Grace Gems for JANUARY, 2024
~ ~ ~ ~
The richest man in the universe!(Charles Simeon) LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
The poorest man in the universe is rich—if he has the salvation of God in his soul!
In the same way, the richest man in the universe is poor, miserably poor—if he is destitute of God's salvation.
Behold Paul and Silas in prison, their feet fast bound in the stocks, and their backs torn with scourges—and yet singing praises to God at midnight!
Were they poor?
No! They were rich, truly rich!
In the same way, in having God for our portion, we are truly rich.
Paul, under such circumstances, accounted himself the richest man in the universe! And so he was; for, "though he had nothing—yet he possessed all things!" 2 Corinthians 6:10
In the same way, even though we are at this moment destitute of bread for the morrow, it may be said with truth, that "All things are ours, if we are Christ's!" 1 Corinthians 3:22-23
Thus, if we can say, "The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup!" Psalm 16:5—then we may account ourselves richer than those who have crowns and kingdoms at their command!~ ~ ~ ~
The righteous and the wicked!(Charles Simeon) LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
"The Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish!" Psalm 1:6
The godly man comes to Christ daily as a self-ruined sinner, and looks to him as the appointed Savior of sinners. He seeks to be washed in Christ's blood from all his sins, and to be renewed by His Spirit after the Divine image. In a word, his daily consolation is, "In the Lord I have righteousness and strength!" Isaiah 45:24
The aim of his soul is to "walk in all things just as Christ walked;" and to cultivate "the mind that was in Him," thus approving himself to God in the whole of his conduct, that in the last day that testimony may be given to him from the lips of his approving Judge, "Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your Lord!"
To the contrary, the wicked man has no such thoughts and no such desires. A saving interest in the Savior is not of any great importance in his eyes, because he feels no need of it; he concludes that he already possesses all that is requisite for his acceptance with God. As for "mortifying his earthly members," and "crucifying the flesh with the affections and lusts"—that is a work to which he is utterly averse! He rather studies to gratify himself, and to follow the bent of his own carnal inclinations. He may not indulge in gross sins; but his mind and life are altogether earthly. And whatever he may have of religion—it is a mere form which does not engage his heart. Nor is genuine piety in any respect the delight of his soul.
In a word, the righteous man looks forward to a future harvest, and sows with a view to that. The wicked man looks no further than to this present world, and has all his desires bounded by the things of time and sense.
"Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God." Romans 8:5-8~ ~ ~ ~
The righteous and the wicked contrasted!(Charles Simeon) LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
View the genuine Christian from day to day—his whole soul is humbled before God under a sense of his own extreme unworthiness. Were you to behold him in his secret chamber, you would behold him more abased before God for an evil thought or desire—than an ungodly man would be for the actual commission of the grossest sin! Oh! the sighs and groans which he involuntarily utters under the load of that burden—that body of sin and death, from which he cannot get free. And many are the tears which he sheds in secret, because he cannot attain that perfect holiness which his soul pants after.
A life of self-denial, too, characterizes his daily walk. He desires to "crucify the flesh, with its affections and lusts;" and it is his incessant labor to "mortify the whole body of sin."
To prepare for death and judgment is his primary concern. He lives as on the borders of eternity! He knows not at what hour the bridegroom may arrive; and therefore he keeps his lamp trimmed, that he may be ready to enter into the bride-chamber with his beloved Lord!
But how is it with the wicked in these respects?
What are their prayers? Nothing but a mere lip-service, in which their hearts are not at all engaged.
As for self-denial, they know nothing about it. Their whole life is a system of self-indulgence. They may not run into gross sins on account of their regard for their character among men; but they pursue with unabated ardor, those earthly vanities on which their hearts are set. Pleasure, or riches, or honor—occupy all their thoughts, and stimulate all their exertions. They live altogether:
for themselves, and not for God;
for the body, and not for the soul;
for time, and not for eternity!
Contemplate the righteous man in his final end. How blessed this will be, no words can adequately describe!
Were you present with him in his dying hour, and God were to open your eyes—you would see angels attendant on him, to bear upon their wings his departing spirit into Abraham's bosom. Could you follow him, and witness his reception by the Most High God—what plaudits would you hear! "Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your Lord!" How would you then,
behold him graced with an unfading crown of glory,
seated upon a throne,
invested with a kingdom, and
shining forth with a glory that would eclipse the noon-day sun!
To all eternity he will then live in the immediate fruition of his God—as holy as God Himself is holy; and as happy, according to his capacity, as God Himself is happy.
Alas! alas! The wicked are dragged into the presence of an angry God, in vain "calling upon rocks and mountains to cover them from His wrath!" From Him they hear that dreadful sentence, "Depart you who are cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels!" And into that fire are they cast—even "that lake that burns with fire and brimstone," from, whence "the smoke of their torment will ascend forever and ever!"~ ~ ~ ~
Swine wallowing in the mire, and dogs devouring their own vomit!(Charles Simeon) LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
There are but two classes of people mentioned in the Scriptures, and to one or other of them we all belong. There is no intermediate category.
Indeed we cannot always determine to which of these classes men belong, because we cannot discern their hearts. But the all-seeing God, to whom all things are open and exposed, will differentiate them from each other, as easily as we distinguish cats from dogs.
