Grace Gems for September

(Philip Schaff, 1866) LISTEN to audio! Download audio

This Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms—conquered more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon.

Without science and learning—He shed more light on things human and divine, than all philosophers and scholars combined.

Without the eloquence of schools—He spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of any orator or poet.

Without writing a single line—He set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and sweet songs of praise, than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times.

Born in a manger and crucified as a malefactor—He now controls the destinies of the civilized world, and rules a spiritual empire which embraces one-third of the inhabitants of the globe.

There never was in this world, a life so sincere, modest, and humble in its outward form and condition—and yet producing such extraordinary effects upon all ages, nations, and classes of men. The annals of history produce no other example of such complete and astounding success, in spite of the absence of those material, social, literary, and artistic powers and influences—which are indispensable to success for a mere man.

Christ stands, in this respect also, solitary and alone among all the heroes of history, and presents to us an insolvable problem, unless we admit Him to be more than man—even the eternal Son of God!

"Who do you say that I am?" Matthew 16:15

"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!" Matthew 16:16

(Octavius Winslow, "The Sympathy of Christ") LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio

To affirm, as the Scriptures of truth positively do, that mankind is originally and totally depraved—is but to portray it with every feature of its pristine nobleness, purity, and excellence, utterly spoiled!

Mankind has become the living embodiment, the acting impersonation, the very incarnation of fallen self-love; self-love in the form of complete selfishness.

The original center of the soul forsaken—man had become a center to himself.

The god he worshiped, was the deification of self.

The religion he professed, was the adoration of self.

The powers he cultivated, were consecrated to self.

His whole existence was one act of service and devotion to self.

The Divine Center abandoned, he:
knew no other god,
acknowledged no other sufficiency,
recognized no other end, than himself.

Every faculty and thought, every affection and action—was made to contribute to the cloud of incense which rose as in one dense column before this little idol, SELF!

Self the first.
Self the last.
Self all in all!

And is it not so now?

Self, in some shape—is still the Deity of the natural man!

Selfishness is still the universal sin of our nature, exhibited in one or more of . . .
its thousand modifications,
its endless forms.

All are in pursuit either of wealth, or ambition, or pleasure, or honor, or gratification—under the 'law of selfishness'.

Self is the only recognized principle and rule of action which regulates the conduct of the great majority of our depraved species.

The indictment is heavy,
the picture is dark,
the sin is awful, we admit.
But it is borne out by daily observation and frequent experience, and by the faithful, unerring Word of God: "All men seek their own!"

What, we ask, is all . . .
this self-exaltism,
this egotism,
this envy and jealousy,
this attempt to supplant others in esteem, influence, and power,
this prodigality and love of worldly show,
this eager chase of wealth,
this covetousness and stinginess,
this love of ease and sloth,
this niggardly dole of charity,
this cruel, heartless, grinding oppression,
this growing sensuality and crime?
What, we ask, is all this, and a thousand times more—but the one appalling, cancerous sin of selfishness existing in the very heart of depravity, and sending its fatal poison along all the fibers of human society!

When you were marching to Hell!

(Thomas Watson, "The Mischief of Sin") LISTEN to audio! Download audio

(You will find it helpful to listen to the audio above, as you read the text below.)

"Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy." 1 Timothy 1:13

Literally, "I was bemercied." Christians, why might not you have been in the number of those who persist in sinning? Because God has bemercied you with mercy!

See what cause you have to admire the stupendous goodness of God, who has wrought a change in you, and checked you in your full career of sin!

Christians, you who are vessels of election, were by nature as wicked as others; but God had compassion on you and plucked you as brands out of the fire! He stopped you in your course of sinning—when you were marching to Hell! He turned you back to Him by sincere repentance. Oh, here is the banner of love displayed over you!

