Grace Gems

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God's school!

(Hannah More)

"Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey Your word!" Psalm 119:67

"I know, O LORD, that Your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness You have afflicted me. Psalm 119:75

"I have refined you in the furnace of affliction!" Isaiah 48:10

Affliction is God's school in which holy virtues are acquired, and Christian character is formed.

"It was good for me to be afflicted, so that I might learn Your decrees!" Psalm 119:71

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11

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We may safely let our life write its own record

(J.R. Miller)

"And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward!" Matthew 10:42

We need not trouble ourselves to keep diaries of our good deeds and sacrifices, or to write autobiographies filled with pages of the good things we have done. We may safely let our life write its own record, and let Jesus be our biographer. He will never forget anything we do--and the judgment day will reveal everything. The lowliest services and the obscurest deeds, will then be manifested.

"Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God!" 1 Corinthians 4:5

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Some secret sin has long been eating its way to the heart!

(J.R. Miller)

"You have placed our iniquities before You--our secret sins in the light of Your presence!" Psalm 90:8

It does not take a rifle-bullet to destroy a life. Men have died from little scratch-wounds.

Some shepherds once saw an eagle soar out from a crag. It flew majestically far up into the sky, but by and by became unsteady in its motions, and began to waver in its flight. At length one wing drooped and then the other, and the poor bird struggled vainly for a moment, and then fell swiftly to the ground. The shepherds sought the fallen bird, and found that a poisonous little serpent had fastened itself upon it while it rested on the crag. The eagle did not know that the serpent was there. But the reptile gnawed in through the feathers, and while the proud monarch was sweeping through the air, the serpent's fangs were thrust into its flesh, and the eagle came reeling down into the dust!

This illustrates the story of many a human life. For a time they seem quite promising; then suddenly they struggle and fall. Some secret sin has long been eating its way to the heart, and at last the proud life lies soiled and dishonored in the dust!

We need to be ever on our watch against these treacherous and insidious perils, these little, secret sins--which, unperceived, work death in the soul!

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Weep not for me!

(The following was written by Matthew Henry, and was found after his death.)

Would you know where I am? I am at home in my Father's house--in the mansion Jesus prepared for me there. I am where I want to be--where I have long and often desired to be. I am no longer on a stormy sea--but in a safe and quiet harbor. My working time is done--I am resting! My sowing time is done--I am reaping! My joy is as the joy of harvest!

Would you know how it is with me? I am perfect in holiness; grace is swallowed up in glory!

Would you know what I am doing? I see God; I see Him as He is; not as through a glass darkly, but face to face. The sight is transforming, it makes me like Him! I am in the sweet enjoyment of my blessed Redeemer, whom my soul loved, and for whose sake I was willing to part with all. I am here bathing myself at the spring-head of heavenly pleasures and unutterable joys; and, therefore, weep not for me. I am here singing hallelujahs incessantly to Him who sits upon the throne, and rest not day or night from praising Him!

Would you know what company I have? Blessed company--better than the best on earth; here are holy angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect. I am here with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God; with blessed Paul, and Peter, and James, and John, and all the saints. And here I meet with many old acquaintances that I fasted and prayed with, who came here before me.

And, lastly, would you consider how long this is to continue? It is a garland that never withers; a crown of glory that never fades away; after millions of millions of ages, it will be as fresh as it is now; and, therefore, weep not for me!

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What a mercy that I have been preserved so long!

(James Smith's autobiography, "Marvelous Mercy!" 1862)

Lord, You know my weaknesses and follies, and what sins I am likely enough to commit--unless You hold me fast. "Hold up my steps in Your paths, that my footsteps may not slip!" Psalm 17:5

What a mercy that I have been preserved so long! How many thousands who have been born since myself, have been chopped down by the scythe of death--and where are they? What is become of them? Are not many of them suffering Your eternal wrath, as the just desert of their sins? No doubt but they are!

And what am I--that I should be distinguished from them! What was there in me--that a difference should be made between us! Lord, you know that there was nothing. It is all of your rich, free, and sovereign grace--that there is the least difference between me, and the vilest wretch in Hell!

