Grace Gems

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Pithy gems from Theodore Cuyler, 1822-1909

  ~ ~ ~ ~

Tears never yet saved a soul. Hell is full of weepers weeping over lost opportunities, perhaps over the rejection of an offered Savior.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

The demand of the day is for a higher standard and style of Christian life. Every follower of Christ must represent His religion purely, loftily, impressively, before that multitude of Bible-readers whose only Bible is the Christian.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

Sufficient to each day are the duties to be done and the trials to be endured. God never built a Christian strong enough to carry today's duties, and tomorrow's anxieties piled on the top of them!

  ~ ~ ~ ~

Faith is trusting Jesus to lead us--and going where He leads.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

A new year is upon us--with new duties, new conflicts, new trials, and new opportunities. Start on the journey with Jesus--walk with Him, and work for Him. This year may be the last year of our lives! A happy year will it be to those who, through every path of trial, or up every hill of difficulty, or over every sunny height--march on in closest fellowship with Jesus!

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I have only one passion, and that is Jesus!

(J.R. Miller)

"Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts!" Ezekiel 14:3

"Their heart went after their idols!" Ezekiel 20:16

We need to watch our heart-life, for it is in our thoughts, feelings, moods, tempers and affections--that departure from Christ begins.

We need to watch our inner spiritual state. The world may see no limit to our external zeal, our religious activity, our earnest promoting of the truth--and yet there may be not enough inner prayerfulness, love for Christ, tenderness of conscience, hunger for righteousness, or desire for holiness in our heart.

Is Christ more to you now, than He ever was before? Does His love draw you with an overwhelming sway? Can you say, with Zinzendorf, "I have only one passion, and that is Jesus!"

Is your heart right?

"You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind!" Luke 10:27

"My son, give me your heart!" Proverbs 23:26

"Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life!" Proverbs 4:23

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Pastoral Exhortations

(Francis Grimke, 1850-1937)

No cowardly minister who is afraid to declare the whole Word of God lest he give offense, or interfere with his popularity--has any right in any Christian pulpit. He is simply a disgrace to it, and a stench in the nostrils of Jehovah!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

My constant prayer to God is that he would help me to preach . . .
  not great sermons, but helpful sermons;
  sermons that will appeal, not mainly to the intellect, but to the heart;
  sermons that will tend to strengthen and develop holiness within us, and inspire us with devout desires.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

No man's ministry is a failure, however meager the results, if he has been faithfully and earnestly preaching the gospel of the grace of God--holding up to dying, sinful men God's message of redeeming love. Such a ministry is not, could not be, a failure.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The minister must be a man of prayer, and he must be a careful student of the Word of God. Without these two things, he may be able to preach interesting and eloquent sermons, but they will carry no saving weight with them. It is only as he lives in close vital communion with God, that he can hope to speak with convicting and converting power.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

One of the things we should be on our guard against, is the desire for praise--the wish to be complimented for our pulpit ministrations.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

Unless we are striving to be what we preach, we had better not preach at all.

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But a flea-bite!

(Thomas Brooks, "The Mute Christian Under the Smarting Rod" or, "The Silent Soul with Sovereign Antidotes" 1659)

"I am the man who has seen affliction!" Lamentations 3:1

Christian! Your present afflictions are not great--if compared with the torments of many of the damned, who when they were it this world, never sinned at so high a rate as you have done! There are many now in Hell, who never sinned . . .
  against such clear light as you have done,
  nor against such special love as you have done,
  nor against such precious mercies as you have done!
Certainly there are many now a-roaring in everlasting burnings--who never sinned as you have done!

What are your present afflictions and troubles--compared to the torments of the damned, whose torments are . . .
  without intermission,
  without mitigation,
  numberless,
  bottomless,
  remediless,
  and endless!
They have . . .
  weeping served for the first course,
  gnashing of teeth for the second course,
  the gnawing worm for the third course,
  and intolerable pain for the fourth course!

Yet the pain of the body is least part of their pain. The very soul of sorrow and pain--is the soul's sorrow and pain! The everlasting alienation from God is served for the fifth course!