It is of infinite importance that we should have this truth impressed on our minds, for we are ready to rank among the wicked, only those who are guilty of heinous crimes, whereas all are wicked, who are not truly converted to God.
God's testimony respecting them is applicable to them all, whether they are more or less wicked in respect to gross sins.
The openly debauched are surely exceedingly loathsome in the sight of God!
Let anyone but notice their speech—and how replete is it with lewdness and blasphemy!
Let their character be marked—and what evil dispositions they manifest on all occasions!
Let their conduct be scrutinized, their drunkenness, their whoredoms, and all their other abominations—and who must not confess the justice of that scriptural representation, which compares them to swine wallowing in the mire, and dogs devouring their own vomit!
The more decent people, it is true, do not appear so vile in the eyes of men. Yes, perhaps they are even honored and esteemed by others—yet they are loathsome in the sight of God!
What monsters of ingratitude are the very best of unregenerate men! What inconceivable mercies have they received from God, and yet they have never spent one hour in humble and grateful thanksgiving. How loathsome then must they be to the God of all grace!
We confess that their actions may have appeared good to men, but how have their hearts appeared to the all-seeing God? Have they not been a very sink of iniquity? Yes, so depraved are the very best of men, that there are few, if any, who would not rather die—than have all the secrets of their hearts known to men, as they are known to God! What then are such people, but white-washed grave-stones! No wonder that, however they are esteemed among men—both their persons and their works are an abomination to the Lord!
"The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked! Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives!" Jeremiah 17:9-10~ ~ ~ ~
A defiling, debasing, damning evil—more to be dreaded than death itself!
(Charles Simeon) LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
"Fools mock at sin!" Proverbs 14:9
1. However much the ungodly mock at sin, they can never alter the nature of sin.
Sin is "that abominable thing which God hates!" Jeremiah 44:4. God cannot look upon sin, or on those who commit sin—without the utmost abhorrence, Habakkuk 1:13. Sin is, whether we will believe it or not, "exceedingly sinful!" Romans 7:13
Whatever harmless construction the wicked may put upon sin, and however they may attempt to mitigate its horribleness—sin will ever remain immutably the same: a defiling, debasing, damning evil—more to be dreaded than death itself!
The ungodly imagine that sin is harmless, but in the end "it bites like a serpent, and poisons like a viper!" Proverbs 23:32. They may roll sin as a sweet morsel under their tongues, but it will become a deadly venom in their hearts!
2. However much the ungodly mock at sin, they can never avert the consequences of sin.
God has said, "The wicked shall be turned into Hell, and all the nations that forget God!" Psalm 9:17
Now they may imagine that God regards sin as inconsequential, but He will never separate their sin from it's consequence, Hell!
They may represent their sins as trivial, and may talk about the goodness of God, and the impossibility of His punishing 'such minor offences' with such a tremendous punishment; but they shall never prevail on Him to rescind His decree, or to reverse His sentence. He has said, "The soul that sins—it shall surely die!" Ezekiel 18:20. And die it shall—even "the second death in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone!"
Even if the whole universe should combine their efforts to avert the consequences of sin, they can never prevail in any single instance! Proverbs 11:21. "The wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men!" Romans 1:18. Sooner shall Heaven and earth pass away—than one impenitent transgressor escape God's prison! How great then must be the folly of mocking at sin!
If the ungodly convince themselves that their sins shall go unpunished—they only deceive themselves, and rivet the chains with which sin and Satan have already bound them!
Solomon's view of such conduct is correct: All who mock at sin are utter fools!
3. Never make light of sin!
Your souls, your immortal souls, are at stake! Were the consequences of your error only temporary, we might leave you to enjoy your own delusions—but they are eternal! There is no repentance in the grave. "As the tree falls, so it will lie." If you die under the guilt of unforgiven sin—then your doom is irreversible, and your misery is everlasting! How do millions that are now in the eternal world curse their folly for making light of sin, in direct opposition to all that God had spoken in his Word respecting it! I beg you then, to be wise in time, and seek without delay to obtain "the forgiveness of your sins through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus!" Colossians 1:14~ ~ ~ ~
The Delilah in the bosom!(Thomas Watson, "The Lord's Prayer") LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
If you would not come short of the kingdom of Heaven, take heed of indulging any sin. One millstone will drown, as well as more. One sin lived in will damn, as well as more. If any one sin reigns, it will keep you from reigning in the kingdom of Heaven.
Especially keep from sins of your natural constitution—your darling sin. "I kept myself from my iniquity"—that sin which my heart would soonest decoy and flatter me into. As in the hive there is one master bee—so in the heart there is one master-sin. Oh, take heed of this!
How may this darling-sin be known?
1. That sin for which a man cannot endure the arrow of a reproof, is the bosom-sin. Men can be content to have other sins declaimed against; but if a minister puts his finger upon the sore, and touches upon that one special sin, then their eyes flash with fire, they are enraged, and spit the venom of malice!
2. That sin which a man's heart runs out most to, and he is most easily captivated by—is the Delilah in the bosom! One man is overcome with wantonness; another by worldliness. It is a sad thing for a man to be so bewitched by a beloved sin that he will part with the whole kingdom of Heaven, to gratify that lust!
3. That sin which a man is least inclined to part with, is the endeared sin. Of all his sons, Jacob could most hardly part with Benjamin. "Will you take Benjamin away!" Genesis 42:35. So says the sinner, "This and that sin I have left—but must Benjamin go too? Must I part with this delightful sin? That strikes to my heart!"
