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ALL OF "GRACE GEMS" FROM DECEMBER 2003

By Grace Gems
ALL OF "GRACE GEMS" FROM DECEMBER 2003 IN ONE FILE Some beloved idol? (J. C. Philpot, "Spiritual Times and Seasons" 1841) "Because the whole land is filled with idols, and the people are madly in love with them." Jeremiah 50:38 Have we not all in our various ways, set up some beloved idol . . . something which engaged our affections, something which occupied our thoughts, something to which we devoted all the energies of our minds, something for which we were willing to labor night and day? Be it money, be it power, be it esteem of men, be it respectability, be it worldly comfort, be it literary knowledge, there was a secret setting up of SELF in one or more of its various forms, and a bowing down to it as an idol. The man of business makes money his god. The man of pleasure makes the lust of the flesh his god. The proud man makes his adored SELF his god. The Pharisee makes self-righteousness his god. The Arminian makes free-will his god. The Calvinist makes dry doctrine his god. All in one way or other, however they may differ in the object of their idolatrous worship, agree in this: that they give a preference in their esteem and affection to their peculiar idol, above the one true God. "Idols will be utterly abolished and destroyed." Isaiah 2:18 There is, then, a time to break down these idols which our fallen nature has set up. And have not we experienced some measure of this breaking down, both externally and internally? Have not our idols been in a measure smashed before our eyes, our prospects in life cut up and destroyed, our airy visions of earthly happiness and our romantic paradises dissolved into thin air, our creature-hopes dashed, our youthful affections blighted, and the objects from which we had fondly hoped to reap an enduring harvest of delight removed from our eyes? And likewise, as to our religion . . . our good opinion of ourselves, our piety and holiness, our wisdom and our knowledge, our understanding and our abilities, our consistency and uprightness; have they not all been broken down, and made a heap of ruins before our eyes? That monstrous creature within us! (J. C. Philpot, "Spiritual Times and Seasons" 1841) "I abhor the pride of Jacob." Amos 6:8 O cursed pride, that is ever lifting up its head in our hearts! Pride would even pull down God that it might sit upon His throne. Pride would trample under foot the holiest things to exalt itself! Pride is that monstrous creature within us, of such ravenous and indiscriminate gluttony, that the more it devours, the more it craves! Pride is that chameleon which assumes every color; that actor which can play every part; and yet which is faithful to no one object or purpose, but to exalt and glorify self! "I will put an end to the pride of the mighty." "God will bring down their pride." (Ezek. 7:24, Isaiah 25:11) God means to kill man's pride! And oh, what cutting weapons the Lord will sometimes make use of to kill a man's pride! How He will bring him sometimes into the depths of temporal poverty, that He may make a stab at his worldly pride! How He will bring to light the iniquities of his youth, that He may mortify his self-righteous pride! How He will allow sin to break forth, if not openly, yet so powerfully within, that piercing convictions shall kill his spiritual pride! And what deep discoveries of internal corruption will the Lord sometimes employ, to dig down to the root, and cut off the core of that poisonous tree, pride! The Searcher of hearts dissects and anatomizes this inbred evil, cuts down to it through the quivering and bleeding flesh, and pursues with His keen knife its multiplied windings and ramifications. "The day is coming when your pride will be brought low and the Lord alone will be exalted." Isaiah 2:11 "The arrogance of all people will be brought low. Their pride will lie in the dust. The Lord alone will be exalted!" Isaiah 2:17 "The Lord Almighty has done it to destroy your pride and show His contempt for all human greatness." Isaiah 23:9 Salvation (J. C. Philpot, "The Accuser of the Brethren) And they were shouting with a mighty shout, "Salvation comes from our God on the throne and from the Lamb!" Revelation 7:10 The sweetest song that heaven ever proclaimed, the most blessed note that ever melted the soul, is salvation. Saved FROM . . . death and hell; the worm which never dies; the fire which is never quenched; the sulphurous flames of the bottomless pit; the companionship of tormenting fiends and all the foul wretches under which earth has groaned; blaspheming God in unutterable woe; an eternity of misery without end or hope! Saved INTO . . . heaven; the sight of Jesus as He is; perfect holiness and happiness; the blissful company of holy angels and glorified saints; and all this during the countless ages of a blessed eternity! What tongue of men or angels can describe the millionth part of what is contained in the word salvation? The best of men are only men at their very best (J. C. Ryle, "The Gospel of Matthew" 1856) While He was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!" Matthew 17:5 Let us see in these words a striking lesson to the whole Church of Christ. There is a constant tendency in human nature to "hear man" . . . bishops, priests, deacons, popes, cardinals, councils, preachers, and ministers, are continually exalted