Grace Gems for November 2000
The great physician!
(the following is by Thomas Watson)
Christ is the most inexpensive physician,
he takes no fee. He desires us to bring nothing
to him but broken hearts. And when he has
cured us, he desires us to bestow nothing on
him but our love.
Christ heals with more ease than any other.
Christ makes the devil go out with a word
(Mark 9:25). Nay, he can cure with a look:
Christ's look melted Peter into repentance;
it was a healing look. If Christ does but cast
a look upon the soul he can heal it.
Christ is the most tender-hearted physician.
He is not more full of skill than sympathy-
'He heals the broken in heart, and binds up
their wounds' (Psalm 147:3). Every groan
of the patient goes to the heart of this
physician.
Christ never fails of success.
Christ never undertakes to heal
any but he makes a certain cure.
Other physicians can only cure those who are
sick, but Christ cures those who are dead, 'And
you has he quickened who were dead' (Eph 2:1).
Christ is a physician for the dead- of every
one whom Christ cures, it may be said, 'He
was dead, and is alive again' (Luke 15:32).
Christ is the most bountiful physician.
Other patients do enrich their physicians,
but here the physician enriches the patient.
Christ elevates all his patients: he not only
cures them but crowns them! (Rev. 2:10).
Christ does not only raise them from the bed,
but to the throne! He gives the sick man not
only health but also heaven!
That voice of love!
(by Spurgeon)
"You who dwell in the gardens, the friends hearken to your
voice: cause me to hear it." - Song of Solomon 8:13
My sweet Lord Jesus remembers well the garden of Gethsemane, and
although he has left that garden, he now dwells in the garden of
his church. There he unbosoms himself to those who keep his
blessed company. That voice of love with which he speaks to his
beloved is more musical than the harps of heaven. There is a
depth of melodious love within it which leaves all human music
far behind.
Ten of thousands on earth, and millions above, are indulged with
its harmonious accents. Some whom I well know, and whom I greatly
envy, are at this moment hearkening to the beloved voice. O that
I were a partaker of their joys! It is true some of these are poor,
others bedridden, and some near the gates of death, but O
my Lord, I would cheerfully starve with them, pine with them,
or die with them, if I might but hear your voice.
Once I did hear it often, but I have grieved your Spirit. Return
unto me in compassion, and once again say unto me, "I am your
salvation." No other voice can content me; I know your voice,
and cannot be deceived by another, let me hear it, I beg you.
I know not what you will say, neither do I make any condition, O
my Beloved, do but let me hear you speak, and if it be a rebuke
I will bless you for it. Perhaps to cleanse my dull ear may need
an operation very grievous to the flesh, but let it cost what it
may, I turn not from the one consuming desire- cause me to hear
your voice. Bore my ear afresh; pierce my ear with your harshest
notes, only do not permit me to continue deaf to your calls.
Lord, grant your unworthy one his desire, for I am yours,
and you have bought me with your blood. You have opened
my eye to see you, and the sight has saved me. Lord, open
my ear! I have read your heart, now let me hear your lips.
Get out of the church!
The following is from Spurgeon's sermon,
"Our Position and Our Purpose" 2 Cor. 7:1.
I would say to you, members of this church,
"Be holy!" Whatever you are, do seek to be holy.
And if you will not be holy- if you have a mind
to keep your sins- do us the favor to give up
your profession. If you will have your sins,
and go to hell, you can do it so much better
outside the church than you can inside.
I cannot see why you must need to do Christ
the double ill-turn to be his enemy, and yet
profess to be his friend.
Get out of the church, you that are hypocrites!
"He carries the lambs in his bosom."
Isaiah 40:11.
The following is from Spurgeon's sermon,
Jesus and the Lambs. No. 794. Isaiah 40:11.
The bosom, why that is the tenderest place,
where we should put a poor creature that
had a broken bone, and could not bear to
be roughly touched.
The bosom, that is the safest place. It
makes one wish to be always a lamb, if
one could always ride in that chariot.
