peace and happiness were found, is broken up by the grim hand of death. Health fails, and weary nights are our portion. These trying experiences, these bitter disappointments, are another of the means which our gracious God employs to save us from the love and pollution of sin. By them, He reveals to us the vanity and vexation of the creature. By them, He weans us more completely from the world. By them, He teaches us that the objects in which we sought satisfaction, are but "broken cisterns," --that we may turn to Christ and draw from Him who is the living water, the One who alone can supply true satisfaction of soul.

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He shall save His people from their sins

(Arthur Pink, "A Fourfold Salvation" 1938 )

    "You shall call His name Jesus--for He shall save His people from their sins" Matthew 1:21

    Our salvation from the pleasure of sin is effected by Christ's taking up His abode in our hearts, "Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20). Our salvation from the penalty of sin was secured by Christ's sufferings on the Cross where He endured the punishment due our iniquities. Our salvation from the power of sin is obtained by the gracious operations of the Spirit, whom Christ sends to His people. Our salvation from the presence of sin will be accomplished at Christ's second advent, "We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior. He will take these weak mortal bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like His own!" (Phil. 3:20, 21). And again we are told, "We know that when He shall appear--we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2). It is all of Christ, from beginning to end!

    Salvation from the pleasure or love of sin takes place at our regeneration; salvation from the penalty or punishment of sin occurs at our justification; salvation from the power or dominion of sin is accomplished during our practical sanctification; salvation from the presence or indwelling of sin is consummated at our glorification.

    "You shall call His name Jesus--for He shall save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). First, He shall save them from the pleasure or love of sin by bestowing a nature which hates it--this is the great miracle of grace. Second, He shall save them from the penalty or punishment of sin, by remitting all its guilt--this is the grand marvel of grace. Third, He shall save them from the power or dominion of sin, by the workings of His Spirit--this reveals the wondrous might of grace. Fourth, He shall save them from the presence or indwelling of sin--this will demonstrate the glorious magnitude of grace!

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Growing worse and worse!

(Arthur Pink, "A Fourfold Salvation" 1938 )

    By nature we are thoroughly in love with ourselves--but as the Divine work of grace is carried forward in our souls, we come to loathe ourselves. Those who have been saved  from penalty of sin, are being made increasingly conscious not only of sin's polluting presence, but of its tyrannizing power!

    How can we explain the fact, that the Christian finds himself growing worse and worse--the more closely he endeavors to walk with God? The answer is because of increased light from God, by which he now discovers heart-filth of which he was previously unaware. The sun shining into a neglected room, does not create the dust and cobwebs--but simply reveals them. Thus it is with the Christian. The more the light of the Spirit is turned upon him inwardly, the more he discovers the horrible plague of his heart (1 Kings 8:38 ), and the more he realizes what a wretched failure he is!

    The fact is, dear discouraged soul, that the more you are growing out of love with yourself, the more you are being saved from the power of sin. Wherein lies its fearful potency? Why, in its power to deceive us. It lies to us. It did so to Adam and Eve. It gives us false estimates of values so that we mistake the tinsel for real gold. To be saved from the power of sin is to have our eyes opened so that we see things in God's light--it is to know the truth about things all around us, and the truth about ourselves.

    But further--sin not only deceives, it puffs up, causing its infatuated victims to think highly of themselves. Sin ever produces self-love and self-righteousness. But when God takes us in hand, it is the very opposite--the workings of the Spirit subdue our pride. How? By giving increasing discoveries of SELF and of the exceeding sinfulness of SIN, so that each one cries with Job, "Behold! I am vile!" (40:4). Such a one is being saved from the power of sin--its power to deceive and to inflate.

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God's mill

(William Gurnall, 1660)

    The greatest miracle in the world is God's patience and bounty--to an ungrateful and rebellious world!

    If a king has an enemy fortified in one of his towns, he does not send them provisions--but lays heavy siege to the town, and does what he can to starve them. But the great God, who could wink all His enemies into destruction, bears with them, and is at daily cost to maintain them!

