Grace Gems

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Had one of those holy angels

(David Harsha, "The Death of Christ")

"Christ died for the ungodly!" Romans 5:6

O the dying love of the Savior!

If we would learn something of the vastness of redeeming love, we must consider the character and dignity of Him by whom it was manifested.

Had one of those holy angels who minister in the presence of God clothed himself with garments of humanity, and amid the most intense and indescribable sufferings, finished his earthly course on a cross, for the purpose of redeeming a race of sinners from everlasting destruction--how immeasurable would have been the benevolence displayed in such a condescending act! It must have filled us with amazement, and excited the strongest feelings of gratitude.

But how shall we express our admiration and praise,
  when we see Him whom seraphim adore, stooping from heaven to earth--to encircle vile sinners in the arms of His mercy;
  when we see Him, who is infinite in power, and majesty, and riches, and glory--voluntarily placing Himself in the room of rebels on earth;
  when we see Jesus, the brightness of His Father's glory, stretched upon the cross, racked with the most intense pain of body, and soul, and suffering for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God!

How amazing that He, who, by His infinite power, could have at once annihilated our rebellious race, or consigned us to everlasting punishment--should, for a season . . .
  divest Himself of His heavenly glory,
  visit rebellious earth,
  stoop so low in humiliation,
  become so poor,
  suffer so much,
  endure such a shameful, painful, and accursed death--for the purpose of making vile sinners eternally rich, holy, and happy in the Paradise of God!

"May you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully!" Ephesians 3:18-19

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The King's Chambers!

(Frank Hall)

"The King has brought me into His chambers!" Song of Songs 1:4

Come and enter with me into the private chambers of our Lord and let us enjoy the rich, spiritual splendors of our Husband the King. Enter in child of God, and marvel with me at the ornate, soul cheering luxuries of these gospel chambers.

His heavenly furnishings, decor, curtains, and tapestries are the most extravagant beauties you have ever seen! They cost a king's ransom; for the King purchased each one with His own precious blood.

Look up, down, and all around and you will notice that every wall is white, seamless, spotless, and pure. Righteousness is the color of choice in these stately halls.

The floors are firm, unshakable, and clear as crystal--built from the sweat, blood, tears, and labor of the King Himself.

Do you see the stairs--how shimmering, brilliant, and bright. Each step was quarried from Mount Calvary and is an everlasting memorial to a journey once made by the King that He will never make again; for it was at Calvary that His people crucified Him as the unwanted Jesus.

Look there in the corner--do you see that golden chest covered with love and encrusted with glory? That's where the King keeps His most treasured possession, a precious book that His Father gave to Him ages ago--The Lamb's Book of Life. Long ago, before the earth, moon, and stars adorned the heavens, the King's Father took the sovereign pen of eternal election in His hand and inscribed in everlasting ink the names of a precious few. These are the names of the royal seed, the King's precious children, those whom He loves, for whom He died, for whom He reigns as King over all. To these elect ones the King sends His Spirit. To them He gives the gift of faith that they too might be brought into these royal chambers and stately halls. These believing ones, like us, are brought here by the King. They come as we have come to refresh ourselves, to enjoy, to marvel, and to bask in the secret wonders of the King's redeeming love, everlasting mercy, and immutable purpose of grace and salvation!

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Who can this be but Jesus?

(Alexander Smellie, "The Secret Place" 1907)

"A Man will be like . . .
  a shelter from the wind,
  a refuge from the storm,
  streams of water in the desert, and
  the shade of a great rock in a parched land!" Isaiah 32:2

The beautiful words of the prophet find their supreme fulfillment in Jesus--the Man who is both my Brother, and the Son of the Most High God.

Jesus is my Sin-Bearer, and therefore I discover in Him a shelter from the wind and storm. Between me and the the fiery hurricane of God's wrath, about to overtake me because of my sin--He has placed Himself! The storm of divine wrath broke on Him, instead of on me! He felt all its scorching and devastating power. And so, when I take refuge in what He has done and in who He is--He screens me from its fury!