to a place which God never intended them to fill, and made practically to usurp the honor of Christ. Against this tendency let us all watch, and be on our guard. Let these solemn words of the vision ever ring in our ears, "Listen to Christ!" The best of men are only men at their very best . . . patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, church fathers, reformers, puritans; all, all are sinners, who need a Savior. They may be holy, useful, honorable in their place; but they are sinners after all. They must never be allowed to stand between us and Christ. He alone is the Son, in whom the Father is well pleased. He alone is sealed and appointed to give the bread of life. He alone "hold the keys of death and the grave" in His hands. Let us take heed that we hear His voice, and follow Him. Let us value all religious teaching just in proportion as it leads us to Jesus. The sum and substance of saving religion is to "listen to Christ!" The soul's natural element (J. C. Philpot, "What Is It That Saves a Soul?") Before the soul can know anything about salvation, it must learn deeply and experimentally the nature of sin, and of itself, as stained and polluted by sin. It is proud, and needs to be humbled. It is careless, and needs to be awakened. It is alive, and needs to be killed. It is full, and requires to be emptied. It is whole, and needs to be wounded. It is clothed, and requires to be stripped. The soul is, by nature . . . self-righteous; self-seeking; buried deep in worldliness and carnality; utterly blind and ignorant; filled with . . . presumption, arrogance, conceit and enmity; hateful to all that is heavenly and spiritual. Sin, in all its various forms, is the soul's natural element. Some of the features of the unregenerate nature of man are . . . covetousness, lust, worldly pleasure, desire of the praise of men, an insatiable thirst after self-advancement, a complete abandonment to all that can please and gratify every new desire of the heart, an utter contempt and abhorrence of everything that restrains or defeats its mad pursuit of what it loves. Education, moral restraints, or the force of habit, may restrain the outbreaking of inward corruption, and dam back the mighty stream of indwelling sin, so that it shall not burst all its bounds, and desolate the land. But no moral check can alter human nature. A chained tiger is a tiger still. "The Ethiopian cannot change his skin, nor the leopard his spots." To make man the direct contrary of what he originally is; to make him . . . love God instead of hating Him; fear God, instead of mocking Him; obey God, instead of rebelling against Him; to do this mighty work, and to effect this wonderful change, requires the implantation of a new nature by the immediate hand of God Himself. Natural light, natural love, natural faith, natural obedience, in a word, all natural religion, is here useless and ineffectual. Godly sorrow (J. C. Philpot, "What Is It That Saves a Soul?") Godly sorrow springs from a view of a suffering Savior, and manifests itself by . . . hatred of self, abhorrence of sin, groaning over our backslidings, grief of soul for being so often entangled by our lusts and passions, and is accompanied by . . . softness, meltings of heart, flowings of love to the Redeemer, indignation against ourselves, and earnest desires never to sin more. But our coward flesh shrinks from them! (J. C. Philpot, "The Afflicted Remnant" 1845) "I have refined you but not in the way silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering." Isaiah 48:10 What benefit is there in afflictions? Does God send them without an object in view? Do they come merely, as the men of the world think, by chance? No! There is benefit intended by them. The branch cannot bear fruit unless it be pruned. The love of sin cannot be cast out; the soul cannot be meekened, humbled, softened, and made contrite; the world cannot be embittered; the things of time and sense cannot be stripped of their false hue and their magic appearance--except through affliction. Our greatest blessings usually spring from our greatest afflictions--they prepare the heart to receive them; they empty the vessel of the poisonous ingredients which have filled it, and fit it to receive gospel wine and milk. To be without . . . these afflictions, these griefs, these trials, these temptations, is to write ourselves destitute of grace. But our coward flesh shrinks from them! We are willing to walk to heaven; but not to walk there in God's way. Though we see in the Scripture that the path to glory is a rough and rugged way; yet when our feet are planted in that painful and trying path, we shrink back; our coward flesh refuses to walk in that road. God therefore, as a sovereign, brings those afflictions upon us which He sees most fit for our profit and His glory, without ever consulting us, without ever allowing us a choice in the matter. And He will generally cause our afflictions to come from the most unexpected source, and in a way most cutting to our feelings--in the way that of all others we would least have chosen--and yet in a way which of all others, is most for our profit. God deals with us like a surgeon dealing with a diseased organ. How painful the operation! How deep the knife cuts! How long it may be before the wound is healed! Yet every stroke of the knife is indispensable! A skillful and faithful surgeon would not do his duty if he