Behold Sovereign Grace! Let your hearts melt in love to God. Admire His royal bounty. Set the crown of all your praises, upon the head of free grace! "By the grace of God I am what I am!" 1 Corinthians 15:10

"But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us—not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy!" Titus 3:4-5

Something to ponder
Six vital certainties:
1. Life is short and uncertain.
2. Death is sure.
3. Judgment is inevitable.
4. Sin is exceeding sinful.
5. Hell is a dreadful reality.
6. Christ alone can save you.
J.C. Ryle

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(Octavius Winslow, "The Tears of Christ") LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio

"Jesus wept!" John 11:35

The Creator of all worlds,
the Author of all beings,
the Upholder of the universe—
raining tears of human woe and sympathy upon a grave!

Oh, there lives not a being in the universe who can enter into our bereavements with the sympathy, the support, and the soothing of Christ!

They were tears of sympathy. His heart was not only touched with a sense of His own personal affliction; but it was also touched, deeply touched—with sympathy for the sorrow of others.
He wept because the mourning sisters wept.
He mingled His tears with theirs.

This is true sympathy, "weeping with those who weep," making their sorrow our own. How really our Lord does this with His people. So completely is He our Surety—that He takes our sins and infirmities, our trials and sorrows upon Himself, as if they were all and entirely His own. Our sins were so completely laid upon Him—that not one remains charged to the account of those who believe in Jesus.

And our present griefs are so entirely absorbed in Him, that,
softened by His love,
soothed by His sympathy,
supported by His grace—
trial is welcome,
the affliction is sweet, and
the rod of a Father's chastening, buds and blossoms into delectable fruit!

Bereaved mourner, the sympathy of Christ is yours! The same Savior who wept at the grave of Bethany—now shares your grief and joins your tears. Deem not your sorrow as isolated, or that your tears are forbidden or unseen. You have a merciful and faithful High Priest who is touched with your present calamity.

There exists no sympathy . . .
so real,
so intelligent,
so deep,
so tender,
so sanctifying—
as Christ's sympathy!

And if your heavenly Father has seen it wise and good to remove from you the spring of human pity—it is but that He may draw you closer beneath the wing of Jesus' compassion, presence, and love.

O child of sorrow, will not this suffice—that you possess Christ's sympathy: immeasurable and exhaustless as the ocean; exquisite and changeless as His being! Yield your heart to His rich compassion!

Will Jesus be regardless of what I feel, and the sorrows under which I groan? Oh no! The sigh that bursts in secret from my heart, is not secret to Him. The tear that is my food day and night and drops unperceived and unknown—is known and remembered by Him!

"You keep track of all my sorrows.
You have collected all my tears in Your bottle.
You have recorded each one in Your book." Psalm 56:8

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses!" Hebrews 4:14-15

You love righteousness, and hate wickedness!

(Charles Simeon) LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio

"You love righteousness, and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy!" Psalm 45:7

In this verse, the distinctive character of the true believer is most fitly drawn.

There are many unbelievers whose external characters are unimpeachable; they abstain from open iniquity, and they may be kind and do many charitable things.

But the distinctive mark of the true believer is that he "loves righteousness, and hates iniquity."

He looks upon sin as the worst enemy of his soul. Not contented with suppressing the outward acts of sin, he strives to mortify its inward motions. The existence of sin within him is his affliction, his burden, and his grief.
He abhors his sin!
He loathes himself on account of his sin!
He often cries with anguish of heart, "O what a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death!" Romans 7:24

As for righteousness, he considers it as the health and felicity of his soul. It is the very element in which he desires to live. Were he possessed of holiness in ever so high a degree, he would not be satisfied, as long as there were any measure of it which he had not attained. He would be "as holy as God is holy," and "as perfect as God is perfect." We repeat it, that this is the distinctive character of a true believer!

Unbelievers, whatever their conduct may be, have no real hatred of secret sin, and no sincere delight in the secret exercises of genuine piety; but in the believer, these dispositions radically and abidingly exist!

How vain are the hopes of Heaven, by those who are not lovers of righteousness, and haters of iniquity!