Jesus stretched wide His blessed arms on the Cross; in His holy bosom, He received all the spears of divine wrath which should pierced my heart forever in Hell!

Jesus is my Friend, and therefore I discover in Him streams of water in the desert. Not content with redeeming me from death, He satisfies all the thirst of my heart--the thirst which the world's best things can neither satisfy nor quench. Yesterday, it was the hot, burnt, agonizing desert; today I am among "the silver mountains, where the nectar fountains spring."

The Bible has ceased to be vexatious and dull; it brims over with light and help and joy. Prayer is a task no longer--but a well of refreshment. He gives me fuller grace, life more abundant, deeper holiness, and soul-satisfaction. I hunger no more, neither thirst any more.

And Jesus is my Master, and therefore I discover in Him the shade of a great rock in a parched land. The monotony, the miserable sameness, of my life--how is it cured? It is cured when He begins to reign over me. Before He came, it was sand, sand, sand, as far as the eye could travel--yellow sand below, and blazing sun above! But since He came, there is something else, a mighty rock rising in the midst of my parched land; and, nestling under its shade . . .
  the grass is green,
  and the flowers are bright,
  and the wilderness is wilderness no more.
Every passing act is dignified now, because it is done for Christ. Every trifle is sacred, because His Heaven bends over me, and His eternity awaits me. I have escaped from the monotony, the tediousness, the dull routine of life. He crowns me with His loving-kindness and tender mercy!

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The wisest arithmetic!

(Alexander Smellie, "The Secret Place" 1907)

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom!" Psalm 90:12

I number my days aright, when I feel their fewness. To the imagination of the young, life seems long. They catch no echo of "the roar of the waves of eternity, as they dash on the shores of time"--so far away those shores appear to be. But the farther I advance in age, the more swiftly and imperceptibly the hours and weeks and years steal on. At the outset of the voyage, I mark my progress by the objects on the river-banks: trees, houses, towering hills. But, later, I have left the river, and am on the trackless sea; and the sea remorselessly impels me on. Soon I shall hear the cry, "Land ahead!" and my voyage of life will be finished and past!

I number my days aright, when I recall their uncertainty. Often they are abruptly broken, before they have attained their bound. "Lord, spare the green--and take the ripe," is a cry often sounded. But the cry is not always answered, and the child as well as the parent is laid in the churchyard grave.

Let me remember how brittle my years are--and let me seize hold upon eternal realities which cannot be shaken.

I number my days aright, also, if I compare them with the unchangeableness of God. The world  watches the generations come and go. But God is without beginning, and the millenniums have left Him unhurt by the tooth of time. How paltry my fourscore winters seem, in the light of His unending ages! Yes! but let me turn to Him. Let me cast myself on the Everlasting Arms--and the enduringness of my God will pass into my frailty and littleness.

And I number my days aright, if I think of them in relation to the limitless future. In one sense, I am easily robbed of them; in another sense, my years will come to no conclusion at all. As short as they are, they prelude an unimaginable, deathless existence. Now I am laying the foundations of an eternal palace--or of an eternal prison, from which I shall never leave. Now I am molding for myself a king's unfading crown--or a criminal's inexorable chain. And since such momentous outcomes hang on the slender thread of my fleeting days, let me live as one about to migrate to the eternal world, and let me be diligent in my Father's business.

This is, indeed, the wisest arithmetic!

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Strangers and pilgrims!

(Thomas Brooks, "London's Lamentations" 1670)

"To God's elect, strangers in the world," 1 Peter 1:1

This world is a wilderness, and believers, as pilgrims and strangers, must pass through it to their heavenly Canaan. "For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come." Hebrews 11:10

"And they admitted that they were strangers and pilgrims on earth." Hebrews 11:13

"Dear friends, I urge you, as strangers and pilgrims in the world," 1 Peter 2:11

The Scriptures, by frequently calling believers pilgrims, sojourners, strangers, does sufficiently evidence that there is no abiding place for them in this fleeting world. This poor world is not their country, their city, their home, their habitation; and therefore they are not to place their hopes or hearts or affections upon things below. Heaven is their chief city, their best country, their most desirable home, and their everlasting habitation; and therefore their hopes, desires, breathings, longings should be heaven-ward, glory-ward!

