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Grace Gems for MAY 2005

By Grace Gems
Grace Gems for MAY 2005 All the fickleness, sinfulness, and unworthiness (Octavius Winslow, "The Divine Attributes Entwining Around the Tempted and Trembling Believer") "I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already completely destroyed." Malachi 3:6 The believer may change, but his covenant God never alters. The believer's feelings may vary, but his Father's love never veers. God loved him from all eternity, and that love extends to all eternity. As God never loved His child for anything He saw, or would see, in that child—so His love never changes for all the fickleness, sinfulness, and unworthiness, He daily and hourly discovers. O where would the soul fly but for this truth? When it takes into account the sins, the follies, the departures, the flaws of but one week; yes, when it reviews the history of but one day, and sees enough sin in a thought to sink it to eternal and just perdition! But for an unchangeable God, to what consolation would it resort? "I have loved you, My people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to Myself." Jeremiah 31:3 A few feet of earth will suffice (J. C. Ryle, "Our Souls!") "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Mark 8:36-37 Nothing in the present life can make up for the loss of the soul. You may have all the riches of the world —all the gold of Australia and of California—all the honors which your country can bestow upon you. You may be the owner of half a continent. You may be one whom kings delight to honor, and nations gaze upon with admiration. But all this time, if you are losing your soul, you are a poor man in the sight of God! Your honors are but for a few years. Your riches must be left at last. Naked you came into the world, and naked you must go out. Of all your money or broad acres, you will carry nothing with you when you die! A few feet of earth will suffice to cover that body of yours when life is over! And then, if your soul is lost, you will find yourself a pauper to all eternity! Truly it shall profit a man nothing to gain the whole world, if he loses his own soul. The value of all things will change greatly one day. The hour comes when money shall be worth no more than waste paper; and gold and diamonds shall be as the dust of the streets—when the palace of the noble, and the cottage of the peasant shall both alike fall to the ground. In that hour you will find out, in a way you never found out before—the value of your immortal soul. Soul-loss will then be seen to be the greatest of losses, and soul-gain the greatest of gains! Pointing or leading? (John Angell James, 1785—1859) Children have their eyes always upon their parents, and are quick to discern any violations of consistency. If they see us as worldly-minded, as grasping and anxious after riches, as solicitous to be surrounded by splendid furniture, luxurious gratifications, and fashionable habits, as the people of the world—if they see us deceitful, implacable, or malicious—what can they conclude but that our religion is mere sham? In such a case, of how little service is our attempt to impress upon their minds, those claims which we ourselves 'practically' deny? It were far better for some parents to say nothing to their children about religion, for until they alter their own conduct, their admonitions can produce no other effect than to excite disgust! It is enough to make every parent tremble—to think what a parent should be! Without a godly example, everything else that we do is most lamentably deficient! As has been often said, it is only pointing them the way to heaven—but leading them in the way to hell! They slay their own children! (J. A. James, "To Young Mothers") A mother should never forget that those little engaging creatures which play about the room so gaily and so innocently, with all the unconsciousness of childhood, are young immortals—beings destined to eternity—creatures placed on earth on probation for heaven—and that much will depend upon her, whether the everlasting ages shall be spent by them in torment—or in bliss! This is an overwhelming thought! All should realize the sublime idea that . . . their houses are the schools for eternity; their children the scholars; themselves the teachers; and evangelical religion the lesson. Those parents who neglect the religious education of their children, whatever else they may impart, are more guilty than Herod! He slew the children of others, they slay their own children! He slew only the body, they slay the soul! He slew them by hired assassins, they slay their children themselves! We shudder at the cruelties of those who sacrificed their babes to Moloch. But how much more dreadful an immolation do they practice, who offer up their sons and daughters to Satan, by neglecting the education of their souls, and leaving them to grow up in ignorance of God and their eternal destiny! Mothers! Your religion, if it is genuine, will teach you at once the greatness of the work, and your own insufficiency to perform it aright in your own strength. Your business is to train immortal beings for God, heaven, and eternity! The domestic slave (J. A. James, "Female Piety—The Young Woman's Guide Through Life to Immortality") There are various kinds of