Grace Gems

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J.C. Ryle Gems #5

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To be Christian, will cost a man his love of ease!

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The tree falls with a great crash, but the secret decay which accounts for it--is often not discovered until it is down on the ground. Just so, men fall in private--long before they fall in public!

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Growth in grace is one way to be happy in our religion.
God has wisely linked together our comfort--and our increase in holiness.

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The children of God all have a cross to bear.
A suffering Savior generally has suffering disciples.

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We know nothing of humility by nature--for we are all born proud!

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Naked we came upon earth--and naked we depart.
Of all our possessions--we can carry nothing with us.

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There is more to be learned at the foot of the Cross--than anywhere else in the world!

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People will never set their faces decidedly towards Heaven, and live like pilgrims--until they really feel that they are in danger of Hell.

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Let us be real, honest, and sincere in our Christianity.
We cannot deceive an all-seeing God!

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The best of men--are men at best!

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J.C. Ryle Gems #6

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Blessed are those who live like pilgrims and strangers in this life--their best things are all to come!

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The surest mark of true conversion, is humility.

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When I speak of a man growing in grace, I mean simply that . . .
  his sense of sin is becoming deeper,
  his faith is becoming stronger,
  his hope is becoming brighter,
  his love is becoming more extensive, and
  his spiritual-mindedness is becoming more marked.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The Christian who keeps his heart diligently in little things--shall be kept from great falls.

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Fathers and mothers--do not forget that children learn more by the eye than they do by the ear.
Imitation is a far stronger principle with children, than memory.
What they see has a much stronger effect on their minds--than what they are told.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

Let us read the Bible reverently and diligently--with an honest determination to believe and practice all that we find in it.

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Every fresh act of sin . . .
  lessens fear and remorse,
  hardens our hearts,
  blunts the edge of our conscience,
  and increases our evil inclination!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

We may love money without having it--just as we may have money without loving it.

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J.C. Ryle Gems #7

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Nothing so hardens the heart of man--as a barren familiarity with sacred things.

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Love should be the silver thread that runs through all your conduct!

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Sicknesses, losses, crosses, anxieties and disappointments--are absolutely needful to keep us humble, watchful and spiritually-minded. They are as needful as the pruning knife to the vine--and the refiner's furnace to the gold.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

Surely it is better to enter into eternal life with a few--than to go to Hell with a great company!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

Doctrine is useless--if it is not accompanied by a holy life! It is worse than useless--it does positive harm. Something of 'the image of Christ' must be seen and observed by others in our private life, and habits, and character, and doings!

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The love of Christ towards His people--is a deep well which has no bottom!

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Let us daily strive to copy our Savior's humility.

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Imagination is the hotbed where sin is too often hatched.
Guard your thoughts--and there will be little fear about your actions.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The eye of God! Think of that. Everywhere, in every house, in every field, in every room, in every company, alone or in a crowd--the eye of God is always upon you!

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The path of the scissors!

(Lewis Bayly, "The Practice of Piety" 1611)

"For who makes you to differ from another? And what do you have, that you did not receive?" 1 Corinthians 4:7

We are all . . .
  fashioned from the same mold,
  hewed out of the same rock,
  made as it were, of the same cloth
--the path of the scissors making the only difference between one person an another. It is therefore only the sovereign love and grace of God, which makes all the difference between us.

No believer should ever insolently demean the unsaved, who, like miserable drudges, allow their corrupt nature to carry them to any villainy, lust, or lewd course; and who damn themselves in the devil's slavery!

Alas! our hearts should bleed within us at beholding so many around us imbruing their cruel hands in the blood of their own souls--by their ignorance, worldliness, drunkenness, lust, unbelief and scoffing at true religion.

What heart, except it be hewed out of the hardest rock, or has sucked the bosom of merciless tigers; but would yearn and weep to see a man made of the same mold with himself, willfully, as it were, against a thousand warnings, and God's many compassionate invitations--cast himself, body and soul, into the endless, easeless, and remediless miseries of Hell? We should the rather pity and pray for such a one who follows the bent of his own evil heart--to his own everlasting perdition!