"But by the grace of God, I am what I am!" 1 Corinthians 15:10

"Hold me up, and I shall be safe!" Psalm 119:117

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The Master taught me this in the washing of the disciples' feet

(J.R. Miller, in a letter to a young pastor)

Cultivate love for Christ--and then live for your work. It goes without saying that the supreme motive in every minister's life, should be love to Christ. 'The love of Christ constrains me!' was the keynote of Paul's marvelous ministry.

But this is not all. If a man is swayed by the love of Christ--then he must also have in his heart love for his fellow men. If I were to give you what I believe is one of the secrets of my own life, it is that I have always loved people. I have had an intense desire all of my life, to help people in every way; not merely to help them into the church--but to help them in their personal lives, in their struggles and temptations, their quest for the best things in character. I have loved other people with an absorbing devotion. I have always felt that I would go anywhere, do any personal service, and help any individual, even the lowliest. The Master taught me this in the washing of the disciples' feet, which showed His heart in being willing to do anything to serve His friends.

If you want to have success as a winner of men, as a helper of people, as a pastor of little children, as the friend of the tempted and imperiled--then you must love them and have a sincere desire to do them good. It seems to me that your secret of success will be, not in developing the professional ideals, nor in following any rules which you have learned in the seminary--but in caring for people with such intensity, that you will be ready to make any self-sacrifice to do them good.

[Editor's note: All who knew him marveled as they saw how full Miller's days were of varied service. Talmage said of Miller, "I doubt if there is a living minister in all the world who has done a greater work than Dr. Miller. He is the marvel of the age--he has done the work of ten men! While others were attending banquets or sitting by their firesides--his tireless feet have been tramping the streets of the city calling upon the sick, and like Paul, carrying the gospel into many homes. Of all the great ministers of the past, not one has wielded greater influence for good. The whole city should be thankful for the noble life of this wonderful man!"

Miller once said, "Most ministers have their 'free Mondays' and their evenings for concerts and that type of thing--or relaxing at home. I give up every hour to ministry of some sort. I am very busy at the office all day--people are there with their troubles all the time. In the evenings I go out visiting the sick and others. At about 9:30 I return home and have an hour with my family before they scatter off to bed."]

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Can it be possible?

(Charles Spurgeon)

"Do this in remembrance of Me!" (1 Corinthians 11:24)

It appears that Christians may forget Christ! There would be no need for this loving exhortation--if there were not a fearful possibility that our memories might prove treacherous. Nor is this an empty notion. It is, sadly, too well confirmed in our experience; not as a possibility--but as a lamentable fact!

It appears almost impossible that those who have been redeemed by the blood of the dying Lamb, and loved with an everlasting love by the eternal Son of God--could forget their gracious Savior! But if startling to the ear, sadly, it is too apparent to the eye to allow us to deny the crime.

Can we forget Him--who never forgot us!
Can we forget Him--who poured His blood out for our sins!
Can we forget Him--who loved us even to death!
Can it be possible?

Yes, it is not only possible--but conscience confesses that is is too sadly a fault with all of us. Instead of Him being a permanent resident in our memories--we treat Him as a visitor. The cross--where one would expect that memory would linger--is desecrated by the feet of forgetfulness.

Doesn't your conscience say that this is true? Don't you find yourselves forgetful of Jesus? Some other love steals away your heart--and you are unmindful of Him upon whom your chief affection ought to be set. Some earthly business engrosses your attention--when you ought to be fixed steadily upon the cross. It is the incessant turmoil of the world, the constant attraction of earthly things--which takes the soul away from Christ! While memory works to preserve a poisonous weed--it allows the rose of Sharon to wither!

Let us charge ourselves to tie a heavenly forget-me-not around our hearts for Jesus our Beloved, and whatever else we let slip, let us hold tight to Him!

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But he was a leper!

(Arthur Pink, "Gleanings from Elisha")

"Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man . . . but he was a leper!" 2 Kings 5:1

Naaman was a great man . . . but he was a leper! He was the victim of a loathsome and incurable disease. He was a pitiful and repulsive object, with no prospect whatever of any improvement in his condition.

