Grace Gems for January 2006

Grace Gems for January 2006 It was not the nails! (J. C. Philpot) "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Mark 15:34 It was not the nails driven through His hands and feet; it was not the crown of thorns placed upon His brow; it was not the stripes which mangled His back; it was not the languor and faintness under which He suffered--which caused the Lord to die. It was not the mere bodily agony of the cross; it was not the mere pain, though most acute and severe, of the nails driven through His sacred hands and feet. It was not the being stretched upon the cross six hours that constituted the chief part of the Redeemer's suffering. But it was the almost intolerable load of imputed sin--the imputed sins of millions. It was the tremendous pouring of the wrath of God into His holy soul; it was the hiding of His Father's face, and the very pangs of hell that there caught hold of Him. Our suffering Savior drank the cup of the wrath of God to the very dregs--when our vile, dreadful, and horrible sins were laid upon Him! "Yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted." Isaiah 53:4 "Yet it pleased the Lord to crush Him, and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes His soul an offering for sin . . ." Isaiah 53:10 Wave upon wave of grace (A Puritan Prayer) O God of grace, Teach me to know that grace precedes, accompanies, and follows my salvation; that it sustains the redeemed soul, that not one link of its chain can ever break! From Calvary's cross, wave upon wave of grace . . . reaches me, deals with my sin, washes me clean, renews my heart, strengthens my will, draws out my affection, kindles a flame in my soul, rules throughout my inner man, consecrates my every thought, word, work, teaches me Your immeasurable love. How great are my privileges in Christ Jesus! Without Him I stand far off, a stranger, an outcast. In Him I draw near and touch His kingly scepter! Without Him I dare not lift up my guilty eyes. In Him I gaze upon my Father-God and friend! Without Him I hide my lips in trembling shame. In Him I open my mouth in petition and praise! Without Him all is wrath and consuming fire. In Him is all love, and the repose of my soul! Without Him is gaping hell below me, and eternal anguish. In Him its gates are barred to me by His precious blood! Without Him darkness spreads its horrors before me. In Him an eternity of glory is my boundless horizon! Without Him all within me is terror and dismay. In Him every accusation is charmed into joy and peace! Praise be to You for grace, and for the unspeakable gift of Jesus! "By the grace of God I am what I am!" 1 Cor. 15:10 Every new trial, and every fresh cross (Mary Winslow) Every new trial, and every fresh cross, drives me into the very bosom of Jesus; and it seems as if I could lie there, and feel the very throbbings of His loving heart. I am His, and in His own loving hands, and can fully trust Him for all. In the cup of trial we are called to drink, there is no wrath--all is love, though faith may be tried, and we may for a season weep. Whatever draws or drives us to Christ is a mighty blessing. How needful are these high winds and storms to cause us to cling to our heavenly Pilot, and to speed our way to our blessed harbor of eternal rest! Like a passing scene in a drama! (Archibald Alexander, 1772-1851) Let the worldlings have the world, and make the most of it! I will never envy their prosperity, for it is but for a moment, and then, like a passing scene in a drama, disappears forever! Their feet stand on slippery places, and in due time their steps will slide! And then, all their music, their mirth, and their wine will cease forever! And when they sink, they will rise no more. They plunge into a horrible abyss, where no ray of hope ever enters! Oh, their end, their dreadful end! "Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay. In time their foot will slip, for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly!" Deuteronomy 32:35 Guilt, filth, power, love and practice (J. C. Philpot) "Arise, Lord! Save me, my God!" (Psalm 3:7) If you know anything for yourself inwardly and experimentally of . . . the evils of your heart, the power of sin, the strength of temptation, the subtlety of your unwearied foe, and that daily conflict between nature and grace, the flesh and the spirit, which is the peculiar mark of the living family of God--you will find and feel your need of salvation as a daily reality! Do not think that the only salvation to be felt and known is salvation past--salvation accomplished by the blood-shedding and death of the Son of God. There is salvation present--an inward, experimental, and continual salvation communicated out of the fullness of Christ as a risen Mediator. Don't you need to be daily and almost hourly saved? But from what? Why, from everything in you that fights against the will and word of God. Sin is not dead in you. You ar not free from the indwelling of sin, nor from the power of sin either--except as grace gives you present deliverance from it. Sin still works in your carnal mind, and will work in it until your dying hour. What then you need to be saved from is the guilt, filth, power, love and practice of indwelling sin. "Hold me up, and I shall be safe!" (Psalm 119:117) Lead me to the cross (A Puritan Prayer) O Holy Spirit, Have mercy on me. Move, I beg You, upon my disordered heart. Take away the infirmities of unruly desires and hateful lusts. Lift the mists and darkness of unbelief. Brighten my soul with the pure light of truth. Make my soul . . . as fragrant as the garden of paradise, rich with every goodly fruit, beautiful with heavenly grace, radiant with rays of divine light. Be my comforter, light, guide, sanctifier. Take of the things of Christ and show them to my soul. Teach me more of His . . . love, grace, compassion, faithfulness, beauty. Lead me to the cross and show me . . . His wounds, the hateful nature of sin, the power of Satan. May I there see my sins as . . . the nails which transfixed Him, the cords which bound Him, the thorns which tore Him, the