Take heed especially of this master-sin. The strength of sin lies in the beloved sin, which, like a cancer striking at the heart, brings death.
I have read of a monarch, who being pursued by the enemy, threw away the crown of gold on his head, that he might run the faster. Just so, the sin which you wore as a crown of gold must be thrown away, that you may run the faster to the kingdom of Heaven.
Oh, if you would not lose glory—mortify the beloved sin! Set it, as Uriah, in the forefront of the battle to be slain. By plucking out this right eye—you will see the better to go to Heaven!~ ~ ~ ~
Not charity, but cruelty!(Thomas Watson, "A Plea for Alms" 1658) LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
"He who turns a sinner from the error of his way, will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins." James 5:20
Charity to the souls of others is the highest kind of charity. The soul is the most precious thing. It is a rich diamond, set in a ring of clay.
This is charity to souls: when we see others in the bondage of sin, and we labor by counsel, admonition or reproof to pull them out of their dreadful estate, as the angels did to Lot in Sodom. "Hurry! Get out of here right now, or you will be caught in the destruction of the city! When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city!" Genesis 19
God made a law (Exodus 23:5) "If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it." On these words Chrysostom said, "We will help a beast which is fallen under its load—and shall we not extend relief to those who are fallen under a worse load of sin!"
To let others go on in sin securely, is not charity, but cruelty!
If a man's house were on fire, and another should see it and not tell him of it for fear of waking him—would not this be cruelty! And when we see the souls of others sleeping the sleep of death, and the fire of God's wrath ready to burn about their ears, and we are silent—is not this to be accessory to their death!
If men wish to go to Hell, and we do not attempt to stop them—is this love to their souls?
"He who turns a sinner from the error of his way, will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins." James 5:20~ ~ ~ ~
Make us 'clods of earth' into 'stars of glory'(Thomas Watson, "The Lord's Supper") LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
Christ is that golden pipe, through which the golden oil of salvation is transmitted to us.
Nothing could fasten Jesus to the cross, but the golden link of love!
"Because of His great love that He had for us" Ephesians 2:4
The emperor Trajan tore off a piece of his own robe to bind up one of his soldier's wounds. But Christ tore off His own flesh for us!
"He gave Himself for us to redeem us." Titus 2:14. Christ gave Himself for us—what more could He give? If He had anything to part with of more worth, He would have bestowed it upon us!
What astonishing love, that Christ should die for such as we are.
What are we? Not only vanity—but enmity!
When we were rebelling, He was dying!
When we had weapons in our hands, then He had the spear in His side!
This is the very quintessence of love! "God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners—Christ died for us!" Romans 5:8
When we were engulfed in misery and had lost our beauty, then Christ died for us. O amazing love, which should swallow up all our thoughts!
What astonishing love, that Christ should die for us, rather than for the fallen angels. They were creatures of a more noble extraction and, in all probability, might have brought greater revenues of glory to God. Yet, that Christ should pass by those golden vessels, and make us 'clods of earth' into 'stars of glory'—O the hyperbole of Christ's love!
What a stupendous love is this!
Who can meditate upon His love, and not be in ecstasy!
We may behold the odiousness of sin, in the red looking-glass of Christ's sufferings. Sin is to be abominated, since it turned Adam out of paradise and threw the angels down to Hell. Sin is the birthplace of our sorrows, and the grave of our comforts. But that which may most of all disfigure the face of sin and make it appear abominable is this: It crucified our Lord Jesus!
O let us look upon sin with indignation! When a temptation to sin comes, let us say, "Is not this the sin which poured out Christ's blood?" Let our hearts be enraged against sin!
When the senators of Rome showed the people Caesar's bloody robe, they were incensed against those who slew him. Sin has rent the white robe of Christ's flesh, and dyed it a crimson color! Let us, then, seek to be avenged of our sins!
Under the Law, if an ox gored a man so that he died—the ox was to be killed, Exodus 21:28. Likewise sin has gored and pierced our Savior! Let it die!
Let us be deeply affected with the great love of Christ for us. Who can tread upon these hot coals, and his heart not burn? Cry out with Ignatius, "Christ, my love, is crucified!"
If a friend would die for us, would not our hearts be much affected with his kindness? That the God of Heaven would die for us—how should this stupendous mercy have a melting influence upon us! The body of Christ broken, is enough to break the most flinty heart! At our Savior's passion, "the rocks split apart!" He who is not affected with Christ's love, has a heart harder than the rocks!
How should we be affected with Christ's kindness, who, to spare our life, lost His own! Let us pray that, as Christ was fastened to the cross—so He may be fastened to our hearts!
"May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it!" Ephesians 3:19~ ~ ~ ~
Softening(Octavius Winslow, "Evening Thoughts") LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
"For God makes my heart soft, and the Almighty troubles me." Job 23:16
The hour of affliction is the hour of softening . . .
the hardness of the heart yields,
the callousness of the spirit gives way,
the affections become tender,
conscience is more susceptible.
The hour of softening is the season . . .
of holy abstraction,
of meditation,
of prayer,
of withdrawment from the world and from creature delights, while the soul is more closely shut in with God.