Delightful is the weakness, which casts
us upon such gracious strength.
"He carries the lambs in his bosom." Why,
that is the most honorable place. We
would not put into our bosom that which
was despised. We should not think of
carrying there anything which was not
choice and dear and exceedingly precious.
So, you weak one, though you think yourself
to be less than nothing, and are nothing in
yourself, yet you shall have all the security
which the heart of Deity can give you, all
the comfort that the love of Christ can pour
upon you, all the honor and dignity which
nearness, and fellowship, and dearness of
love can bestow upon a poor mortal. Rejoice,
you lambs, that you have such a Shepherd
to carry you near his heart!
Better an ounce of divine grace!
The following is from Spurgeon's sermon,
"Daniel's Undaunted Courage" #815. Dan. 6:10
Better to pine with Lazarus than feast
with Dives, for the love of God more
than compensates for temporary
disadvantages. Better an ounce of
divine grace than a ton of worldly goods.
"Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree planted
by the rivers of water,
that brings forth its fruit in its season,
whose leaf also shall not wither;
and whatever he does shall prosper."
- Psalm 1:1-3
And he shall be like a tree planted --not
a wild tree, but "a tree planted," chosen,
considered as property, cultivated and
secured from the last terrible uprooting,
for "every plant which my heavenly Father
has not planted, shall be rooted up:" Mt 15:13.
By the rivers of water; so that even if one
river should fail, he has another. The rivers
of pardon and the rivers of grace, the rivers
of the promise and the rivers of communion
with Christ, are never failing sources of supply.
That brings forth his fruit in his season;
not unseasonable graces, like untimely figs,
which are never full flavored. But the man
who delights in God's Word, being taught by it,
brings forth patience in the time of suffering,
faith in the day of trial, and holy joy in the
hour of prosperity. Fruitfulness is an essential
quality of a gracious man, and that fruitfulness
should be seasonable.
His leaf also shall not wither; his faintest
word shall be everlasting; his little deeds
of love shall be had in remembrance. Not
simply shall his fruit be preserved, but his
leaf also. He shall neither lose his beauty
nor his fruitfulness. The Lord's trees are all
evergreens. No winter's cold can destroy
their verdure; and yet, unlike evergreens
in our country, they are all fruit bearers.
And whatsoever he does shall prosper.
Blessed is the man who has such a promise
as this. But we must not always estimate
the fulfilment of a promise by our own eye
sight. How often, my brethren, if we judge
by feeble sense, may we come to the mournful
conclusion of Jacob, "All these things are against
me!" For though we know our interest in the
promise, yet we are so tried and troubled, that
sight sees the very reverse of what that promise
foretells. But to the eye of faith this word is sure,
and by it we perceive that our works are prospered,
even when everything seems to go against us.
It is not outward prosperity which the Christian
most desires and values; it is soul prosperity
which he longs for. We often, like Jehoshaphat,
make ships to go to Tarshish for gold, but they
are broken at Eziongeber; but even here there
is a true prospering, for it is often for the soul's
health that we would be poor, bereaved, and
persecuted. Our worst things are often our best
things. As there is a curse wrapped up in the
wicked man's mercies, so there is a blessing
concealed in the righteous man's crosses, losses,
and sorrows. The trials of the saint are a divine
husbandry, by which he grows and brings forth
abundant fruit. -Spurgeon
Better that the dogs should eat my worthless carrion!
The following is from Spurgeon's sermon,
"Life by Faith" #814. Galatians 3:11.
I am afraid many professors live a
kind of listless, dreamy, comatose life.
I mean some of you. You have been honest,
you have subscribed to church funds, have
done your duty outwardly as a Christian, but
there has been very little vitality in your godliness;
it has been surface work, skin-deep consistency.
You have not been exhilarated by a sense of
divine love and a delightful recognition of your
interest in it. You have gone on dreamily.
O for a thunderbolt to wake you,
for this is dangerous living!
I would quite as soon not be,
as live to be a useless thing.
Better far to fatten the fields with
one's corpse, than to lie rotting
above ground in spiritual idleness!
