Grace Gems

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My Father's eye!

(James Smith, "The Pastor's Evening Visit")

"Your Father who sees in secret." Matthew 6:6

Can anyone hide himself from the Lord in secret places?

Can I, under any circumstances, escape His notice?

Impossible!

The eye of God has been fixed upon me every second of this day; it is now at this moment fixed fully upon me. But it is my Father's eye! My Father sees in secret!

He sees my needs--and my woes.

He sees every secret working of my foes--and will save me from them.
He sees every secret influence which is likely to injure me--and will prevent it.

He sees . . .
  the secret workings of my heart,
  my hidden thoughts,
  my unuttered desires,
  my soul conflicts,
  my private temptations.

But He sees also my secret sins!
Every evil thought,
every unfitting word,
every improper action--
passes under His eye!

Solemn consideration this!

May it make me cautious. May it preserve me . . .
  from yielding to temptation,
  from nourishing sinful thoughts, and
  from acting inconsistent with my profession.

My heavenly Father sees me!

He sees me at this moment!

He sees me every moment!

He sees my most secret motives, thoughts, and purposes!

He who thus sees me--hates every sin with an infinite hatred!

"There is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do!" Hebrews 4:13

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The dull, and the slow, and the stupid, and the doubting!

(J.C. Ryle, "The Gospel of John")

"Then He said to Thomas: Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side." John 20:27

We see here, how kind and merciful Christ is to dull and slow believers. Nowhere, perhaps, in all the four Gospels, do we find this part of our Lord's character so beautifully illustrated, as in the story before our eyes. It is hard to imagine anything more tiresome and provoking than the conduct of Thomas, when even the testimony of ten faithful brethren had no effect on him, and he doggedly declared, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side--I will not believe."

But it is impossible to imagine anything more patient and compassionate, than our Lord's treatment of this weak disciple. He does not reject him, or dismiss him, or excommunicate him. He comes again at the end of a week, and apparently for the special benefit of Thomas. He deals with him according to his weakness, like a gentle mother dealing with a froward child, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side." If nothing but the grossest, coarsest, most material evidence could satisfy Thomas--even that evidence was supplied. Surely this was a love which surpasses knowledge, and a patience which surpasses understanding.

A passage of Scripture like this, we need not doubt, was written for the special comfort of all true believers. The Holy Spirit knew well that the dull, and the slow, and the stupid, and the doubting, are by far the commonest type of disciples in this evil world. The Holy Spirit has taken care to supply abundant evidence that Jesus is rich in patience as well as compassion, and that He bears with the infirmities of all His people. Let us take care that we drink into our Lord's spirit, and copy His example. Let us never set down men as godless--because their faith is feeble, and their love is cold. Let us remember the case of Thomas, and be very compassionate and of tender mercy.

Our Lord has . . .
  many weak children in His family,
  many dull pupils in His school,
  many raw soldiers in His army,
  many lame sheep in His flock.

Yet He bears with them all, and casts none away!

Happy is that Christian who has learned to deal likewise with his brethren. There are many in the Church, who, like Thomas, are dull and slow--but for all that, like Thomas, are real and true believers.

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The one book for all ages and all nations, for all classes of men and all states of society, for all capacities of intellect and all necessities of the soul!

(Daniel March, 1868.)

The Bible is the oldest and the newest of books. It surveys the whole field of time--and it looks farthest into the infinite depths of eternity. It lends the most vivid and absorbing interest to the scenes and events of the past--and it keeps us in the most active sympathy with the time in which we live. It gives us the most reliable record of what has been--and it affords us our only means of knowing what is yet to be. It is strict enough to denounce the very shadow and semblance of sin--and it is liberal enough to save the chief of sinners. It is full of God--and must therefore be read with a pure heart or its true glory will not be seen. It is full of man--and must therefore always be interesting and instructive to all who would know themselves.

The Bible is the plainest of books--and yet it has depths of wisdom which no created mind can fathom! It is set up as a beacon to show all wanderers the safe way--and yet its light shines forth from thick clouds of mystery and from abysses of infinite darkness. It describes all conditions of life, and it gives utterance to all desires and emotions of the soul.

It sparkles with the fervor and gladness of youth, it celebrates the strength and glory of manhood--and it bewails the sorrows and infirmities of old age. It sympathizes with the poor and lowly, it lifts up the fallen, it delivers the oppressed, and it breathes the blessing of peace upon the quiet homes of domestic life. It describes with startling clearness the seductions of temptation, the conflicts of doubt, and the miseries of skepticism. It searches the secret chambers of the heart, and brings to light its purest love and its darkest hate, its highest joy and its deepest grief. It compasses the utmost range of thought and feeling and desire--and it sounds the utmost depth of motive and character and passion.