It is only the sovereign mercy, goodness, and grace of God which has made the difference between them and us. If God should give us over to the unbridled current of our corrupt nature--we might be worse than them, and run riot in this world of wickedness. If the same God visits them in mercy--they may become every way as godly, or better than us!

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

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If chastisement were not necessary

(James Smith, "The Evening Sacrifice; Or, A Help to Devotion" 1859)

"No chastening seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11

Afflictions are always painful--and days of affliction are often gloomy. But as we are training for eternity, as we are maturing for Heaven, and as afflictions are necessary discipline--we must be afflicted. If chastisement were not necessary--then our loving Father would never use the rod. But as every one of us needs correction--He chastens every son whom He receives. God's chastisements are intended for our instruction--they are designed to teach us . . .
  the evil of sin,
  our need of grace,
  the holiness of God,
  the preciousness of Jesus,
  the emptiness of the world,
  and the blessedness of Heaven.
These are lessons of the deepest importance to us--lessons that we are slow to learn; and therefore we must have line upon line, and stroke upon stroke.

Heavenly Father, help us to bow to Your sovereign will, to bear with patience every stroke of Your rod, and to learn the holy and important lessons which You intend to teach us. May we not only submit to Your discipline--but, seeing the love which ordains it, and the need there is for it--even acquiesce in it. Keep us from fretting at pain, repining at losses, or giving way to too much grief at bereavements--knowing that all these things come from You, and that You design them for our good. Help us to understand that every trial and every trouble is a blessing--and will end in eternal glory. Sweet thought!

O for grace to yield ourselves to You--and to sweetly acquiesce in all Your paternal dealings!

"Blessed is the man whom God corrects--so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty." Job 5:17

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All that we need drops from His palm!

(James Smith, "The Evening Sacrifice; Or, A Help to Devotion" 1859)

"The eyes of all look to You--and You give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand, and satisfy the desires of every living thing." Psalm 145:15-16

All our supplies come from God, therefore our dependence should be on Him, and our expectations from Him. Creatures act towards us in kindness and sympathy--according to His direction.

The eyes of all creation are upon the Lord, and all the tribes of His creatures are fed by His hand. How much more, then, should His children look to Him, seek from Him, and expect to be supplied by Him!

Whatever God does--He does wisely and seasonably; and whatever He gives--is in season. When our needs are felt, and our cry is heard--then our supply is certain. It is but for God to open His hand--and all that we need drops from His palm! When God's hand opens--our desires will soon be satisfied. Every temporal mercy, every spiritual gift, and all the supplies needed by our souls--lie in the hand of God for us. He loves for us to fix our eyes on Him, to lift up our voice to Him, and seek every blessing from Him.

Merciful Lord, You have fed us this day. Your loving heart and open hand have supplied all our needs. We gratefully acknowledge Your wondrous goodness, and bless You for Your suitable supplies. And now, O Lord, close up the day with us in mercy--give us a sense of Your forgiving love, and faith in Your protecting care. Help us to cast every care on You, and to fall asleep tonight as on a parent's bosom. Let Your peace pervade us, and inspire us with strong confidence in Your providential protection.

"Behold, as the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress--so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till He shows us His mercy." Psalm 123:2

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We not only need help every day--but every moment!

(James Smith, "The Evening Sacrifice; Or, A Help to Devotion" 1859)

"Help me, O Lord my God! O save me according to Your mercy." Psalm 109:26

We not only need help every day--but every moment!
Our weakness is extreme.
Our foes are numerous and mighty.
Our duties are difficult and arduous.
Our dangers are great and imminent.
How, then, shall we be able to stand, to conquer, to overcome?

Our God has said, "I will strengthen you--yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of My righteousness!" Blessed be His holy name--He is as good as His Word!
He has helped us in every need.
He has helped us out of every difficulty.
He has helped us all through our journey until this day.
And tonight He is as ready to help us as He ever was.
  His ear is open.
  His heart throbs with infinite love to us.
  His throne of grace is accessible.
  His mercy is rich and free!

With such thoughts as these in our minds, O Lord, we approach You tonight, confessing to Your honor--that you ever have helped us; and now beseeching You to help us quite through the rough journey of life. Help us, O our God . . .
  to conquer our inbred lusts;
  to overcome and crucify the old man;
  to mortify the flesh with its vile affections;
  to overcome this present evil world;
  and to tread Satan under our feet.

