JEWELS from JAMES

(Choice devotional selections from
the works of John Angell James)

 

We must learn it by painful experience!

The death of Christian friends should impress us with, even
as it shows us—the vanity of the world. All that poetry ever
wrote, even the most mournful, beautiful, and pensive of its
strains—all that philosophy ever argued—all that morality ever
taught, conveys no such view, and is calculated to produce
no such impressions, of the emptiness of the world—as the
desolate chamber, the vacant place, the deserted chair, the
picture—of some dear object of our heart's affection!

It is at the tomb of that loved, lost friend, the world stands
stripped of its false disguise, and is presented to us as a
shadow! Gloom now covers everything. Scenes that once
pleased, please no more. Favorite walks are shunned, or
re-trodden only to remind us of the dear companion that
once shared their beauties with us. Seasons return, but
not to bring with them the delights with which the presence
of one beloved object associates them. We go about in the
bitterness of our spirit, crying, "Vanity of vanity—all is vanity
and vexation of spirit!" We are ready to sigh for death to
relieve us from the tedium of existence, and the sense of
emptiness!

Be it so! It is all true! The world is empty! And it was intended
by God that it should be! The world contains no satisfying bliss!
It is a cistern, a broken cistern, which can hold no water. God
told us so, but we would not learn this by His word—so now
we must learn it by painful experience! If we cannot be
taught by 'faith', since we must learn—we are in mercy taught
by 'feeling' it to be empty!

Oh let us go to the fountain that is full, flowing, open! Let
us go to the fountain of living waters! If there is emptiness,
nothingness, in the world—there is fullness in God! Is there
enough in Him to satisfy millions of millions, and not enough
to satisfy us? Let us crucify the world. There is more
happiness in a crucified world, than in an idolized one!

If our hearts cannot die to the world anywhere else—let
them be crucified at the tomb of those we love!



 

The plough and the harrow

In some people we discover a striking and beautiful
mellowness of character, as the result of God's
chastening hand. The roughness, harshness,
arrogance, and haughtiness of their conduct, which
once rendered them annoying and offensive, are
scraped off—and a sweet gentleness, humility,
meekness, and softness of manner, and a tenderness
of spirit have come in their place. There is now . . .
  a gentleness in their speech,
  a mildness in their look, and
  a kindliness and cautiousness in their manner,
which tell us how the haughty spirit has been broken,
and the proud loftiness of their mind has been brought
down. An unusual loveliness has been spread over their
character, a holy amiableness has been infused into their
temper, and a stubborn self-will has yielded to a kind
consideration of the wishes and feelings of others;
which convince all around them, how much the Spirit
of God has done in them, and for them, by the afflictions
they have endured. How the plough and the harrow
have broken up the hard soil, and pulverized the rough
clods of their stubborn nature, and prepared it for the
growth of the precious seed of the kingdom.

"Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your
 word. It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might
 learn Your statutes. I know, O Lord, that Your judgments
 are righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted
 me." (Psalm 119:67, 71, 75)



 

These predominant sins

Almost all of us have 'favorite pet sins'—which there is not
ordinarily that concern and labor for putting them away,
which there should be. They are indulged, instead of being
resisted. Thus they gain strength by such indulgence, and
most sadly disfigure our character and disturb our spiritual
peace!

Prosperity, like sunshine upon weeds, often causes them to
grow rapidly! And then God in great faithfulness, love and
mercy sends adversity, like frost, to kill them. Upon a bed of
sickness, and in other severe trials—they are often remembered,
understood, and seen in all their sinfulness. They are then
lamented, confessed, and mortified.

Nothing can be a darker sign than for a professor's conscience
to be so dull and drowsy during a time of trial, as to leave him
unadmonished respecting these predominant sins.

It is sometimes a blessed fruit of tribulation, that these
predominant sins have been weakened, if not eradicated.
It is worth any amount of suffering to secure this result.
Happy the Christian who comes out of the furnace, with
his dross removed by the fire! No matter what he has lost
—he has gained freedom from these inward enemies of
his peace and purity.



We all know more than we do; and we should be
more solicitous to reduce to practice what we already
know, than to acquire still more of 'mere theory'.


 

Pulpit buffoonery

One characteristic of Whitefield's manner which deserves particular attention, was his solemnity. He never degraded the pulpit by low humor and low wit; abounding in anecdote—but he was uniformly solemn. His deep devotional spirit contributed largely to this, for his piety was the inward fire which supplied the ardor of his manner.