The composition of the Bible was extended through a long course of years; it was carried on under a great variety of circumstances; it bears the impress of every diversity of individual character. And yet the spirit of inspiration speaks with equal fullness through all the times and circumstances and characters. Thus in the Bible, God and man, earth and Heaven, time and eternity--speak with one voice and teach the same truth. Thus the Bible is made to be the one book for all ages and all nations, for all classes of men and all states of society, for all capacities of intellect and all necessities of the soul. It sets forth the most spiritual and heavenly truths--in the lights and shadows of earthly scenes and human characters.

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What a Heaven!

(J. A. James, "The Practical Believer Delineated")

Heaven will consist of . . .
  the moral perfection of the soul,
  perfect knowledge,
  perfect holiness,
  perfect love,
  perfect likeness to Christ,
  perfection of the body in . . .
      incorruptibility,
      immortality,
      glory, and
      spirituality;
  the presence of God in the full manifestation of His glory,
  the beatific vision of Christ,
  the fellowship of angels and all the redeemed,
  the joint worship of the heavenly multitudes,
  the perfect service of Christ, without . . .
      interruption,
      imperfection, or
      cessation,
  complete freedom from . . .
      pain,
      toil,
      hunger,
      thirst,
      anxiety,
      fear,
      sorrow,
      death!

Such is the substance of heavenly felicity. Take
any one of them by itself--and each is a Heaven!
Add them altogether--and what a Heaven!

How pure! How elevated! How felicitous!

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Go to Him in your emptiness, and receive daily out of His fullness!

(Ashton Oxenden, "The Christian Life" 1882)

"As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord--so walk in Him!" Colossians 2:6

We are apt to think that all we need is to look to Christ as our Sin-bearer; and that, having once gone to Him in faith, and obtained forgiveness, the work is done. But the believer now needs the same Savior who pardoned him--to be ever with him, to help him on his way, and to keep his soul alive. He must ever run his Christian race, 'looking unto Jesus.' He must 'come out of the wilderness, leaning on his Beloved.' In himself, the believer is powerless. Christ is both the Life and Strength of the renewed soul.

The believer needs daily strength. He cannot fight by his own power. He cannot even walk alone. If he hopes to resist temptation, and to lead a holy life of service to his heavenly Master--if he wants boldly to come out from the world, and to stand forth as a decided follower of Christ--he must look to Jesus for daily grace to strengthen him.

It is living upon Christ, which alone can make us growing, thriving, vigorous Christians!

To be ever looking to Christ for grace, to be constantly stretching out the hand and heart to Christ for help, to be daily feeding upon Him--this is the secret of all our spiritual life, and of all our spiritual well-being.

Never suppose that you can become strong enough to do without Christ. Never imagine that you can reach such a point, that you are anything more than a poor, helpless being. As you humbled yourself beneath His cross at the first--so continue to feel your place to be in the dust before Him, your righteousness to be as filthy rags, your strength as utter weakness!

Go to Him in your emptiness, and receive daily out of His fullness!

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The Infinite has become an infant!

(Charles Spurgeon, "The Condescension of Christ!")

"Even angels long to look into these things!" 1 Peter 1:12

Oh, how surprised angels were, when they were first informed that Jesus Christ, the Prince of Light and Majesty, intended to shroud Himself in clay and become a babe, and live and die! We do not know how it was first mentioned to the angels--but when the rumor first began to get afloat among the sacred hosts, you may imagine what strange wonderment there was.

What! Was it true that He whose crown was all bedecked with stars, would lay that crown aside?

What! Was it certain that He about whose shoulders was cast the government of the universe, would become a man dressed in a peasants garment?

Could it be true that He who was everlasting and immortal, would one day be nailed to a cross?

And when He descended from on high, they followed Him; for Jesus was "seen by angels," and seen in a special sense, for they looked upon Him in rapturous amazement, wondering what it all could mean.

Oh, can you conceive the yet increasing wonder of the heavenly hosts when He put aside His majesty--when they saw the tiara taken off, when they saw Him unbind His belt of stars, and cast away His sandals of gold?

Can you conceive it, when He said to them: "I do not disdain the womb of the virgin--I am going down to earth to become a man!"

And now wonder, you angels, the Infinite has become an infant!