Holiness and happiness are inseparable! It is in vain to hope for the "oil of joy"—if we are not lovers of righteousness, and haters of iniquity. Those who conform to the world's standard of goodness may be applauded by other worldlings; but God will not ratify their approval.

The precepts of the Gospel are the infallible and only rule of Christian duty! They were exhibited in all their perfection by our blessed Lord, whose own life was a commentary on them.

"For the Lord is righteous, He loves justice; upright men will see His face!" Psalm 11:7

"This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother!" 1 John 3:10

(Octavius Winslow) LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio

"Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things are become new!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

Originally shaped in iniquity, and conceived in sin—the love of sin and the hatred of holiness are born with us.

But when by the Holy Spirit we are born again, this original and natural love of sin and hatred of holiness are reversed! A new and heavenly principle is implanted which leads the regenerate man to hate sin and love holiness.

Now, it is in this divine principle that the love of holiness in the believer is implanted—and a power in antagonism to sin is implanted in his heart.

What a reverse now transpires!

The regenerate now love what they once hated—and hate what they once loved!

We loved sin, lived in sin, in some of its many forms . . .
intellectual sin,
gross sin,
refined sin,
open sin,
secret sin,
the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eye,
the pride of life,
the power of mammon,
the fascination of the world,
the idolatry of the creature,
the love of SELF!

Some, or all these forms of sin maintained the supremacy, and held their unbroken, undisputed rule.

Oh, how changed a man he is now!

The sins which he once committed,
the objects which he once loved,
the tastes which he once cultivated,
the sensualities in which he once indulged,
have lost their power . . .
to fascinate,
to please,
to enthrall.

"Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things are become new!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

One hour in Heaven will make us forget all our sorrows! As the sun dries up the water, so one beam of God's glorious face will dry up all our tears!

Heaven is the highest link of the saint's happiness. As there is no intermission in the joys of Heaven—so there shall be no expiration of them. When God has once planted His saints in paradise, He will never transplant them, "they shall be forever with the Lord!"

The sea is not so full of water—as the soul of a glorified saint is full of joy.
There can be no sorrow in Heaven—as there can be no joy in Hell.

See how happy are God's saints at their death! They go to a kingdom! They see God's face, which shines ten thousand times brighter than the sun in its meridian glory! They enter eternal glory, which is the quintessence of all delights!

In that Heavenly kingdom, the saints are crowned with perfection!

The desires of the glorified saints are infinitely satisfied!
There is nothing absent—which they could wish might be enjoyed.
There is nothing present—which they could wish might be removed.

In Heaven, there is . . .
knowledge without ignorance,
holiness without sin,
beauty without blemish,
strength without weakness,
light without darkness,
riches without poverty,
ease without pain,
liberty without restraint,
rest without labor,
joy without sorrow,
love without hatred,
plenty without excess,
honor without disgrace,
health without sickness,
peace without end,
contentment without cessation!
Oh, the happiness of those who die to the Lord!

Heaven will make amends for all!

"He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them! He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away! He who sits on the throne said: Behold, I am making all things new!" Revelation 21:3-5

(Octavius Winslow, "A Good Man's Misinterpretation of a Dark Providence") LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio

We are born to die!

The treasured ones around us have within them the seeds of death, and upon them the sentence of death.

The brilliant eye, the rosy cheek, the vermilion lip, the tall, graceful form shooting up like a cedar—are often to a skillful and discerning glance, but as flowers blooming for the tomb.

Our home circles, with all the powerful barriers which affection and influence can cast around them; guarded as by angel sentinels of love—are not a security against the entrance of the "King of Terrors".

Youth cannot resist him.
Beauty cannot awe him.
Wealth cannot bribe him.
Eloquence cannot persuade him.
Learning cannot confound him.
Skill cannot baffle him.
Tears cannot move him.
Religion cannot evade his icy touch.

To all this, his uplifted dart is inexorable!

He takes . . .
the prince from the throne,
the ruler from the state,
the orator from the senate,
the judge from the bench,
the minister from the pulpit,
the head from the family,
the mother from the home,
the babe from its mother's arms!
None, none are spared!

