Grace Gems

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But it leads to the bottomless pit!

(Arthur Pink)

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it." Matthew 7:13-14

There is another gate than the narrow one, altogether different therefrom, for it is wide and gives entrance into a broad way--but it leads to the bottomless pit! It is the course of this world (Ephesians 2:2), in which all its unregenerate citizens are found. It is the path of self-will and self-gratification. It is wide because those in it own no restrictions. They have broken down the commandments of God which were designed to be a hedge about them. It is therefore a pleasant and easy way to the flesh, for . . .
  no inquiry or diligent search has to be made in order to find it,
  no resolution and perseverance are called for in order to continue treading it,
  no self-denial has to be practiced to remain therein.

A dead fish can float with the stream, but only a living one can swim against it. Just so, the unregenerate mechanically follow this road, for there is nothing in them to resist the law of gravity. The going is smooth and easy--because it is all downhill!

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Worm-eaten by secret sin!

(Theodore Cuyler, "Beulah-Land" or, Words of Cheer for Christian Pilgrims)

"The righteous will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green." Psalm 92:12-14

He alone is a cedar of Christ's training and polishing--who is sound to the very core! For the cedar was famous for its solidity of wood. It knew no decay. It afforded no asylum to any stealthy insect--which turned its aromatic wood into dust and ashes. So stands every faithful, fearless, unflinching, incorruptible Christian! They bid defiance to the worm of sin while they live, and to the worm of calumny when they are dead.

But insidious worms gnaw out the very heart of the pretended piety of the false professor. When the community is shocked by the scandalous sin of some prominent man in the church--it is only the crack of a beam which was worm-eaten by secret sin long before!

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Why is it?

(Arthur Pink, "Fearing God in His Sovereign Majesty")

"An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes!" Psalm 36:1

Why is it that, today, the masses are so utterly unconcerned about spiritual and eternal things, and that they are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God?

Why is it that defiance of God is becoming more open, more blatant, more daring?

Why is it that even among those who profess to be the Lord's people, that there is so little real subjection to His Word, and that its precepts are so lightly esteemed and so readily set aside?

The answer is, because "There is no fear of God before their eyes!" Romans 3:18

Ah! what needs to be stressed today--is that God is a God to be feared! Happy is the person who has been awed by a view of God's majesty, who has had a vision of . . .
  God's unutterable greatness,
  His ineffable holiness,
  His perfect righteousness,
  His irresistible power,
  His sovereign grace!

Time was, when it was the general custom to speak of a believer as "a God-fearing man". That such an appellation has become extinct, only serves to show where we have drifted. Nevertheless, it still stands written, "Like as a father pities His children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him!" Psalm 103:13

When we speak of godly fear, of course, we do not mean a servile fear, such as prevails among the heathen in connection with their gods. No! We mean that spirit which Jehovah is pledged to bless, that spirit to which the prophet referred when he said, "To this man will I look--even to him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at My Word." Isaiah 66:2

Nothing will foster this godly fear, like a recognition of the sovereign majesty of God!

"I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into Hell. Yes, I tell you--this is the One to fear!" Luke 12:4-5

"Our God is a consuming fire!" Hebrews 12:29

"It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!" Hebrews 10:31

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The little foxes!

(Arthur Pink)

"Catch the foxes for us--the little foxes that are ruining the vineyards!" Song of Songs 2:15

Though there may be nothing in my outward conduct for which the Lord is chastising me--yet it is likely there is something within against which He is intimating His displeasure, and for which He requires me to humble myself.
  A spirit of selfishness,
  the allowing of pride,
  the workings of self-will,
  the stirrings of rebellion when Divine Providence crosses me,
  the exercise of self-righteousness--
may be the plague-spots of my soul which need purging.

In the rush and pressure of every-day life, the little foxes that are ruining the vineyards are apt to be neglected; and if we are careless, then we must not be surprised if we are placed on our backs for a season . . .
  that there may be time for reflection and opportunity for closer dealings between the soul and God,
  that the hidden things of darkness may be brought out into the light and faithfully dealt with.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life!" Psalm 139:23-24

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He will carry the lambs in His arms!

(Arthur Pink)

"He will feed His flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in His arms, holding them close to His heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young." Isaiah 40:11

Our Lord has . . .
  many weak children in His family,
  many dull pupils in His school,
  many fearful soldiers in His army,
  many lame sheep in His flock.
Yet He bears with them all, and casts none away.

