Grace Gems

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Who cares for pebbles--when jewels glitter before him?

(Charles Spurgeon, "Flowers from a Puritan's Garden" 1883)

"To rule a kingdom, is a nobler matter than to play with marbles."

What, then, is the folly of the worldling's choice, when he prefers to be contending among men for earthly toys--instead of seeking those things which are above!

How great is the degradation of professing Christians, when their minds are taken up with fashionable trivialities--instead of living alone to glorify their God, and acting as those whom Jesus has made to be kings and priests!

Who cares for pebbles--when jewels glitter before him?

Who would choose toys and rattles--when the wealth of the Indies is offered him?

Let us be no longer children or fools--but act as men who have put away childish things.

"Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth!" Colossians 3:1-2

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Oh the depth of the evil of sin!

(John Flavel)

If the death of Christ was that which satisfied God for our sins--then there is infinite evil in sin, since it could be not expiated but by an infinite atonement.

Fools make a mock at sin, and there are few who are duly sensible of its evil. But certainly, if God should exact the full penalty of you--your eternal sufferings could not satisfy for the evil there is in one vain thought. You may think it severe, that God should subject His creatures to everlasting sufferings for sin; but when you have well considered that the Being against whom you sin is the infinitely blessed God, and how God dealt with the angels that fell--you will change your mind. "These he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day!" Jude 1:6

Oh the depth of the evil of sin! If ever you wish to see how great and horrible an evil sin is, measure it in your thoughts, either by the infinite holiness and excellency of God, who is wronged by it; or by the infinite sufferings of Christ, who died to atone for it--and then you will have deeper apprehensions of its enormity.

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There is something fascinating in GRIEF

(Letters of John Newton)

My dear Madam,
There is something fascinating in GRIEF. As painful as it is, we are prone to indulge it, and to brood over the thoughts and circumstances which are suited (like fuel to fire) to heighten and prolong it!

When the Lord afflicts--it is His design that we should grieve; but in this, as in all other things--there is a certain moderation which befits a Christian, and which only grace can teach. And grace teaches us, not by books or by hearsay--but by experimental lessons. All beyond this, should be avoided and guarded against as sinful and hurtful.

GRIEF, when indulged and excessive . . .
  preys upon the spirits,
  injures health,
  indisposes us for duty, and
  causes us to shed tears which deserve more tears.

This is a weeping world. Sin has filled it with thorns and briars, with crosses and calamities. This poor world is a great hospital, resounding with groans in every quarter. It is as a field of battle, where many are falling around us continually! It is more astonishing that we escape so well--than that we are sometimes wounded. We must have some share of grief; it is the unavoidable lot of our nature and state; it is likewise needful in point of discipline. The Lord will certainly chasten those whom He loves, though others may seem to pass for a time with impunity. That is a sweet, instructive, and important passage,

    "And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: 'My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son.' Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. 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 12:5-11.

    It is so plain--that it needs no comment. It is so full--that a comment would but weaken it. May the Lord inscribe it upon your heart, my dear Madam, and upon mine.

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One throw of the dice and the great game of life is lost!

(John MacDuff, "Thoughts for the Quiet Hour", 1895)

How many there are with whom the labor of long years is a failure! They are engaged building some favorite edifice, material or mental, literally or figuratively. They dream not that it rests on shifting sands, or on the edge of a muffled volcano!

A teacher bestows his fondest assiduous care on a pupil--a young life full of high intellectual promise. A sudden illness comes and sweeps him away!

A parent lavishes his tenderest love and affections, thought and time and money, in raising his child; but, by-and-by, the life of his prodigal son, is to the parent, worse than death.

Yes, often are fondest hopes, best laid plans, glad aspirations, thwarted; the glowing visions of success clouded with misfortune--calamity--ruin--the grave! One throw of the dice and the great game of life is lost!

Not so with imperishable riches--"the hope laid up for you in Heaven"--bliss beyond the accidents of capricious fortune, bonds that can know no dissolution. "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever!" Psalm 73:26

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But how shall we attain this humble frame of spirit?