He, upon whose shoulders the universe hangs--hangs at His mothers bosom!

He who created all things, and bears up the pillars of creation--has now become so weak that He must be carried by a woman!

And oh, wonder, you angels who knew Him in His riches, while you admire His poverty!

Where does the new-born King sleep? Had He the best room in Caesar's palace? Has a cradle of gold been prepared for Him, and pillows of down, on which to rest His head? No! Where the ox fed, in the dilapidated stable, in the feeding trough--there the Savior lies, swathed in the swaddling bands of the children of poverty!

See Him who made the worlds--handle the hammer and the nails, assisting Joseph in the trade of a carpenter!

Mark Him who has put the stars on high, and made them glisten in the night; mark Him without one star of glory upon His brow--a simple child, as other children.

Let us leave the scenes of His childhood and His earlier life. See Him when He becomes a man--as for His food, He oftentimes hungered; and always was dependent upon the charity of others for the relief of His needs!

He who scattered the harvest over the broad acres of the world--at times had nothing to stop the pangs of His hunger!

He who dug the springs of the ocean--sat upon a well and said to a Samaritan woman, "Give me a drink!"

He rode in no chariot, but He walked His weary way, foot-sore, over the flints of Galilee!

He had no where to lay His head. He looked upon the fox as it hurried to its burrow, and the fowl as it went to its resting-place, and He said, "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests--but I have nowhere to lay my head."

He who had once been waited on by angels--becomes the servant of servants, takes a towel, girds Himself, and washes His disciples' feet!

He who was once honored with the hallelujahs of ages--is now spit upon and despised!

Oh, there are no words to picture the humiliation of Christ! What leagues of distance between Him that once sat upon the throne--and Him that died upon the cross! Oh, who can tell the mighty chasm between yon heights of glory--and the cross of deepest woe!

Trace Him, Christian. Follow Him all His journey through. Begin with Him in the wilderness of temptation, see Him fasting there, and hungering with the wild beasts around Him. Trace Him along His weary way, as the Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief. He is the byword of the drunkard, He is the song of the scorner, and He is hooted at by the malicious--see Him as they point their finger at Him, and call Him a "drunken man and wine-bibber!"

Follow Him along His 'Via Dolorosa', until at last you meet Him among the olive groves of Gethsemane--see Him sweating great drops of blood!

Follow Him to the pavement of Gabbatha--see Him pouring out rivers of gore beneath the cruel whips of Roman soldiers!

With weeping eye follow Him to the cross of Calvary, see Him nailed there!

Mark His poverty--so poor that His unpillowed head is girt with thorns in death!

Oh, Son of Man, I know not which to admire most--Your height of glory--or Your depths of misery!

If I had a tale to tell you this day of some king, who, out of love to some fair maiden, left his kingdom and became a peasant like herself--you would stand and wonder, and would listen to the charming tale. But when I tell of God concealing His dignity to become our Savior--our hearts are scarcely touched!

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich!" 2 Corinthians 8:9

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We would never commit a sin!

(Charles Spurgeon, "How God Condemned Sin")

Such are the assemblage of graces found only in Jesus, each sparkling with peerless luster, and all blending with such exquisite gracefulness--that we are at once moved with awe and touched with love as we contemplate Him.

Such majesty--and yet such meekness in His demeanor.

Such solemnity--and yet such tenderness in His speech.

So impartial in judgment--and yet so forgiving in temper.

So full of zeal--and yet so equally full of patience.

So keen to detect malice--and yet so slow to resent it.

Such a wise mentor--and yet such a gentle sympathizing friend.

Jesus was perfectly . . .
   innocent,
   harmless,
   gentle,
   meek,
   loving,
   tender.

All His words were love.

All His actions were kindness.

We would never commit a sin, if we would but first say to ourselves, "Would Jesus have done this?"

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If that man had the soul of a swine!

(Thomas Brooks)

No object is so suitable and adequate to the heart as Christ is. He is a portion that exactly and directly suits . . .
  the condition of the soul,
  the desires of the soul,
  the necessities of the soul,
  the wants of the soul,
  the longings of the soul,
  and the prayers of the soul.

The soul can crave nothing, nor wish for nothing--but what is to be found in Christ. He is . . .
  light to enlighten the soul,
  wisdom to counsel the soul,
  power to support the soul,
  goodness to supply the soul,
  mercy to pardon the soul,
  beauty to delight the soul,
  glory to ravish the soul,
  and fullness to fill the soul.