did not dissect it to the very bottom. As pain before healing is necessary, and must be produced by the knife; so spiritually, we must be wounded and cut in our souls, as long, and as deeply as God sees needful, that in His own time we may receive the consolation. Do the afflictions we pass through humble us? Do they deaden the love of the world in our hearts? Do they purge out hypocrisy? Do they bring us more earnestly to the throne of grace? Do they discover to us sins that we have not before seen? Do they penetrate into our very hearts? Do they lay bare the corrupt fountain that we carry within us? Do they search and test us before a heart-searching God? Do they meeken and soften our spirit? "I have refined you but not in the way silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering." Isaiah 48:10 The filthy holes and puddles in which it grovels (Joseph Philpot, "Daily Words for Zion's Wayfarers") "The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?" Jerem. 17:9 The sin of our fallen nature is a very mysterious thing. We read of "the mystery of iniquity". Sin has depths which no human plumbline ever fathomed, and lengths which no mortal measuring line ever yet measured out. Thus the way in which sin sometimes seems to sleep; and at other times to awake with renewed strength; its active, irritable, impatient, restless nature; the many shapes and colors it wears; the filthy holes and puddles in which it grovels; the corners into which it creeps; its deceitfulness; its hypocrisy; its craftiness; its persuasiveness; its intense selfishness; its utter recklessness; its desperate madness; its insatiable greediness; are secrets, painful secrets, only learned by bitter experience. "The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?" Jerem. 17:9 The Lord's secret power in our souls? (J. C. Philpot, "Power Given to the Faint", 1845) "He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; and increases strength to the weak." Is. 40:29 The Lord's people are often in the state that they have no might. All their power seems exhausted, and their strength completely drained away; sin appears to have gotten the mastery over them; and they feel as if they had neither will nor ability to run the race set before them, or persevere in the way of the Lord. Now what has kept us to this day? Some of you have made a profession ten, twenty, thirty, or forty years. What has kept us? When powerful temptations were spread for our feet, what preserved us from falling headlong into them? When we felt the workings of strong lusts, what kept us from being altogether carried captive by them? When we look at the difficulties of the way, the perplexities which our souls have had to grapple with, the persecutions and hard blows from sinners and saints that we have had to encounter--what has still kept in us a desire to fear God, and a heart in some measure tender before Him? When we view the . . . infidelity, unbelief, carnality, worldly-mindedness, hypocrisy, pride, and presumption of our fallen nature, what has kept us still . . . believing, hoping, loving, longing, and looking to the Lord? When we think of our . . . deadness, coldness, torpidity, rebelliousness, perverseness, love to evil, aversion to good, and all the abounding corruptions of our nature, what has kept us from giving up the very profession of religion, and swimming down the powerful current that has so long and so often threatened to sweep us utterly from the Lord? Is it not the putting forth of the Lord's secret power in our souls? Can we not look back, and recall to mind our first religious companions; those with whom we started in the race; those whom we perhaps envied for their greater piety, zeal, holiness, and earnestness; and with which we painfully contrasted our own sluggishness and carnality; admiring them, and condemning ourselves? Where are they all, or the greater part of them? Some have embraced soul-destroying errors; others are buried in a worldly religious system; and others are wrapped up in delusion and fleshly confidence. Thus, while most have fallen into the snares of the devil; God, by putting forth His secret power in the hearts of His fainting ones, keeps His fear alive in their souls; holds up their goings in His paths that their footsteps slip not; brings them out of all their temptations and troubles; delivers them from every evil work; and preserves them unto His heavenly kingdom. He thus secures the salvation of His people by His own free grace. How sweet and precious it is . . . to have our strength renewed; to have fresh grace brought into the heart; to feel the mysterious sensations of renovated life; to feel the everlasting arms supporting the soul . . . fighting our battles for us, subduing our enemies, overcoming our lusts, breaking our snares, and delivering us out of our temptations! The worldling's happiness (Mary Winslow) I have been thinking of the worldling's happiness . . . it never satisfies; it affords no real enjoyment; it does not reach the soul. Ten thousand worlds could not satisfy me, now that I have tasted the unspeakably precious love of Christ! God's house? (J. C. Philpot, "Servants and Sons" 1841) In the New Testament Scriptures, we find mention made in several places of "the house of the God." The New Testament never, in any one instance, means, by "the house of God," any material building. It has come to pass, through the traditions