Ah, Christian! how can you seriously think on these things and not lay your hand upon your mouth--even when you are under the greatest temporal sufferings? Your sins have been far greater than many of those who are now in Hell, and your great afflictions are but a flea-bite compared to theirs! Therefore hush your murmuring, and be silent before the Lord! "I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for You are the one who has done this!" Psalm 39:9

Such is the splendor, the brightness, the glory, the happiness, and blessedness that are reserved for the saints in Heaven, that had I all the tongues of men on earth and all the excellencies of the angels in Heaven--yet I would not be able to conceive nor to express that vision of glory to you! That glory is inconceivable and inexpressible! It is best to be hastening there, that we may feel and enjoy that which we shall never be able to declare!

All the troubles, afflictions, and sorrows of this life, in comparison with eternal happiness and blessedness--are to be considered as nothing. They are but as a speck of sand--compared to the fathomless glories of Heaven!

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us!" Romans 8:18

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all!" 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

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My Beloved is mine--and I am His!

(Thomas Doolittle, "Love to Christ Necessary to Escape the Curse at His Coming!" 1693)

"My Beloved is mine--and I am His!" Song of Songs 2:16

In marital love, there is a mutual giving each to other. Just so in this holy spiritual love between Christ and the redeemed soul.

Christ gives Himself unto the soul, and says, "All that I am and all that I have are yours--My righteousness is yours, My merits are yours, and all My benefits shall be yours!"

So the soul in love with Christ, says, "Lord, I give myself to You! My mind shall be Yours, my will, my heart, my estate, my all shall be Yours--at Your command, at Your disposal!"

"My Beloved is mine--and I am His!" Song of Songs 2:16

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Pithy gems from Martyn Lloyd Jones

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The Christian is not a good man.
He is a vile wretch who has been saved by the grace of God!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The tragedy of sin is that it affects man in his highest faculties.
Sin causes us to become fools and behave in an irrational manner.
Modern man, far from being ruled by reason, is ruled by lust and passion.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The more holy a person is, the simpler will that person's life be.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

I'd rather hobble into Heaven, than run into Hell!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

God is nowhere more hidden, than in most churches!

    ~  ~  ~  ~

Pride is probably the deadliest and the most subtle of all sins, and it can assume many forms!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The ultimate test of our spirituality, is the measure of our amazement at the grace of God.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

Grace is favor shown to people who do not deserve any favor at all.
We deserve nothing but Hell!
If you think you deserve Heaven--then you are not a Christian.

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Pithy gems from Martyn Lloyd Jones #2

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The Cross not only shows the love of God more gloriously than anything else--it also shows His righteousness, His justice, His holiness, and all the glory of His eternal attributes. They are all to be seen shining together there.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

Some tend to think that Christianity is a matter of being nice.
But niceness is purely biological. One dog is nicer than another dog!

    ~  ~  ~  ~

We must never parade ourselves!

    ~  ~  ~  ~

Do you think that you deserve God's forgiveness?
If you do, then you are not a Christian.

    ~  ~  ~  ~

When a man truly sees himself, he knows that nobody can say anything about him that is too bad.

    ~  ~  ~  ~

The trouble with man is not intellectual--but moral.

    ~  ~  ~  ~

If you claim to love Christ and yet are living an unholy life, there is only one thing to say about you: You are an impudent liar!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The man who refuses to face the fact of his own death is a fool!

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He was the only innocent man ever to be punished by God!

(R.C. Sproul, "The Holiness of God")

A god who is all love, all grace, all mercy--but no sovereignty, no justice, no holiness, and no wrath--is an idol!

The most violent expression of God's wrath and justice is seen in the Cross. If ever a person had room to complain for injustice it was Jesus. He was the only innocent man ever to be punished by God!

If we stagger at the wrath of God, then let us stagger at the Cross. Here is where our astonishment should be focused.

"God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God!" 2 Corinthians 5:21

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us!" Galatians 3:13

"He humbled Himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!" Philippians 2:8

"He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree!" 1 Peter 2:24

"Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God!" 1 Peter 3:18

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Oh, be ravished with this!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"That the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You have loved Me!" John 17:23

Can you believe it . . .
  that you should be the object of God's delight,
  that you should be the object of the Father's love as truly as Christ is!

See the amazing sacrifice which the Father made in giving Jesus to us.

Think what it cost Him to tear His Well-Beloved from His bosom and send Him down below to be despised and rejected.

Think what it cost Him to nail Jesus up to yonder cross, and then forsake Him and hide His face from Him, because He had laid all our sins upon Him.

Oh, the love He must have had to us, thus to have made His best Beloved to become a curse for us, as it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree!"

