Grace Gems

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If I could live a thousand lives!

(Charles Spurgeon)
"Who loved me, and gave Himself up for me!" Galatians 2:20

"Yes, He is altogether lovely! This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend!" Song of Songs 5:16

Jesus is the chief among ten thousand, and the altogether lovely One! I could not live without Him. To enjoy His company is bliss to me--for Him to hide His face from me is my midnight of sorrow. Oh, for the power to live, to die, to labor, to suffer as unto Him, and unto Him alone!

I feel that, if I could live a thousand lives, I would like to live them all for Christ; and I should even then feel that they were all too little a return for His great love to me!

[nChrist]

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The base cares and the petty enjoyments of the present world

(John Angell James)

Sin is raging all around us!

Satan is busy in the work of destruction!

Men are dying!

Souls are every moment departing into eternity!

Hell is enlarging her mouth, and multitudes are continually descending to torments which knows no mitigation and no end!

How astounding is it sometimes to ourselves, that, the base cares and the petty enjoyments of the present world should have so much power over us, as to retard us in our heavenward course, and make us negligent and indolent, heedless and forgetful.

Time is short!

Life is uncertain!

Death is at hand!

Immortality is about to swallow up our existence in eternal life--or eternal death!

Heaven expanding above us!

Hell is yawning beneath us!

Eternity is opening before us!

[nChrist]

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Mother! Mother! Mother!

(Archibald Brown, "Better than a Mother!")

Mother! Mother! Mother! What associations of loving tenderness are in the very name, Mother! The word touches a secret spring in the heart, and conjures back scenes of the past. It brings to view in the dim distance, a sweet face that used to bend over our little bed at eventide, and impress a kiss upon our brow. It reminds us of one who used to smile when we were happy--and weep when obliged to correct us. It calls to remembrance one who always seemed interested in our little tales of adventure, and never laughed at our little sorrows that seemed so large to us. Mother! It was her face we gazed last upon, when we went away to school. And it was into her arms that we first rushed, when the holidays brought us home.

Mother! It was the thought of her that held us back from sin with unseen silken cords! And when those dark locks of hers became silvered with advancing age, we only thought an extra charm had crowned her brow.

With many present, that mother has long since fallen asleep in her Savior's arms--but you did not forget the love that was as strong as death, and escaped from her dying lips in words that you treasure to this day. Forget? No! Her name still has a magic power, and the tears I see rolling down so many cheeks this morning are eloquent in their language. They declare that at least one word has neither lost its music or its charm, and that one word is, mother.

I think I cannot better show the hold the memory has of a mother upon a man, than by quoting the words of Archibald Thompson. He says, "Mother!! How many delightful associations cluster around that word. When my heart aches at the world's wickedness, and my limbs are weary, and my feet bloody, traveling the thorny path of life--I am accustomed to sit down on some mossy stone, and closing my eyes on real scenes, to send my thoughts back to the days of early life--and in all these reminiscences, my mother arises. If I seat myself upon my cushion, it is at her side; if I sing, it is to her ears; if I walk the meadows, my little hand is in my mother's, and my little feet keep company with hers; if I stand and listen to the piano, it is because my mother's fingers touch the keys; if I survey the wonders of creation, it is my mother who points out the object of my admiring attention. There is . . .
   no velvet so soft as a mother's lap,
   no rose so lovely as her smile,
   no path so flowery as that imprinted with her footsteps."

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The making of a beautiful and happy home!

(J.R. Miller)

A true home is one of the most sacred of places.
It is a sanctuary into which men flee from the world's perils and alarms.
It is a resting-place to which, at close of day--the weary retire to gather new strength for the battle and toils of tomorrow.
It is the place . . .
  where love learns its lessons,
  where life is schooled into discipline and strength,
  where character is molded.

Few things we can do in this world are so well worth doing--as the making of a beautiful and happy home! He who does this--builds a sanctuary for God, and opens a fountain of blessing for men.

Far more than we know--do the strength and beauty of our lives depend upon the home in which we dwell. He who goes forth in the morning from a happy, loving, prayerful home--into the world's strife, temptation, struggle, and duty--is strongly inspired for noble and victorious living.

The children who are brought up in a true home--go out trained and equipped for life's battles and tasks--carrying a secret of strength in their hearts, which will make them brave and loyal to God, and will keep them pure in the world's severest temptations!

[nChrist]

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What can mortal man give to his God?

(Archibald Brown, "What shall I give Him?" 1870)

"What shall I render to the Lord, for all His benefits towards me?"