Do you see . . .
that vacant chair?
those unread books?
those portraits on the wall?
that treasured locket?
that unworn apparel?
What do they mean?

Oh, how sad, how touching is their mute, expressive eloquence! They remind us of the departed. They tell of the eternal land where they have fled, where they will return not again until time is no more.

But what is this sad visitation of bereavement, but one of the appointed dispensations of our heavenly Father, sent in unerring wisdom, righteousness, and love!

"Do not be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave!" Revelation 1:17-18

Every blessing we have must be held as from God, and for God—to be disposed of according to His sovereign will and pleasure.

"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love Him!" 1 Corinthians 2:9

Brethren! At present you can have but little conception of the incomprehensible blessings which God has conferred upon you; for you cannot see one thousandth part of your guilt, or conceive one thousandth part of the glory that awaits you!

Still less can you comprehend the wonders of redeeming love and mercy, that have been given to you in the gift of God's only beloved Son for your redemption!

What indeed you already know, is abundantly sufficient to fill your souls with unutterable joy, and your lips with incessant praise!

But what will your feelings be, at the instant of the departure of your soul from this earthly tabernacle, and of its admission into the presence of your God! Then you will fully see the depth of misery from which you have been redeemed, and the height of glory to which you are exalted! You will then behold your Redeemer face to face, and join in the eternal praises of your adorable Savior.

Go on, then, with Heaven ever in your view, and live in the sweet anticipation of that unimaginable glory that awaits you! This will be the commencement of Heaven upon earth, to your souls!

"May you have the power to understand, as all God's people should—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is! May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully!" Ephesians 3:18-19

We should behold our adorable Savior with the deepest humiliation, for having occasioned Him such anguish!

(Charles Simeon) LISTEN to audio! Download audio

Had we never sinned, our adorable Savior would never have assumed our nature, nor suffered the unfathomable agonies of His Father's wrath, in our place. In Christ's sin-atoning sufferings, we should measure our guilt and misery.

Was He under the hidings of His Father's face?
We deserve to be banished from the gracious presence of our God to all eternity!

Did He suffer inconceivable agonies both of body and soul, under the wrath of Almighty God?
We merited the utmost extremity of that wrath forever and ever!

Did He suffer even unto death?
We were liable to everlasting death, even that "second death in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone," "where the worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched!"

Draw near then with me, brethren, to Gethsemane and to Golgotha, and contemplate with me the scenes which were there exhibited.
Behold that Sufferer in the garden, whose agonies of soul are so intense, that the blood issues from every pore of His body!
Behold Him on Mount Calvary, stretched upon the cross, and hear His heart-rending cry, "My God! My God! Why have You forsaken Me!"

Say then within yourselves, 'Now I behold what my sins have merited! Or, rather, what my sins merit at this hour. There is not a moment of my life, wherein I might not justly be called upon to drink that bitter cup, without the smallest hope for even the slightest mitigation of my woe through eternal ages.'

Dear brethren, this is the looking-glass in which I wish you to behold your own deservings before God. I would not have your eyes turned away from it for one instant, to the last hour of your lives.

In viewing particular sins, you may perhaps be led to self-satisfaction, from the thought that they have not been so enormous as what are habitually committed by others. But in viewing your iniquities as expiated by our blessed Lord, you will see that nothing can exceed your vileness; and you will be ready to take the lowest place as the very "chief of sinners!"

The best of you, no less than the most abandoned, have merited, and do yet daily merit, at God's hand—all that the Savior endured for you—and never look at yourselves in any other looking-glass than this!

Oh! brethren, if our minds were more occupied in exploring the height and depth and length and breadth of redeeming love—we would not be so easily turned away from it, to the trifling vanities of this poor world. Let Christ's unfathomable love be duly and abidingly impressed upon your minds, and this subject will elevate and enlarge the soul, and have a transforming efficacy in proportion as we delight to dwell upon it!

We are immortal beings, and are hastening to an eternal state!