He was eminently a man of prayer; and had he been less prayerful, he would also have been less powerful. He came into the pulpit from the closet where he had been communing with God, and could no more be trifling, merry, or humorous at such a time, than could Moses when he came down from the fiery mount to the people! Happily the age and taste for pulpit buffoonery is gone, I hope never to return.

It was the stamp and impress of eternity upon his preaching that gave Whitfield such power. He spoke like a man who stood upon the borders of the unseen world, alternately enrapt in ecstasy as he gazed upon the felicities of heaven; and convulsed with terror as he heard the howlings of the damned, and saw the smoke of their torment ascending from the pit forever and ever. His maxim was to preach for eternity. He said if ministers preached for eternity they would act the part of true Christian orators.

We need pastors imbued with his spirit, his piety, his dependence upon the Spirit of God, his love for souls, his devotedness, and his earnestness!

And tell me, my brethren, what are all the prettinesses, the beauties, or even sublimities of human eloquence; what are all the similes, metaphors, and other garniture of rhetoric which many in this day are aiming at, to move, and bow, and conquer the human soul—compared with "the powers of the world to come?"


 

The great moral magnet

"As for Me, if I am lifted up from the earth I will
 draw all people to Myself." (John 12:32)

So said the Savior of men. The cross is for all ages and
all countries the great moral magnet to draw men . . .
  from barbarism to civilization,
  from sin to holiness,
  from misery to happiness,
  and from earth to heaven!


 

"One thing I do!" Philippians 3:13

Human life is so short, and the faculties of man are so limited,
that he who would do some great thing, must do but one; and
must do that one with such a concentration of his forces, as, to
idle spectators who live only to amuse themselves, looks like
enthusiasm, and almost draws upon him the charge of fanaticism.



 

It is never to be forgotten, amidst all the fluctuations
of opinion, all the vicissitudes of earthly affairs, and even
the advance of civilization, science, and social improvement
—that human nature, in its spiritual condition and its relation
to God, remains unchanged. The lapse of ages will never
improve our natural corruption, nor will the progress of
science and advance of civilization eradicate it. Man as he
is born into the world in sin, and grows up in it, will still,
as ever, need both the redemption and the regeneration
of the gospel of Christ.



 

The great stream of the population is dashing in one
mighty cataract over the precipice of impenitence and
unbelief—into the dreadful gulf below!


 

Oh wonderful, ineffable, inconceivable exchange!

The SUDDEN DEATH of a real Christian, is an
unspeakable blessing. Such a one is spared . . . .
  the languors of sickness,
  the racking pain,
  the anguish sometimes almost intolerable,
and all the other terrible harbingers of death protracted
through wearisome nights and months of vanity! To be
exempt from the heart-rending pangs of separation at
the last faltering adieu; to be saved from those gloomy
apprehensions which sometimes arise in the minds of the
strongest and holiest of believers when contemplating
the portals of the tomb; to be carried through the iron
gates of death before we knew we were drawing near
to them; to wake up in a moment, as from a dream, at
the sound of the seraphim's song—and exchange in an
instant of time the sights of earthly objects for the
glorious realities of heaven—and the society of friends
below for the innumerable company of angels; to find
ourselves suddenly in the presence of God and the Lamb,
and see the smile of welcome upon the countenance of
the Savior—and with a burst of astonishment and
gratitude to exclaim,
"And is this heaven? and am I there?
 How short the road! How swift the flight!"

Oh wonderful, ineffable, inconceivable exchange!

"In vain our fancy strives to paint
   The moment after death,
The glories that surround the saint,
   When he resigns his breath!

"Thus much, and this is all we know—
   They are completely blessed,
Are done with sin, and care, and woe,
   And with their Savior rest!"

Sudden death to a real Christian—is one mighty bound
from earth to heaven! Sudden death to an unconverted
sinner—is one dreadful stumble into hell. Oh, unutterable
horror—to be surprised, overwhelmed, confounded in a
moment—by exchanging the pleasures, the friends, the
possessions, the prospects of earth—for those doleful
shades, where peace and hope can never dwell.

You, too, may die suddenly. Are you ready, quite prepared
by repentance towards God, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ,
and a holy life—for death—for speedy death—for sudden
death? Prepare to meet your God! Prepare for death, for
judgment and eternity! Prepare! Prepare!



