Grace Gems

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Alas, what an amount of powerless machinery we have in the so-called religious world!

(Archibald Brown, "What Our Churches Need!")

Alas, what an amount of powerless machinery we have in the so-called religious world!
Powerless, because it has no unction of the Spirit.
Powerless, because it is the work of man--not the working of God through the man.
Powerless, because it is dry and artificial.
Powerless, because it is done by men who have never "tarried until they were endued with power from on high."

Instrumentality is almost worshiped--while the Holy Spirit is well-near ignored!

O, I wish that it were more realized by us all, that apart from the blessed Spirit, our acquirements and preparations are nothing, and can do nothing! God's church is hindered, not helped, by any instrumentality that lacks the Holy Spirit.

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It is not the glory of the place--it is the beauty of the person!

(Archibald Brown, "With Christ!")

"My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better!" Philippians 1:23

Paul does not say, "I have a desire to depart, and to be in Heaven." Oh no! It is far better than that.
Nor is it, "I have a desire to depart and to be free of troubles."
No, it is, "My desire is to depart and be with Christ!"

"With Christ! With Christ!" This honey in the mouth, and the more often you turn it over, the sweeter it becomes!

Heaven is not merely a place of golden streets, and pinnacles glittering with the jewels. No! That is not enough for the believer. It is, "With Christ!" All the pearly gates, and all the seraphic praises--fail to make the Heaven of our desire. Our Heaven is to "be with Christ!" It is not the glory of the place--it is the beauty of the person!

"With Christ!" Oh, how shall I illustrate it? It is the magnet that makes the soul tremble, and will not let it rest until it points true towards it.

"With Christ!" Yes, that is the distant haven on which the mariner gazes as the ship rocks and reels, as the timbers creak, and as the storm blast whistles through the rigging.

"With Christ!" These words are the trumpet note that awakens all the heroism in a Christian's soul, and makes him willing to dash into the thickest part of the fray. He says, "I can fight my way through ten thousand foes, for on the other side it is with Christ!"

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Christ has a yoke for our necks--as well as a crown for our heads!

(Matthew Henry)

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:28-29

We are here invited to Christ as our Priest, Prince, and Prophet, to be saved--and, in order to that, to be ruled and taught by Him.

First, we must come to Christ as our great high-priest Priest and repose ourselves in Him for salvation.

Second, we must come to Him as our Prince or Ruler, and submit ourselves to Him, "Take My yoke upon you." This must go along with the former, for Christ is exalted to be both a Prince and a Savior (Act 5:31). The rest He promises is a release from the drudgery of sin--not from the service of God. Christ has a yoke for our necks--as well as a crown for our heads--and this yoke He requires that we should take upon us.

Third, we must come to Him as our Prophet or Teacher, and set ourselves to learn from Him. We must learn of Him to be "Meek and and humble in heart"--to mortify our pride and passion, which render us so unlike to Him. We must so learn of Christ, for He is both Teacher and Lesson, Guide and Way!

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The whore of Babylon's golden goblet!

(William Dyer, "The Strait Way to Heaven")

"The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls. She held in her hand a golden goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality." Revelation 17:4

Beware of the whore of Babylon's golden goblet, and her sweet wine! Be like the virgin spouse of Christ--who follows Him wherever He goes.

Beware of false teachers! The devil has his ministers--as well as Christ! "Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves!" Matthew 7:15. Yes, they are ferocious wolves--they never have enough! "They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who turn to their own way, each seeks his own gain!" Isaiah 56:11

Oh! false teachers do not feed the flock--but fleece the flock!

They do not convert--but pervert!

They do not purify--but poison!

They do not edify for salvation--but destroy for damnation!

Instead of curing souls--they kill souls!

Just so long as they pilfer the people's money--they care not, though the devil has their souls!

They are dogs and wolves combining together to massacre the flock of Christ! Oh! therefore keep yourselves from Babylon's merchants, who make merchandise of the souls of men, Revelation 18:13.

Oh! the sins of teachers--are the teachers of sins!

Now, beloved, let . . .
  your hearts be upright,
  your judgments sound,
  and your lives holy!

Love the truth, and
obey the truth, and
hold fast the truth!

Keep yourselves . . .
  from false teachers,
  from false doctrines,
  from false worship,
  from false opinions!

If you will be tasting and sipping of Babylon's golden goblet--you must resolve to receive Babylon's plagues!

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The best means to mortify sin!