To be a soldier in Immanuel's ranks, and
never fight, never uphold a banner, nor
hurl a spear-- better that the dogs
should eat my worthless carrion, than
that such should be the case.
"You owe all to Christ.
What will you render to him?
Ah! beloved, Christ will take anything
that comes from your heart, whatever
the gift may be. However feeble, and
weak, and insignificant it may seem to
others, it shall be rich and lovely to
him, if it comes from your heart. Make
that a resolution, that this day something
shall be done by you for Christ." -Spurgeon
Seek! Strive!
The following is from Spurgeon's sermon,
"Return, Return, O Shulamite; Return, Return!"
Every day seek to lose yourself more
in Christ, to live more completely in
him, by him, for him, with him.
Seek greater heights of holiness,
deeper self-denial,
braver service,
more intense love, and
more burning zeal.
Strive to be more Godlike and Christlike.
The Sovereign Electing Grace of God
The following is from Spurgeon's sermon,
The Widow of Sarepta. #817. 1 Kings 17:8, 9.
None of us have any right to God's mercy.
Election is an indisputable truth of Christianity,
and one full of the richest comfort to the child
of God- one which is intended to kindle in him
perpetual flames of adoring gratitude. It is a
truth which lays him low, and makes him feel
that there is nothing in him, and then raises
him up and bids him, like a seraph, adore
before the throne!
Distinguishing grace is a fact; prize this
truth and hold it firmly. Thank God that
you are made a partaker of his eternal love.
The sovereign electing grace of God
chooses us to repentance, to faith, and
afterwards to holiness of living, to Christian
service, to zeal, and to devotion.
Election should be to you savory meat such as
Isaac's soul loved; and as you feed upon it you
will become like the three holy children in Babylon,
both fatter and fairer and more lovely than those
who have not received this precious truth.
Objects of divine love!
"How marvelous that we, worms,
mortals, sinners, should be the
objects of divine love!" -Spurgeon
Hoarded up for worms!
The following is from Spurgeon's sermon,
"The Perfuming of the Heart" #829. Ro. 5:5.
God, the thrice holy One, cannot love that
which is unholy and defiled. He cannot
take delight in that which is contrary to
himself. Yet, as he views us in Jesus, he
sees neither sin nor iniquity in his people,
and therefore can love us with delight.
"I have loved you with an everlasting love,
therefore with loving kindness have I drawn you."
In the exercise of his sovereign will,
God loves the people of his choice.
Oh, this is astounding, this is marvelous!
Consider this believer and be astonished,
that love should come from God to such
a one as yourself.
The Lord loves you!
You give him pleasure.
He has a delight in you!
He watches for your good.
You are one of his children.
Your name is written on his heart!
Can you catch the thought?
If so there is no praise that can express
your gratitude. Solemn silence will perhaps
be the only vehicle that shall seem fitting
for your soul's adoration.
Revolve this thought again and again in
your soul! He that made the heavens and
the earth loves me! He whose angels fly
as lightning to obey his behests, the
tramp of whose marching shakes both
heaven and earth, whose smile is heaven,
and whose frown is hell- he loves me!
Infinite, almighty, omniscient, eternal,
a mind inconceivable, a spirit that is
not to be comprehended; but he, even
he has set his love upon me!
Oh, this is astounding, this is marvelous!
God's dearest love has been
hoarded up for worms!
It is saved for the creatures of a day,
reserved for us poor ephemera who are
and are not- that we should be favored
above all that live. It is not for tongues
to tell out this wonder, but spiritual minds
helped from on high may feel in solemn
stillness what a mystery is here.
God loves his people with all his heart!
Consider carefully who it is that loves you,
namely, the Most High God, the King of kings!
If you estimate it rightly, not only all that you
now need, but all that you ever can need, all
that the flights of fancy or the conceptions of
understanding can bring before you, are contained
in that one fact, that the Lord loves you.