Oh, when shall grace be swallowed up in glory!
When shall we take possession of our eternal mansions!
When shall we be with Christ, who is best of all!

"Live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear." 1 Peter 1:17

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The true recipe for miserable existence!

(James Alexander, "Consolation" 1852)

"Father, if You are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from Me. Nevertheless, I want Your will to be done, not Mine!" Luke 22:42

The first law of true religion is submission to God's will. Where it does not exist, there is no piety, and just as truly there is no tranquility of soul.

What a hideous sight to see a human creature in full rebellion against God's providence . . .
  repining at His allotments,
  fighting against His dispensations,
  and cursing His judgments!

The true recipe for miserable existence is this: Quarrel with Providence. When God means to make us happy, He teaches us submission--a resignation of everything into His hands, and an acknowledgment that whatever He does is wisest and best.

O how sweetly even afflictions fall, when there is such a temper to receive them! "Shall we receive good at the hands of the Lord, and shall we not receive evil?" Such dispositions tend to stillness of soul; and even amidst chastisement there is internal quiet.

"It is a very great attainment to lie passive in God's hands, and know no will but His!" (Alexander Smellie)

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

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD!" Job 1:21

"May the Lord's will be done." Acts 21:14

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My own special treasure!

(Theodore Cuyler, "Wayside Springs from the Fountain of Life" 1883)

"You will be My own special treasure!" Exodus 19:5

Luther said that there is great divinity in the personal pronouns of Scripture. "They will be Mine--in the day when I make up My jewels!" Malachi 3:17

Every true believer is surrendered to the ownership of Christ. Up to the hour of conversion we had other masters--self, sin, and the devil. Now Jesus says to each Christian, "You are Mine! I own you. I will instruct you, and polish you, and put you wherever it pleases Me. I will take care of you, and nothing shall pluck you out of My hand. You shall be My own special treasure in the day of My triumphant appearing. I will place you in My crown!"

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My child, have you any food?

(Horatius Bonar, "The Tender Love of the Risen Christ")

"Children, have you any food?" John 21:5

Note the watchfulness of the risen Christ. He looks down on His flock, and marks each sheep and lamb with more than a shepherd's eye. The glory, the blessedness, the abundance with which He is surrounded--do not make Him unwatchful of His redeemed people. Amid His own plenty, He remembers the poverty, and hunger, and cold, and nakedness of His scattered flock below. He watches each one! The lack of one meal was observed by Him, that morning in Galilee; and we may be sure that He marks the lack of sustenance, whether for soul or body, in the least of His people.

Poor saint, you never lacked a meal, a crust--but Jesus noticed it, and asked the question, on purpose to supply your need, "My child, have you any food?" He watches the hunger and thirst of His children, and in profoundest pity, is unceasingly asking the question, "My child, have you any food?"

Nothing escapes His vigilant eye. "I know your poverty," He says, "I know your hunger, your thirst, your weariness, your weakness, your sighs and tears." Never did an earthly father pity a starving child, as He pities us!

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Windy profession and airy talk!

(John Bunyan)

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven!" Matthew 5:16

O soul, consider this deeply--it is the life of a Christian which carries more conviction and persuasion than his words. Though, like an angel, you talk of Christ, of the gospel, of the doctrines of grace, and of Heaven--yet, if you indulge devilish tempers, and live under the power of any sinful lusts and passions--you will hereby harden others against the things of God and prevent their setting out in the ways of God. Study and pray to be a consistent walker in the ways of holiness; else, all is but windy profession and airy talk.

O how much harm is done to Christ's cause--by the unholy walk of many professors!

"For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life!" 1 Thessalonians 4:7

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Sin's enormity!