    But do not think, O sinners, that you shall finally escape! God's mill goes slow--but grinds small! The more admirable His patience and bounty now is--the more dreadful and unsupportable will that fury be--which arises out of His abused goodness. Nothing is smoother than the sea; yet when stirred into a tempest, nothing rages more! Just so, nothing is so sweet as the patience and goodness of God--and nothing is so dreadful as His wrath when it takes fire!

    "Because of your hardness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed." Romans 2:5

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All the links of the golden chain of salvation

(Thomas Brooks, "A Cabinet of Choice Jewels" 1669)

"It is by grace you have been saved!" Ephesians 2:5

All the links of the golden chain of salvation are
made up of free grace! The people of God are . . .
  freely loved, Deuteronomy 7:6-8;
  freely chosen, John 15:16-19, Ephesians 1:4;
  freely accepted, Ephesians 1:6;
  freely adopted, Ephesians 1:5, Galatians 4:5-6;
  freely reconciled, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20;
  freely justified, Romans 3:24;
  freely saved, Ephesians 2:5, 8.

Free grace is the foundation of all spiritual and eternal
mercies. Free grace is the solid bottom and foundation
of all a Christian's comfort in this world. Were we to
measure the love of God to us by . . .
  our fruitfulness,
  our holiness,
  our humbleness,
  our spiritualness,
  our heavenly-mindedness, or
  our gracious behavior towards Him
--how would our hope and our confidence be
every moment staggered--if not vanquished!

But all is of grace--of free grace! O sirs! it is free grace . . .
  which will strengthen you in all your duties,
  which will sweeten all your mercies,
  which will support you under all your changes,
  which will arm you against all temptations!

"For it is by grace you have been saved!" Ephesians 2:8

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The Devil's Delusion

(Arthur Pink, "Another Gospel")

    "If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:3

    Satan blinds the minds of unbelievers through hiding the light of the Gospel of Christ, and he does this by substituting his own gospel. Appropriately he designated, "that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray!" (Revelation 12:9)

    The gospel of Satan is not a program of anarchy. It does not promote strife and war--but aims at peace and unity. It does not seek to drag down the natural man--but to improve and uplift him. It advocates education and cultivation, and appeals to the "best that is within us." It endeavors to occupy man so much with this world--that he has no time or inclination to think of the world to come. It propagates the principles of self-sacrifice, charity and benevolence; and teaches us to live for the good of others, and to be kind to all. It appeals strongly to the carnal mind and is popular with the masses, because it ignores the solemn facts--that by nature man is a fallen creature, alienated from the life of God, dead in trespasses and sins, and that his only hope lies in being born again.

    The gospel of Satan teaches salvation by works. It inculcates justification before God, on the ground of human merits. It is a bloodless gospel, and presents a crossless Christ, who is received merely, as the Ideal Man.

    The apostles of Satan are not saloon-keepers and white-slave traffickers--but are for the most part ordained ministers! Their message may sound very plausible, and their aim appear very praiseworthy--yet we read of them, "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness." (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

    In Proverbs 14:12 we read, "There is a way that seems right to a man--but in the end it leads to death." This "way" which ends in "death" is the Devil's Delusion--the gospel of Satan--a way of salvation by human attainment. It is a way which "seems right," that is to say, it is presented in such a plausible way that it appeals to the natural man. It is set forth in such a subtle and attractive manner, that it commends itself to the minds of its hearers. By virtue of the fact that it appropriates to itself religious terminology, sometimes appeals to the Bible for its support (whenever this suits its purpose), holds up before men lofty ideals, and is proclaimed by those who have graduated from our theological institutions, countless multitudes are decoyed and deceived by it!