(Thomas Brooks, "The Crown and Glory of Christianity, or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness", 1662)

"Therefore, put to death whatever in you is worldly: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry." Colossians 3:5

While a darling sin lives and keeps the throne in the heart--grace and holiness will be kept exceeding weak and low. But when your darling sin is dethroned and slain by the power and the sword of the Spirit--grace and holiness will quickly grow stronger and stronger, and rise higher and higher.

When a man has eaten poison, nothing will make him thrive, until he has vomited up the poison. Beloved sins are the poison of the soul--and until these are vomited up, and cast out by sound repentance, and the exercise of faith in the blood of Christ--the soul will never thrive in grace and holiness!

If ever you would attain to higher degrees of holiness, then fall with all your might upon subduing and crucifying your most raging corruptions, and your most darling lusts!

Oh do not think that your golden and your silver idols will lay down their weapons, and yield the battle, and lie at your feet, and let you trample them to death--without striking a blow! Oh remember that besetting-sins will do all they can to keep their ground, and therefore you must arise with all your strength against them, and crush them to powder, and burn them to ashes!

Oh deal with your most enraged lusts, as the Philistines dealt with Samson--pluck out their eyes, and force them to grind in the mill of mortification, until their strength is utterly consumed and wasted.

I have read of five men, who being asked what was the best means to mortify sin, gave these answers:

Said the first, "The best means to mortify sin, is to meditate on the terrors of death."

Said the second, "The best means to mortify sin, is to meditate on the solemnity of judgment-day."

Said the third, "The best means to mortify sin, is to meditate on the joys of Heaven."

Said the fourth, "The best means to mortify sin, is to meditate on the torments of Hell."

Said the fifth, "The best means to mortify sin, is to meditate on the death and sufferings of Christ."

Doubtless the last man hit the nail on the head! The daily sight of a bleeding, groaning, dying Savior--is the only thing which will subdue and mortify darling sins!

O friends! Never leave looking up to a crucified Christ, until virtue flows from Him to the crucifying of those special besetting sins which do most obstruct and hinder the growth of grace and holiness in the soul.

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Look at the King in His beauty!

(David Harsha, "Wanderings of a Pilgrim")

"Your eyes will see the King in His beauty and view a land that stretches afar!" Isaiah 33:17

Contemplate your blessed Redeemer, seated on His great white throne, encircled with heavenly glory. It is the sight of a glorified Savior, that will make the Heaven of the believer.

Endeavor now, by the eye of faith, to behold the Lord Jesus in all His matchless beauty and excellence. Contemplate . . .
  His glorious character,
  His infinite mercy,
  His unparalleled condescension,
  and His boundless love!

There is enough in Jesus to employ the soul in rapturous meditation through a vast eternity! His excellence, His goodness, and His love can never be fathomed!

O keep your eye fixed on this adorable Savior, while you sojourn in this valley of tears; and in a little while you shall see Him as He is; face to face, and ascribe to Him unceasing praise! Look at the King in His beauty!

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

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For you, a vile sinner, a rebel worm!

(David Harsha, "Christ Crucified!")

"He loved me, and gave Himself up for me!" Galatians 2:20

Ponder the amazing love exhibited in the death of Christ. Would you see the highest manifestation of eternal love? Then contemplate Christ crucified! Here is the grand exhibition of infinite love.

In the crucifixion of the glorious Redeemer, the brightest love that ever shone on earth is displayed.

What boundless love is seen here--the infinite love of Christ, shining in all its glory!

What but infinite love brought Him . . .
  from the height of glory and bliss--to the depths of sufferings;
  from the throne of Heaven--to the cross of Calvary!

What but infinite love made Him a suffering man, and a dying Savior!

What but infinite love made Him hasten to Jerusalem, to suffer for rebellious sinners!

What but infinite love led Him to Gethsemane, to endure those agonies for sinners, where His blessed form was covered with bloody sweat!

What but infinite love nailed Him to the cross, there to bleed and die for sinners!

"Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." But oh! the greatest wonder in the universe is, that "When we were God's ENEMIES, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son!"

Think of this, wonder at it, be amazed at it!

Christ, the glorious Son of God--dying for you, a vile sinner, a rebel worm!

O admire that love which pitied you in your lost condition, visited your world, and raised you from the depths of sin and suffering--to become an heir of eternal bliss and glory!

How vast is this love! The all surpassing love of a dying Savior!
Your breadths and lengths have never been compassed by a human thought;
your depths never fathomed by a created intelligence;
your heights never scanned by a seraph's gaze!

Stupendous love!

What a theme--the dying love of the crucified Son of God!

Well may angels desire to dwell on this mystery!