By Christ's gracious aid, the believer is preserved from being totally submerged by his doubts and fears.

By His renewing operations, the spark of faith is maintained, despite all the fierce winds of Satan which assail.

By His mighty enabling, the sorely harassed and groaning Christian is kept from sinking in abject despair.

By His quickening power, hope is still kept alive, and the voice of prayer is still faintly heard.

There is no danger of the individual saint being overlooked amidst the multitude of supplicants who daily and hourly present their various petitions--for an infinite Mind is as capable of paying the same attention to millions, as if only one individual were seeking its attention!

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are . . . 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 4:15-16

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The infinite tenderness of Jesus!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"He will feed His flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in His arms, holding them close to His heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young." Isaiah 40:11

Who is He of whom such gracious words are spoken? He is THE GOOD SHEPHERD. Why does He carry the lambs in His arms, holding them close to His heart? Because He has a tender heart, and any weakness in them at once melts His heart. The sighs, the ignorance, the feebleness of the little ones of His flock, draw forth His compassion. It is His office, as a faithful High Priest, to consider the weak. Besides, He purchased them with blood--they are His property. He must and will care for those who cost Him so dear.  "I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep!" John 10:11

Then He is responsible for each lamb, bound by covenant engagements not to lose one. Moreover, they are all a part of His glory and reward.

But how may we understand the expression, "He will carry them"?

  Sometimes He carries them by not permitting them to endure much trial. Providence deals tenderly with them.

  Often they are carried by being filled with an unusual degree of love, so that they bear up and stand fast. Though their knowledge may not be deep, they have great sweetness in what they do know.

  Frequently He carries them by giving them a very simple faith, which takes the promises just as they stand, and believingly runs with every trouble straight to Jesus! The simplicity of their faith gives them an unusual degree of confidence, which carries them above the world.

"He will carry the lambs in His arms, holding them close to His heart!"

Here is boundless affection: would He hold them close to His heart, if He did not love them much?

Here is tender nearness: so near are they, that they could not possibly be nearer.

Here is hallowed familiarity: there are precious love-passages between Christ and His weak ones.

Here is perfect safety: in His bosom who can hurt them? They must hurt the Shepherd first. "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish--ever! No one will snatch them out of My hand!" John 10:28

Here is perfect rest and sweetest comfort.

Surely we are not sufficiently sensible of the infinite tenderness of Jesus!

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That is why the world hates you!

(Arthur Pink)

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you!" John 15:18-19

"Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you!" 1 John 3:13

The world will not hate mere professors.

The man . . .
  who is conformed to this world,
  who takes part in its politics,
  who shares its pleasures,
  who acts according to its principles--
even though he claims the name of Christ, will not be ostracized or persecuted.

The woman . . .
  who is conformed to this world,
  who follows its fashions,
  who enjoys its society,
  who desires its amusements,
--will not be shunned by it.

The world loves its own. But those who walk in separation from the world (and they are few in number), those who follow a rejected Christ, will know something of what it means to enter into the fellowship of His sufferings (Philippians 3:10).

"Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:17-18

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Do not be afraid, for I am with you!

(James Smith, "The Believer's Companion in Seasons of Affliction and Trouble" 1842)

"Do not be afraid, for I am with you!" Isaiah 43:5

The presence of a friend in trouble is cheering and consoling. But it is too often the case, that our friends, like the friends of Job, prove to be miserable comforters. They do not enter into our troubles--or they cannot help us. The advice they give at times--only aggravates our woe, and adds to our distress.

But, believer, your God says, "Do not be afraid, for I am with you!" What a thought is this! God, the great, the glorious, the omnipotent Jehovah--is with me!
With me to help me,
with me to comfort me,
with me to sanctify me,
with me to save me,
with me as a kind benignant Father,
with me in every place, in every trouble, in every conflict,
with me through all my journey and for evermore,
with me on the bed of sickness,
with me  to hold communion with me,
with me to listen to my sighs,
with me to number my tears, and
with me to secure me from all injury!

Appearances may be very dark; the night may seem very long; and your pains, weakness, and fears may be many and great. Still, if the Lord is with you, you may sing, "Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty--yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!" Habakkuk 3:17-18

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So many millions of nominal Christians!