"What shall I render to the Lord?" Here is a question far easier asked, than answered. I confess that in studying this subject, when I asked my soul this question, and then tried faithfully to answer it, I found myself completely bewildered. I found I had all the desire in the world to render something. But what?

Think for a moment of the possessions of God. What can mortal man give to his God? How can the treasury of the Creator--be enriched by the gifts of the creature? The thought of our God's infinite wealth, makes the question of our text appear next door to an impertinence. Listen but to His own words, "I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are Mine! If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and all that is in it!" Psalm 50:9-12

The golden veins of the everlasting hills are His, and the hidden treasures of the vast deep belong to Him. Lift up your eyes on high some starry night, and behold the bespangled skies--every glittering speck you see is a rolling world, and every world is the result of His handiwork. The heavens are but His jewel-case!

Now say believer, what you will lay at the feet of Him who can place His hand upon Heaven, Earth, and Hell, and say, "All is Mine!"

But apart from the possessions of our God, there is another insuperable difficulty to answering the question, and that is our own poverty. It is total poverty talking making a gift to infinite wealth. Ransack your memory, run over your accounts, find out what you possess. What is the sum total? Nothing! Nothing!! Nothing!!! We are miserable bankrupts, not worth a jot. The very bread we eat is the bread of divine charity--and the breath we draw is lent to us. It is utter emptiness, talking of giving to the perfection of fullness. It is the beggar rendering to the benefactor!

If we were able to give Him anything--it would be but rendering to Him what is already His own. What do we have, that we have not first received from God? "Everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your hand!" 1 Chronicles 29:14

The heart's gratitude is all the saint can give in return for divine mercies that are fresh with every hour, and as numerous as the seconds in the day.

But if thanksgiving is good, remember thanks-living is better; therefore let your whole life join in the harmony! Live for Him who died for you! The highest praise that mortal saint can give, is the praise that vents itself in the exclamation, "For me, to live is Christ!"

Give Him your love. Nothing testifies to gratitude so much. Indeed, where love is lacking, no true praise can exist. Do not be afraid of loving Him too much. Do not fear being thought a fanatic, or considered an enthusiast. If you could love Him to a flaming passion--you would not love Him half enough. Give Him your love--He asks for it, and will pardon its weakness.

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If that is religion, may God save me from it!

(Archibald Brown, "The Way of Cain!" 1870)

Perhaps we have in our midst this evening, some godless professors who are actually soul-murderers!

Parents! any godly impressions your child ever had, have been effaced by your godless life. He has seen you in the sanctuary looking like a saint--and he has followed you home and seen you act like a devil. Under the withering influence of your example, his soul has become ten-fold blighted. When asked to come to Jesus, his answer has been your life. You have encased him in an armor of steel from which all the shafts of conviction glance off. Often he has said, pointing to you, "If that is religion, may God save me from it!" O hypocrites, you have dealt him a murderous blow!

Surely he will fall deepest into Hell, who drags others with him!

[nChrist]

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We do not know what is best for us!

(Charles Spurgeon, "A Good Start!")

Suppose that it were now put into the power of each one of us to be rich--I suspect that the most of us would be eager to avail ourselves of the opportunity. And yet few would consider whether it would be best for us to have the burden of wealth.

It is a question whether some people, who live godly where they now are--would be half as good, or a tenth as happy--if they were lifted to wealth. I have seen choice men drivel under the influence of luxury.

We do not know what is best for us! It is sometimes very much better for us to suffer loss and disappointment--than to obtain wealth and prosperity!

How often our calamities are our preservatives! A lesser evil may ward off a greater one. Many a man might have soared into the clouds of folly--if his wings had not been clipped by adversity.

Agur's prayer, "Give me neither poverty nor riches," was a wise one.
But our Lord's is still better, "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will."

"All these things shall be added unto you," and the measure of the addition shall be arranged by infallible wisdom. Temporal things shall come to you in such proportion as you yourself would desire them--IF you were able to know all things, and to perform a judgment according to infinite wisdom. Would you not prefer a lot selected by the Lord--to one chosen by yourself? You may joyfully sing with the Psalmist, "You shall choose my inheritance for me!"

"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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The last pang, and groan, and tear!

(John Angell James, "Afflictions")

The Christian looks to the end of afflictions! The end may sometimes come in this world. In reference to this, the utmost that the believer can be sure of, is that afflictions will end in God's time.

They may last for his whole life.
The sickness which afflicts his body may be unto death!
The trial which beclouds and distresses his spirits--may be his lot for life!
The loss which he has sustained may be irreparable--and he may go down to the grave in poverty.
But on the other hand, they may not! God may be bringing him "through fire and through water, to bring him out into a wealthy place."