Well may saints be enraptured with this profound subject!

What heart is so obdurate as not to be melted by its touching exhibition--or so benighted as not to be dazzled by its glory!

How wonderful! That He who kindled up the stars of Heaven--should take upon Him our nature, and die in our room and stead!

Amazing love!

This is the wonder of wonders--the unsearchable riches of Christ!

Truly, the love of Christ surpasses knowledge!

Those, and those alone, who have stood by the cross and viewed Immanuel in agonies and death, bleeding and dying for their sins; and have felt that healing balm applied to their diseased souls; and have seen all their sins washed away with the blood of God, their ransom paid, and their pardon sealed--will realize the following very appropriate and beautiful lines:

    "In evil long I took delight,
    Unawed by shame or fear,
    Till a new Object struck my sight,
    And stopped my wild career!

    I saw One hanging on a tree,
    In agony and blood,
    Who fixed His languid eyes on me,
    As near His cross I stood.

    Surely, never to my dying breath,
    Can I forget that look;
    It seemed to charge me with His death,
    Though not a word He spoke.

    My conscience felt and owned the guilt,
    And plunged me in despair,
    I saw my sins, His blood had spilt,
    And helped to nail Him there!

    Alas! I knew not what I did,
    But now my tears are vain;
    Where shall my trembling soul be hid
    For I, the Lord have slain!

    A second look He gave, which said,
    'I freely all forgive;
    This blood is for your ransom paid;
    I die, that you may live!'

    Thus while His death, my sin displays
    In all its blackest hue,
    Such is the mystery of grace,
    It seals my pardon too!

    With pleasing grief and mournful joy,
    My spirit now is filled;
    That I should such a life destroy,
    Yet live by Him I killed!"
      (John Newton)

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The great Sympathizer!

(David Harsha, "The Savior's Ministry")

"Jesus wept!"  John 11:35

The Son of God, the Creator of the universe, the Lord of glory--in tears!

Amazing sight!

How plainly do those tears show the tenderness of Jesus! And how animating for the mourner in Zion to think that the heart of Jesus now that He reigns in glory--is still full of sympathy and full of love for His suffering disciples in this valley of tears!

Oh, this is a sweet, a delightful thought!

Weeping believer, you whose tears are flowing--come to Jesus for sympathy, and tell Him all your grief.

He has words of comfort for you--precious promises.

He can console you as none else can.

He is the same in all ages--the same yesterday, today, and forever. The eye that dropped its tears at the tomb of Lazarus--will be fixed upon you in all the scenes of anguish through which you may be called to pass before reaching the bright world of everlasting joy.

Remember that He who is now seated on the throne of Heaven, radiant in celestial glory--was once afflicted on earth, that He might know how to sympathize with you in the hour your unutterable anguish.

Oh, rejoice that you have so sympathizing a Friend, who is ready to mitigate your grief, and to conduct you to those happy mansions, where God shall wipe away all tears from your eyes.

Who can tell how great is the sympathy of the Son of God, who came from the bosom of the Father--from the unapproachable splendor of Heaven--to bear our infirmities, to lighten our burdens, to wipe the tears from our eyes, and to turn our sorrows into everlasting joys?

Always view Jesus as the great Sympathizer of His disciples--and in the time of your keenest anguish, look to Him for compassion and relief.

He will regard your cries of misery. Yes, He whose heart felt and bled for sinners, will speak soothingly to you, and give you a foretaste of Heaven, even in a world of tribulation.

Oh, the ineffable compassion of our blessed Redeemer!

In seasons of devout retirement, let us often muse on these affecting words: "Jesus wept!"

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Hellish sin! Stupendous wickedness! Monstrous impiety!

(Thomas Doolittle, "Motives to Love Jesus!")

What! Not love the Lord? Hellish sin!
What! Not love Jesus? Stupendous wickedness!
What! Not love Christ? Monstrous impiety!
What name shall we call such a person by--a man or beast?
One that does not love the Lord Jesus Christ--is he a man or a devil?

Can you love sin--and not Jesus?
Can you love the world--and not Jesus?
What cursed wickedness!
This is . . .
  the amazement of the earth,
  the astonishment of angels,
  and the joy of devils!

The earth groans to bear such as do not love Jesus.
The sun is grieved to give them light.
The air laments its vapors to be sucked into such filthy bodies, wherein are more filthy souls!

"If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed!" 1 Corinthians 16:22

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If My people

(Daniel Webster, 1872-1852)

If we and our posterity reject religious instruction and authority, violate the rules of eternal justice, trifle with the injunctions of morality, and recklessly destroy the political constitution which holds us together--no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us, that shall bury all our glory in profound obscurity!