I want you to get this truth right into your souls, dear friends.
Do not hold it as a dry doctrine, but let it penetrate your heart.

Oh, when the river of God's great love to us came rolling in like a mighty torrent, what a sea of love was there! Now we are borne onward forever by the mighty sweep of infinite love into an everlasting blessedness which tongues and lips can never fully set forth!

Oh, be ravished with this! Be in ecstasy at love so amazing, so divine! The Father loves you even as He loves His Son! After the same manner and sort, He loves all His redeemed people.

Can you believe it!

Oh, if the love of Jesus once enters into a man's soul . . .
   it will forever transform him,
   it will sway him with the noblest passions,
   it will make him a zealot for Christ,
   it will cast out his pride and selfishness,
   it will change him into the image of Christ, and
   fit him to dwell in Heaven where love is eternally perfected.

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You will have a much lower opinion of yourself!

(John Newton)

Depend upon it--if you walk closely with God for forty years, at the end of that time you will have a much lower opinion of yourself than you have now!

You will understand something of . . .
  Abraham's feeling when he says, "I am dust and ashes!"
  Jacob's feeling when he says, "I am unworthy of the least of all Your mercies!"
  Job's feeling when he says, "Behold! I am vile!"
  Paul's feeling when he says, "I am the chief of sinners!"

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The diamond rivet!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"The Lord will give grace AND glory!" Psalm 84:11

Jehovah is bounteous in His nature--to give is His delight. His gifts are precious beyond measure, and are as freely given as the light of the sun!

He freely gives grace in all its forms, to all His people:
  saving grace,
  comforting grace,
  preserving grace,
  sanctifying grace,
  directing grace,
  instructing grace,
  assisting grace!

He gives grace . . .
  abundantly,
  seasonably,
  constantly,
  readily,
  sovereignly!

He doubly enhances the value of His grace, by the manner of its bestowal. He generously pours grace into their souls without ceasing--and He always will do so, whatever may occur.
Sickness may befall--but the Lord will give grace.
Poverty may come to us--but grace will surely be afforded.
Death must come--but grace will light a candle at the darkest hour.

Reader, how blessed it is as years roll along, to enjoy such an unfading promise as this, "The Lord will give grace!"

The little conjunction "and" in this verse is the diamond rivet binding the present with the future! Grace and glory always go together. God has married them, and none can divorce them! The Lord will never deny a soul eternal glory, to whom He has freely given His saving grace. Indeed, glory is nothing more than grace in full bloom; grace like autumn fruit--mellow and perfected.

How soon we may have glory--none can tell. It may be that before this month has run out, we shall see the Celestial City. But be the interval longer or shorter, we shall be glorified before long. The Lord will surely give glory to all His chosen ones:
  the glory of Heaven,
  the glory of eternity,
  the glory of Jesus!

Oh, rare promise of a faithful God! Two golden links of one celestial chain! Whoever has grace--shall surely gain glory!

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The most potent force for the production of virtue!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"The HOPE which is reserved for you in Heaven." Colossians 1:5

Our hope in Christ for the future, is the mainspring and the mainstay of our joy here on earth.
It will animate our hearts to think often of Heaven, for all that we can desire is promised there.

Here on earth we are weary and toil-worn. Yonder is the land of rest, where the sweat of labor shall no more bedew the worker's brow, and fatigue shall be forever banished. To those who are weary and woe-worn, the word "rest" is full of Heaven.

We are always in the field of battle. We are so tempted within, and so molested by foes without--that we have little or no peace! But in Heaven we shall enjoy the victory, when the banner shall be waved aloft in triumph, and the sword shall be forever sheathed, and we shall hear our Captain say, "Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your Lord!"

We have suffered bereavement after bereavement--but we are going to the land of the immortal, where graves are unknown things.

Here on earth, sin is a constant grief to us--but there we shall be perfectly holy, for nothing which defiles shall enter into that pure kingdom! Hemlock does not spring up in the furrows of celestial fields.

Oh! is it not joy, that we are not to be in a state of banishment forever--that we are not to dwell eternally in this wilderness, but shall soon inherit everlasting glory!

Nevertheless let it never be said of us, that we are dreaming about the future--and forgetting the present. Let the future sanctify the present to highest uses. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the hope of Heaven is the most potent force for the production of virtue! It is a fountain of joyous effort--it is the cornerstone of cheerful holiness.