Help us, as Your chosen people, holy and dearly loved by You--to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; and, above all, love, which is the bond of perfectness. Save, O save us, from all pride, self-sufficiency, high-mindedness, and worldly wisdom.
Make us humble, meek, and deeply spiritual.
Fill us with the spirit of Jesus.
Produce in us the temper of Jesus.
Enable us exactly to copy the example of Jesus.
O make us Christ-like and holy!

"Answer me, O LORD, out of the goodness of your love; turn unto me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies." Psalm 69:16

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One of the secrets of happy and beautiful life!

(J.R. Miller)

"As your days--so shall your strength be!" Deuteronomy 33:25

One of the secrets of happy and beautiful life, is to live one day at a time. Really, we never have anything to do any day--but the bit of God's will for that day. If we do that well--we have absolutely nothing else to do.

Time is given to us in days. It was so from the beginning. This breaking up of time into little daily portions means a great deal more than we are accustomed to think. For one thing, it illustrates the gentleness and goodness of God. It would have made life intolerably burdensome if a year, instead of a day--had been the unit of division. It would have been hard to carry a heavy load, to endure a great sorrow, or to keep on at a hard duty--for such a long stretch of time. How dreary our common task-work would be--if there were no breaks in it, if we had to keep our hand to the plough for a whole year! We never could go on with our struggles, our battles, our suffering--if night did not mercifully settle down with its darkness, and bid us rest and renew our strength.

We do not understand how great a mercy there is for us in the briefness of our short days. If they were even twice as long as they are--life would be intolerable! Many a time when the sun goes down--we feel that we could scarcely have gone another step. We would have fainted in defeat--if the summons to rest had not come just when it did.

We see the graciousness of the divine thoughtfulness in giving us time in periods of little days, which we can easily get through with--and not in great years, in which we would faint and fall by the way. It makes it possible for us to go on through all the long years and not to be overwrought, for we never have given to us at any one time--more than we can do between the morning and the evening.

If we learn well the lesson of living just one day at a time, without anxiety for either yesterday or tomorrow, we shall have found one of the great secrets of Christian peace. That is the way God teaches us to live. That is the lesson both of the Bible and of nature. If we learn it, it will cure us of all anxiety; it will save us from all feverish haste; it will enable us to live sweetly in any experience.

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34

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The lock-smith's great bunch of keys!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"He has given us His very great and precious promises!" 2 Peter 1:4

God's promises are precious, because they tell of exceedingly great and precious things. We have promises in the Bible which time would fail us to repeat, which for breadth and length are immeasurable. They deal with every great thing which the soul can need:
  promises of pardoned sin,
  promises of sanctification,
  promises of teaching,
  promises of guidance,
  promises of upholding,
  promises of ennobling,
  promises of progress,
  promises of consolation,
  promises of perfection.

In this blessed book you have . . .
  promises for time--and promises for eternity;
  promises for every condition every believer!

I sometimes liken God's promises to the lock-smith's great bunch of keys which he brings when you have lost the key of your chest, and cannot unlock it. He feels pretty sure that out of all the keys upon his ring, some one or another will fit, and he tries them with patient industry. At last--yes--that is it--he has loosened the bolt, and now you can get at your treasures!

In the same way, there is always a promise in the volume of inspiration, suitable to your present case.

The promises are precious in themselves . . .
  from their suitability to us,
  from their coming from God,
  from their being immutable,
  from their being sure of performance, and
  from their containing wrapped up within themselves, all that every child of God can ever need!

"He has given us His very great and precious promises!"

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If we were what we profess to be, and what we should be

(Charles Spurgeon)

"When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men--they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus!" Acts 4:13

A Christian should be a striking likeness of Jesus Christ. You have read "Lives of Christ"--beautifully and eloquently written. But the best life of Christ is His living biography, written out in the words and actions of His people.

If we were what we profess to be, and what we should be--we would be pictures of Christ! Yes, such striking likenesses of Him that the world would, when they once beheld us, exclaim, "He has been with Jesus! He has been taught of Him! He is like Him! He has caught the very idea of the holy Man of Nazareth, and he works it out in his life and everyday actions!"