received from the fathers, that . . . buildings erected by man, collections of bricks and mortar, piles of squared and cemented stones, are often called "the house of God." In ancient Popish times they invested a consecrated building with the title of "God's house", thus endeavoring to make it appear as though it were a holy place in which God specially dwelt. They thus drew off the minds of the people from any internal communion with God, and possessed them with the idea that He was only to be found in some holy spot, consecrated and sanctified by rites and ceremonies. The same leaven of the Pharisees has infected the Church of England; and thus she calls her consecrated buildings, her piles of stone and cement, "churches," and "houses of God." And even those who profess a purer faith, who dissent from her unscriptural forms, have learned to adopt the same carnal language, and even they, through a misunderstanding of what "the house of God" really is, will call such a building as we are assembled in this morning, "the house of God." How frequently does the expression drop from the pulpit, and how continually is it heard at the prayer meeting, "coming up to the house of God," as though any building now erected by human hands could be called the house of the living God. It arises from a misunderstanding of the Scriptures, and is much fostered by that priestcraft which is in the human heart, inciting us to believe that God is to be found only in certain buildings set apart for His service. + + + + + + + + + + + + + New Testament believers met in HOMES. " . . . the church that meets in their home." Romans 16 " . . . who gather in their home for church meetings." 1 Cor. 16:19 " . . . the church in her house." Col. 4:15 " . . . the church that meets in your house." Philemon 1:2 When the Holy Spirit preaches the gospel (J. C. Philpot) We often know the theory of the gospel, before we know the experience of the gospel. We often receive the doctrines of grace into our judgment, before we receive the grace of the doctrines into our soul. We therefore need to be . . . brought down, humbled, tried, stripped of every prop; that the gospel may be to us . . . more than a sound, more than a name, more than a theory, more than a doctrine, more than a system, more than a creed; that it may be . . . soul enjoyment, soul blessing, and soul salvation. When the Holy Spirit preaches the gospel to the poor in spirit, the humbled, stripped, and tried--it is a gospel of glad tidings indeed to the sinner's broken heart. The cry of weary, care worn humanity (John MacDuff, "Hospice of the Pilgrim" 1891) "Oh, where can rest be found?" This is the cry of weary, care worn humanity. This is the cry embracing every nation and every climate, from the yearnings of heathendom to the longings and aspirations of the present hour. >From the tumultuous sea of the world's unrest, this cry has gone up like a dirge of baffled souls, "Oh, where can rest be found?" "Come unto me," is the address of many siren voices, titillating tones of questionable or forbidden pleasure, leading only to . . . unrest, disquiet, heart weariness, life failure; tinted soap bubbles with a momentary iridescence, then collapsing. The existence of many is a pursuit after spurious and counterfeit rest, misnamed happiness; an aimless, vapid life of pleasure; engrossed with objects which bring with them no sense of satisfaction; a dull, weary round on the world's monotonous treadmill. Some strive to find rest through the gateway of ethical systems and philosophic tenets. Others, through the gateway of human merit. Others through . . . ceremonial observances, fasts and vigils, penances and pilgrimages, rites and ceremonies, creeds and dogmas. These, and such as these, are alike spurious and unavailing. "Oh, where can rest be found?" "Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28 We get entangled with some idol (J. C. Philpot) Wherever the grace of God is, it constrains its partaker to desire to live to His honor and glory. But he soon finds the difficulty of so doing. Such is . . . the weakness of the flesh, the power of sin, the subtlety of Satan, the strength of temptation, and the snares spread on every side for our feet, that we can neither do what we want, nor be what we want. Before we are well aware, we get entangled with some idol, or drawn aside into some indulgence of the flesh, which brings darkness into the mind, and may cut us out some bitter work for the rest of our days. But we thus learn not only the weakness of the flesh, but where and in whom all our strength lies. And as the grace of the Lord Jesus, in its suitability, in its sufficiency and its super-aboundings, becomes manifested in and by the weakness of the flesh; a sense of His wondrous love and care in so bearing with us, in so pitying our case, and manifesting mercy where we might justly expect wrath, constrains us with a holy obligation to walk in His fear and to live to His praise. The sins and slips of the saints? (J. C. Philpot) The Scriptures faithfully record the falls of believers . . . the drunkenness of Noah, the incest of Lot, the unbelief of Abraham, the peevishness of Moses, the adultery of David, the idolatry of Solomon, the pride of Hezekiah, the cowardice of Mark and the cursing and swearing of Peter. But why has the Holy Spirit left on record the sins and slips of the saints? First, that it might teach us that they were saved by grace as poor, lost, and ruined sinners; in the same way as we hope to be saved. Secondly, that their slips and falls might be so many beacons and warnings, to guard the people of God against being overtaken by the same sins; as the apostle speaks, "All these events happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us." And thirdly, that the people of God, should they be overtaken by sin, might not be cast into despair; but that from seeing recorded in the Scripture the slips and failings of the saints of old, they might be lifted up from their despondency, and brought once more to hope in the Lord. Cain, Esau, Saul, Ahab, Judas (J. C. Philpot) "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." 