Health is not more suitable to the sick man,
  nor wealth to the poor man,
  nor bread to the hungry man,
  nor drink to the thirsty man,
  nor clothes to the naked man,
  nor balm to the wounded man,
  nor ease to the tormented man,
  nor health to the diseased man,
  nor pardon to the condemned man,
  nor a guide to the blind man--
than Christ is suitable to all the necessities of man.
This speaks out the excellency of Christ above all others!

There is no 'earthly' portion that can suit an immortal soul. He is a fool upon record who said, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years--take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry!" If that man had the soul of a swine--what more could he have said? For those things were more suitable to swine, than they were to an immortal soul.

Man's soul is a spiritual and immortal substance. It is capable . . .
  of union and communion with God;
  of a choice enjoyment of God here,
  and an eternal fruition of God hereafter!

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

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The matchless wisdom of God which devised this system of salvation!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her!" Ephesians 5:25

The more I consider the doctrine of substitution--the more is my soul enamored of the matchless wisdom of God which devised this system of salvation. As for a hazy atonement which atones for everybody in general, and for nobody in particular--an atonement made equally for Judas and for John--I care nothing for it. But a literal, substitutionary sacrifice, Christ vicariously bearing the wrath of God on my behalf--this calms my conscience with regard to the righteous demands of the law of God, and satisfies the instincts of my nature which declare that, as God is just, He must exact the penalty of my guilt!

 "I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep!" John 10:11

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Where the battle rages!

(Martin Luther)

If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at the moment attacking--I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved--and to be steady on all the battle front besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point!

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His teaching makes practical Christians!

(James Smith)

"But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name--He will teach you all things!" John 14:26

The Holy Spirit is the Teacher of the church. To Him the promise refers, "All Your children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children."

He taught the apostles all things necessary for their office and work.

He teaches the true ministers of Christ, leading them into the truth as it is in Jesus.

And He teaches every believer--all that is really necessary for him to know!

The Bible is the lesson-book,
the believer is the scholar,
the blessed Spirit is the teacher, and
experimental religion is the education!

No one teaches like Him!
He teaches us . . .
  gradually,
  silently, and
  always effectually!
For only what the Spirit teaches us--do we really know!

He teaches us . . .
  what God requires in His Word,
  what He has provided in His gospel;
  what Christ is to His people,
  what His people are to Him.

His teaching makes practical Christians--for He always teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in the present world!

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The evangelistic methods of our present golden-calf Christianity!

(A.W. Tozer)

Any objection to the evangelistic methods of our present golden-calf Christianity, is met with the triumphant reply, "But we are winning the lost!"

And what are you winning them to?

To true discipleship?
To cross-carrying?
To self-denial?
To separation from the world?
To crucifixion of the flesh?
To holy living?
To nobility of character?
To a despising of the world's treasures?
To total committal to Christ?

Of course, the answer to all these questions is NO!

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Mark him down as a proud man!

(Ashton Oxenden, "The Touchstone of Humility" 1884)

One way in which a really humble Christian shows himself, is by having a high opinion of others. Paul says, "In lowliness of mind--let each esteem other better than himself." "Honor one another above yourselves."

Whenever you see a person who appears to take every opportunity of putting down others--mark him down as a proud man--and be sure that he does it in order to exalt himself!

On the other hand, whenever you see any one anxious to hide his brother's failings, unwilling to expose his little defects--you will generally find that he is a humble man, and one who deeply feels the many faults of his own character.

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It is only the humble who can feel the value of a Savior!

(Ashton Oxenden, "The Touchstone of Humility" 1884)

A humble Christian will feel that he owes everything to God's grace and love. This was Paul's feeling:
'By the grace of God, I am what I am.'
'To me, who am less than the least of all saints--is this grace given.'

No one can be said to be really humble, unless he is fully persuaded that he has no merit whatever of his own. When anyone feels himself to be vile and sinful, and is convinced that he deserves nothing but eternal damnation--then how wonderful and glorious does the love of God appear in providing salvation for him!

Now, can you feel this? Can you say, "Thank God for having taught me this. I see it clearly. I am nothing--and infinite mercy alone can save me from the Hell I so truly deserve!"

I am certain of this--that it is only the humble who can feel the value of a Savior, and who will cordially and thankfully accept His offers of mercy. One of the first things therefore that the gospel of Christ does for us is . . .
  to humble us;
  to show us what we are--and what we deserve;
  to strip us of all our false coverings; and
  to place Christ before us as the only refuge for penitent sinners!