 

You will certainly die!

"But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge
 of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you
 will certainly die!" (Genesis 2:17)

Every dying groan,
every tolling death-bell,
every funeral procession,
every opened grave,
proclaims the evil of sin, and is a warning against it!

"For the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23)

Death is the dreadful gate, the dark passage to eternity!

True believers pass through this solemn scene uttering
the song of triumph, "Thanks be to God, who gives us
the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!"


 

Old age, apart from moral excellence, is an object of
detestation and loathing. A wicked old man is the most
shocking spectacle upon earth—with the exception of
a wicked old minister!



 

Dumb dogs!

"Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier"
   (Philippians 2:25)

Some people seek the pastoral ministry, as an office which
provides a good income—while they disregard all its duties
and its obligations. Such doubtless there are, men who seek
the ministry for the indulgence of a literary taste, or for the
gratification of a propensity to idleness. It is too true that all
sections of the church are cursed with some ministers of this
description, who are each looking for his gain. "His watchmen
are blind, all of them, they know nothing; all of them are dumb
dogs, they cannot bark; they dream, lie down, and love to sleep.
These dogs have fierce appetites; they never have enough. And
they are shepherds who have no discernment; all of them turn
to their own way, every last one for his own gain." Is. 56:10-11

But look at the true, the good, the faithful minister,
as described in Scripture. He is . . .
  a laborer,
  a watchman,
  a fisher,
  a soldier,
  a builder,
  a wrestler;
all terms that employ toil, vigilance, effort, perseverance,
and enduring self-denial. There are some men, whose lives
and exertions justify the employment of such figures of
speech. They do labor . . .
  in the closet by wrestling supplication;
  in the study by intense application;
  in the pulpit by earnest preaching;
  in the church by pastoral oversight;
  in the houses by counsel, reproof, and warning;
  by their pens as well as their tongues;
  on week days and on Sundays;
  at home and abroad.

The faithful minister must be classed among those who
have no leisure. As he  maintains a holy, blameless and
consistent life, many are  . . .
  impressed by his example,
  enriched by his beneficence,
  blessed by his prayers, and
  instructed by his principles.


 

Truth and love are the two most powerful things
in the universe! It is by the 'silken cord of love',
united with the 'golden thread of truth', that the
church must draw the world to Christ.


 

The Bible is the central luminary around which all true
Christians revolve, in nearer or remoter orbits, reflecting
the splendor of its beams, and governed by the power of
its attraction.


 

See how well the world goes on without them!

(John Angell James, "The London Missionary Society" 1849)

Christ can do much by the weakest instrument; and He can do altogether without the strongest. He that could do without apostles and prophets, after he had removed them by death, can dispense with us! This should check the inflation of some proud men's minds, and repress that overweening conceit by which they destroy in part their own usefulness.

It would surprise and mortify many, could they come out of their graves ten years after they had entered them, and still retained the ideas they once entertained of their own importance—to see how well the world goes on without them!

If the death of ordinary individuals be but as the casting of a pebble from the seashore into the ocean, which is neither missed from the one nor sensibly gained by the other; the death of the more extraordinary ones is but as the sinking of a larger rock into the abyss beneath—it makes at the time a rumbling noise and a great splash; but the wave which it raises soon subsides into a ripple, the ripple itself as soon sinks to a placid level, the tide flows, ships pass, commerce goes on, and shore and ocean appear just as they did before the disruption!

Ah! my brethren, let us seek to have our record in heaven, where it will be engraved in characters which will stand forever on the Rock of Ages! For it will soon be effaced here on earth, where it is only as a footprint upon the sand, which the next wave will speedily and entirely obliterate forever!

 

 

A censurable, disgraceful, and destructive habit!

"That you not become slothful, but imitators of those who
 through faith and patience are inheriting the promises."
    (Hebrews 6:12)

Slothfulness, in every aspect in which it can be viewed, and in
every relation to human affairs, is a censurable, disgraceful,
and destructive habit! With that incalculable source of energy
which every rational and healthy mind carries about within itself,
and with the many occasions and demands for its exercise, which
in this busy world surround us—it is a sin and a shame for any
man to "stand idle all the day long."