    It as been said with considerable truth, that the way to Hell is paved with good intentions. There will be many in the Lake of Fire who lived with good intentions, honest resolutions and exalted ideals; who were just in their dealings and charitable in all their ways; men who prided themselves in their integrity--but who sought to justify themselves before God by their own righteousness; men who were moral and kind--but who never saw themselves as guilty, lost, hell-deserving sinners, needing a Savior. Such is the way which "seems right." Such is the way that commends itself to the carnal mind and recommends itself to multitudes of deluded ones today. The Devil's Delusion is that we can be saved by our own works, and justified by our own deeds!

    "He saved us--not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy." Titus 3:5

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His Father's hand

(Arthur Pink, "Divine Providence")

    "How countless are Your works, O Lord! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures! Here is the sea, vast and wide, teeming with creatures beyond number--living things both large and small. All of them wait for You to give them their food at the right time. When You give it to them, they gather it; when You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good things. When You hide Your face, they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to the dust!" Psalm 104:24, 25, 27-29

    The providence of God is His care of and provision which He makes for His creatures; with His supervision and superintendence of them.  The providence of God in His government of the world is a subject of deep importance to the Christian, for by proper views thereof, he will learn to see God's activities--in the daily works of His hands. Yet, though Christians assent to this truth, nevertheless they are prone to overlook it in exercise, and thereby to be deprived in great measure of that poise of mind and comfort of heart, which a deep and constant improvement of this doctrine is calculated to impart.

    Nothing is more strengthening to faith, stabilizing to the mind, and tranquilizing to the heart of a Christian--than for him to be enabled to discern his Father's hand guiding, shaping, and controlling everything which enters his life; and not only so, but that He is also governing this world, and all people and events in it. Alas, we are living in an age of terrible skepticism, when most of what happens is attributed to natural causes, while God is more and more banished from the world, in the consideration of His creatures. It is not only a fact that God governs the world in a general sense, but He also regulates all its affairs, and controls all creatures in it, "working all things after the counsel of His own will" (Ephesians 1:11).

    God is not troubled by anything that is now taking place in His world--either in its political, social, or religious sphere; nor should we be troubled. The helm is still in His hand; and Satan himself cannot so much as touch a hair of our heads, without His direct permission.

    "We ought to see the hand of God in the most trifling things. Nothing is so small as to be below His attention! Nothing is too great for His Providence to effect!" Carson

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When they awake in hell!

(Arthur Pink, "Present Day Evangelism")

    If "modern evangelism" is weighed in the balances of Holy Writ, it will be found lacking; lacking that which is vital to genuine conversion, lacking what is essential if sinners are to be shown their need of a Savior, lacking that which will produce the transformed lives of new creatures in Christ Jesus.

    The "evangelism" of the day is not only superficial to the last degree--but it is radically defective. It is utterly lacking a foundation on which to base an appeal for sinners to come to Christ. There is not only a lamentable lack of proportion (the mercy of God being made far more prominent than His holiness, His love than His wrath)--but there is a fatal omission of that which God has given for the purpose of imparting a knowledge of sin. There is not only a reprehensible introducing of humorous witticisms and entertaining anecdotes--but there is a studied omission of dark background upon which alone the Gospel can effectively shine forth.

    In twentieth-century evangelism, there has been a woeful ignoring of the solemn truth of the total depravity of man. There has been a complete underrating of the desperate case and condition of the sinner. Very few indeed have faced the unpalatable fact--that every man is thoroughly corrupt by nature, that he is completely unaware of his own wretchedness, blind and helpless, and dead in trespasses and sins! Because such is his case, because his heart is filled with enmity against God--it follows that no man can be saved without the special and supernatural intervention of God.

    The teaching of Holy Writ on this point is unmistakable: man's plight is such that his salvation is impossible, unless God puts forth His almighty power. No stirring of the emotions by anecdotes, no regaling of the senses by music, no oratory of the preacher, no persuasive appeals--are of the slightest avail. None but the Holy Spirit can make him willing in the day of His power (Psalm 110:3). He alone can produce godly sorrow for sin, and saving faith in the Gospel. He alone can make us not love ourselves first and foremost, and bring us into subjection to the Lordship of Christ.