"He who says he abides in Him--ought himself also to walk just as He walked." 1 John 2:6

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Five Short Rules for Christians

(Brownlow North, 1810-1875)

1. Never neglect daily private prayer; and when you pray, remember that God is present, and that He hears your prayers.

2. Never neglect daily private Bible reading; and when you read, remember that God is speaking to you, and that you are to believe and act upon all that He says.

3. Never let a day pass without trying to do something for Jesus. Every day reflect on what Jesus has done for you--and then ask yourself, "What am I doing for Him?"

4. If you are in doubt as to a thing being right or wrong--then go to your room and kneel down and ask God's blessing on it. If you cannot do this, then it is wrong.

5. Never take your standard of Christianity from other Christians--or argue that because such and such people do so and so--therefore, you may. You are to ask yourself, "How would Jesus act in my place?"--and strive to follow Him alone.

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That miracle of Divine grace wrought in the soul

(Arthur Pink)

Regeneration is that miracle of Divine grace wrought in the soul . . .
  which enlists the affections Godward,
  which brings the human will into subjection to the Divine,
  and which produces a real and radical change in the life.
That change is from worldliness--to godliness; from disobedience--to obedience.

At the new birth, the love of God is shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit, and that love is manifested in a dominating longing and sincere purpose to please in all things, the One who has plucked me as a brand from the burning. There is a greater difference between the genuine Christian and the deceived professing Christian--than there is between a living man and a corpse. None need remain in doubt, if they will honestly measure themselves by the Holy Word of God.

Ah, dear readers, the test is fruit! Not knowledge, not boastings, not orthodoxy, not joy--but fruit; and such "fruit" as mere nature cannot produce. It is the fruit of the Vine--namely, likeness to Christ, being conformed to His image. May the Holy Spirit search each one of us.

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His mercy is a boundless, fathomless, endless ocean!

(James Smith, "The Evening Sacrifice; Or, A Help to Devotion" 1859)

"You, O Lord, are good, and ready to forgive--and abundant in mercy to all who call upon You." Psalm 86:5

What a beautiful representation of God is this! How comforting, at the close of another day's cares and troubles, sorrows and sins--to be reminded that our "God is good," and especially that He is "ready to forgive"--ready to pardon all the faults and follies of this day--ready to pass them by, and still treat me as His beloved child!

He only requires me to confess and be sorry for my sins--and in a moment, all is forgiven, all is forgotten, and forgotten forever!

Then He is "abundant in mercy." The fountain of His mercy has not yet run dry. Run dry! It is not in the least diminished! His mercy is a boundless, fathomless, endless ocean!

God has plenty of mercy for miserable sinners . . .
  mercy to pardon them,
  mercy to purify them,
  mercy to comfort them,
  mercy to save them--
mercy for all who call upon Him!

O my soul, take home tonight this lovely representation of your God, and believing that He is good, ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy--go to Him, call upon Him, and plead with Him. Then you may obtain mercy, and find grace to help you in every time of need.

Good and gracious God, I adore You for Your goodness; I bless You that You are ready to forgive; I rejoice that You are abundant in mercy. And now, O Lord, glorify Your mercy in me--show Your readiness to forgive, in me! Let my heart be eased of every sorrow--and let my conscience be cleansed from every sin! Let me lie down to rest tonight guiltless--rejoicing in the glorious fact that You have blotted out my sins as a cloud, and my transgressions as a thick cloud, and are now at eternal peace with me!

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We ought to hate it with a deadly hatred!

(J.C. Ryle)

"As He drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a dead person was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow." Luke 7:12

We see here, what sorrow sin has brought into the world. We are told of a funeral at Nain. All funerals are mournful things, but it is difficult to imagine a funeral more mournful than the one here described. It was the funeral of a young man, and that young man the only son of his mother, and that mother a widow. There is not an item in the whole story, which is not full of misery. And all this misery, be it remembered, was brought into the world by sin. God did not create it at the beginning, when He made all things "very good." Sin is the cause of it all! "Sin entered into the world" when Adam fell, "and death by sin." Romans 5:12

Let us never forget this solemn truth. The world around us is full of sorrow. Sickness, and pain, and infirmity, and poverty, and labor, and trouble--abound on every side. From one end of the world to the other--the history of families is full of lamentation, and weeping, and mourning, and woe.