(Letters of John Newton)

To be humble, and like a little child, afraid of taking a step alone, and so conscious of snares and dangers around us, as to cry to Him continually to hold us up that we may be safe--is the sure, the infallible, the only secret of walking closely with God.

But how shall we attain this humble frame of spirit? It must be from a real and sensible conviction of our weakness and vileness, which we cannot learn (at least I have not been able to learn it) merely from books or preachers.

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

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A holy antipathy against sin

(Thomas Watson, "Doctrine of Repentance")

There is no better sign of true repentance, than a holy antipathy against sin. Sound repentance begins in love to God--and ends in the hatred of sin.

How may true hatred of sin be known?

1. When a man's HEART is set against sin. Not only does the tongue protest against sin--but the heart abhors it. However lovely sin is painted, we find it odious--just as we abhor the picture of one whom we mortally hate, even though it may be well drawn.

Suppose a dish is finely cooked and the sauce good--yet if a man has an antipathy against the meat, he will not eat it. So let the devil cook and dress sin with pleasure and profit--yet a true penitent has a secret abhorrence of it, is disgusted by it, and will not meddle with it.

2. True hatred of sin is UNIVERSAL. There is a dislike of sin not only in the judgment--but in the will and affections. Many a one is convinced that sin is a vile thing, and in his judgment has an aversion to it--yet he tastes sweetness in it, and has a secret delight in it. Here is a disliking of sin in the judgment--and an embracing of it in the affections! Whereas in true repentance, the hatred of sin is in all the faculties, not only in the mind--but chiefly in the will: "I do the very thing I hate!" (Romans 7:15). Paul was not free from sin--yet his will was against it.

3. He who truly hates one sin--hates all sins. He who hates a serpent--hates all serpents. "I hate every false way!" (Psalm 119:104). Hypocrites will hate some sins which mar their credit. But a true convert hates all sins--gainful sins, complexion sins, the very stirrings of corruption.

4. A holy heart detests sin for its intrinsic pollution. Sin leaves a stain upon the soul. A regenerate person abhors sin not only for the curse--but for the contagion. He hates this serpent not only for its sting--but for its poison. He hates sin not only for Hell--but as Hell.

Those who have no antipathy against sin, are strangers to true repentance. Sin is in them--as poison in a serpent, which, being natural to it, affords delight. How far are they from repentance who, instead of hating sin--love sin! To the godly--sin is as a thorn in the eye; to the wicked--sin is as a crown on the head! "They actually rejoice in doing evil!" (Jeremiah 11:15).

Loving of sin is worse than committing it. What is it, which makes a swine love to tumble in the mire? Its love of filth. O how many there are--who love the forbidden fruit! They love their sin--and hate holiness.

There should be a deadly antipathy between the heart and sin. What is there in sin, which may make a penitent hate it?

Sin is the accursed thing, the most deformed monster! Look upon the origin of sin, from whence it comes. It fetches its pedigree from Hell: "He who commits sin is of the devil!" (1 John 3:8.). Sin is the devil's special work. How hateful is it to be doing that which is the special work of the devil--indeed, that which makes men into devils!

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An ever-present help in trouble

(Thomas Brooks, "A Word in Season to Suffering Saints")

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior!" Isaiah 43:1-3

This divine presence is the greatest good in the world.

The people of the Lord should be very thankful for His presence with them in their greatest troubles and deepest distresses. O Sirs! this divine presence is a great mercy.
It is a special mercy, it is a distinguishing mercy.
It is a big-bellied mercy--which has many mercies in its womb.
It is a mercy-greatening mercy; it greatens all the mercies we enjoy.
It is a mercy-sweetening mercy; it sweetens health, strength, riches, honors, trade, relations, etc.

It is a soul-mercy, a mercy . . .
  which reaches the soul,
  which cheers the soul,
  which lifts up the soul,
  which quiets the soul,
  which satisfies the soul, and
  which will go to Heaven with the soul.