    But serious indeed as is the above indictment, worse still is that which is being retailed by the cheap-jack evangelists of the day. The positive content of their message is nothing but a throwing of dust in the eyes of the sinner. His soul is put to sleep by the devil's opiate, ministered in a most unsuspecting form. Those who really receive the "message" which is now being given out from most of the "orthodox" pulpits and platforms today--are being fatally deceived. It is a way which seems right unto a man--but unless God sovereignly intervenes by a miracle of grace, all who follow it will surely find, that the ends thereof are the ways of death! Tens of thousands who confidently imagine that they are bound for heaven--will get a terrible disillusionment, when they awake in hell!

    What is the Gospel? Is the Gospel a message of glad tidings from heaven to make God-defying rebels at ease in their wickedness? Is it given for the purpose of assuring the pleasure-crazy young people that, providing they only "believe," there is nothing for them to fear in the future? One would certainly think so, from the way in which the Gospel is presented--or rather perverted, by most of today's 'evangelists'! And the more so, when we look at the lives of their 'converts'! Surely those with any degree of spiritual discernment, must perceive that to assure such 'converts' that God loves them and His Son died for them, and that a full pardon for all their sins (past, present and future) can be obtained by simply 'accepting Christ as their personal Savior'--is but a casting of pearls before swine! Because the churches are so largely filled with these 'converts', explains why they are so unspiritual and worldly.

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There are multitudes who wish to escape the Lake of fire!

(Arthur Pink, "Present Day Evangelism")

    The nature of Christ's salvation, is woefully misrepresented by the present-day "evangelist." He announces a Savior from hell--rather than a Savior from sin! And that is why so many are fatally deceived, for there are multitudes who wish to escape the Lake of fire--who have no desire to be delivered from their carnality and worldliness!

    The very first thing said of Him in the New Testament is--"You shall call His name Jesus--for He shall save His people...[not "from the wrath to come," but] from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). Christ is a Savior for those realizing something of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, who feel the awful burden of it on their conscience, who loathe themselves for it, and who long to be freed from its terrible dominion. He is a Savior for no others. Were He to "save from hell" those still in love with sin, He would be a minister of sin, condoning their wickedness and siding with them against God. What an unspeakably horrible and blasphemous thing, with which to charge the Holy One!

    True, as the Christian grows in grace, he has a clearer realization of what sin is--rebellion against God; and a deeper hatred of and sorrow for it. But to think that one may be saved by Christ, whose conscience has never been smitten by the Spirit, and whose heart has not been made contrite before God--is to imagine something which has no existence in the realm of fact. "It is not the healthy who need a doctor--but the sick" (Matthew 9:12). The only ones who really seek relief from the great Physician, are those who are sick of sin--who long to be delivered from its God-dishonoring works, and its soul-defiling pollutions.

    As Christ's salvation is a salvation from sin--from the love of it, from its dominion, from its guilt and penalty--then it necessarily follows, that the first great task and the chief work of the evangelist, is to preach upon SIN: to define what sin (as distinct from crime) really is, to show wherein its infinite enormity consists, to trace out its manifold workings in the heart, to indicate that nothing less than eternal punishment is its desert!

    Ah, preaching upon sin will not make him popular nor draw the crowds, will it? No, it will not; and knowing this, those who love the praise of men more than the approbation of God, and who value their salary above immortal souls, trim their sales accordingly!

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New Year Prayers, from the diary of Ruth Bryan

1830
Be pleased, dear Lord, to grant me during the present year--more of Your gracious presence, more tenderness of conscience and fear of offending You; more humility, stronger faith, and more entire devotedness to Your cause. Enable me to leave my temporal concerns entirely with You, to walk by faith, to have my treasure in heaven, and to manifest by my conduct--that I am Your disciple. Let me not grow cold or lukewarm--but may "I lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily beset me, and may I run with patience the race set before me, looking unto Jesus. Amen."