(Arthur Pink)

"Oh, do not do this abominable thing that I hate!" Jeremiah 44:4

If we took a survey of everything on the earth--we could find nothing so vile as sin. The basest and most contemptible thing in this world, has some degree of worth in it, as being the workmanship of God. But sin and its foul streams have not the least part of worth in them. Sin is wholly evil without the least mixture of good--it is vileness in the abstract.

Sin's heinousness appears in its author: "The one who practices sin is of the Devil; for the Devil has sinned from the beginning." Sin is the Devil's trade, and he practices it incessantly!

Sin's enormity is seen in what it has done to man: it has completely ruined his nature and brought him under the eternal curse of God!

Sin is the source of all our miseries. All evil and wretchedness are its fruits. There is . . .
  no distress of the mind,
  no anguish of the heart,
  no pain of the body
--but is due to sin!
All the miseries which mankind groans under, are to be ascribed to sin!

Sin is the cause of all divine punishments: "Your ways and your doings have brought these things upon you. This is your punishment." Had there been no sin, there would have been . . .
  no wars,
  no calamities,
  no prisons,
  no hospitals,
  no insane asylums,
  no cemeteries
  no eternal Hell!
Yet who lays these things to heart?

"The deceitfulness of sin!" Sin assumes many garbs. When it appears in its nakedness--it is seen as a black and misshapen monster! How God Himself views it, may be learned from the various similitudes used by the Holy Spirit to set forth its ugliness and loathsomeness. Sin is likened to the scum of a seething pot in which is a detestable carcass--and to a dead and rotting body!

There is a far greater malignity in sin than is commonly supposed, even by the majority of church members. Men regard sin as an infirmity, and term it a human frailty or hereditary weakness. The majority regard sin as a mere trifle.

Tens of thousands of religionists see so little filth in sin, that they imagine a few tears will wash away its stain. They perceive so little criminality in it, that they persuade themselves that a few good works will make full reparation for it.

All comparisons fail to set forth the horrible malignity in that abominable thing which God hates. We can say nothing more evil of sin, than to term it what it is!

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This was not the pleasant life which they dreamed of on their wedding day!

(J.R. Miller, "The Glory of the Commonplace")
"Man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward!" Job 5:7

"Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows." John 16:33

There are many crucial lessons which Christians cannot learning the sunshine of prosperity. So the great Teacher calls us apart and shuts the doors, to keep out the light and exclude the world's noises--and then He teaches us the songs . . .
  of peace,
  of joy,
  of trust,
  of love.
Thus the painful things of life have their place in the divine training of our lives.

Many of the things our Master calls us to do or to endure, do not seem to our eyes at the time, to be the best things. Much of our life is disappointment. Sorrow comes ofttimes with . . .
  its hot tears,
  its emptyings of the heart,
  its pain,
  its bitterness.

We do not know when we set out on any bright, sunny path--into what sorrowful experiences we shall be led. A noble young man married a sweet, beautiful girl. They were very happy. Life began for them in a garden of roses. Only three bright years had passed, however, when the young wife broke down in health. Then she became an invalid, much of the time unable to leave her room. The burden has been a very heavy one for the husband, requiring continual self-denial and sacrifice, besides the grief and anxiety it has brought.

This was not the pleasant life which they dreamed of on their wedding day! They thought only of gladness and prosperity. It never occurred to them that adversity or any trouble could break into their sweet paradise.

But the Master has made no mistake. To those who have watched their lives and noted the fruit of the suffering in them, it is becoming apparent that divine love and kindness are written in all the painful lines of the long story. The young man has been growing all the years . . .
  in strength,
  in gentleness,
  in purity of spirit,
  in self-control,
  in the peace of God,
  in all manly virtues.
It seemed a strange place to make him cast his nets--into the deep waters of affliction and disappointment--but he is now drawing them full of rich and noble blessings.

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose!" Romans 8:28

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Imitate the miser!

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

"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matthew 6:21

Is not Christ our richest treasure? Should He not be ever in our minds, and our minds ever on Him? O Christian, the riches of your Christ are boundless and bottomless! You have in Christ, UNSEARCHABLE RICHES--an inexhaustible treasure which never fails!