The heart, now emptied, humbled, and softened is prepared for the work of the Spirit; and what an impression is then made! What discoveries of God's love to the soul! What enlarged views . . .
of the personal glory of Christ,
of the infinite perfection of His work,
of the preciousness of the atoning sacrifice,
of the hatefulness of sin, and
of the beauty of holiness!~ ~ ~ ~
He cares for you!(Charles Simeon) LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
"Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you;
He will never let the righteous fall!" Psalm 55:22
"Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you!" 1 Peter 5:7
God will care for each of His redeemed people, as if there were not another creature in Heaven or on earth to attract His notice!
Not so much as a hair shall fall from the head of any of his saints, but according to His all-wise appointment; nor shall any circumstance occur, which shall not be overruled for their everlasting good!
"We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose!" Romans 8:28~ ~ ~ ~
Lord, smite this sin!(Thomas Watson, "The Godly Man's Picture Drawn with a Scripture Pencil)
LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
"Your Word is completely pure, and Your servant loves it." Psalm 119:140
Do we love the holiness of the Word? The Word is preached to beat down sin, and advance holiness. Do we love it for its spirituality and purity? Many love the Preached Word only for its eloquence and notion. They come to a sermon as to a performance (Ezekiel 33:31,32) or as to a garden to pick flowers—but not to have their lusts subdued or their hearts purified. These are like a foolish woman who paints her face, but neglects her health!
Do we love the convictions of the Word? Do we love the Word when it comes home to our conscience and shoots its arrows of reproof at our sins? It is the minister's duty sometimes to reprove. He who can speak smooth words in the pulpit, but does not know how to reprove—is like a sword with a fine handle, but without an edge! "Rebuke them sharply!" (Titus 2:15). Dip the nail in oil, reprove in love—but strike the nail home!
Now Christian, when the Word touches on your sin and says, "You are the man!"—do you love the reproof? Can you bless God that "the sword of the Spirit" has divided between you and your lusts? This is indeed a sign of grace, and shows that you are a lover of the Word.
A corrupt heart loves the comforts of the Word, but not the reproofs: "You hate the one who reproves, and despise him who tells the truth!" (Amos 5:10). Their eyes flash with fire! Like venomous creatures that at the least touch, spit poison! "When they heard these things, they were enraged in their hearts and gnashed their teeth at him!" (Acts 7:54). When Stephen touched their sins, they were furious and could not endure it.
How shall we know that we love the reproofs of the Word?
1. When we desire to sit under a heart-searching ministry.
Who cares for medicines that will not work? A godly man does not choose to sit under a ministry that will not work upon his conscience.
2. When we pray that the Word may meet with our sins.
If there is any traitorous lust in our heart, we would have it found out, and executed! We do not want sin covered, but cured!
3. When we can open our heart to the sword of the Word and say, "Lord, smite this sin!"
4. When we are thankful for a reproof.
"Let a righteous man strike me, it is a kindness; let him rebuke me, it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it." (Psalm 141:5). David was glad for a reproof.
Suppose a man were in the mouth of a lion, and another should shoot the lion and save the man—would he not be thankful? Just so, when we are in the mouth of sin, as of a lion, and the minister by a reproof shoots this sin to death—shall we not be thankful?
A gracious soul rejoices, when the sharp lance of the Word has pierced his abscess of sin! He wears a reproof like a jewel on his ear: "Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man's rebuke to a listening ear." Proverbs 25:12
To conclude, it is convicting preaching which must do the soul good. A nipping reproof prepares for comfort—as a nipping frost prepares for the sweet flowers of spring.~ ~ ~ ~
What a sight!(David Harsha, "Christ Crucified") LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
The death of Christ was the most affecting and solemn scene ever presented to the view of men or angels!
What a sight—to see Christ on the cross bleeding for sinners!
How astonishing—to see the King of glory, whom all the angels of Heaven worship and adore, bow His head in death!
Earth never before witnessed such a sight!
Heaven never before looked upon such a scene.O my soul, draw near and contemplate it. Look towards Calvary with the cross erected in your view, and behold:
the Son of God nailed to the accursed tree;
His blessed hands and side and feet, pierced;
His blood streaming from every pore;
until pallid death sits upon His heavenly brow, and He cries, "Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit!~ ~ ~ ~
A refreshing cordial to a weary traveler!
(J.R. Miller) LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
"I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways." Psalm 119:15
The habit of laying up a text of Scripture in the morning, to be meditated upon while engaged in the business of this world through the day, is both profitable and delightful. It is as a refreshing cordial to a weary traveler!
Nothing is more helpful and practical in Christian living, than the habit of getting a verse or phrase of Scripture into the mind and heart in the morning. Its influence stays through the day, weaving itself into all the day's thoughts and words and experiences.
Every verse in the Bible is meant to help us to live, and a good devotional book opens up the precious teachings which are folded up in its words.
A devotional book which takes a Scripture text, and so opens it for us in the morning, that all day long it helps us to live, becoming a true lamp to our feet, and a staff to lean upon when the way is rough—is the very best devotional help we can possibly have. What we need in a devotional book which will bless our lives, is the application of the great teachings of Scripture to common, daily, practical life!
"His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night!" Psalm 1:2
"Oh, how I love Your law! I meditate on it all day long!" Psalm 119:97
Robert Harris:
"We must be careful . . .
to read Scripture,
to embed it in our hearts by meditation,
and to apply it closely to our consciences.