Let the worlds be given to whom God may
please, as men give husks to swine. If we
have his love it is enough, our soul is filled
to the brim, and flows over with satisfaction.
It is a matchless thing to be loved
by Jehovah, the only living God!
God's love to his people is unvarying- He never
loves them less, he cannot love them more.
God loves each one of his people as much as
if there were only that one created being in all
heaven or earth, and as if there were no other
object for him to set his love upon!
As the Father loves Christ, even so does he
love his people with a love without a parallel!
There is no love that can any more be
compared with God's, than the faint gleam
of a candle can he likened to the blaze of
the sun at noonday. He loves his people
so much that he gives them all that he has!
He gave his own Son, his choicest and
greatest treasure, a treasure the like of
which heaven and earth could not match!
This divine love has no shore!
God will never cease to love
the objects of his choice!
The gift!
The following is from Spurgeon's sermon,
"Saving Knowledge" No. 782. John 4:10.
God often gives the most of this world to
wicked men-- He pours the husks out to
the swine! As for his children, he often
wrings out to them a full cup of bitterness.
This world is not our portion, as we know
right well.
Jesus Christ is "God's unspeakable gift,"
for whom we should daily and hourly lift
up our hearts in gratitude to God. To the
whole company of God's elect, Jesus Christ
is the priceless boon which the Father's
love has bestowed upon them!
There is not a piece of bread we eat,
nor a drop of water we drink, but what
it may be called the gift of God.
But the gift which comprehends, excels,
and sanctifies all other gifts, is the gift
of Jesus Christ to the sons of men!
An unfathomable depth of divine love is
there in the condescending loving-kindness
which gave Jesus Christ to die for us when
we were yet sinners.
Jesus is an unrivaled gift!
God has given to us such a treasure, that
if heaven and earth were melted down, the
price could not buy another like him!
Oh, what a gift! You cannot conceive of
anything that can even compare with it!
It is a gift which comprehends all things within
itself. Get Christ and you have the pardon of sin,
justification, sanctification, adoption, regeneration.
Every covenant gift is wrapped up in Christ Jesus.
All things that can possibly be needed for the
Christian for time and for eternity, are given to
him in the person of the Lord Jesus.
This gift sweetens all other things--
Temporal mercies are blessed when we
have Christ with them, but if Christ is
gone, they are but empty vanities.
Temporal mercies without Christ are like ciphers
without a figure. But when you have these
temporal mercies, and Christ stands in front
of them, oh, what an amount they make!
"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."
O stone-blind eyes, if you could
but see Jesus, how you would be fixed
on him in one long fascinated gaze!
You see no loveliness where there
is all loveliness, and no perfection
where every perfection dwells.
As well might men say that there is
no light from the sun, as declare that
there is no loveliness in Jesus. As well
might they say that there is no salt
in the sea, as that there is no sweetness
in Christ, for he is altogether lovely.
All preciousnesses, at their very
highest degrees, are found blended
in his gracious character.
O blind world, if you had grace enough
to see but half the beauties of Christ,
how you would cease your rebellion, and
fall down to worship the matchless Prince!
-Spurgeon from his sermon, "Good News
for Loyal Subjects" #807. 1 Cor. 15:25.
The greatest absurdity and contradiction!
(Jonathan Edwards, "Charity and Its Fruits")
Envy, malice, ill-will and bitterness
of spirit are the very reverse of the
real essence of Christianity.
Love is the sum and temper
and spirit of Christianity.
An envious Christian, a malicious
Christian, a cold and hard-hearted
Christian, is the greatest absurdity
and contradiction!
David Dickson, when dying was asked what
was the principal subject on which his thoughts
were engaged, and he answered,
"I am gathering up all my good works, and
all my bad works, tying them into one bundle,
and throwing them all alike down at the foot
of the cross, and am resting alone upon the
finished work of Jesus."
NATURE
The following is from Spurgeon's sermon,
Joshua’s Obedience. No. 796. Joshua 1:7.
NATURE is a looking-glass in
which I see the face of God.
I delight to gaze abroad, and "Look
through nature, up to nature's God."