(Arthur Pink)

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven." Matthew 7:21

"Holding to the form of godliness but denying its power." 2 Timothy 3:5

Never have there been so many millions of nominal Christians as there are today--and never has there been such a small percentage of real believers. Never has Christendom been so crowded with those who have a form of godliness, but who are strangers to its transforming power. We seriously doubt whether there has ever been a time in the history of this Christian era when there were such multitudes of deceived souls within the churches, who truly believe that all is well with their souls, when in fact the wrath of God abides on them!

It is not that those empty professors who call themselves Christians are all conscious hypocrites, rather are they deceived souls; and the tragic thing is that in most churches there is nothing in the preaching which is at all calculated to un-deceive them; instead, there is only that which bolsters them up in their delusion!

There is a large class in Christendom today who are satisfied with a bare profession. They have heard some of the fundamentals of the Christian faith, and have given an intellectual assent thereto, and they mistake that for a saving knowledge of the Truth. Their minds are instructed--but their hearts are not reached, nor their lives transformed! They are still worldly in their affections and ways. There is . . .
  no real subjection to God,
  no holiness of walk,
  no fruit to Christ's glory.

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13-14

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Grace levels all distinctions!

(Arthur Pink)

"By the grace of God I am what I am!" 1 Corinthians 15:10

The very expression the grace of God implies and denotes that the sinner's condition is desperate to the last degree, and that God may justly leave him to perish; yes, it is a wonder of wonders that he is not already in Hell!

God is sovereign in the exercise of His grace. This of necessity, for grace is favor shown to the undeserving, yes, to the Hell-deserving.

Grace is the antithesis of justice.
Justice demands the impartial enforcement of law.
Justice requires that each shall receive his legitimate due, neither more nor less.
Justice bestows no favors and is no respecter of persons.
Justice, as such, shows no pity and knows no mercy.
But after justice has been fully satisfied, sovereign grace flows forth.

Grace has been defined as the unmerited favor of God.
If unmerited, then none can claim it as their inalienable right.
If grace is unearned and undeserved, then none are entitled to it.
If grace is a gift, then none can demand it.
Therefore, as salvation is by grace, the free gift of God--then He bestows it on whom He pleases.
Because salvation is by grace, the very chief of sinners is not beyond the reach of Divine mercy.
Because salvation is by grace, boasting is excluded, and God gets all the glory.

Grace is a divine provision for those who are . . .
  so depraved, that they cannot change their own nature;
  so averse from God, that they will not turn to Him;
  so blind, that they can neither see their malady nor the remedy;
  so dead spiritually, that God must grant spiritual life.

Grace is the sinner's last and only hope; if he is not saved by grace, he will never be saved at all.

Grace levels all distinctions, and regards . . .
  the most zealous religionist--on the same plane as the most heinous criminal;
  the chaste virgin--on the same plane as the foul prostitute.
Therefore God is perfectly free to save the chief of sinners, and bestow His mercy on the vilest of the vile!

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Be content with what you have!

(Arthur Pink)

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said: Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you!" Hebrews 13:5

God takes note of the discontent of our hearts--as well as the murmuring of our lips.

Not only is discontent a grievous sin against God, but it unfits the Christian for the discharge of holy duties, preventing the exercise of those graces which are necessary in order thereunto.
It silences the lips of supplication, for how can a murmurer pray?
It destroys the spirit of submission, for complaining is a fretting against the Lord.
It quenches faith, hope and love.
Discontent is the very essence of ingratitude, and therefore it stifles the voice of thanksgiving.
There cannot be any rest of soul, until we quietly resign our persons and portions to God's good pleasure.
Discontent corrodes the strings of the heart, and therefore it arrests all growth in grace.

Discontent is usually over temporal matters, and this is a sad intimation that material things are sought after more eagerly than are spiritual things. It argues a lack of confidence in the care of our heavenly Father to provide for us the things which are needed.

"How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against Me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against Me!" Numbers 14:27

 "Do all things without grumbling and complaining!" Philippians 2:14

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said: Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

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Lord, teach us to pray!

(Arthur Pink)

It is my deepening conviction that perhaps the Lord's own people sin more in their efforts to pray, than in connection with any other thing they engage in.