Will you not be thankful for such a mercy? Will you be thankful for temporal mercies--and will you not be thankful for spiritual mercies? To enjoy the presence of God when we most need it, is a mercy which deserves perpetual praises. It is the greatest mercy in this world, to enjoy the gracious presence of God in our great troubles and desperate dangers. Therefore be much in blessing God, and in admiring God--for His presence with you in a dark and trying day.

"I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." Joshua 1:5

"The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress!" Psalm 46:7

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

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It would make us sleep more quietly, and die more comfortably!

(Thomas Manton)

A man goes to bed willingly and cheerfully--because he knows he shall rise again the next morning, and be renewed in his strength.

Just so, confidence in the resurrection would make us go to the grave, as cheerfully as we go to our beds! It would make us sleep more quietly, and die more comfortably!

"So will it be with the resurrection of the dead.
 The body that is sown is perishable--it is raised imperishable;
 it is sown in dishonor--it is raised in glory;
 it is sown in weakness--it is raised in power;
 it is sown a natural body--it is raised a spiritual body.
  1 Corinthians 15:42-44

"Therefore comfort one another with these words!" 1 Thessalonians 4:18

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Pleasures forevermore!

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

Alas! with what desperate madness are those chargeable--who are taken up with transitory trifles, and neglect the realities of the everlasting world? When I consider the vanity of all earthly greatness, I cannot help concluding, that such as pursue after it are intoxicated with poison. But even if the pleasures of this world were real and solid, yet they are so transient--that they are not worthy our pursuit!

O how wise they are for earthly trifles--but how foolish for eternal realities!

Once a great king made a vast feast for his nobles for a hundred and eighty days; nothing less than a royal treasury could support the expense of such an entertainment.

But the King of kings shall feast and satiate all His mighty angels, and all His chosen people on His own undiminished fullness through eternity itself! Here is . . .
  bliss without ceasing,
  abundance beyond all bounds,
  and possession without end!

"In Your presence is fullness of joy! In Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore!" (Psalm 16:11)

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Storms and tempests, whirlwinds and hurricanes!

(James Meikle, "Converse with the Unseen World")

"I am the man who has seen affliction!" Lamentations 3:1

Like the rest of Adam's discontented family, I am often . . .
  grumbling at my griefs,
  complaining of my afflictions, and
  on the brink of quarreling at the conduct of Providence itself!

To be without afflictions is impossible here below, where man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward. Not to feel when afflicted, is a stoical, impious stupidity. But to sink under troubles of any kind, is beneath the character of the Christian. Yet, when I reflect on that eternity of bliss which is before me, on that world of glory of which I am an heir--I wonder that my afflictions are not more.

Is it too much for me to stumble among the 'rough stones of adversity'--to have my flesh pricked with the 'thorns of trouble'--who shall so soon walk the golden streets of Heaven, and wear a crown of immortal glory?

Though the whole earth should rise up against me--if Heaven, and the God of Heaven are for me--I am in perfect safety in the midst of all the storms and tempests, whirlwinds and hurricanes which can blow!

"Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that . . .
  neither death nor life,
  nor angels nor rulers,
  nor things present,
  nor things to come,
  nor powers,
  nor height,
  nor depth,
  nor any other created thing,
can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!" Romans 8:35-39

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I shall forget all the toils of my journey!

(James Meikle, "A Secret Survey into the State of the Soul" April 13, 1779)

There is one thing which is needful--and only one thing. Henceforth let me attend to it with diligence and care, and not to make trifles such matters of concern.

If I am traveling to my Father's house, I should attend closely to my journey, and not consume myself with anxiety about the climate, whether it it fair or foul; whether the road is good or bad; and whether I join agreeable company, or walk alone. For my Father's house will make me completely happy, so happy that I shall forget all the toils of my journey!

"Heaven will make amends for all!"

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Amused, entertained, seduced!

(S. Houghton)

The fact is that theatrical performances, in order to be paying propositions, must pander to the baser passions in unregenerate men and women. They must be a reflector of the world--the world that lies in the Wicked One. This, say some, is their merit--they are a mirror of life, and as life includes the foul and the sordid, so too must the theater.