We may delight ourselves in the works
of God, and find much pleasure therein,
and get much advanced towards God
himself by considering his works.
Monsters of iniquity!
The following is from Spurgeon's sermon,
"Spots in Our Feasts of Charity" #797. Jude 1:12.
Oh, the depths of human sin!
Sin is an incomprehensible thing!
There is no water so deep but fish will swim in it;
no pond so foul but frogs will live in it;
no mire so filthy but swine will wallow in it, and
no sin so damnable but man will commit it.
Men will even seek out ways and means
of making themselves more and more
proficient in the most filthy of vices.
If in these times there should arise monsters
of iniquity, we must not be astonished, for long
practice of sin makes men proficient therein.
The earth is ripening, and men's characters are
rotting to the uttermost degree of corruption.
We must expect to see more and more of
the boilings over of the sink of iniquity,
which lies in human nature.
Christian, what might you have been, but
for God's distinguishing grace to you?
Why, might not you have been Judas?
Christian, is there any betterness in
your heart beyond the heart of Judas?
Judas was an apostle, mark you, a preacher,
a miracle-worker; he dipped his hand with
Jesus in the dish, and yet he sold him; and
why not you?
"Let him that thinks he stands, take heed
lest he fall." What another man has done you
may do; and there are no depths of wickedness
into which you might not have plunged had not
the preventing grace of God stopped your course.
The deadly cancer!
The following is from Spurgeon's sermon,
"Working out What Is Worked In" #820. Phil.2:12,13.
The roots of our selfishness go very
deep. The deadly cancer of self-love
has thrust its horrible roots into our
souls, intertwisting them with the
vital fibers of our heart.
Man, horse or cow?
"Most men scarcely give
any thought to their
souls. They live as if they
were a horse or a cow." - Spurgeon
What a monster!
The following is from Spurgeon's sermon,
"The Deep-seated Character of Sin" No. 812. Jer. 17:1.
Tens of thousands of people in this so called
Christian land, live in utter neglect of God.
If there were no God, it would not in any
way affect the lives of most men: they
live precisely as if there were none.
"God is not in all their thoughts."
They never pause over an action, and ask,
"Will God be angry with this?" They are
never moved to the performance of virtue
by the reflection that God will approve it.
There is no God to them, though their table is
loaded with the bounties of his providence;
no God even though the sick chamber be made
to feel the terror of his rod; no God to them
though they walk in all the fields of nature,
and behold evidences of Deity on every side;
no God though they might see his finger in
every event of their lives.
They live like brutes in this respect, and alas!
many of them die the same-- without God,
without hope, earth grubbers, buried in earth!
Ah! this is a strange thing. This shows what a
monster, what a diabolical miracle sin is-
that God should be around us all the day long, and
yet before his very face we should dare to say
and think, and do that which is contrary to his
will, although a word of his could crush us as
the moth is crushed, although his will could sink
us into the profoundest hell. What words shall
denounce the arrogance and impudence of sin?
Sin is a defiance of God to his face,
a stabbing of God, so far as man can
do it, to the very heart!
Fallen man
The following is from Jonathan Edwards sermon,
"The Excellency of Jesus Christ"
Fallen man is in a state of exceeding
great misery, and is helpless in it.
He is a poor weak creature, like an infant cast
out in its blood in the day that it is born.
But Christ is the Lion of the tribe of Judah-
he is strong, though we are weak.
He has prevailed to do that for us
which no creature else could do.
Fallen man is a mean despicable creature,
a contemptible worm, but Christ, who has
undertaken for us, is infinitely honorable
and worthy.
Fallen man is polluted, but Christ is infinitely holy!
Fallen man is hateful, but Christ is infinitely lovely!
Fallen man is the object of God’s indignation,
but Christ is infinitely dear to him!
We have dreadfully provoked God, but Christ has
performed that righteousness which is infinitely
precious in God’s eyes.
If we were more like Christ!