2 Cor. 7:10 These two kinds of repentance are to be carefully distinguished from each other; though they are often sadly confounded. Cain, Esau, Saul, Ahab, Judas, all repented. But their repentance was the remorse of natural conscience, not the godly sorrow of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. They trembled before God as an angry Judge, but were not melted into contrition before Him as a forgiving Father. They neither hated their sins nor forsook them. They neither loved holiness nor sought it. Cain went out from the presence of the Lord. Esau plotted Jacob's death. Saul consulted the witch of Endor. Ahab put honest Micaiah into prison. Judas hanged himself. How different from this forced and false repentance of a reprobate, is the repentance of a child of God; that true repentance for sin, that godly sorrow, that holy mourning which flows from the Spirit's gracious operations! Godly sorrow does not spring from a sense of the wrath of God in a broken law, but from His mercy in a blessed gospel; from a view by faith of the sufferings of Christ in the garden and on the cross; from a manifestation of pardoning love; and is always attended with self-loathing and self-abhorrence; with deep and unreserved confession of sin and forsaking it; with most hearty, sincere and earnest petitions to be kept from all evil; and a holy longing to live to the praise and glory of God. Here, and here alone (J. C. Philpot) Standing then at the cross of our adorable Lord, we may see . . . the law thoroughly fulfilled, its curse fully endured, its penalties wholly removed, sin eternally put away, the justice of God amply satisfied, all His perfections gloriously harmonized, reconciliation completely effected, redemption graciously accomplished, and the church everlastingly saved. Here, and here alone, we see sin in its blackest colors, and holiness in its most attractive beauties. Here, and here alone, we see the love of God in its tenderest form, and the anger of God in its deepest expression. Here, and here alone, we see the eternal and unalterable displeasure of the Almighty against sin, and the rigid demands of His inflexible justice, and yet the tender compassion and boundless love of His heart to the election of grace. Here, and here alone, are obtained pardon and peace. Here, and here alone, penitential grief and godly sorrow flow from heart and eyes. Here, and here alone, is . . . sin subdued and mortified, holiness communicated, death vanquished, Satan put to flight, and happiness and heaven begun in the soul. What a holy meeting-place for repenting sinners and a sin-pardoning God! What a healing-place for guilty, yet repenting and returning backsliders! What a door of hope in the valley of Achor for the self-condemned and self-abhorred! What a safe spot for seeking souls! And what a blessed resorting-place for the whole family of grace in this valley of grief and sorrow. Experimental knowledge (J. C. Philpot, "Letters & Memoirs" 1840) "Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent." John 17:3 An experimental knowledge of Christ in the soul, is the only relief for sin's . . . poverty, guilt, leprosy, bankruptcy, and damnation. This is the true way of preaching Christ crucified; not the mere doctrine of the Cross, but a crucified Jesus experimentally known to the soul. I am deeply conscious of my own . . . baseness, ignorance, blindness and folly. But my malady is too deeply rooted to be healed by dry doctrines and speculative theological opinions. The blood of the Lamb, spiritually and supernaturally sprinkled and applied, is the only healing balm for a sin-sick soul. It was His own love that fastened Him there! (Octavius Winslow, "Morning Thoughts") "Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to Him." John 18:4 His voluntariness was not founded on ignorance. He well knew what the covenant of redemption involved; what stern justice demanded. The entire scene of His humiliation was before Him, in all its dark and somber hues . . . the manger, the bloodthirsty king, the scorn and ridicule of His countrymen, the unbelief of His own kinsmen, the mental agony of Gethsemane, the bloody sweat, the bitter cup, the waywardness of His disciples, the betrayal of one, the denial of another, the forsaking of all, the mock trial, the purple robe, the crown of thorns, the infuriated cries, "Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him, crucify Him!" the heavy cross, the painful crucifixion, the cruel taunts, the vinegar and the gall, the hidings of His Father's countenance, the concentrated horrors of the curse, the last cry of anguish, the falling of the head, the giving up the spirit; all, all was