Only then it will be profitable to our hearts!"~ ~ ~ ~
We sicken, and die, and moulder away in the grave!(Gardiner Spring, "Death and Heaven") LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
"Dust you are, and unto dust shall you return." Genesis 3:19
Death strikes with unsparing and indiscriminate hand.
However fair, and beautiful, and vigorous—nothing can shield it from decay.
The head that is crowned with honor, must lie low.
The eye that beams with sensibility and intelligence, must become dim.
The tongue shall become mute, that moves with powerful and melting persuasion.
The warm and throbbing heart, shall become still and cold as marble.
Wherever we cast our eyes, we see all that is most permanent hastening to decay. Disease springs up in every climate. Death multiplies his victims under every sky, and reigns over every age of time.
We sicken, and die, and moulder away in the grave!
With all his capacity for great and noble achievement, man has never been able to rescue a single victim from the 'King of Terrors'.
Death's arrows are sharp.
His hand is unerring and ruthless.
The giant stalks unseen—and throughout all the vast arena of his conflicts, none can resist, or evade his ravages.
We may weep.
We may tremble.
But we cannot escape his fury.
"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?
Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!"
1 Corinthians 15:55, 57~ ~ ~ ~
High, supercilious thoughts of yourselves(Thomas Watson, "The Duty of Self-Denial" 1675) LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
"Vain man would be wise." Job 11:12
In the Hebrew, it is "Empty man!"
Man is a proud piece of flesh—He is apt to have a high opinion of himself.
Such as view themselves in the flattering looking-glass of self-love, appear bigger in their own eyes than they are! They think their spark, is a sun! They think their drop, is a sea!
That you may deny all high, supercilious thoughts of yourselves, consider that pride is a great sin. Chrysostom calls it "the mother of Hell." It is a kind of idolatry—a self-worshiping. This should pull down the plumes of pride and self-conceit!
"What makes you better than anyone else?
What do you have that God hasn't given you?
And if all you have is from God—why boast as though you have accomplished something on your own?" 1 Corinthians 4:7
Consider that, whatever noble endowments you have, are borrowed. What wise man would be proud of a jewel which was lent to him? The moon has no cause to be proud of her borrowed light.
Consider what a Hell of sin you carry about you!
Sin is the accursed thing! Joshua 5:13
It is the quintessence of evil.
It was typified by the menstrual cloth, which was the most unclean thing under the Law. This may demolish all proud imaginations.
Grace can never thrive, where pride and self-conceit grow. As a body with cancer cannot thrive—so neither can the soul thrive, which is cancered with pride and self-conceit.
A proud head, makes a barren heart!
A supercilious conceitedness is odious to God.
The more one values himself, the less God values him.
Such as have a high opinion of their own excellencies, are on the fast track to eternal ruin! The Lord sometimes lets vain, conceited people fall—not only foully, but finally!
"Doves," says Pliny, "take pride in their feathers, and in their flying high. But they soar so high, that they are prey to the hawk!" Just so, when men fly high in pride, they become prey to the prince of the air!
All this should make us kill the worm of self-conceit!
Let Paul be our pattern. Though he was the chief of the Apostles, he says,
"I am less than the least of all God's people." Ephesians 3:8
"I am nothing." 2 Corinthians 12:11
This illustrious Apostle, a star of the first magnitude—shrank into nothing in his own eyes!~ ~ ~ ~
Seductive scenes of giddiness and mirth!(Stephen Tyng, "Christ is All") LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
The true Christian is no longer devoted to this perishing world! There was a time when the pleasures of the world attracted him—and he loved them. The seductive scenes of giddiness and mirth invited his affections—and he yielded to their influence. He now recalls with shame, the low and groveling disposition which made him stoop to such pursuits.
The enchantments of the world once seemed to him of vast importance and worth. He did not think of the inevitable end of such things. The danger of the everlasting ruin of his soul never caused him to hesitate in his vain pursuit!
And yet while he loved the pleasures, and eagerly sought the gains of this world:
the trouble which they required in the obtaining,
their cares and losses,
the uncertainty which attended their possession,
the emptiness which came after their enjoyment
—constantly harassed him, and more than counter-balanced all the gains the world could give.
He now sees the exceeding folly of this futile system of life! He is ashamed to think that he had ever been such a slave—and risked his eternal soul for that which he knew must eventually leave him and perish!
"You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God!" James 4:4
"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever!" 1 John 2:15-17~ ~ ~ ~
God's jewels!(Thomas Watson, "Religion Our True Interest") LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
"They will be Mine!" says the Lord Almighty, "in the day when I make up My jewels!" Malachi 3:17
God's people are His jewels—His own special treasure!
Jewels are precious things; the Hebrew word for jewels signifies a treasure. A treasure is made up of costly things—gold, and diamonds, and rubies. Such a precious treasure, are the saints to God.
In what sense are the saints, God's jewels?
They are jewels for their sparkling quality. Their holiness shines and sparkles in God's eyes! (Song of Solomon 4:9), "You have ravished My heart, with one glance of your eyes!" That is, with one of your graces.
The godly are jewels for their scarcity. Diamonds are not common. Just so, the godly are scarce and rare. There are but few of these to be found. There are many false professors (as there are many paste diamonds)—but few true Christians. Among the millions in Rome, there were but few senators. Just so, among the swarms of people in the world—there are but few true believers.