(the following is by Spurgeon)
"It is enough for the disciple that he
be like his master." - Matthew 10:25
When our Lord was on earth, what was the
treatment he received? Were his claims
acknowledged, his instructions followed,
and his perfections worshiped, by those whom
he came to bless? No; "He was despised
and rejected of men." Outside the camp was
his place; cross-bearing was his occupation.
Did the world yield him solace and rest?
"Foxes have holes, and the birds of the
air have nests; but the Son of man has no
where to lay his head." This inhospitable
world afforded him no shelter: it cast him
out and crucified him.
If you are a follower of Jesus, and
maintain a consistent, Christ-like walk
and conversation, you must expect
the same treatment from the world.
They will treat you as they treated the Savior-
they will despise you. Do not dream not that
worldlings will admire you, or that the more
holy and the more Christ-like you are, the
more peaceably people will act towards you.
They prized not the polished gem, how
should they value the jewel in the rough?
"If they have called the Master of the house
Beelzebub, how much more shall they call
those of his household?"
If we were more like Christ, we would
be more hated by his enemies!
It is a sad dishonor to a child of God to be
the world's favorite. It is a very ill omen to
hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout,
"Well done" to the Christian man. When the
unrighteous give him their approbation, he
should begin to look to his character, and
wonder whether he has not been doing wrong.
Let us be true to our Master, and have
no friendship with a blind and base world
which scorns and rejects him. Far be it
from us to seek a crown of honor where
our Lord found a coronet of thorns!
HUMILITY
(Jonathan Edwards, "Charity and Its Fruits")
Humility is a most essential and
distinguishing trait in all true piety.
Humility may be defined to be a habit of mind
and heart corresponding to our comparative
unworthiness and vileness before God, or
a sense of our own comparative lowliness in
his sight, with the disposition to a behavior
answerable thereto.
We are not truly humble unless we have
a sense of our nothingness as compared
with God.
We are little, despicable creatures, even
worms of the dust, and we should feel that
we are as nothing, and less than nothing,
in comparison with the Majesty of heaven
and earth.
The truly humble man is also sensible
of his vileness and filthiness as a sinner.
He sees how exceedingly polluted he is before
an infinitely holy God, in whose sight the
heavens are not clean. He sees how pure God is,
and how filthy and abominable he is before him.
Humility disposes a person heartily and freely
to acknowledge his lowliness and littleness
before God. He sees how fit and suitable it is
that he should do this, and he does it willingly,
and even with delight.
He freely confesses his own nothingness
and vileness, and owns himself unworthy
of any mercy, and deserving of all misery.
You will drown, Sir Priest!
The following is from Spurgeon's sermon,
"Noah's Flood" #823. Matthew 24:39,
"The flood came and took them all away."
The destruction caused by the deluge
was universal. It did not merely sweep
away some who were outside of the
ark, but it swept them all away.
I doubt not that among those who perished
in Noah's flood, there were many who were
very zealous in the cause of religion.
But when the flood came, these men being
outside of the ark, whether priests or not,
did not escape; it swept them all away.
O you who wear the robes of priesthood,
and profess to be sent of God to teach
others, with all your boasted magical powers,
if you do not believe in Jesus as poor guilty
sinners, and look up to the cross alone for
your salvation, when the flood comes it will
sweep you all away.
You will drown, Sir Priest, despite your
baptismal regeneration and your sacramental
efficacy! You will sink with a lying absolution
on your lips down to the nethermost hell!
In that day of wrath, the fiery deluge shall
sweep you also all away.
The flood shall sweep away all at last-
whether religious or profane, for they have
not fled to the ark, and so have rejected
the one only shelter.
"The flood came and took them all away."
It all hinges on this one matter-
inside or outside the ark. (Christ)
Those inside the ark may have a thousand
imperfections, but all are saved without a
single exception at last!
Those outside the ark may have a thousand
excellencies, but all are drowned without a
single exception at last! They all perished
in the universal destruction.
Here is the solemn thought.
Here is a rule without an exception-
All outside of Christ lost; all in Christ saved.