sword which pierced Him. Help me to see in His death, the reality and immensity of His love. Increase my faith in the clear knowledge of . . . atonement achieved, expiation completed, satisfaction for sin made, guilt done away. It is their Father's hand which chastens them! (J. C. Ryle, "The Blood of the Lamb") God lays heavy trials upon His children for the most wise and merciful purposes. We live in such a fair and pleasant world, we are so surrounded with so much that is smiling and mirthful, that if we were not often obliged to taste of sickness and trial or disappointments, we would forget our heavenly home--and pitch our tents in this Sodom! This is why God's people pass through great tribulations. This is why they are often called upon to suffer the sting of affliction and anxiety--or weep over the grave of those on whom our affections are set. It is their Father's hand which chastens them! It is thus He weans their affections from things below--and fixes them on Himself! It is thus He trains them for eternity, and cuts the threads one by one, which bind their wavering hearts to earth! No doubt such chastening is grievous for the time--but still it brings many a hidden grace to light, and cuts down many a secret seed of evil. We shall see those who have suffered most, shining among the brightest stars in the assembly of heaven. The purest gold is that which has been longest in the refiner's furnace! The brightest diamond is often that which has required the most grinding and polishing! "For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory!" (2 Corinthians 4:17) They are all really worthless! (J. C. Ryle, "Profit and Loss") What shall I say of the things of this world, which people appear to think so valuable-- money, houses, land, clothes, fine food and drink, learning, honors, titles, pleasures, amusements, and the like? I say that they are all really worthless! What I mean is this, that if you suppose they are in themselves able to make you really happy--you are woefully deceived! If any person could have just as much as he wished of every earthly good thing--he would still find in a very short time that he was not one whit happier than before! I dare say you think I am mistaken—but let me tell you that many a rich man has tried the experiment, and can bear witness that the case is so! Many a one could tell you that he seeks out everything which money can purchase, he passes his life in a constant round of amusement and excitement, going from one pleasure to another. And yet he must confess that happiness and peace of mind have been like a shadow--always before his eyes but never within his grasp! I say that all the things of the world are perishable! Surely, dear friends, this cannot require any evidence. You must have seen with your own eyes that none of the things I have mentioned are sure, lasting, permanent, incorruptible, and to be depended on! Money and property may be lost! Health may fail! Friends may be deceitful! And unless we can make a covenant with death and hell, we ourselves may suddenly be cut off in the midst of our days--and hurried to our final judgment! "Why waste your money on what really isn't food? Why work hard for something that doesn't satisfy?" Isaiah 55:2 "The world and its evil desires are passing away! But the person who does God's will lives forever!" 1 John 2:17 I know everything about every one of them! (J. C. Ryle, "The Privileges of the True Christian") "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." (John 10:27) The Lord Jesus Christ says of His sheep who hear His voice and follow Him, "I know them." I know . . . their number, their names, their particular characters, their besetting sins, their troubles, their trials, their temptations, their doubts, their prayers, their private meditations. I know everything about every one of them! Be comforted, all you who are tried and buffeted with difficulties in your way towards heaven, difficulties from without and difficulties from within, difficulties abroad and difficulties at home, grief for your own sins and grief for the sins of others--the Good Shepherd Jesus knows you well, though you may not realize it. You never shed a secret tear over your own corruption, you never breathed a single prayer for forgiveness and helping grace, you never made a single struggle against wickedness--which He did not observe and note down in the book of His remembrance. You need not fear His not understanding your needs. He knows your particular necessities far better than you do yourselves. Your humble prayers are no sooner offered up than heard. You may sometimes sigh and mourn for lack of Christian fellowship--but remember that the Good Shepherd is ever about your path and about your bed. His eyes are on all your movements. No husband, brother, father, mother, sister, friend, could take more tender interest in your soul's welfare than He does. If you sorrow He will bind up your broken heart and pour in balm. He is ever watching and observing and listening. The Good Shepherd is acquainted with all your ways. A new existence (J. C. Ryle) "Truly, truly, I say to you--Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3 To be born again is, as it were, to enter upon a new existence, to have . . . a new mind, a new heart, new views, new principles, new tastes, new affections, new likings, new dislikings, new fears, new joys, new sorrows, new love to things once hated, new hatred to things once loved, new thoughts of God, and ourselves, and the world, and the life to come, and salvation. He who has been born again, is a new man, a new creature, for old things are passed away. He receives a new bias and direction. All things have become new! It is the implanting of a new principle which will surely bear good fruit. It is . . . opening the eyes of the blind; unstopping the ears of the deaf; loosing the tongue of the dumb; giving hands and feet to the maimed and lame. "You must be born again."

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Grace Gems for January 2006

Grace Gems

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