(Charles Simeon) LISTEN to audio! Download audio

"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him!" Psalm 32:1, 2

A man who has no prospects beyond this present world, will seek happiness in the things of time and sense. But "a man's life does not consist in the abundance of the things that he possesses." We are immortal beings, and are hastening to an eternal state! Then our past earthly existence will appear only as the twinkling of an eye!

In that state, either blessedness or misery awaits us, according as we enter upon it under the guilt of our former sins, or with our sins forgiven. We may justly say, therefore, that true blessedness consists, as our text informs us, in having our sins forgiven!

Who that is in the smallest degree conscious of the number and heinousness of his transgressions, and of the awful punishment due to him on account of them—must not regard it as an unspeakable mercy to have them all blotted out and cast into the depths of the sea! "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more!" "I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist!"
What in the whole universe can in his estimation be compared with this? If he could possess the world, yes, if he could possess ten thousand worlds—what comfort would the acquisition give him, if he had the melancholy prospect of being speedily plunged into the bottomless abyss of Hell?

If there were a large company of condemned criminals, some rich and noble, others poor and evil; and one of the vilest of them had received the king's pardon, while all the rest were left for execution; then who among them would be accounted the happiest?

How much more then, when the death to which unpardoned sinners are consigned to, is an everlasting damnation in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone!

No one who reads the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, and sees the termination of their respective states, can for a moment hesitate to pronounce Lazarus, with all his miseries and privations, far happier in a sense of reconciliation with God; than the rich worldling in the enjoyment of all his pomp and luxury!

"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. Forgiveness exempts from punishment; but an imputation of the Redeemer's righteousness to us, insures to us an eternal blessedness in glory!

Sin is pardoned, and righteousness is imputed, purely through the free grace of God to the chief of sinners, without any good works performed by them.

O how blessed must that man be, who is clothed in the unspotted robe of Christ's righteousness; and can, on the footing of that righteousness, be assured of all the glory and felicity of Heaven! He may look forward to death and judgment, not only without fear, but with holy confidence and joy, assured that in God's sight he stands, "without spot or blemish!"

The vilest sinner upon earth shall find Christ's blood able to cleanse from all sin, and His righteousness sufficient to clothe our souls!

Who, we would ask, can be blessed, like the man who has been begotten to a living hope, that in and through Christ, there is reserved for him an incorruptible, and undefiled, and glorious inheritance in Heaven?

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Boasting!

(Charles Simeon) LISTEN to audio! Download audio

"I will extol the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.
My soul will boast in the LORD.
Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt His name together!" Psalm 34:1-3

A sense of gratitude to God for his mercies will ever abide in some measure on the soul of a true believer.

Ungodly men love to boast about themselves. There is no unsaved man who has not some imaginary excellencies whereof to brag. If they possess any natural endowment either of mind or body, they are forward to bring it into notice, and to arrogate some praise to themselves on account of it.

One values herself upon her beauty,
another boasts of his strength or courage,
another prides himself in his wealth,
another displays his wit, or mental acumen.

The godly, on the other hand, "boast in the Lord". They know, by bitter experience, that in themselves dwells no good thing. They have done nothing, but what furnishes matter for the deepest humiliation. But they see in God multitudinous matters to excite their devoutest adoration. Whether they contemplate:
the perfections of God's nature,
or the works of His hands,
or the wonders of His providence,
or the riches of His grace—
they are filled with wonder and astonishment; and, pouring contempt on all created excellencies, they exclaim, "Who is like You O God—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders!" Exodus 15:11

Yet the godly are not so free from pride, but that flattery sometimes finds access to their hearts, and proves a gratification to their gullible minds. But in their better seasons, when their airy dreams have vanished, and they obtain juster views of themselves—they most sincerely loath and abhor themselves, and desire that God alone should be exalted. Then, to be told of their own goodness is nauseous and unpalatable; but to hear the praises of their God and Savior—this is delightful to their souls!