And whence does it all come? Sin is the fountain and root to which all must be traced. There would neither have been tears, nor illness, nor deaths, nor funerals in the earth--if there had been no sin. We must bear this state of things patiently. We cannot alter it. We may thank God that there is a remedy in the Gospel, and that this present life is not all. But in the meantime, let us lay the blame at the right door. Let us lay the blame on sin.

How much we ought to hate sin! Instead of loving it, cleaving to it, dallying with it, excusing it, playing with it--we ought to hate it with a deadly hatred! Sin is the great murderer, and thief, and pestilence, and nuisance of this world. Let us make no peace with it. Let us wage a ceaseless warfare against it. It is "the abominable thing which God hates!" Happy is he who is of one mind with God, and can say, I "abhor that which is evil." Romans 12:9

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The sick room, part 1

(J.C. Ryle)

"In those days King Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death!" Isaiah 38:1

Sickness, disease, decay, and death are the common lot of all mankind without exception. You have a striking proof of this in the chapter from which my text is taken. The Holy Spirit shows us a king and ruler of men, a dweller in palaces, a possessor of all that money can obtain, a good man, a holy man, a friend of God--laid low by disease, like the poorest man in the kingdom. Hear what the Holy Spirit says, "In those days King Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death!"

This is the old story. It is the history of every child of Adam for the last 6,000 years--except for Enoch and Elijah. It is as true of the infant who only lives a few hours--as it is true of Methuselah who lived 969 years. The story of every patriarch in the fifth of Genesis concludes with the simple words, "and he died."

There is no discharge in this war. Sooner or later, all die. There is no exemption for any rank or class or condition. High and low, rich and poor, gentle and simple, learned and unlearned, kings and their subjects, saints and sinners--all alike are liable to disease and all must submit to the King of Terrors. The admirals and generals who have left behind a world-wide reputation, the statesmen who have swayed senates and made indelible marks on the history of their own time--are all carried one after another to the grave. Rich men, in spite of all their privileges, enjoy no immunity from sickness and death.

No medical skill can prevent death. Our physicians and surgeons are unwearied in their efforts to find new remedies and modes of treatment. They compass sea and land in order to prevent disease, discover remedies, diminish pain, and lengthen life. But in spite of all that medicine and surgery can do--there is something which the ablest doctors find beyond their reach. When the time appointed by God comes--they cannot keep men and women alive.

After all, there is nothing amazing in this. The tent in which our soul lives--the human body--is a most frail and complicated machine. From the sole of the foot to the crown of the head--there is not a part of us which is not liable to disease. When I think of the variety of ailments which may assail our frame, I do not so much wonder that we die at last--as that we live so long.

But whence comes this liability to sickness, disease, and death? How are we to account for it? This is a question which will arise in many minds--and it is one which ought to be answered. Perfection is the ordinary mark of all God's handiwork--perfection in the heavens above us, and the earth beneath us--perfection in the movements of a planets--and perfection in a fly's wing, or a blade of grass. Look through a telescope or microscope at anything which God created--and you find nothing defective. How then can we account for the power of disease, decay, and death over the body of man?

There is only one book which supplies an answer to this question. That book is the Bible. The fall of man at the beginning, has brought sin into the world--and sin has brought with it the curse of sickness, suffering,  pain, and death. These are not things which God created at the beginning. They are the consequences of man's transgression. To suppose that a perfect God would deliberately create imperfection, is a supposition too monstrous to be believed. It is man who is to blame--and not God. The countless bodily sufferings that we see, are the just consequence of man's original disobedience.

Here to my mind lies one among many proofs that the Bible is given by inspiration of God. It accounts for many things which the atheist cannot explain. When I see a little infant convulsed with bodily pain and hovering between life and death in a weeping mother's arms--I would be utterly puzzled and confounded, if I did not believe the Bible. But when I turn to the Book--the mysterious problem is solved. I learn that suffering is the result of Adam's fall. That infant would not have suffered--if Adam had not sinned!