The man who has this hope in Jesus goes about his work with vigor, for the joy of the Lord is his strength. He fights against temptation with ardor, for the hope of the next world repels the fiery darts of the adversary. He can labor without present reward, "for here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come!" Hebrews 13:1

"The hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time!" Titus 1:2

"While we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ!" Titus 2:13

"Having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:7

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You are greatly loved!

"A man greatly loved by God." Daniel 10:11

Child of God, do you hesitate to appropriate this title? Ah! has your unbelief made you forget that you are greatly loved by God?

Must you not have been greatly loved--to have been bought with the precious blood of Christ? When God smote His only begotten Son for you--what was this but being greatly loved by Him? You lived in sin and rioted in it--must you not have been greatly loved for God to have borne so patiently with you? You were called by grace and led to the Savior, and made a child of God and an heir of Heaven! All this proves, does it not--a very great and super-abounding love for you?

Since that time, whether your path has been rough with troubles, or smooth with mercies--it has been full of proofs that you are greatly loved by God. If the Lord has chastened you--yet it was not in anger. If He has made you poor--yet you have been made rich in grace. The more unworthy you feel yourself to be--the more evidence you have that nothing but unspeakable divine love could have led the Lord Jesus to save such a soul as yours! The more demerit you feel--the clearer is the display of the abounding love of God, in having chosen you, and called you, and made you an heir of everlasting bliss!

Now, if there is such great love from God to us--let us live in the influence and sweetness of it, and use the privilege of our exalted position as God's redeemed children. Do not let us approach our Lord as though we were strangers, or as though He were unwilling to hear us--for we are greatly cherished by our compassionate Father!

"He who spared not His own Son--but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" Come boldly, O believer, for despite the whisperings of Satan and the doubtings of your own heart--you are greatly loved! Meditate on the exceeding vastness and faithfulness of Christ's matchless love to you!

"May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully!" Ephesians 3:19

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Pithy gems from Spurgeon on trials and afflictions

(Charles Spurgeon)

"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He chastens everyone He accepts as a son." Hebrews 12:5-6


"God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness!" Hebrews 12:10


God's fixed purpose is not the destruction, but the instruction of His people.


Divine wisdom hangs up the thermometer at the furnace mouth, and carefully regulates the heat!


Our lusts are cords. Fiery trials are sent to burn and consume them.


None of us can come to the highest maturity without enduring the summer heat of trials.


I would not wish for any man a long time of sickness and pain; but a twist now and then one might almost ask for him. A sick wife, a newly-made grave, poverty, slander, sinking of spirit, might teach lessons nowhere else to be learned so well. Trials drive us to the realities of religion.


Paul, who had more to suffer than we have, called his afflictions light, and yet we often consider ours to be heavy. Surely something must be amiss with the weights!


We never have yet experienced a trouble which might not have been worse.


Perhaps we are tried just now, in order to drive us nearer to Jesus.
Blessed be any wind that blows us into the port of our Savior's love!


Troubled one, you may go to your heavenly Father about anything, about everything.
Our place of comfort is the bosom of the Savior.


If God sent us trials such as we would wish for, they would be no trials at all.
"Any cross but the one I have!" cried one. Surely it would not be a cross if you had the choosing of it, for it is the essence of a cross that it should run counter to our likings.


The best remedy for affliction is submitting to providence.
What can't be cured, must be endured.


Our sorrows are all, like ourselves, mortal. There are no immortal sorrows for immortal saints.


Great hearts can only be made by great troubles.
Mighty prayer has often been produced by mighty trial.


Blessed sickness, which make us seek the beloved Physician.


"No discipline 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

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Some things to meditate on daily

(Richard Sibbes)

Some things to meditate on daily:

1. The greatness and goodness of Almighty God and His love to us in Christ.

2. The uncertainty of our lives, and the certainty of death.

3. The last and strict day of account.

4. The joys of Heaven and the torments of Hell.

5. The vanity of all earthly things.

6. That sin is not so sweet in the committing of it, as it is bitter in the reckoning of it.

7. That there is more mercy in Christ, than sin in us.

8. That poverty and affliction take away the fuel that feeds pride.

9. That it is better to go afflicted to Heaven, than merry to Hell.

10. That those who desire to be happy in Heaven, must first be holy on earth!