None shall ever join the celestial choir above, whose hearts have not been tuned to sing God's praise below!

"This is what the LORD says: 'Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom, or the strong man boast of his strength, or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,' declares the LORD!" Jeremiah 9:23-24

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A new eye!

(Thomas Watson, "A New Creature") LISTEN to audio! Download audio

(You will find it helpful to listen to the audio above, as you read the text below.)

"Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature;
old things are passed away, behold all things are become new!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

The new creature is new all over. Grace, though it is but in part—yet it is in every part. Not a new ear or a new tongue—but a new man; there are . . .
new dispositions,
new principles,
new aims,
"all things are become new!"

In the new creature, there is a new UNDERSTANDING. The first thing an artist draws in a portrait, is the eye. When God newly draws us and makes us new creatures—the first thing He draws in our souls is a new eye. The new creature is enlightened to see that which he never saw before!

He knows Christ after another manner. An unconverted man, by the light of common grace, may believe Christ to be the Son of God. But the new creature knows Christ after another manner, so as . . .
to esteem Him above all,
to adore Him,
to touch Him by faith,
to fetch a healing virtue from Him!

The new creature knows himself better than he did. When the sun shines into a room, it reveals all the dust and cobwebs in it. Just so, when the light of the Spirit shines into the heart—this reveals that corruption which before lay hidden; it shows a man his own vileness and nothingness! "Behold, I am vile!" Job 40:4

A wicked man, blinded with self-love—admires himself. He is like Narcissus who, seeing his own reflection in the water—fell in love with it. Saving knowledge works self-abasement.

Has this day-star of knowledge shined on your mind?

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Something to ponder, by Thomas Watson:
"Take heed of abusing the mercy of God.
To sin because mercy abounds, is the devil's logic!
He who sins because of God's mercy, shall have judgment without mercy!"

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There is nothing really accidental!

(Charles Simeon) LISTEN to audio! Download audio

"Our God is in Heaven; He does whatever He pleases!" Psalm 115:3

"The LORD does whatever He pleases—in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths!" Psalm 135:6

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails!" Proverbs 19:21

"This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart Him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?" Isaiah 14:26-27

"My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please!" Isaiah 46:10

"In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will!" Ephesians 1:10-11

The Lord Jesus "is the Creator of all things," and "by Him all things are held together;" nor does anything occur which is not decreed by Him. We speak of things as accidental; but there is nothing really accidental—not even "the falling of a sparrow," or the loss of "a hair of our head."

It is true that people make their own plans—and often with an express desire to oppose the will of God. But they are all unconscious agents in His hands! "Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed. They did what Your power and will had decided beforehand should happen!" Acts 4:27, 28

The envy of the Jewish priests,
the treachery of Judas,
the timidity of Pilate,
the cruelty of the Roman soldiers
—were all subservient to God's designs, and all fulfilled His inscrutable purposes! They followed the dictates of their own minds; but in all their actions, "God's counsel stood," and He accomplished His own sovereign and eternal will through them!

Behold our blessed Lord in every change of situation, from His arrest to the grave—who would suppose that these were successive steps to the throne of Heaven, and the means ordained for the salvation of His chosen people? Yet this was really the case; and by all these events a multitude of conflicting prophecies were fulfilled. He sat at the helm, and directed all the storm!

Precisely thus He does at this time also. The multitudinous events of every day seem as if they arose randomly, and pass away without any particular effect. But He who sees all things from the beginning, has ordained that a sleepless night, an opening of a book, a casting of a lot—shall all as certainly effect His ends—as any event, however great, or however manifestly connected with His designs! Esther 3:7; Esther 6:1, 2

The history of Joseph, whose elevation to a throne was promoted by events which, to the eye of sense, would appear most calculated to counteract it. In the outcome, Joseph said to his treacherous brothers, "You planned evil against me; God planned it for good, to bring about the present result—the survival of many people!" Genesis 50:20

"The LORD foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations!" Psalm 33:10, 11

Gather your manna fresh every morning!