The godly are jewels for their price. Queen Cleopatra had two jewels which were worth half the price of a kingdom. Thus the saints are jewels, for their value. God esteems them at a high rate; He parted with His best jewel for them—Christ's precious blood was shed to ransom these jewels!
The saints are jewels for their adorning quality. Jewels adorn those who wear them. The saints are jewels which adorn the world. Their piety mixed with prudence honors the gospel. Hypocrites eclipse true religion and make it badly spoken of. The saints as jewels, render it illustrious by their sanctity.
God the Father has chosen these jewels, and set them apart for Himself!
Christ has bought these jewels with His blood!
The Holy Spirit has sanctified them. When they were a lump of sin—He made them into His jewels! He will string these pearls together—and put them into His celestial cabinet!
Bless God who has wrought such a change in you! From lumps of dirt and sin—He has made you into His jewels!~ ~ ~ ~
All the mysteries of providence!(Octavius Winslow, "Morning Thoughts") LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
"Now we see through a glass darkly (in a riddle), but then face to face;
now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known."
1 Corinthians 13:12
The position which the Christian shall occupy hereafter will be most favorable to a full and clear comprehension of all the mysteries of the earthly journey.
The "clouds and darkness," emblems in our history of obscurity and distress, which now envelope God's throne, and enshroud His government of the saints—will have passed away; the mist and fog will have vanished, and, breathing a purer atmosphere, and canopied by a brighter sky—the glorified saint will then see every object, circumstance, incident, and step, with an eye unobscured by a vapor, and unmoistened by a tear.
And what shall we know?
All the mysteries of providence!
Things which had made us greatly grieve—will then be seen to have been causes of the greatest joy.
Clouds of threatening, which appeared to us charged with the agent of destruction—will then unveil, and reveal the love which they embosomed and concealed.
Oh, what a perfect, harmonious, and glorious whole will all His doings in providence appear, from first to last—to the undimmed eye, the ravished gaze of His white-robed, palm-bearing Church!~ ~ ~ ~
You have but a little way to go!(Thomas Watson, "Body of Divinity") LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
"Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed." Romans 13:11
You are within a few days march of Heaven! Salvation is near to you.
Christians, it is but a little while, and . . . .
you will be done weeping and praying—and be triumphing!
You shall put off your mourning garments—and put on white robes!
You shall put off your battle armor—and put on a victorious crown!
You are almost ready to commence eternal glory!
When a man is almost at the end of a race—will he tire, or faint away? You have but a little way to go—and you will set your foot in Heaven! Though the way is up-hill and full of thorns; yet you have gone the greatest part of your way, and shortly shall rest from your labors!
"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom!" Luke 12:32~ ~ ~ ~
I am going to prepare a place for you!(John MacDuff, "The Words of Jesus") LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
"I am going to prepare a place for you! When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am." John 14:2-3
What a wondrous thought!
Jesus is now busied in Heaven in His people's behalf! He can find no abode in all His wide dominions, befitting as a permanent dwelling for His ransomed ones.
He says, "I will make a new heavens and a new earth. I will found a special kingdom. I will rear eternal mansions expressly for those I have redeemed with my blood!"
Orphaned pilgrims, dry your tears! Soon the sighs of a groaning and burdened creation will be heard no more. Soon He will come again, to receive those who followed Him in His cross, to be everlasting partakers with Him in His crown!
"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain!" Philippians 1:21
"I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far!" Philippians 1:23~ ~ ~ ~
They are all head, but no feet!
(Thomas Watson, "The Good Practitioner") LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
A sermon is never rightly heard, until it is practiced.
"If you know these things, happy are you if you do them." John 13:17
Christ does not put happiness upon knowing, but upon doing. It is not knowledge of the points of religion, but practice which renders a man truly happy and blessed.
Luke 6:46, "Why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and don't do the things I say?" It is not the mere knowledge and acceptance of the most glorious Gospel truths, which will bring a man to Heaven. If a man could fluently discourse on all Scriptural truths, if his head were a treasury of wisdom, an ocean of learning—yet this could not entitle him to happiness. His knowledge might make him admired by men, but not blessed by God. If a man knew and believed all the doctrines of Scripture, this would not crown him with happiness.
Knowledge is a fair garland to look upon; but it is like Rachael. Though she was beautiful, yet being barren she said, "Give me children or I die!" Just so, if knowledge does not bring forth the child of obedience, it will die and come to nothing.
I would by no means disparage knowledge. Knowledge is the pilot to guide us in our obedience. Yet knowledge must usher in obedience. Knowledge may put us into the way of happiness, but it is only practice which brings us there!
Knowledge alone, does not make a man better; therefore, it cannot make him happy and blessed. Bare knowledge has no influence—it does not leave a spiritual tincture of holiness behind. Knowledge informs, not transforms.
Knowledge, of itself, has no power upon the heart to make it more holy. Bare knowledge is like weak medicine, which does not work. It does not warm the affections nor purge the conscience. It does not fetch virtue from Christ to dry up the bloody issue of sin.
A man may receive the light of the truth, yet not love the truth, "They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved." 2 Thessalonians 2:10. The Apostle calls it "a form of knowledge," Romans 2:20. Knowledge alone is but a dead form, having nothing to animate it. He who has knowledge alone, is a spiritual stillborn! He looks like a Christian, but has neither appetite nor motion.