The Christian leaves this in the hand of God, and endeavors to maintain a hope which shall save him from despondency--checked at the same time by a reverence that guards him from unwarranted presumption.

But if the end of the trial does not come in this world--it will come in the next world--when they will not only forever cease, but leave an eternal blessing behind! "I reckon that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us!" "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory!" Four things are set forth in these passages:

  1. Our afflictions will have a termination! This is sweet. They are to end--they are not to last forever! The last pang, and groan, and tear are at hand--and how near the Christian never knows!

  2. Our afflictions are not to end like those of the brute creation--in the grave merely--but in Heaven! The last pang, and groan, and tear are to usher in that blessed state of which it is so beautifully said, "The Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters--and God Himself shall wipe away all tears from their eyes!" Heaven shall terminate all the afflictions of the righteous!

  3. Heaven is so glorious, that the first view of its scenes, and the first moment of its enjoyment--shall make amends for the longest life of the most protracted and intense sufferings!

  4. The sufferings of our earthly pilgrimage--will enhance and increase the felicities of Heaven!
Their submissive endurance;
the graces which they call into exercise;
the sanctification which they promote;
the heavenly temper which they cultivate--
will be the means of ripening the spirit, and making it fit for its eternal inheritance!

Every tear that is shed,
every groan that is heaved,
every loss that is sustained,
every moment of suffering that is endured,
every disappointment that is experienced, which is borne with patience, with resignation, with unwearied holiness--will not only be followed with millions of ages of ineffable felicity--but will prepare the soul for its enjoyment, and add something to its weight and its luster!

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My pardon cost Him that!

(Archibald Brown, "Who is a Pardoning God Like Thee?" Stepney Green Tabernacle)

"Who is a God like You, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance? You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us. You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea!" Micah 7:18-19

Before God could forgive a sinner in accordance with His infinite holiness and perfect justice--think what had to be done, sacrificed, and suffered! Measure God's pardon, by the obstacles His pardoning love overcame--and then you can form some idea of its intensity.

God has fathomed His love and pity in one text, "God SO loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son." That little word "so" contains more than Heaven or earth can describe. In it, is the heart of God; in it, is the depth of pardoning love. O think for a minute what that pardon cost, which now makes your soul sing for joy. You received it freely enough, because Another paid the price; but what was that price?

It cost Jesus a price no lip can tell--and no heart conceive! See Him tied to yonder pillar--mark that awful scourge as it falls again and again upon His quivering flesh; note how deep the thongs cut, drawing blood at every stroke! Your pardon cost that! "By His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5

Follow Him in that weary walk to Calvary--linger by Him as fever courses through His veins, while head and hands and feet all drip with gore! Stay by Him until His sacred head falls upon the bosom, and His great heart breaks with anguish. And then looking up into that ashen countenance, say "My pardon cost Him that!" Yes, no pardon could ever have come to guilty man--if an atonement had not been made that . . .
  satisfied divine justice,
  honored the law, and
  magnified the holiness of God.

It is sweet work to trace the ruby stream of forgiving love; and mark how it would flow on until it reached the sinner, yes, even though it flowed along the channel of a Savior's wounds!

Who is a pardoning God like Thee?
Who has grace so rich and free?

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He will not spoil them!

(Letters of John Newton)

"Now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials." 1 Peter 1:6

The Lord loves His children, and is very indulgent to them so far as they can safely bear it--but He will not spoil them! Their sin-sickness requires strong medicines, some of which are very unpalatable. And when our case calls for such, no short-sighted entreaties of ours will excuse us from taking what He prepares for our good.

It is comforting to know that every dose is prepared by His own hand, and not one is administered in vain, nor is it repeated any oftener than is needful to answer His purposed end. Until then, no other hand can remove the affliction which He lays upon us. When His merciful design is answered, He will relieve us Himself; and in the mean time He will so moderate the operation, or increase our ability to bear it--that we shall not be overpowered by it.

Afflictions are useful, and in a degree necessary, to keep alive in us a conviction of the vanity and unsatisfying nature of the present world and all its enjoyments; to remind us that this poor world is not our rest; and to call our thoughts upward, where our true treasure is, and where our hearts ought to be.

When things go on much to our wish, our hearts are too prone to say, "It is good be here!" Thus the Lord, by pain, sickness, and disappointments, by breaking our cisterns and withering our gourds--weakens our attachment to this world, and makes the thought of leaving it more desirable.