We grant that the playwright sets out to mirror life. So too does Holy Scripture. No book is so revealing as to human nature! No book better portrays human sin! But if the theater and the Book do one and the same thing--then wherein lies the vast difference between them? And why may not one be the handmaid of the other?

For a variety of reasons; but principally for this--that, whereas the Book shows . . .
  sin in its true evil colors,
  sin in its devilish origin,
  sin in its downward course,
  sin in its dreadful wages,
  sin in its awful and eternal consequences;
on the other hand the theater displays sin that men may be amused, entertained, and alas, all too often seduced! The Book smites the conscience and leads a man to say, "Woe is me, for I am undone, for I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty!" It causes him to cry, "God be merciful to me a sinner!"

But the theater tends in another direction altogether. As it sets out to entertain, so also it blurs a man's sight of that which is truly spiritual and divinely holy; as it aims to amuse, it dulls a man's ability to examine himself in the pure light of revealed truth.

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An infinite debtor

(William Mason, "The One Thing Needful to Make Poor Sinners Rich, and Miserable Sinners Happy")

I think I feel myself such an infinite debtor to my Lord, for . . .
  His matchless love,
  His rich grace, and
  His glorious salvation,
that I would never stop testifying of Him to my fellow sinners, while . . .
  my heart can beat,
  my tongue can speak,
  or my hand can write.

The design of my writings is to stir up and quicken the Lord's children in the way of . . .
  greater trust in Christ,
  more intense looking to Christ,
  greater dependence upon Him,
  and more consistent abiding in Him
--so that they may . . .
  enjoy more sweet fellowship with Him,
  find more of the His inestimable preciousness,
  and experience more of His wonderful love, which surpasses knowledge.

By thus cleaving, in heart and affection, to our heavenly Bridegroom, we shall be . . .
  more spiritual in our frame of mind,
  more humble in our hearts,
  more circumspect in our walk,
  more heavenly in our conversation,
  and more holy in our lives.
Hence we shall become more dead . . .
  to the world and its vanities,
  to sin and its miseries, and
  to self-righteousness and its deceits.

All is not right between Christ and the soul--if it is not earnestly desiring to maintain continuous, holy fellowship with Him--studiously pursuing those means which tend to promote the life and power of practical, experimental godliness, and avoiding all things which are contrary to His precious Word.

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The world is an old nut which we crack!

(Thomas Manton, 1620-1677)

"Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!" Ecclesiastes 1:2

Without God, the world is a old nut which we crack, but find nothing in it but dust!

"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

"Naked a man comes from his mother's womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand." Ecclesiastes 5:15

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Oh, free, rich, glorious grace!

(Anne Dutton's Letters on Spiritual Subjects)

"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" 1 John 3:1

What! Did the Lord of all love us, and give Himself for us?
For us creatures,
for us sinners,
for rebels against His crown,
for His enemies, and
for haters of His ways,
who deserved to be companions with devils,
and were fit fuel for everlasting burnings!

Oh, free, rich, glorious grace!

What could the King of glory see in us to attract His love? Were we not the most loathsome, abominable objects in His sight? And yet we, even we, found grace in His sight!

O! He loved us freely from the infinite grace of His own heart, and the sovereign good pleasure of His will. And He so loved us, that rather than we should die--He Himself would die for us; that rather than we should perish in our guilt and pollution--He Himself, His righteous, holy Self, would . . .
  bear our sins,
  be made a curse for us, and
  endure all that flaming wrath that we had deserved!

Oh, never was there such a lover as our dear Lord Jesus!

Oh, glorious Lover! He ever lives, He ever loves, and from His love and life He will raise us from all sin and misery--unto all grace and glory, and crown us with Him to reign in life eternal. And in all, He will rejoice over us to do good, with His whole heart and His whole soul. Yes, He will delight . . .
  to honor us,
  to lift us beggars from the ash-heap,
  to set us among princes, and
  to make us inherit the throne of glory!

"For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will--to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One he loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace!" Ephesians 1:4-7

Oh, free, rich, glorious grace!