"If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways--then I will hear from Heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

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The most amazing, most affecting, most melting sight that mortals ever witnessed!

(David Harsha, "Thoughts on the Love of Christ")

In the death of Christ, we behold the most astonishing exhibition of divine love that has ever been manifested to a lost world. Such love as is here displayed, is without a precedent--without a parallel in the annals of time or in the records of eternity.

To behold the Son of God, the Maker of worlds, bowing His head on the cross, and yielding up His immaculate soul amid the agonies of death--is the most amazing, the most affecting, the most melting sight that mortals ever witnessed!

Around the Cross of Christ there shine the most resplendent rays of divine love that ever beamed from the Sun of Righteousness--that ever emanated from the Deity!

O, my soul, look and wonder!

Behold your Savior bleeding on the cross, bleeding from every pore--that your sins might be washed away in the flowing stream!

See Him pouring out His soul unto death, for your salvation! Is not this a manifestation of unparalleled love to you?

Christ's suffering and dying for us is a great mystery--a mystery of unfathomable love!

How vehement was the love of Christ, that led Him to endure death in its most terrible form, even the death of the cross! "Love is as strong as death; the coals thereof are coals of fire, which has a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love; neither can the floods drown it."

Such is the love of Christ!

All the waters of affliction and suffering, all the billows of divine wrath that rolled over our blessed Redeemer--were not sufficient to quench the ardency of that love which He felt for a dying world of sinners!

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If religious books are not widely circulated among the masses in this country

(Daniel Webster, 1823)

If religious books are not widely circulated among the masses in this country, I do not know what is going to become of us as a nation.

If truth is not diffused--error will be.

If God and His Word are not known and received--the devil and his works will gain the ascendancy.

If the evangelical volume does not reach every hamlet--the pages of a corrupt and licentious literature will.

If the power of the Gospel is not felt throughout the length and breadth of the land--then anarchy and misrule, degradation and misery, corruption and darkness--will reign without mitigation or end!

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The Devil's riff-raffs!

(Arthur Pink, "The Doctrine of Sanctification" 1937)

"Brothers, think of what you were when you were called.
 Not many of you were wise by human standards;
 not many were influential;
 not many were of noble birth.
 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise;
 God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things . . ." 1 Corinthians 1:26-29

In His determination to magnify His sovereign grace, God has selected many of the very worst of Adam's fallen race to be the everlasting monuments of His fathomless mercy--those whom Luther was accustomed to designate, "The Devil's riff-raffs." This is very evident too from, "Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame." (Luke 14:21)--the most unlikely ones as guests for a royal feast--the waifs and strays of society!

There are thousands of moral, upright, amiable people who are never effectually called by the Spirit; whereas moral perverts, thieves, and heinous ones are regenerated!

"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were! But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

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The master deception of Satan!

(Arthur Pink, "The Doctrine of Sanctification" 1937)

"I am the LORD your God. You must consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy." Leviticus 11:44

We do greatly deceive ourselves, if we imagine that we are drawing nearer to Heaven--while only following those courses which lead to Hell.

We are woefully deluded, if we suppose that we are journeying towards glory--and yet are living in sin.

Christ died to procure holiness--not to secure an indulgence for sin.

To live in known and allowed sin, and yet expect to be saved by Christ--is the master deception of Satan!

My reader, a faith which does not transform character and reform conduct, is worthless.

Saving faith is only proved to be genuine by bearing the blossoms of experimental godliness and the fruits of personal piety.

Great multitudes of ignorant people who live under the Gospel, harden their hearts in sin and ruin their souls forever, by trusting on Christ for such an 'imaginary salvation' as consists not at all in holiness--but only in forgiveness of sin and deliverance from everlasting torments. They would be free from the punishments due to sin--but they love their lusts so well that they hate holiness and do not desire to be saved from the service of sin. If they do not desire to be made holy and righteous in their hearts and lives--then they do not heartily desire true salvation.

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Two things always go together in the experience of a genuine believer

(Arthur Pink, "The Doctrine of Sanctification" 1937)

Two things always go together in the experience of a genuine believer:
  a growing discovery of the vileness of self, and
  a deepening appreciation of the preciousness of Christ.

"Behold, I am vile!" Job 40:4
"O wretched man that I am!" Romans 7:24

"Yes, He is altogether lovely!" Song of Songs 5:16
"To you who believe, He is precious!" 1 Peter 2:7