before the omniscient mind of the Son of God, with vividness equal to its reality. And yet He willingly rushed to the rescue of ruined man! He voluntarily, though He knew the price of pardon was His blood, gave Himself up thus to the bitter, bitter agony. And did He regret that He had undertaken the work? Never! Every step He took from Bethlehem to Calvary did but unfold the willingness of Jesus to die. Oh, how amazing was the love of Jesus! This, this was the secret why He did not spare His own life. He loved sinners too well. He loved us better than Himself. With all our sinfulness, guilt, wretchedness, and poverty; He yet loved us so much as to give Himself an offering and sacrifice unto God for us. Here was the springhead where these streams of mercy flowed from. This was the gushing fountain that was opened when He died. And when they taunted Him and said, "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself," oh, what a reply did His silence give, "I came not to save Myself, but My people. I hang here, not for My own sins, but for theirs. I could save Myself, but I came to give My life a ransom for many." They thought the nails alone kept Him to the cross. He knew it was His own love that fastened Him there! Behold the strength of Immanuel's love! Come, fall prostrate, adore and worship Him! Oh, what love was His! Oh the depth! Do not content not yourself with standing upon the shore of this ocean; enter into it, drink largely from it. It is for you, if you but feel . . . your nothingness, your poverty, your vileness; this ocean is for you! It is not for angels, it is for men. It is not for the righteous, but for sinners. Then drink to the full from the love of Jesus. Do not be satisfied with small supplies. Take a large vessel to the fountain. The larger the demand, the larger the supply. The more needy, the more welcome. The more vile, the more fit. Friend, can you understand my riddle? (J. C. Philpot, "Letters & Memoirs") I find that sin has such power over me, that though I call on the Lord again and again for deliverance, I seem to be as weak as ever when temptation comes. If a window were placed in my bosom, what filth and vileness would be seen by all. "O you hideous monster sin, What a curse, have you brought in!" I love it; I hate it. I want to be delivered from the power of it; and yet am not satisfied without drinking down its poisoned sweets. Sin is my hourly companion; and my daily curse. Sin is the breath of my mouth; and the cause of my groans. Sin is my incentive to prayer; and my hinderer of it. Sin made my Savior suffer; and makes my Savior precious. Sin spoils every pleasure; and adds a sting to every pain. Sin fits a soul for heaven; and ripens a soul for hell. Friend, can you understand my riddle? Is your heart, as my heart? Alas! Alas! We feel sin's power daily and hourly. We sigh and groan at times, to be delivered from the giant strength of our corruptions, which seem to carry us captive at their will. Though sin is a sweet morsel to our carnal mind, it grieves our soul. I am sure I must be a monument of grace and mercy, if saved from the guilt, curse, and power of sin! Romans 7:18-25 "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do; this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin." Wilt Thou pursue Thy worm to death? (by John Newton) I asked the Lord that I might grow In faith, and love, and every grace; Might more of His salvation know, And seek more earnestly His face. 'Twas He who taught me thus to pray, And He, I trust, has answered prayer; But it has been in such a way, As almost drove me to despair. I hoped that in some favored hour, At once He'd answer my request; And, by His love's constraining power, Subdue my sins, and give me rest. Instead of this, He made me feel The hidden evils of my heart, And let the angry powers of hell, Assault my soul in every part. Yea, more, with His own hand He seemed Intent to aggravate my woe; Crossed all the fair designs I schemed, Blasted my gourds, and laid me low. "Lord, why is this?" I trembled cried; "Wilt Thou pursue Thy worm to death?" "Tis in this way," the Lord replied, "I answer prayer for grace and faith." "These inward trials I employ, From self and pride to set thee free; And break thy schemes of earthly joy, That thou mayst seek thy all in Me." My greatest enemy? (J. C. Philpot, "Israel's Happiness" 1859) I have ever found myself to be my greatest enemy. I never had a foe that troubled me so much as my own heart; nor has any one ever wrought me half the mischief or given me half the plague that I have felt and known within. And it is a daily sense of this which makes me dread myself more than anybody that walks upon the face of the earth! Keep a watchful eye upon every inward foe; and if you fight, fight against the enemy that lurks and works in your own breast! It is the hand of Him who was crucified! (J. C. Ryle) Are you a distressed believer? Is your heart . . . pressed down with sickness, tried with disappointments, overburdened with cares? To you I say, "Behold the cross of Christ!" Think whose hand it is that chastens you! Think whose hand is measuring to you the cup of bitterness which you are now drinking! It is the hand of Him who was crucified! It is the same hand that in love to your soul, was nailed to the accursed tree! Surely that thought should comfort and encourage you. Surely you should say to yourself, "A crucified