Yes, my reader, the highly-privileged and honored Naaman was a leper--and as such he portrays what you are and what I am by nature. God's Word does not flatter man. It lays him in the dust, which is one reason why it is so unpalatable to the great majority of people. It is the Word of truth, and therefore instead of painting flattering pictures of human nature--it represents things as they actually are.

Instead of lauding man--it abases him.

Instead of speaking of the dignity and nobility of human nature--it declares it to be leprous--sinful, corrupt, depraved, defiled!

Instead of eulogizing human progress--it insists that "every man at his best state is altogether vanity!" (Psalm 39:5)

And when the Holy Scriptures define man's attitude toward and relationship with God, they insist that "There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God" (Romans 3:10-11). They declare that we are His enemies by our wicked works (Colossians 1:21), and that consequently we are under the condemnation and curse of God's law, and that His holy wrath abides on us! (John 3:36)

The Word of truth declares that by nature all of us are spiritual lepers--foul and filthy, unfit for the divine presence, "being alienated from the life of God." (Ephesians 4:18.)

You may occupy a good position in this world, even an eminent station in the affairs of this life. You may have made good in your vocation, and wrought praiseworthy achievements by human standards. You may be honorable in the sight of your fellows--but how do you appear in the eyes of God? You are a leper--one whom His law pronounces unclean, one who is utterly unfit for His holy presence! As it was with Naaman, so it is with you: "He was a great man--but a leper!"

We would not be faithful to our calling were we to glide over that in God's Word which is distasteful to proud flesh and blood. Nor would we be faithful to our readers if we glossed over their frightful and fatal natural condition. It is in their souls' interests that they should face this humiliating and unpleasant fact--that in God's sight, they are spiritual lepers!

But we must personalize it. Have you, my reader, realized this fact in your own case? Have you seen yourself as you are in God's sight? Are you aware that your soul is suffering from a disease that neither you nor any human being can cure? It is so, whether you realize it or not. The Scriptures declare that from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head, there is no soundness in you. Yes, that in the sight of the holy God, you are a mass of "wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores!" (Isaiah 1:6) Only as you penitently accept that divine verdict, is there any hope for you.

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(J.R. Miller, "Family Prayers")

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, look upon us graciously as we wait at Your feet. You have given us many invitations to come to You. You have invited us . . .
  to come with our sins,
  to come with our troubles,
  to come with our mistakes,
  to come with our cares,
  to come with our sorrows.
You have told us to come at all times, that we shall . . .
  never be unwelcome,
  never be turned away, and
  never find You too busy to hear us.
You have promised us . . .
  mercy for our sins,
  comfort for our sorrows,
  strength for our duties, and
  wisdom for our ignorance,
when we come to You. We thank You for all these precious invitations and assurances.

What would we do, O God, if we might not thus come to You? To whom else could we go? There is no other in all the universe who could help us--as we must be helped. Our hearts are full of praise and rejoicing, that we may thus come to You. There is nothing we cannot bring to You--nothing too small to bring--and nothing too large. We thank You that we are so blessed, that we have all Your divine love and grace to help us in our times of need. We need no other help, but Yours. We come now with all our burdens.

We have many sins. These are our worst burdens. They will sink us to eternal despair, unless we find help. We thank You that the Lord Jesus paid for our sins, and bore them away. In His name, depending upon His atonement, we come with our sins.

We have other needs.
We are not strong enough for duty.
We cannot stand against the ensnaring world, and the power of Satan.
We have no wisdom for life's problems, its duties, its responsibilities.
We need strength,
we need wisdom,
we need grace--
for every moment!

So we come to You, our Father, as Your redeemed children. Receive us, bless us, keep us, help us. We ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need!" Hebrews 4:16

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Some of Your gifts have come to us in strange form!