Knowledge alone, makes men monsters in religion! They are all head, but no feet! They do not walk in Christ, Colossians 2:6. A man may have Scriptural knowledge, and still be profane! He may have a clear head, and a foul heart! The understanding may be illumined, when the foot treads in unholy paths. If knowledge is divorced from practice, and does not make a man better—then it cannot make a man eternally happy and blessed.
If bare knowledge will save, then all who have knowledge shall be saved. But that is not true, for then Judas would be saved, for he had knowledge enough. Then the devil would be saved! A man may have right knowledge, and be no better than a devil! Hell is full of learned heads!
Knowledge alone, makes a man's case worse! Knowledge takes away all excuse. Knowledge adds to a man's torment. "Woe to you! I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you!" It will be better with heathen, than with professing Christians living in a contradiction to their knowledge. Luke 12:47, "The servant will be severely punished, for though he knew his duty, he refused to do it!"
Knowledge without practice, serves only as a torch to light men to Hell! The brighter the light, the hotter the fire!~ ~ ~ ~
Pilgrims and strangers!(Mary Winslow, "Life in Jesus") LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
We are hastening fast through time!
Time is short—and eternity, with all its solemn realities, is before us.
What is our life? How uncertain!
And yet is it not awfully true that poor wretched man rushes heedlessly on, thoughtless of what awaits him in an endless eternity? We are traveling fast through this wilderness world, and soon shall pass away.
Let us, then, feel more like pilgrims and strangers here. Let us not seek our rest where our precious Jesus had no place to lay His head.
Let us rejoice more in the prospect of that glorious inheritance prepared for us above, where He is, who has loved us unto the death.
Oh, for ten thousand worlds would I not have my portion here in this wilderness!
"They admitted that they were pilgrims and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own!" Hebrews 11:13-14
"Dear friends, I urge you, as pilgrims and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul!" 1 Peter 2:11~ ~ ~ ~
God's chastening rod!(Charles Simeon) LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
"Man is born to trouble, as surely as the sparks fly upward." But to those who have sincerely received the Gospel, there are consolations that bear them up above all their afflictions:They know from whence all their trials spring—even from the hand of God Himself!
They see their afflictions to be the fruit of their heavenly Father's love, sent for the production of the most gracious ends.
They feel within themselves the humbling, sanctifying efficacy of their afflictions.
They perceive that their trials are instrumental to the carrying on of God's work within them, and to the enhancing of that weight of glory which shall be granted to them at the last day.
They know that their afflictions, of whatever kind they are, "do not spring out of the ground!" Job 5:6
They understand that their trials are all appointed by God—in number, weight, measure, and duration.
If it is disease of body—it is God who inflicts the wound. If the trial comes from any other quarter—it still is God's chastening rod that strikes us, with a view to our spiritual good, "that we may be made partakers of His holiness."
They realize that "no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11
"Though now for a little while you may have had to suffer distress in all kinds of trials," God sees that there is "a needs be" for them. 1 Peter 1:6
Our trials, of whatever kind, are . . .
to humble us,
to purge away our dross,
to make us cleave more closely to our Savior,
and to fit us for our eternal rest!
To view them in this light will greatly compose our minds. Instead of murmuring against the Lord—we shall be thankful to Him. Instead of increasing our misery—our trials shall be a source of joy.
"Hear the rod and the One who appointed it!" Micah 6:9. There is no rod which has not a voice to us.
By putting us into His furnace, we shall be purged from our dross, and come out of it as vessels better fitted for His service! Malachi 3:2-3
Well therefore may the consideration of the end for which afflictions are sent, and of the benefit to be derived from them; reconcile us to the difficulty of them, and dispose us patiently to wait for the removal of them. Could Job have foreseen the outcome of his troubles, they would have been deprived of more than half their weight!
All of our afflictions, of whatever kind they are, will endure but a little time! The Apostle speaks of all, even the heaviest afflictions, as "light and momentary!"
"What is your life? You are but a mist that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away!" James 4:14. And when once this frail life is ended, there is an everlasting termination of all our sorrows! Every genuine believer enters immediately into "God's presence, where there is fullness of joy for evermore!"
Into that blissful world, nothing that is afflictive can ever enter to disturb their peace! "God will wipe every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever!" Revelation 21:4
How little will the transient clouds that once occasioned a momentary gloom be remembered, when our dwelling is forever fixed in the full splendor of the Sun of Righteousness. Surely we need not be much cast down at trials, however painful to flesh and blood—when we consider that their duration is but as the twinkling of an eye, and that they will so soon terminate in inconceivable and everlasting felicity!
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all!" 2 Corinthians 4:17~ ~ ~ ~
As though it had never been!
(Octavius Winslow, "Morning Thoughts") LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
Child of God, soon, oh, how soon! all that now loads your heart with care, and wrings it with sorrow; all that dims your eye with tears, and renders the day anxious and the night sleepless—will be as though it had never been!
Emerging from . . .
the entanglement,
the dreariness,
the solitude,
the loneliness and
the temptations
of the wilderness; you shall enter upon your everlasting rest—your unfading inheritance, where there is . . .
no sorrow,
no declension,
no sin,
no sunset,
no twilight,
no evening shadows,
no midnight darkness—
but all is one perfect, cloudless, eternal day; for Jesus is the joy, the light, and the glory thereof.