Trials are medicines which our gracious and wise physician prescribes, because we need them; and He proportions the frequency and weight of them to what the case requires.

It is true, without a single exception, that all His paths are mercy and truth to those who fear Him. The Lord afflicts us for our good--but it is always a thousand times less than we deserve!

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Souls are perishing--and ministers are amusing them!

(Archibald Brown)

"But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them--that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood! When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you will surely die!' and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways--that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood!" Ezekiel 33:6-8

We behold this same evil affecting many of the pulpits of today's churches. Mere morality is taking the place of regeneration, and the atonement by blood is a slighted subject. Instead of beseeching men to be reconciled to God--we find ministers wasting their time in giving Sunday lectures about all kinds of subjects. Rome is burning--and Nero is playing his fiddle! Souls are perishing--and ministers are amusing them!

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The Master Coal Heaver!

(Frank Hall)

"If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for so you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the LORD will reward you." Proverbs 25:21-22

What a strange and exotic principle! Feed our enemies? Give water to those who hate us? Certainly this teaching is not from below, but from above! This is the doctrine of Christ, the doctrine of free grace--the formula that transforms inveterate enemies into faithful friends.

These coals of fire are not coals of judgment, but coals of grace by which the hearts of our enemies our melted and won. Our Savior preached this doctrine with great clarity in his Sermon on the Mount when He said, "You have heard that it was said: You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Matthew 5:43-44.

Nothing is more contrary to the flesh than exercising kindness and love toward those who hate us, but if we would honor our Savior and subdue our enemies--we dare not resort to the sinful practice of revenge. We must conquer the hearts of our enemy's the same way that Christ conquered our hearts--by relentlessly heaving the coals of unmerited grace upon their heads.

Coals of Grace
A mighty king may very well use angry force to subjugate his enemies, but they will never love him or serve him willingly. Willing service, heart commitment, and life-loyalty--can only be accomplished by grace, mercy, and love. The Lord Jesus Christ does not win sinners to Himself with threats of punishment or promises of reward. He wins sinners to Himself by His free grace! He turns enemies into friends, by His grace! He converts hard-hearted adversaries into faithful disciples, by His grace! He causes rebels to surrender their hearts to him, not with brute force and overwhelming power--but with tender, irresistible love and grace!

He is the only Master of the universe, the sovereign Master of hearts, and the Master Coal Heaver as well. With the gospel shovel in his hand, He sovereignly heaves the covenant coals of free grace onto the heads of His enemies, and in so doing He melts their hearts of stone into soft, pliable, elastic masses of wax--putty in the hands of the Master!

Calvary's Coals
No chosen sinner can successfully withstand the melting effects of Calvary's coals! When the coals of effectual blood redemption, free forgiveness, and perfect righteousness begin to stack up, coal upon coal, on the sinner's heart, and the heat of Christ's indescribable love grows warmer and warmer--that unbreakable, adamantine heart of stone is eventually smitten, smelted, and liquefied into a puddle of love for the crucified Coal Heaver!

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Undeserving, ill-deserving, Hell-deserving!

(Thomas Vincent, "The True Christian's Love to the Unseen Christ!")

How may I attain great degrees of love to Christ?

Be much in holy contemplation of Christ. Spend time in secret retirement, and there think and think again--of the superlative excellencies and perfections which are in Christ. Think how wonderful and matchless His love is:
  what heights of His love--which cannot be reached;
  what depths of His love--which cannot be fathomed;
  what dimensions of His love--which cannot be comprehended!
O the transports of soul, which some believers have found in their retired thoughts and views of Christ!

"O dear Jesus, how lovely You are in Yourself . . .
  the darling of Heaven,
  the delight of the Father,
  the admiration of angels!
O what brightness of glory, what shining luster are You arrayed with!
You are clothed with most excellent majesty and honor!
You are girded with infinite might and power!
The smiles of Your countenance are most sweet and delightful!
O the ravishments of Your love!"

"And does this beauteous One, this fairest of ten thousand, this most excellent and altogether lovely One--bear a special love to me?
  To such a vile worm as me!
  To such a dead dog as me!
  To such an undeserving, ill-deserving, Hell-deserving sinner as me!
O what marvelous kindness is this! What infinite riches of free grace!
Has He given Himself for me, and given Himself to me--and shall not I give Him my heart! I am . . .
  written in His book,
  redeemed with His blood,
  clothed with His righteousness,
  beautified with His image!
Has He made me His child, and prepared a place in the Father's house for me!
O how wonderful! O how astonishing!"