1832
"Here I raise my Ebenezer." Thus far the Lord has brought me. Though the past has been a year of multiplied transgressions and backslidings, I trust, through His abundant mercy, my face is still Zionward, and that my prevailing desire is to be devoted entirely to His service. Take me, dearest Lord, and form me for Your own glory. I feel much bodily weakness. Oh, that through the crevices of this frail tabernacle, I may see some of the glories of the eternal world!

1840
Most dear and precious Christ, I had not thought to see another new-year's day--but hoped before now--to have beheld You face to face! Like him of old, who was possessed of a legion of demons, I besought that I might be with You. But for a season, You have seen good to withhold the full answer to my request. "May Your will be done!" Glorify Yourself in me, and be much, very much with me, until You shall say, "Arise, my love, and come away," to be with Me forever! I desire most humbly and unreservedly, in Your own strength, to yield to Your Divine disposal--all I have and am, and to continually lose my wish and will, in Yours. I would lay at Your feet all creatures and created good, with every seeming evil--and embrace Yourself, my Jesus, as my joy, portion, happiness, wisdom, strength, peace--yes, my all in all--for the coming year, or so much of it as I tarry upon earth; and then, as my joyful, blissful portion through eternity! Oh, lead me, Holy Comforter, more into Christ--and out of SELF! I have had much of blessing--but I long and pray for more; in Jesus' name. Enlarge my expectations more, I beg You--and more I shall receive. "Lord, increase my faith."

1842
Precious Christ, I come with a large request for 1842: it is that You would be the "Alpha and Omega" of it. Do You not say, "Ask what I shall give you?" Yourself, Lord! You have most blessedly given Yourself to me. But I find sweet liberty to entreat more unfolding, revealing, and opening of Your glorious person, amazing work, and matchless love, than I have yet had; and more losing and treading down of SELF, too--that I may be lost in Your fullness, and forgotten and forsaken in Your soul-absorbing glories. Oh! raise me higher, draw me nearer, that I may daily die, and You live in me more manifestly. I just give myself to You, to live on You, to live in You, to live for You, more and more than heretofore, and that by the power of the Spirit resting on me. I humbly ask that mine may be a large and still-increasing portion; that, under fresh anointings, You, most lovely Jesus, may be more fully known, more loved, more served; for it is to You the Holy Spirit leads, of You He testifies.

Oh, do make this a large, rich, full year! You being increasingly honored in me, and I increasingly lost in You, and made an increasing blessing to Your dear people. An Ebenezer for past mercies befits me; large and magnificent have been Your bestowments; bountiful and constant Your favors to me--a poor worthless nothing! "Bless the Lord, O my soul--and all that is within me, bless His holy name!"

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The evangelistic monstrosity of the day!

(Arthur Pink, "Present Day Evangelism")

    Alas, alas, God's way of salvation is almost entirely unknown today, the nature of Christ's salvation is almost universally misunderstood, and the terms of His salvation misrepresented on every hand. The "Gospel" which is now being proclaimed is, in nine cases out of every ten--but a perversion of the Truth! Tens of thousands, assured they are bound for heaven--are now hastening to hell as fast as time can take them!

    It is the bounden duty of every Christian, to have no dealings with the evangelistic monstrosity of the day, to withhold all moral and financial support of the same, to attend none of their meetings, to circulate none of their tracts. Those preachers who tell sinners that they may be saved without forsaking their idols, without repenting, without surrendering to the Lordship of Christ--are as erroneous and dangerous as others who insist that salvation is by works, and that heaven must be earned by our own efforts!

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It is better to stay at home and read God's Word

(Arthur Pink, "A Call to Separation")

    "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and the Devil? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?" 2 Corinthians 6:14-16

    This command is so plain, that it requires no interpreter.
      Righteousness--and wickedness;
      light--and darkness;
      Christ--and the Devil;
      God's temple--and idols.
    What do they have in common?