(J.C. Ryle) LISTEN to audio! Download audio

"Oh, how I love Your law! I meditate on it all day long!" Psalm 119:97

The Bible in the pulpit, must never supersede the Bible at home. Let us read our Bibles in private more, and with more pains and diligence.

There is less private Bible reading than there was fifty years ago. I never would have believed that so many men and women would have been tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine, some falling into skepticism, some rushing into the wildest and narrowest fanaticism, and some going over to the Roman church. With many, there was a habit developed of lazy, superficial and careless reading of God's Word.

Read the Bible daily. Make it part of your everyday business to read and meditate on some portion of God's Word. Gather your manna fresh every morning! Choose your own seasons and hours. Do not scramble over and hurry your reading. Give your Bible the best, and not the worst, part of your time. But whatever plan you pursue, let it be a rule of your life to visit the throne of grace and the Bible every day.

Next to praying there is nothing so important in practical religion as Bible reading. By reading this Book we may learn . . .
what to believe,
what to be,
what to do,
how to live with comfort,
and how to die in peace.

Happy is that man who possesses a Bible!

Happier still is he who reads it!

Happiest of all is he who not only reads it—but obeys it, and makes it the rule of his faith and practice!

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness—that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

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The infinite ocean of Christ's love!

(Octavius Winslow) Watch Video LISTEN to Audio Download Audio

The mind has often been sensible of a feeling of awe as we have stood upon the shore, and gazed upon the vast expanse of the ocean. With a similar, yet far transcending emotion—we approach the infinite ocean of Christ's love!

Like the eternity of God—we cannot fathom where His love begins, or where it terminates.

There is no other solution to the marvelous mysteries of His Incarnation and Sacrificial Death but this, Christ has loved us!

Love originated all, explains all, illustrates all.

Love is the interpreter of every Divine mystery.

There is not a circumstance of our Lord's history which is not another form or manifestation of love.
His incarnation, is love stooping.
His sympathy, is love weeping.
His compassion, is love supporting.
His grace, is love acting.
His teaching, is the voice of love.
His silence, is the repose of love.
His patience, is the restraint of love.
His obedience, is the labor of love.
His suffering, is the travail of love.
His cross, is the altar of love.
His death, is the burnt offering of love.
His resurrection, is the triumph of love.
His ascension into Heaven, is the enthronement of love.
His intercession in Heaven, is the prayer of love.

Such is the deep, the vast, the boundless ocean of Christ's love!
The soul muses in silent awe as it gazes upon this fathomless, limitless sea!

Nothing short of a divine love could or would have borne our sins, and the punishment of our sins. The weight of the one, and the terribleness of the other, would have crushed and annihilated a mere 'created' affection. There existed no love but the love of Jesus, which was equal to the work of salvation.

Who was willing, who was able—to bear that heavy load, to endure that overwhelming curse, but Jesus?

Oh, think, beloved reader, what the love of Christ has done and suffered for you:
the burden it bore,
the sorrow it felt,
the humiliation it underwent,
the insults,
the ignominy,
the privation through which it traveled;
its groans,
its sighs,
its tears,
its darkness;
how inconceivably it agonized,
how freely it bled,
how voluntarily it died,
the sins it has pardoned,
the guilt it has cleansed,
the declensions it has restored,
the backslidings it has healed,
the sorrows it has soothed,
the patience it has exercised,
the gentleness it has exhibited
—and then ask: Could any other but the love of Jesus have done all this, and endured all this?

Such is the love of Christ!

To have saved us upon such terms:
a stoop so low,
a humiliation so profound,
a labor so immense,
mental anguish so acute,
bodily suffering so agonizing,
a death so ignominious!
Was there ever a love like this?
Was it ever equaled?
Where shall we find its parallel?

Love less divine, less strong, less gentle, could never have won your heart, uprooted your enmity, torn you from your idols—enthroning Christ, all of Christ, Christ only, Christ supremely, Christ forever!

The love of Christ will be the wonder, the study, and the song of all pure, holy creatures through eternity!