Savior will never lay upon me anything that is not good for me. There is a needs be. It must be well." There are many devices in a man's heart (Philpot, "Mans Devices and the Lord's Counsel") "There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand." Proverbs 19:21. The devices of our heart are generally to find some easy, smooth, flowery path. Whatever benefits we have derived from affliction, whatever mercies we have experienced in tribulation, the flesh hates and shrinks from such a path with complete abhorrence. And, therefore, there is always a secret devising in a man's heart . . . to escape the cross, to avoid affliction, and to walk in some flowery meadow, away from the rough road which cuts his feet, and wearies his limbs. Another "device in a man's heart" is, that he shall have worldly prosperity; that his children shall grow up around him, and when they grow up, he shall be able to provide for them in a way which shall be best suited to their station in life; that they shall enjoy health and strength and success; and that there shall not be any cutting affliction in his family, or fiery trial to pass through. Now these devices the Lord frustrates. What grief, what affliction, what trouble, is the Lord continually bringing into some families! Their dearest objects of affection removed from them, at the very moment when they seemed clasped nearest around their hearts! And those who are spared, perhaps, growing up in such a searedness of conscience and hardness of heart, and, perhaps, profligacy of life, that even their very presence is often a burden to their parents instead of a blessing; and the very children who should be their comfort, become thorns and briars in their sides! Oh, how the Lord overturns and brings to nothing the "devices of a man's heart" to make a paradise here upon earth. When a man is brought to the right spot, and is in a right mind to trace out the Lord's dealings with him from the first, he sees it was a kind hand which "blasted his gourds, and laid them low;" it was a kind hand that swept away his worldly prospects; which reduced him to natural as well as to spiritual poverty; which led him into exercises, trials, sorrows, griefs, and tribulations; because, in those trials he has found the Lord, more or less, experimentally precious. "There are many devices in a man's heart." Now you have all your devices; that busy workshop is continually putting out some new pattern; some new fashion is continually starting forth from the depths of that ingenious manufactory which you carry about with you; and you are wanting this, and expecting that, and building up airy castles, and looking for that which shall never come to pass; for "there are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand." And so far as you are children of God, that counsel is a counsel of wisdom and mercy. The purposes of God's heart are purposes of love and affection toward you, and therefore you may bless and praise God, that whatever be the devices of your hearts against God's counsel, they shall be frustrated, that He may do His will and fulfill all His good pleasure. All are more or less deeply infected with it (J. C. Philpot, "Life Given for a Prey" 1841) "Are you seeking great things for yourself? Don't do it!" Jeremiah 45:5 As we are led aside by the powerful workings of our corrupt nature, we are often seeking great things for ourselves. Riches, worldly comforts, respectability, to be honored, admired, and esteemed by men, are the objects most passionately sought after by the world. And so far as the children of God are under the influence of a worldly principle, do they secretly desire similar things. Nor does this ambition depend upon station in life. All are more or less deeply infected with it, until delivered by the grace of God. The poorest man in these towns has a secret desire in his soul after "great things," and a secret plotting in his mind how he may obtain them. But the Lord is determined that His people shall not have great things. He has purposed to pour contempt upon all the pride of man. He therefore nips all their hopes in the bud, crushes their flattering prospects, and makes them for the most part, poor, needy, and despised in this world. Whatever schemes or projects the Lord's people may devise that they may prosper and get on in the world, He rarely allows their plans to thrive. He knows well to what consequences it would lead; that this ivy creeping round the stem would, as it were, suffocate and strangle the tree. The more that worldly goods increase . . . the more the heart is fixed upon them, the more the affections are set upon idols, the more is the heart drawn away from the Lord. He will not allow His people to have their portion here below. He has in store for them a better city, that is a heavenly one, and therefore will not allow them to build and plant below the skies. A child of God may be secretly aiming at great things, such as respectability, bettering his condition in life, rising step by step in the scale of society. But the Lord will usually . . . disappoint these plans, defeat these projects, wither these gourds, and blight these prospects. He may reduce him to poverty, as He did Job; smite him with sickness, as He did Lazarus and Hezekiah; take away wife and children, as in the case of Ezekiel and Jacob; or He may bring trouble and distress into his mind by shooting an arrow out of His