(J.R. Miller, "Family Prayers")

Father, let Your face shine upon our home today. We thank You for it. May it be . . .
  a shelter to us from the world's storms,
  a nest of love,
  a school where we may learn love's lessons, and
  where we may grow into the beauty of Christlikeness.
We pray continually that our home may become more and more like Heaven. Teach all of us how to live, so as to add to its sweetness.

Come and be a guest in our home. Then its love will become sweeter, and more and more holy. For Your presence gives light, blessing, and joy. Make our home, Your home. Dwell with us. Then we shall be happy. Then we shall live beautifully together.

We thank You for Your goodness to us this past week. You have showered Your blessings upon us with a most bountiful hand. You have given us favors of many kinds. Some of Your gifts have come to us in strange form--in trials, in burdens, in disappointments, in losses. Still we know that they are Your gifts, and as such, have in them good and blessing for our lives. Give us grace to accept whatever You send to us, knowing that Your love can never give us anything but kindness. Even if the cup is bitter--may we be enabled to accept it. We would get near to Your heart, we would creep into Jesus' bosom, into His everlasting arms, and be still.

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May we nestle in Your love!

(J.R. Miller, "Family Prayers")

(evening prayer)
Heavenly Father, the day is gone, and we cannot recall it . . .
   to amend its doings,
   to correct its mistakes,
   to blot out its sins,
   to undo the things we ought not to have done,
   to do the things we ought to have done, but left undone,
   to unsay the words we ought not to have said,
   to speak the words we ought to have spoken.

The day is gone from us--and is with You. We leave it in Your hands. Whatever we have done that was not according to Your will--may You graciously forgive. The things that pleased You--may You bless.

Our disappointments, we accept as Your appointments for us--better than our own way would have been. Teach us the lessons You would have us learn from the day's experiences. May we be wiser for having lived through these experiences. May . . .
  our faith be stronger,
  our love be deeper,
  our earnestness be more intense,
  and our zeal be more intense.

May we nestle in Your love, as little children nestle in the mother's bosom. May we hide in You as in an everlasting rock, so that our peace may never be disturbed, even in the wildest storms of earth. Enfold us all now in Your everlasting arms, and may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be upon us. Amen.

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Take all the tangled threads!

(J.R. Miller, "Family Prayers")

Heavenly Father, we would be strong for this new day, and we wait upon You to renew our strength. We need spiritual strength for the day that is before us. We shall have . . .
   burdens to carry,
   and battles to fight,
   and trials to endure,
   and duties to perform,
   and temptations to conquer,
   and conflicts with the evil world.
We need strength for all these experiences. You alone can give us what we need. You are our refuge and our strength--a very present help in times of trouble. You have promised to be with us, and to strengthen us. You have said that as our days are--so shall our strength be; and that Your grace is sufficient for us. We accept these assurances, believing that we shall obtain help from You for every duty and every struggle this day.

We would lean . . .
   our weakness--on Your strength,
   our ignorance--on Your wisdom,
   our trembling insecurity--on Your unchangeableness.

Restrain us . . .
   from all excess, of whatever kind,
   from all extravagance of speech,
   from all foolish vanity,
   from inordinate affection and emotion.
Make us thoughtful, serious, solemn, watchful, and prayerful.

May we be . . .
   stronger in faith,
   more earnest in purpose,
   more holy in thought and feeling--
because of our communion with You this day.

We ask You for grace . . .
   to perform our allotted tasks with diligence;
   to guide our affairs with discretion;
   to do all things, whatever we do, in the name of the Lord Jesus;
   and in all our ways to acknowledge You.
Order our steps in Your word--and let not any iniquity have dominion over us.

Take all the tangled threads of our lives into Your own hand, and unravel them, weaving them into a web of beauty.

"Those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength! They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint!" Isaiah 40:31

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Remember, God's arrows never miss the mark!

(Charles Spurgeon, "Treasury of David")

"God is a righteous judge--and God is angry with the wicked every day!" Psalm 7:11.
God not only detests sin, but is angry with those who continue to indulge in it. We have no ignorant or indifferent God to deal with; He can be angry, nay, He is angry today and every day with you--you ungodly and impenitent sinners! The best day that ever dawns on a sinner, brings a curse with it. From the beginning of the year even to its ending, there is not an hour in which God's oven is not hot, and burning in readiness for the wicked, who shall be as stubble before Him!