O then, imitate the miser! Let your mind dwell on your treasure. Let your treasure be ever uppermost in your mind.

Is the miser's mind ever upon, and ever going out after his treasure? Just so, let your minds dwell on Christ!

Does the miser value himself by his treasure? Just so, must you value yourself--upon Christ!

Is he always poring over his precious wealth? Just so, should you pour over your precious Christ!

Does the miser love to inspect, and count over his beloved gold? O let your mind be ever inspecting your beloved Christ in . . .
   in His wondrous person;
   in His amazing love, in laying down His life for you, His enemy;
  and in His glorious salvation of you, an ungodly sinner!

Be constantly counting over . . .
  all the great and precious promises which you have in Him;
  all the graces, blessings, and comforts which you have from Him;
  and the certain glory which you soon shall enjoy with Him!

Is the miser careful to keep, and fearful of losing, any part of his possession? So let it be between Christ and your mind. Hold Him fast. Cleave to Him. Be careful to enjoy Him always. Be ever fearful of losing any blessing or comfort He has promised to bestow.

Thus esteem Christ--as your treasure! Let all your hopes center in Him, and all your affections fix upon Him! Until time is swallowed up in eternity--be receiving out of His inexhaustible fullness . . .
  grace upon grace,
  blessing upon blessing,
  comfort upon comfort!

Christ is your treasure! All other things are but dross and dung compared to Him! Look down with a holy contempt, upon all objects beneath your Beloved!

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ!" Philippians 3:7-8

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What a believer would do--if he could

(Letters of John Newton)

"For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. These are contrary the one to the other--so that you cannot do the things that you would!" Galatians 5:17

This is a humbling but an accurate account of a Christian's attainments in the present life, and is equally applicable to the strongest and to the weakest. The weakest need not say less--the strongest will hardly venture to say more.

The Lord has given His people a desire aiming at great things--but they cannot do as they would. Their best desires are weak and ineffectual, not absolutely so--but in comparison with the noble mark at which they aim. So that while they have great cause to be thankful for the desire He has given them, and for the degree in which it is answered--they have equal reason to be ashamed and abased under a sense of their continual defects and the evil mixtures which taint and debase their best endeavors!

It would be easy to make out a long list of particulars, which a believer would do if he could--but in which, from first to last, he finds a mortifying inability. Permit me to mention a few, which I need not transcribe from books, for they are always present to my mind.

He would willingly enjoy God in prayer. He knows that prayer is his duty; but he considers it likewise as his greatest honor and privilege. In this light he can recommend it to others, and can tell them of the wonderful condescension of the great God, who humbles Himself and opens His gracious ear to the supplications of sinful worms upon earth! The believer can bid others to expect a pleasure in waiting upon the Lord, different in kind and greater in degree than all that the world can afford. By prayer he can say: "You have liberty to cast all your cares upon Him who cares for you. By one hour's intimate access to the throne of grace--you may acquire more true spiritual knowledge and comfort, than by a week's converse with the best of men, or the most studious perusal of many books." And in this light he would consider it and improve it for himself.

But, alas; how seldom can he do as he would! How often does he find this privilege to be a mere task, which he would be glad of a just excuse to omit! and the chief pleasure he derives from the performance--is to think that his task is finished! He has been drawing near to God with his lips--while his heart was far from Him. Surely this is not doing as he would, when (to borrow the expression of an old woman here,) he is dragged before God like a slave, and comes away like a thief!

Though we aim at this good--evil is present with us!

Alas! how vain is man in his best estate! How much weakness and inconsistency, even in those whose hearts are right with the Lord! What reason have we to confess that we are unworthy, unprofitable servants!

It were easy to enlarge in this way--would paper and time permit. But, blessed be God, we are not under the law--but under grace! And even these distressing effects of the remnants of indwelling sin are overruled for good. By these experiences--the believer is weaned more from SELF, and taught more highly to prize and more absolutely to rely on Him, who is our Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification and Redemption! The more vile we are in our own eyes--the more precious He will be to us! A deep repeated sense of the evil of our hearts--is necessary to preclude all boasting, and to make us willing to give the whole glory of our salvation where it is due!