All unbelievers perishing; all believers saved.
And the young died too!
The following is from Spurgeon's sermon,
"Noah's Flood" #823. Matthew 24:39,
"The flood came and took them all away."
"The destruction caused by the deluge
was universal. It did not merely sweep
away some who were outside of the
ark, but it swept them all away."
"And the young died too. That one
dreadful destruction took away the little
child in his beauty, and the young man
in his strength, and the maiden in her
bloom. The flood took them all away...
No, neither shall the young nor the old
escape except by coming to Christ. "You must
be born again," is of universal application to
you who are young, and to you who are grey
headed. No youth can excuse, no experience
can exempt, but alike will the flood of divine
wrath overwhelm every human soul, unless
we find refuge in the ark of the covenant of
grace, even the work and person of Jesus,
the bleeding Lamb of God."
"The flood came and took them all away."
It all hinges on this one matter-
inside or outside the ark. (Christ)
Those inside the ark may have a thousand
imperfections, but all are saved without a
single exception at last!
Those outside the ark may have a thousand
excellencies, but all are drowned without a
single exception at last! They all perished
in the universal destruction.
Here is the solemn thought.
Here is a rule without an exception-
All outside of Christ lost; all in Christ saved.
All unbelievers perishing; all believers saved.
Crucify King Self!
The following is from Spurgeon's sermon,
"The Great Attraction" No. 775. John 12:32.
Nothing will kill self like a sight of the Crucified.
Lift up the Savior, and down self must go.
High thoughts of Christ are always attended
by low thoughts of self and vice versa.
Think much of yourself, and you
will think little of the Savior.
A very low esteem of our own merit, brings
a very high esteem of the merits of Christ.
If anything can crucify King Self, it is a sight
of the cross upon which the Savior bled.
The most poisonous serpents!
The following is from Spurgeon's sermon,
"Spots in Our Feasts of Charity" #797. Jude 1:12.
Watch constantly against those things
which are thought to be no temptations.
The most poisonous serpents are found
where the sweetest flowers grow.
Cleopatra was poisoned by an asp that was
brought to her in a basket of fair flowers.
Sharp-edged tools, long handled, wound at last.
Swine-troughs and husks!
"With you is the fountain of life." Psalm 36:9
(the following is by Spurgeon)
There are times in our spiritual experience
when human counsel or sympathy, or religious
ordinances, fail to comfort or help us.
Why does our gracious God permit this?
Perhaps it is because we have been living
too much without him, and he therefore takes
away everything upon which we have been in
the habit of depending, that he may drive us
to himself.
We are like the prodigal, we love the swine
troughs and forget our Father's house.
Remember, we can make swine-troughs
and husks even out of the forms of religion.
They are blessed things, but we may put them
in God's place, and then they are of no value.
Anything becomes an idol when
it keeps us away from God!
The prodigal was never safer than when he was
driven to his father's bosom, because he could
find sustenance nowhere else.
Our Lord favors us with a famine in the land that
it may make us seek after himself the more.
The best position for a Christian is living wholly
and directly on God's grace. Beloved, when we
are brought to a thirsting condition, we are sure
to turn to the fountain of life with eagerness.
THE BAUBLES & THE BUBBLES OF THIS WORLD
The following is from Spurgeon's sermon,
"The Unsearchable Riches of Christ" #745. Eph. 3:8.
How amazingly foolish, must those be who will not
have Christ when he is to be had for the asking!
They prefer THE BAUBLES AND THE BUBBLES OF
THIS WORLD, and let the solid gold of eternity go by!
O fools, to play with shadows and miss the substance!
You dig and toil, and cover your faces with sweat, and
lose your nightly rest, to get this world's fleeting good,
while you neglect him who is the eternal good!
O fools and slow of heart, to court THIS HARLOT
WORLD, with her painted face, when the beauties
of my Master are infinitely more rich and rare!
Oh! if you did but know him, if you could but see his
unspeakable riches, you would fling YOUR TOYS to the
wind, and follow after him with all your heart and soul.