unerring bow into the conscience. God has a certain purpose to effect by bringing this trouble, and that is to pull him down from "seeking great things." For what is the secret root of this ambition? Is it not the pride of the heart? When the Lord, then, would lay this ambition low, He makes a blow at the root. He strips away fancied hopes, and breaks down rotten props, the great things (so through ignorance esteemed) sought for previously, and perhaps obtained, fall to pieces. "Are you seeking great things for yourself? Don't do it!" Jeremiah 45:5 Ministers are often desirous of . . . (J. C. Philpot, "Life Given for a Prey" 1841) "Are you seeking great things for yourself? Don't do it!" Jeremiah 45:5 Ministers are often desirous of . . . a greater gift in preaching, a readier utterance, a more abundant variety, a more striking delivery than they possess. And this, not for the glory of God, but for the glory of the creature. Not that praise may be given God, but that pride, cursed pride, may be gratified; that they may be admired by men. My desire and aim is . . . not to deceive souls by flattery; not to please any party; not to minister to any man's pride or presumption; but simply and sincerely, with an eye to God's glory, with His fear working in my heart, to speak to the edification of His people. A minister who stands up with any other motives, and aiming at any other ends than the glory of God, and the edification of His people, bears no scriptural marks that he has been sent into the vineyard by God Himself. He will bruise His darling Son (by Francis Covell, 1875) "But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:5 What are we? We are only lumps of sin and dirt. But see the eternal love of God towards sinful men. His love set His wisdom to work how to save these sinful and sinning creatures from the burning pit! It pleased the Lord Himself to bruise His Son. He thrust the sword of justice into the heart of His own dear Son, that mercy might flow to the "objects of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory." His dear Son must suffer that they might be spared. There was such love in God towards sinful men that many waters could not quench it. He did not spare His Son one iota. The Darling of heaven cried out, "Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me!" But that we might go eternally free, and that God might look on us in justice and holiness with smiles and kisses; He bruised His own Son. Jesus bore thousands of hells in His own sufferings in the garden and on the tree; and the Father never withdrew the sword until He cried out, "It is finished!" "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us!" to save us from a burning pit; to bring us to the heights of bliss! O the depths of God's love! If He will pardon sin; if He will save a wretch, a rebel, a man damned by the law; if He will let His heart's love run out to save him from what he deserves; then He must part with the love of His heart, the joy of His soul, His only begotten Son! Will He do that? Is His love so surprisingly great, boundless, full, and free, that to save an enemy, a vile and a cursed sinner, He will bruise His darling Son? He will! "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief." Isaiah 53:10 Have we nothing to give to Christ? (J. C. Philpot, "Daily Words for Zion's Wayfarers") Have we nothing to give to Christ? Yes! Our sins, our sorrows, our burdens, our trials, and above all the salvation and sanctification of our souls. And what has He to give us? What? Why . . . everything worth having! everything worth a moment's anxious thought! everything for time and eternity! O self! Self! (J. C. Philpot, "Letters & Memoirs") Oh, to be kept from myself; my . . . vile, proud, lustful, hypocritical, worldly, covetous, presumptuous, obscene self. O self! Self! Your desperate wickedness, your depravity, your love of sin, your abominable pollutions, your monstrous heart wickedness, your wretched deadness, hardness, blindness, and indifference. You are a treacherous villain, and, I fear, always will be such! Continual salvation? (Joseph Philpot) "I cried unto You; save me, and I shall keep Your testimonies." Psalm 119:146 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 heaven; you will find and feel your need of salvation as a daily reality. There is present salvation: an inward, experimental, and continual salvation communicated out of the fullness of Christ as a risen Mediator. You need to be daily and almost hourly saved from the . . . guilt, filth, power, love, and practice of indwelling sin. "I cried unto You; save me, and I shall keep Your testimonies." Psalm 119:146 His heaven mine; my hell His! (Octavius Winslow) It is astonishing that I should so be one with Christ, that all that He is becomes mine; and all that I am becomes His! His glory mine; my humiliation His! His righteousness mine; my guilt His! His joy mine; my sorrow His! His riches mine; my poverty His! His life mine; my death His! His heaven mine; my hell His! The daily walk of faith is a continuous development of the wonders of this wondrous truth. That in traveling to Him empty; I should return from Him full. That in going to Him weak; I should come away from Him strong. That in bending my steps to Him in all darkness, perplexity, and grief; I should retrace them all light, and joy, and gladness.

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