"What shall I render unto Him? What returns shall I make? Had I a thousand tongues--should I not employ them all in speaking His praise? Had I a thousand hearts--should I not present them all, as too poor for a thank-offering unto Him? And yet am I slow--slow of heart, to love this dear and sweet Jesus! Awake, O my soul! Awake from your dullness and stupidity! Shake out the dust of the earth which has gotten into your eyes--and keeps you from the view of your matchless Beloved! Arise, O my soul, unfetter yourself, take the wing, and mount up above the sky and visible heavens--to the place where my lovely and dear Jesus is! Bid farewell to the flattering honors, the deceitful riches, the glancing pleasures--which are here below! Bid adieu to them, and leave them to those who place their chief happiness in them!"

"Why do you hang downwards, O my soul? Why do you bend so much to the earth and earthly things? Everything here below--is altogether unworthy of your love. How empty and vain and thorny--are these worldly things! Do not waste your time--and weary yourself for every vanity! Do not sting and wound yourself with these things anymore!"

"Come, O my soul! Ascend, and soar aloft--with your thoughts, and desires, and loves, and hopes, and joys--unto the Heavens! There you may see, and view, and admire, and embrace your dearest Lord Jesus!"

Such retired contemplations of Christ, and soliloquies, and pleadings with your own souls, when alone by yourselves--will tend exceedingly to the promotion of your love unto Christ.

[nChrist]

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Every-day mercies!

(Archibald Brown)

"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!" Lamentations 3:22-23

Let us seek, dear friends, to have quick eyes in discerning the Lord's hand in our so-called every-day mercies. The smallest comfort grows great in value, when viewed a gift from our heavenly Father!

The next string I will touch has sweet music of its own, and it should call forth the deepest "Thank God!" from every bosom. It is home mercy. Home! Home!! Surely, among all the gifts of Heaven, there is none more beautiful, or more worthy of our grateful praise--than a home where kindness, love, and cheerfulness abide. It has been well said that to Adam, Paradise was home--and to the holy among his descendants, home is Paradise. He who has a happy home can never be poor, or lack a theme for grateful song.

If we have been kept from falling into scandalous sin, then with grateful love we exclaim, "Having obtained help from God, I continue to this day." We have been like men carrying gunpowder, and working in a forge where sparks are flying on every hand. With a nature like ours, so dangerously quick to sin, and living amid a very shower of fiery temptations--how great the grace that has preserved us thus far!

"Great are Your tender mercies, O LORD!" Psalm 119:156

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Where are you going?

(Charles Orr, "How to Live a Holy Life")

We have only one life to live--only one! Think of this for a moment.

Here we are in this world of time, making the journey of life. Each day we are farther from the cradle--and nearer to the grave! Solemn thought!

See the mighty concourse of human lives; hear their heavy tread in their onward march. Some are just beginning life's journey; some are midway up the hill, some have reached the top, and some are midway down the western slope. But where are we all going? Listen, and you will hear but one answer, "Eternity!" Beyond the fading, dying gleams of the sunset of life--lies a boundless, endless ocean called Eternity! There, you and I are daily traveling.

Time is like a great wheel going its round. On and on it goes. Some are stepping on--and some are stepping off. But where are these latter stepping? Into eternity! See that old man with bent form, snow-white locks, and tottering steps--his has been a long round, but he has reached his end at last. See the middle-aged man--his round has not been so long, but he must also step off. See the youth--he has been on only a little while, but he is brought to the stepping-off place. He thought his round would be much longer. He supposed that he was just getting started--when that icy hand was laid upon him and the usher said, "Come, you have made your round, and you must go!" The infant that gave its first faint cry this morning--may utter its last feeble wail tonight!

And thus they go. But where? Oh, where? ETERNITY!

If you were to start today and ask each person you met the question, "Where are you going?" and, if possible, you were to travel the world over and ask each one of earth's inhabitants--there could be but one correct answer, "Eternity!"

"Oh, eternity, Long eternity!
Hear the solemn footsteps of eternity!"

Only one life to live! Only one life--and then we must face vast, endless eternity! We shall pass along the pathway of life but once. Every step we take--is a step that can never be taken again.

This world is not a play-ground--or a place to trifle with time. Life is not given us to squander nor fritter away. To trifle away time, is indeed, to be the greatest of spendthrifts. If you squander a dollar--you may regain it; but a moment wasted--can never be regained. God gives us all the time we need to accomplish all that He purposes us to accomplish--but He does not give us one moment to trifle away.

We have only one life to live--only one!