What hypocrisy there is--where there should be reality!
What presumptuous demandings--where there should be submissiveness!
What formality--where there should be brokenness of heart!
How little we really feel the sins we confess!
What little sense of deep need for the mercies we seek!

And even where God grants a measure of deliverance from these awful sins . . .
  how much coldness of heart,
  how much unbelief,
  how much self-will and self-pleasing
--have we to bewail!

We need to be delivered from a cold, mechanical and formal type of praying which is merely a lip-service, in which there is . . .
  no actual approach unto the Lord,
  no delighting of ourselves in Him,
  no pouring out of the heart before Him.

    I often say my prayers,
    But do I ever pray?
    And do the wishes of my heart
    Go with the words I say?

    I may as well kneel down
    And worship gods of stone,
    As offer to the living God
    A prayer of words alone!

"Lord, teach us to pray!" Luke 11:1

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Wash me, gracious Lord!

(John MacDuff, "Evening Incense" 1856)

O my God, I desire to approach the footstool of Your throne of grace. Glory be to Your holy name that I can enjoy freedom of access into Your presence, and with the confidence of Your child, unburden and unbosom to You . . .
  all my needs and sins,
  all my sorrows and infirmities,
  all my perplexities and cares.

Lord, how unworthy I am of the least of all Your mercies! What righteous cause have You to cut me down as a cumberer of the ground. How cold my love, how infrequent my prayers! How full is my heart, of pride and vain-glory, self and sin! How little have I habitually realized Your nearness, and sought Your favor as my chief good! There is enough of coldness and formality in my best approaches to Your footstool--to lead You in Your wrath to spurn me forever away!

Let me see all my sin--in the light of Calvary's cross!

I cast myself as a worthless unworthy sinner, at the feet of Jesus. I need daily, hourly washing at that fountain which He has opened for sin and for uncleanness. Wash me, gracious Lord--fully, freely, and forever. Let me know the blessedness of "no condemnation." I come with all the great burden of my great guilt--to my great Savior! I seek to bring the unrighteousness of an unworthy creature--to the infinite righteousness and everlasting faithfulness of my loving Redeemer.

You have borne with all my obstinacy, all my perverseness, and waywardness, and ingratitude. I am at this hour, the monument of a divine love--as wondrous, as it is undeserved.

Where would I have been, Blessed Jesus--but for You! All that I am, and all I have--I owe to Your free, sovereign, unmerited grace!

Whom have I in Heaven but You--and there is none in all the earth I desire besides You. You alone can fill up the aching voids of my heart. In vain can I look to a transient world, or to the perishable creature--for solid peace and permanent enjoyment. You are the only refuge for my sin-stricken, woe-worn spirit.

I rejoice in the inexhaustible riches treasured up in You--that Your fullness is adequate to supply all my necessities; and out of that fullness I may still continue receiving, and that forever and ever!

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The result has been . . .

(Arthur Pink, "An Exposition of the Gospel of John")

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you!" John 15:18-19

"Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you!" 1 John 3:13

The professing Church has boasted that it would convert the world. To accomplish this aim, it has sought to "popularize" religion. Innumerable devices have been employed to attract the ungodly--many of which even a sense of propriety should have suppressed!

The result has been that the world has converted the professing Church!

But notwithstanding this, it still remains true that the world hates the true followers of the Lamb. And nowhere is this more plainly evident, than in those who belong to what we may term the religious world!

If you resolve that by Divine grace you will live godly in Christ Jesus--then know you that persecution must be your portion. And that persecution will come upon you not from atheists and infidels--but from those bearing the name of Christians. It will issue from those who still keep up a form (or semblance) of godliness, but who are strangers to its living power. It will come to you from empty professors whose compromising ways are condemned by your refusal to conform thereto; whose worldliness and carnality is rebuked by your spirituality.

Remember, it was the religious leaders who hounded the Savior to His death!

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God's attributes

(Stephen Charnock, "The Attributes of God")

Power is God's hand or arm.

Omniscience is God's eye.

Mercy is God's heart.

Eternity is God's duration.

Holiness is God's beauty.
Without holiness . . .
  His patience would be an indulgence to sin,
  His mercy would be a sentimental fondness,
  His wrath would be a madness,
  His power would be a tyranny,
  His wisdom would be an unworthy subtlety.
Holiness gives balance to all of God's attributes.