"If he does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He bends His bow and makes it ready!" Psalm 7:12.
What blows are those which will be dealt by that long-uplifted omnipotent arm! God's sword has been sharpening upon the revolving stone of our daily wickedness, and if we will not repent, it will speedily cut us in pieces! Turn or burn is the sinner's only alternative.

"He also prepares for Himself instruments of death; He makes His arrows into fiery shafts!" Psalm 7:13.
Even now God's thirsty arrow longs to wet itself with the blood of the ungodly! His bow is bent, His aim is taken, His arrow is fitted to the string--and what, O sinner, if the arrow should be let fly at you even now! Remember, God's arrows never miss the mark, and are, every one of them, "instruments of death." Judgment may tarry, but it will not come too late. The Greek proverb says, "The mill of God grinds slowly--but grinds to powder!"

"The sharpening of God's sword is but to give a keener edge, that it may cut the deeper. When God's sword is sharpened--it is to cut; and when God's bow is bent--it is to kill! Woe be to that man who is God's target!" William Secker
"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!" Hebrews 10:31

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Liquid prayers!

(Charles Spurgeon, "Treasury of David")

"The Lord has heard the voice of my weeping." Psalm 6:8

Is there a voice in weeping? Does weeping speak? In what language does it utter its meaning? Why, in that universal tongue which is known and understood in all the earth, and even in Heaven above. When a man weeps, whether he is a Jew or Gentile, Barbarian, Scythian, bond or free--it has the same meaning in it. Weeping is the eloquence of sorrow. It is an eloquent orator, needing no interpreter--but understood by all.

It is sweet to know that our tears are understood, even when words fail. Let us learn to think of tears as liquid prayers, and of weeping as a constant dropping of importunate intercession which will surely wear its way right into the very heart of God's mercy, despite the stony difficulties which obstruct the way. My God, I will "weep" when I cannot plead, for You hear the voice of my weeping!

"It is a sight fit for angels to behold, tears as pearls dropping from a penitent eye!" Thomas Watson

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We had only arrived at the borders of the works of God!

(Christopher Sturm, "Reflections", 1750-1786)

"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place--what is man that You are mindful of him, the son of man that You care for him?" Psalm 8:3-4

Could we transport ourselves above the moon, could we reach the highest star above our heads--we would instantly discover new skies, new stars, new suns, new systems, and perhaps more magnificently adorned! But even there, the vast dominions of our great Creator would not terminate; we would then find, to our astonishment, that we had only arrived at the borders of the works of God!

It is but little that we can know of His works, but that little should teach us to be humble, and to admire God's wisdom, power and goodness. How great must that Being be, who produced these immense globes out of nothing, who regulates their courses, and whose mighty hand directs and supports them all!

What is this clod of earth which we inhabit, with all the magnificent scenes it presents to us--in comparison of those innumerable worlds? Were this earth annihilated, its absence would no more be observed, than the removal of a grain of sand from the vast sea shore! What then are all our fine homes and belongings--when compared with those infinite worlds? They are but atoms dancing in the air, which are revealed to us by the sunbeams!

What then am I, when reckoned among the infinite number of God's creatures? I am lost in my own nothingness!

But as little as I appear in this respect--I find myself great in others. There is great beauty in this starry skies which God has chosen for His throne! How admirable are those celestial bodies! I am dazzled with their splendor, and enchanted with their beauty! But notwithstanding this, however beautiful, and however richly adorned--yet this sky is void of intelligence. It is a stranger to its own beauty--while I, who am mere clay, molded by a divine hand, am endowed with sense and reason. I can contemplate the beauty of these shining worlds; nay, more, I am already, to a certain degree, acquainted with their sublime Author; and by faith I see some small rays of His divine glory.

O may I be more and more acquainted with His works, and make the study of them my employ, until by a glorious change I rise to dwell with Him above the starry regions!