Again, a sense of these evils will (when hardly anything else can do it) reconcile us to the thoughts of DEATH! Yes, they make us desirous to depart--that we may sin no more; since we find depravity so deep-rooted in our nature, that, like the leprous house, the whole fabric must be taken down before we can be freed from its defilement!

Then, and not until then--we shall be able to do the thing that we would! When we see Jesus--we shall be transformed into His image, and be done with sin and sorrow forever!

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The richest jewel in the cabinet of glory!

(William Dyer, "Christ's Famous Titles")

"The Son is the radiance of God's glory!" Hebrews 1:3

Christ is the richest jewel in the cabinet of glory!

He is the sparkling pearl of great price!

Whoever has Him cannot be poor;
whoever lacks Him cannot be rich!

Christ's members are the happiest!

Christ's precepts are the purest!

Christ's love is the truest!

Christ's comforts are the sweetest!

Christ's reward is the highest!

Christ's riches are the most precious!

Christ's glory is the greatest!

Oh! sirs! Christ is . . .
  the glory of God,
  the paradise of angels,
  the beauty of Heaven,
  the Redeemer of men!

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In one vast blaze of unobscured glory!

(John MacDuff, "The Promised Land" 1859)

"Your eyes shall see the King in His beauty!" Isaiah 33:17

To see the Savior as He is, in the splendors of His glorified humanity--is the highest and most attractive view which is given of the Heavenly world.

To see Him as He was, when He tabernacled here below--was a high privilege, one which prophets, and kings, and righteous men of old, ardently desired. But to behold Him . . .
  clothed with majesty divine,
  exalted above all blessing and praise,
  the object of celestial adoration,
  with all the heavenly hosts prostrate before His throne
--that will be a blessed sight indeed!

Between the view that is enjoyed of the Redeemer's glory on earth, and that which is realized by the redeemed in Heaven--there is a threefold distinction:

In the first place, His glory, as seen here, is dark and obscure--but in Heaven it is clear and unclouded. The apostle speaks of our beholding Him now imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror. It is by means of certain indistinct mediums, such as the representations of His word and ordinances; but He will be seen above, face to face!

In the second place, His glory is beheld here, only in separate parts and portions. The things recorded of Him in the sacred writings are studied one by one, and, by comparing them together, we form a general estimate of His character. In some passages, we have an account of His person; in others, of His offices; in others, of His love or mercy. And it is by collecting these scattered fragments together, that our knowledge of Him is now obtained.

So it was with the spouse in the book of Canticles. She examined every part of His person by itself:
 His head was as fine gold;
 His cheeks were as a bed of spices;
 His lips were like lilies dropping sweet-smelling myrrh;
 His countenance was as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.
And after having glanced at these several particulars--she comes to the conclusion that, "He is the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely!"

It is thus that the Savior is seen here on earth; but how will it be in Heaven? We shall see Him all at once--complete and entire, in one vast blaze of unobscured glory!

And, in the third place, the view we have of Christ on earth is only in occasional glances. There are seasons in the experience of every believer when he has to say with Job, "Behold I go forward--but He is not there; and backward--but I cannot perceive Him!" Or in the language of the prophet, "Truly, you are a God who hides Yourself!"

But, precious truth! the vision in Heaven will be perpetual; it will be altogether unbroken and undisturbed. "Your sun shall no more go down, neither shall your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord shall be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended!"

Blessed Jesus! reveal Yourself even now, according to Your promise, to my waiting soul; be it mine to enter in some feeble measure, into the feelings of Your disciples of old, when they said, "We beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth!" And, refreshed, quickened, transformed by the sight--may I be daily looking for, and hastening unto, the coming of that day when Your own prayer, offered on the night of Your great agony, shall be fully answered: "Father, I want those You have given Me--to be with Me where I am, and to see My glory--the glory You have given Me because You loved Me before the creation of the world!" Then shall I know how great Your beauty is--and what it is to be eternally enraptured with Your charms!