    This is a call to godly separation. This passage gives utterance to a Divine exhortation for those belonging to Christ--to hold aloof from all intimate associations with the ungodly. It expressly forbids them entering into alliances with the unconverted. It definitely prohibits the children of God walking arm-in-arm with worldlings. It is an admonition applying to every phase and department of our lives--religious, domestic, social, commercial. And never, perhaps, was there a time when it more needed pressing on Christians, than now. The days in which we are living are marked by the spirit of compromise. On every side we behold unholy mixtures, ungodly alliances, and unequal yokes. Many professing Christians appear to be trying how near to the world they may walk--and yet go to Heaven!

    To Israel, God said, "So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life. You must obey all My regulations and be careful to keep My laws, for I, the Lord, am your God!" (Leviticus 18:3-4) And again, "Do not live by the customs of the people whom I will expel before you. It is because they do these terrible things--that I detest them so much!" (Leviticus 20:23) It was for their disregard of these very prohibitions, that Israel brought down upon themselves such severe chastisements.

    God's call to His people in Babylon is, "Come out of her, My people! Do not take part in her sins!" (Revelation 18:4) No one can be a whole-hearted follower of the Lord Jesus who is, in any way, "yoked" to His enemies!

    "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers." This applies first to our religious connections. How many Christians are members of so-called "churches," where much is going on which they know is at direct variance with the Word of God--either the teaching from the pulpit, the worldly attractions used to draw the ungodly, and the worldly methods employed to finance it, or the constant receiving into its membership of those who give no evidence of having been born again. Believers in Christ who remain in such "churches" are dishonoring their Lord. Should they answer: "Practically all the churches are the same, and were we to resign, what would we do? We must go somewhere on Sundays!" Such language would show they are putting their own interests, before the glory of Christ. It is better to stay at home and read God's Word--than fellowship with that which His Word condemns!

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On just such husks, do the religious swine feed!

(Arthur Pink, "Take Heed What You Read")

    If you value the health of your soul, cease hearing and quit reading--all that is lifeless, unctionless, and powerless. Life is too short to waste valuable time on that which does not profit. Ninety-nine out of every hundred of the religious books, booklets, and magazines now being published--are not worth the paper on which they are printed!

    "Those who live according to the flesh--have their minds set on what the flesh desires," (Romans 8:5). They are charmed with . . .
      oratorical eloquence,
      catchy sayings,
      witty allusions, and
      amusing illustrations.
    On just such husks, do the religious swine feed!

    Ah, it is a great thing when once the Holy Spirit teaches a soul--that it is power which is lacking from the lifeless preaching of dead professors. It is power which the renewed soul seeks--a message which has power to search his conscience, to pierce him to the quick, to write it upon his heart; a message which has power to bring him to his knees in broken-hearted confession to God; a message which has power to make him feel that he is "vile"; a message which has power to drive him to Christ, for the binding up of his wounds, for Him to pour in "oil and wine," and send him on his way rejoicing. Yes, what the renewed soul longs for (though at first he knows it not) is that Divine message which comes to him "not simply with words--but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction!" 1 Thessalonians 1:5. Sooner or later, every Christian comes to value "power," and to count as worthless, whatever lacks it.

    It is by Divine power, that he is taught in his own soul, by which he is made to feel acutely his sinnership, his carnality, his beggarliness.

    It is Divine power working in his heart--which draws his affections unto things above, and makes his soul pant after God "as the deer pants after the water brooks." Psalm 42:1

    It is this Divine power working in him--which reveals to his burdened spirit the Throne of Grace, and causes him to implore mercy and to seek grace "to help in time of need."

    It is this Divine power working in him--which makes him cry "Make me walk along the path of Your commands--for there I find delight!" Psalm 119:35

[nChrist]

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Do not expect a smooth and easy path!