Indolence, in reference to the concerns of this world, is bad
enough. But where shall we find language sufficiently strong to
describe the present guilt and future misery of indolence and
sloth in reference to the soul and the soul's concerns? Of all
the instances of folly, sin, and misery, which the inhabitants
of earth present, the most astounding must be the sight of an
impenitent sinner, slumbering in careless security over the
over the bottomless pit!

One would be led to imagine, did not experience testify to the
contrary, that there is enough in that one word 'eternity' to
rouse all men to the most intense concern, and to the most
laborious diligence!

Could that happy spirit who has lately left our world be
permitted to address you from her throne of glory, with
what an emphasis would she say, "Beloved friends, with
whom on earth I took sweet counsel, and walked to the
house of God in company, could you conceive of but a
thousandth part of the glory which now surrounds me,
you would account that world which so sinfully engrosses
your attention scarcely worth a passing glance, or a
momentary thought! Do not be slothful, when heaven
or hell hangs upon your life! Do not be slothful, when
eternity is before you! Do not be slothful, when infinite
joy, or endless woe, attends on every breath!"

How perilous to yourselves,
how corrupting to others,
how discreditable to religion,
how displeasing to Christ,
is slothfulness in the Christian profession!
 

 

The highest class in the school of Christ

"So that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who
 through faith and patience inherit the promises." Heb. 6:12

By patience, we mean a quiet waiting, amidst sufferings
and sorrows—for the heavenly kingdom. Patience is an
uncomplaining willingness to remain any length of time,
and amidst any tribulation, for the glory to be revealed.

No circumstances of life, (and let the sufferer hear and drink
in the soul-comforting thought,) no circumstances of life seem
to ripen the Christian so fast or so perfectly for heaven—as the
experience of sorrow and affliction. Oh! then let our comforts
go, then let our eyes weep, then let our hearts bleed—if our
Father is thus ripening us for everlasting fruition and
inconceivable bliss!

"But patience must do its complete work, so that you may
 be mature and complete, lacking nothing." (James 1:4)

James intimates, that when we are enabled to exercise the
grace of patience, we have reached the highest class in the
school of Christ, have nothing more to learn upon earth, and
are ready and fit to depart, and to be with Jesus—and have
then obtained as much grace as can be possessed, short of
glory itself!

Patience, then, sufferer, patience! The first moment, and the
first glance of heaven will be an infinite recompense for all you
suffer—for all you lose on earth! If every step on earth is a step
of suffering—then let each be a step of patience!

Weep you may—murmur you must not.

Nature may pay the tribute of a groan—but grace must
pay it with a smile.

The shower of your tears may fall—but in the rays of the
Sun of Righteousness must reflect the beauteous rainbow
of the promise.

Christian, you make your way to glory along the path of
patient resignation, which, if it is like the Valley of Weeping,
and has its briars and its thorns—has also its refreshing
rain-pools of heavenly consolation!


 

The base cares and the petty enjoyments
of the present world

Sin is raging all around us!

Satan is busy in the work of destruction!

Men are dying!

Souls are every moment departing into eternity!

Hell is enlarging her mouth, and multitudes are
continually descending to torments which knows
no mitigation and no end!

Heaven expanding above us!

Hell yawning beneath us!

Eternity opening before us!

How astounding is it sometimes to ourselves, that,
favored with a certain, though distant, view of the
celestial city, living almost within the sight of its
glories and the sound of its music, the base cares
and the petty enjoyments of the present world
should have so much power over us, as to retard us
in our heavenward course, and make us negligent
and indolent, heedless and forgetful.

Time is short, life uncertain, death at hand, and
immortality is about to swallow up our existence
in eternal life—or eternal death!


 

Love of deception

They are a rebellious people, deceptive children, children who do not obey the Lord's instruction. They say to the seers, "Do not see," and to the prophets, "Do not prophesy the truth to us. Tell us flattering things! Prophesy illusions! Get out of the way! Leave the pathway. Rid us of the Holy One of Israel." (Isaiah 30:9-11)

A wish to be deceived is a state of mind by no means uncommon. This was the case with the Jews at the time when this prophecy was delivered. Their national crimes were bringing destruction nearer and nearer. Their political horizon was perpetually becoming darker, and signs of the accumulating vengeance of Heaven were multiplying around them. The prophets, bearing the burden of the Lord, represented him as a holy Being, whom their transgressions insulted, and whose justice must necessarily be roused