Beloved, nothing shall take the love of Christ from you, or separate you from it.
It does not ebb with the ebbing of your feelings;
it does not chill with the chill of your affections;
it does not change with the changing scenes and circumstances of your life.

The love of Christ has . . .
depths we cannot sound,
heights we cannot explore,
an infinite fullness and freeness tiding over all the sins, infirmities, and sorrows of its blessed and favored objects!

Seek to know this love of Christ, though it is so vast that it 'passes knowledge.' Infinite though it is, you may . . .
experience its reality,
taste its sweetness, and
be influenced by its all commanding, all constraining power!

Do not limit your heart experience of Christ's love—for it is infinite in its nature, and boundless in its extent.

As yet, how many of us stand but upon the shore of this ocean!

How little do we know, experimentally, of the love of Christ in our souls!

Bring your heart with,
its profoundest emptiness,
its most startling discovery of sin,
its lowest frame,
its deepest sorrow,
and sink it into the depths of the Savior's love!

That infinite sea will flow over all, erase all, absorb all—and your soul shall swim and sport amid its gentle waves, exclaiming in your joy and transport, "Oh, the depths!"

May the Lord direct your heart into the love of God, just as it is:
hard,
cold,
fickle,
sinful,
sad and
sorrowful.

Christ's love touching your hard heart, will dissolve it!

Christ's love touching your cold heart, will warm it!

Christ's love touching your sinful heart, will purify it!

Christ's love touching your sorrowful heart, will soothe it!

Christ's love touching your wandering heart, will draw it back to Himself!

Only bring your heart to Christ's love!

Believe that He loves you, and just as love begets love—so the simple belief in the love of Jesus will inspire you with a reflected, responsive affection; and your soul, like the flower, will burst from its captivity, and bloom, and, soaring in life, liberty, and beauty—will float in the sunbeams of Gods full, free, and eternal love! And in a little while, will find itself in Heaven, where all is love!

"Blessed Jesus! Your love, like Your agonies, is an unknown and unfathomable depth! It surpasses knowledge. Let it rise and expand before me, until it . . .
fills the entire scope of my soul's vision;
occupies every niche of my heart;
and bears me onward by its all commanding, all constraining influence, in the path of a holy loving obedience and surrender."

"May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it!" Ephesians 3:19

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Evil thoughts!

(Charles Simeon) LISTEN to audio! Download audio

"Deal with each man according to all he does, since You know his heart (for You alone know the hearts of all men.)" 1 Kings 8:39

"O righteous God, You who examine inner thoughts and motives. Psalm 7:9

"The LORD knows our thoughts." Psalm 94:11

"The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD." Proverbs 15:26

"Their thoughts are evil thoughts." Isaiah 59:7

"How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?" Jeremiah 4:14

"Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?" Matthew 9:4

The very thoughts of our hearts are all open and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account, and He regards them as infallible marks of the state of our souls! Those thoughts indeed which are rejected instantly with indignation, do not leave any stain upon the soul; but those evil thoughts which are in the least degree harbored and indulged, most assuredly defile us. We are told that "the very thought of foolishness is sin!" Proverbs 24:9. And Simon Magus was exhorted to "pray that the thoughts of his heart might be forgiven." Acts 8:22

Indeed it is but a small part of the wickedness of the heart that reveals itself by words and actions. All sin is first conceived in the imagination—and much of it lies buried there for lack of an opportunity to break forth. Who can number:
the proud thoughts,
the impure thoughts,
the unloving thoughts,
the revengeful thoughts,
the unbelieving thoughts,
and the vain thoughts,
that often lodge in the soul?
Who can estimate the guilt which we contract by means of them?

It is worthy of remark, that these are the very things whereby our Lord himself says that the heart is defiled! "For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evil things come from within and defile a man!" Mark 7:21-22. These are the wicked things which, when brought to maturity, fill the world with adulteries, murders, and all manner of abominations!

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way!" Psalm 139:23-24