(Arthur Pink, "David's Flight")

    Prosperity is often a mixed blessing, and adversity is far from being an unmixed calamity!

    Alternating spiritual prosperity and adversity, is the lot of God's people on this earth. All is not unclouded sunshine with them--nor is it unrelieved gloom and storm. There is a mingling of both:
      joys--and sorrows;
      victories--and defeats;
      assistance from friends--and injuries from foes;
      smiles from the Lord's countenance--and the hidings of His face.

    By such changes, opportunities are afforded for the development and exercise of different graces, so that we may, in our measure, "know how to be abased--and how to abound . . . both to be full--and to be empty" (Phil. 4:12). But above all, that we may, amid varying circumstances, prove the unchanging faithfulness of God--and His sufficiency to supply our every need.

    Ah, my reader, if you are one of God's elect--do not expect a smooth and easy path through this earthly wilderness--but be prepared for varying circumstances and drastic changes. The Christian's resting place is not in this world, for "here have we no continuing city" (Hebrews 13:14). The Christian is a "pilgrim," on a journey; he is a "soldier," called on to fight the good fight of faith. The more this is realized, the less keen will be the disappointment, when our ease is disturbed, and our outward peace harshly broken in upon.

    "Many are the afflictions of the righteous," and if 'troubles' do not come to us in one form--they most certainly will in another! If we really appropriate this promise--then we shall not be so staggered when afflictions come upon us. It is written that, "it is necessary to pass through many troubles on our way into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22), and therefore we should make up our minds to expect the same, and to "not to think it strange" (1 Peter 4:12) when we are called upon to pass through "the fiery trial." Affliction, tribulation, and fiery trial--are a times, our portion here on earth.

    Changing circumstances afford opportunity for the development and exercise of different graces. Some graces are of the active and aggressive kind--while others are of a passive order, requiring quite another setting for their display. Some of the traits which mark the soldier on a battlefield, would be altogether out of place were he languishing on a bed of sickness. Both spiritual joy and godly sorrow--are equally beautiful in their season.

    As there are certain vegetables, fruits, and flowers which cannot be grown in lands which are unvisited by nipping winds and biting frosts--so there are some fruits of the Spirit which are only produced in the soil of severe trials, troubles and tribulations!

[nChrist]

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David's terrible sin

(Arthur Pink, "David's Terrible Sin")

    "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. " Psalm 51:1-2

    Why did God permit David to fall so fearfully, and sin so grievously?

    One reason may be--that we might have set before our eyes the more clearly--the solemn fact that "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9). Unmistakably plain as  the meaning of those words is, uttered by Him who cannot lie--yet how very slow we all are to really receive them at their face value, and acknowledge that they accurately describe the natural state of every human heart! But God has done more than make this bare statement: He has placed on record in His Word-- illustrations, exemplifications, demonstrations of its verity--notably so in allowing us to see the unspeakable wickedness that still remained in the heart of David!

    Also, the fearful fall of David, made way for a display of the amazing grace of God, in recovering His fallen people. If we are slow to receive what Scripture teaches concerning the depravity of the human heart and the exceeding sinfulness of sin--we are equally slow to really believe what it reveals about the covenant-faithfulness of God, the efficacy of Christ's blood to cleanse the foulest stain from those for whom it was shed, and the super-abounding grace of Him who is "the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort." Had David never sinned so grievously and sunken so low--he would have never known those infinite depths of mercy which are in the heart of God!

    Also, had his terrible sin, his subsequent broken-hearted confession, and his pardon by God, never been placed in the Divine record--many of God's people throughout the centuries would have sunk in abject despair.

    Also, thousands, from age to age, have by this solemn example of David's terrible sin, been rendered . . . .
      more suspicious of themselves,
      more watchful,
      more afraid of temptation,
      more dependent on the Lord,
      and more fervent in prayer.
    By means of David's fall--they have, themselves, been preserved from falling!