"They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away!" Isaiah 51:11
"For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their Shepherd; He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes!" Revelation 7:17~ ~ ~ ~
The moralist, the formalist, the worldling, and the sensualist!(Thomas Reade, "Christian Meditations") LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
"The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be." Romans 8:7
The enmity of the carnal mind is ever directed against the work of Christ.
The moralist, the formalist, the worldling, and the sensualist, are alike opposed to the humbling, purifying doctrines of the Cross!
Holiness is offensive to the unrenewed mind.
The more spiritual any religious exercise or book is—the more it is disliked. Give some truly scriptural volume to a lover of the world—and how will he receive it? After glancing his eyes over a few of its pages, he will lay it down with a contemptuous smile. He will pity the enthusiast who wrote it, and the enthusiast who admires it.
Give him some newly launched novel, some work replete with wit and humor, and he will devour its contents, even though it requires the midnight oil to finish it. Here, all his heart is engaged, all his passions are excited; imagination ads wings to his flight, and, soaring into the realms of fancy, into the fairy land of unreal life—he sinks into his slumbers, regardless whether he awakes in time or in eternity!
Luke 18:11-14
"The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner!'
"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
~ ~ ~ ~
When we eat an apple(John Newton) LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
Acts 17:11, "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."
Brethren, remember your exalted privilege—you have the Bible in your hands, and are not bound to follow books or preachers any farther than what they teach agrees with the Oracles of Truth. We have great reason to be thankful for the instructions and writings of spiritual men—but they are all fallible, even as ourselves. One is our master, even Christ—what He says, we are to receive implicitly. We do not owe implicit subjection to the best of our fellow-creatures. The Bereans were commended because they would not implicitly believe even the Apostle Paul, but searched the Scriptures to see whether the things which he taught were true. May the Lord give us a spirit of humility and discernment in all things.
When we eat an apple—we usually first cut out the blemishes, then eat what is good, and lastly throw the core away. Such a rule I would observe in reading human authors—the best may be defective, and the wisest may be mistaken. We are not only permitted, but enjoined, to call no man master!
2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."~ ~ ~ ~
These words which I command you today
(Alexander Smellie, "The Hour of Silence" 1899) LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
"These words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." Deuteronomy 6:6-9
It is well when the Word of God governs my personal life.
It should control my body with its members and passions.
It should solve the puzzling questions of my intellect.
It should allay the fears of my conscience.
It should fill my imagination with pure and inspiring pictures.
It should make my will the happy bond-servant of Christ.
It should satisfy the cravings of my heart for God's perfect and eternal love.
It is well when the Word of God governs my home life. When I teach it to the children, when I talk of it sitting in the house and walking along the way, lying down and rising up—I am giving them . . .
the sublimest theme for meditation,
the best rule of conduct,
the strongest safeguard against evil,
the passport to the family of the Lord, and the city of the eternal King.
I am rendering them the most noble service conceivable!
It is well when the Word of God governs my social life. Let it be written on the posts of my house and on my gates. Then my neighbors will know where I stand, and whom I serve. They will not come to me to talk gossip and scandal, and to whisper away the good name of others with idle tongues. They will not wish me to be a partner with them in any evil work. They will be drawn rather towards the Book and towards the Lord.
In my personal history,
in the relationships of my home,
in my social fellowship—
may God rule through His Word, with an undisputed scepter and a gracious tyranny!
Hebrews 4:12, "For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart!"
Job 23:12, "I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread!"
Jeremiah 15:16, "When Your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight!"~ ~ ~ ~
Amusements, pleasures and gaieties of the world
(John Abbott, "The Christian Mother") LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
It is not necessary for us to search for happiness in dangerous and forbidden paths. The young, inexperienced in the dangers of the world, often wonder why their pious parents are so unwilling that they should acquire a fondness for worldly amusements—which appear so innocent and pleasing to their youthful hearts.
Parents! Cultivate in your children a taste for pure and noble pleasures—instead of a love of worldly gaiety. Pure and noble pleasures last. They wear well. They leave no sting behind. The pleasures of worldliness and gaiety do not wear well. They exhaust the powers of body and mind, and all the capacities of enjoyment, prematurely—and leave a sting behind. That is the reason why the Word of God condemns them—and why Christians abstain from them.
He who acquires a taste for the amusements, pleasures and gaieties of the world—will find his earthly happiness greatly impaired, and will be exposed to temptations which will greatly endanger his eternal well-being.
These worldly amusements are all of the same general character—leading to peculiar temptations. They all tend to destroy the taste for those quiet, domestic enjoyments, which, when cultivated, grow brighter and brighter every year—and which confer increasing solace and joy when youth has fled—and old age, and sickness, and misfortune come. Christian parents endeavor to guard their children against acquiring a taste for these worldly pleasures, because they foresee that these amusements will, in the end, disappoint them—and they can lead them in a safer path, and one infinitely more promotive of their happiness!
The true Christian has experienced the folly of a life of worldly pleasure. There are thousands who were once the devotees of worldly gaiety; and they will tell you, that, since they have abandoned their former pursuits, and sought happiness in different objects, and cultivated a taste for different pleasures—they have found peace and satisfaction which they never knew before—and they have no more disposition to turn back to these gaieties, than they have to resume the rattles of babyhood!