Well indeed it is, if your heart has been thus humbled--so that you feel inclined to lie low at the feet of Jesus, and to cling to His precious cross alone for safety.

I need not ask whether Christ is dear to you. He must be--for now that you are enabled to lay hold of Him by faith, you would not for the whole world exchange your treasure! You may be poor--but you can hardly call it poverty if you possess Christ. You may have trials and sorrows--but how light is every one of them, now that you can feel you have a dear Friend by your side, who can turn all your sorrows into joys!

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I tremble for the amount of worldliness which prevails in some professing Christian families!

(Ashton Oxenden, "Worldliness!" 1884)

I tremble for the amount of worldliness which prevails in some professing Christian families! There is a great danger, lest pleasure and excitement should be regarded as the one object to be sought after--lest Jesus should be robbed of His true allegiance, and hearts, born for higher and better things--should be drawn down to earth, and riveted there by a chain which is not easily broken!

Oh, how soon, how fatally soon--we pass, imperceptibly perhaps, from things lawful to those which are doubtful--and then a step further, to those which are positively sinful! How soon does the heart, in which there was once a spark of the love of Christ--become chilled and warped by its contact with the world! How soon does the reading of light and frivolous books take the place of that precious Word, which is truth itself! And how soon is communion with God, exchanged for fellowship with the world!

I do indeed tremble for those who are dreaming away the best portion of their lives, who are spending them in vanity and emptiness--and will one day wake up with the miserable feeling that they have lived to no real purpose!

Did our Lord live thus, when here on earth? Did the early Christians live thus? Then we cannot live thus. No, unless we are willing to give up the Savior, whom we have pledged ourselves to follow, and the glorious inheritance we profess to be living for!

The question is: Are we candidates for everlasting happiness? If we are--then we must live, not for this world, but for eternity. Our hearts and our treasure must be there!

But there is a danger into which some fall. There are some people who imagine that they are giving up the world--when, in fact, they are merely transferring their attachment from one class of worldliness to fix it upon another. Parties and theaters are perhaps put aside--when other amusements of a kindred nature, and scarcely less attractive, are indulged in. This however is not self-denial--it is still enjoying the world, though in another shape--it is turning aside from one kind of self-pleasing, that we may indulge in another.

How sad to think that our best and truest Friend should ever be forcibly excluded from our hearts--and the world with all its trifles let in!

Ought we not then, as followers of Christ, to stand aside from a thoughtless, trifling world? Is not the beaten path, sometimes an unsafe path? Is not the stream that flows the smoothest, sometimes nearest to the precipice? Take care lest you are gliding down the stream of this world--lest you are walking in the broad road which hundreds walk in, and then suddenly find out that it is the way of eternal destruction!

Another reason why we should not love the world, is because its joys are at best unsatisfying. They are like alcohol to a thirsty man, which only make him thirst the more. They will never satisfy his desire, but only feed it. The worldly man, whether he is seeking after earthly pleasures, or earthly gains--is ever seeing a paradise in the distance; but the nearer he approaches it, the more sure it is to vanish, like an optical illusion, from his sight.

There is another reason why you should not love the world--and that is because it is only temporary--its joys and gains are merely for a time. There is a shifting, fleeting, fading character about them.

This world is but a tent, spread out for our present abode--Heaven is a building of God, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

This world is but a passing shadow--Heaven an enduring substance.

This world a pilgrimage--Heaven is a home.

This world is a desert--Heaven a paradise.

This world is a strange land--Heaven is the place of our citizenship.

This world abounds with storms--Heaven is a universal calm.

This world is full of changes--in Heaven our lot will be forever fixed.

This world is the abode of sin, and shame, and sorrow--Heaven is a scene of holiness, of glory, and of God.

It is not, I know, easy to take a decided and unworldly course. It will cost you much. Your conduct will be carped at, and counted as folly. Yes, the stream is strong--and you must stem it. The way is steep and narrow--we do not deny it. But then how blessed it is to be following Christ! How safe are those who are walking closely by His side!

No, we cannot serve two masters! We cannot drink the cup of the Lord--and yet quaff the sweet but poisonous cup of the world!

Oh, remember, the world may be in your heart--though not in your actions! You may love the world, and secretly pine after it--though you have outwardly renounced it. It is a great thing to be honest with ourselves--for God is not mocked. If you really desire to follow Jesus and to renounce the world, you must mortify your earthly affections--and raise them to things above. "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ--set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above--not on earthly things!" Colossians 3:1-2