slavery in the world, and many classes of victims of this cruel bondage. There is among others, the domestic slave, whose tyrant is her husband—and the scene of her bondage, her home! His stinginess allows her scanty supplies for bare necessities. His selfishness is so engrossing and exacting, that his demands for his own personal ease and indulgence are incessant, and leave her no time for the consideration of her own comfort. His disposition is so bad, that all her diligence to please are unavailing to give him satisfaction, or to avert the sallies of his irritability, discontent, and complaints. When such a man protests against Negro-slavery, let him begin the work of emancipation at home, by raising the oppressed woman he holds in bondage there, from the condition of a drudge—into the station of a wife! But there are also many sad cases in which the slavery is self-imposed! The bondage comes from the wife herself! The husband would gladly release her—but she will not let him! Some are slaves to neatness—and make their fidgety anxiety about this matter a misery to themselves and all around them! Others are slaves to fashion—and are always anxious and troubled about elegance and refinement! Others are slaves to domestic display, parties and amusements—and are always full of anxiety about making a splendid appearance! Others are slaves to frugality—and are ever vexing themselves to economize! In these ways women will torment themselves and fill their minds with unnecessary cares and self-imposed troubles! To all such we say, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about so many things!" A hideous skeleton! A collection of bones! A heap of dust! (J. A. James, "Female Piety—The Young Woman's Guide Through Life to Immortality") "Don't be concerned about the outward beauty that depends on fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God." 1 Peter 3:3-4 How exquisitely is this put! How impressive the ideas which are conveyed! It is the decoration of the soul rather than of the body, about which Christian women should be chiefly solicitous and concerned. The soul is indestructible and immortal—so should its ornaments be. What can jewels of silver or jewels of gold do for the soul? Can the diamond sparkle upon the intellect? Or the ruby blaze upon the heart? Or the pearl be set in the conscience? Or the gorgeous robe clothe the character? Or the flower wave over the holy nature? No! The appropriate ornaments of the soul are truth, holiness, knowledge, faith, hope, love, joy, humility; and all the other gifts and graces of the Spirit—wisdom, prudence, fortitude and gentleness. These are the jewels with which the inner heart should be adorned. The outer body is corruptible. Dust it is, and unto dust it shall return. That beautiful woman glittering in all the profusion of diamonds—the admiration and envy of the party or the ball room—must before long be a mass of putrefaction too ghastly to be looked upon—and then a hideous skeleton, a collection of bones, a heap of dust! And where will be the immortal spirit? Will it wear the cast-off jewels of the body? O no! These remain, rescued from the grasp of the 'king of terrors', but only to ornament other bodies! But turn now to that other female, the woman who, regardless of the decoration of the body, was all intent upon the beauty of the soul. Look at her, who was clothed with the robe of righteousness and the garment of salvation, and decorated with the ornaments of a gentle and quiet spirit. She too dies; but her indestructible and immortal soul over which death has no dominion, goes not unadorned into the presence of the Eternal; for the jewels with which it decorated itself on earth are as indestructible as its own nature, and go with it to shine in the presence of God! All taken up with fashion, amusement, and folly! (J. A. James, "Female Piety—The Young Woman's Guide Through Life to Immortality") "Make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way." Titus 2:10 It is a solemn thing to profess to be a disciple of Christ. It supposes you to be a new creature, that old things have passed away, and that all things have become new with you. It supposes that you have . . . new principles, new motives, new ends of life, new tastes and new pleasures. Now, your profession is to be maintained with a due regard to this. Your conduct must correspond with it. You must be dissimilar in these things, to those who make no such profession. They must see the difference as well as hear of it. You must compel them to say, "Well, we do not like her religion, but it is quite in harmony with her profession." Study your profession, and thoroughly understand what it implies and enjoins. Consider well . . . what holiness of conduct; what spirituality of mind; what separation from the world in spirit and taste; what devotional feelings; what faith, hope, love and humility; what amiableness and kindness of disposition, are included in that declaration you have actually made—"I am a Christian!" She who is bent upon eternity, cannot sink down into the levity of those who are all taken up with fashion, amusement, and folly! The possessor of true religion is satisfied with her own sources of enjoyment, without running to the amusements of the world for pleasure and excitement. One of the loveliest scenes (J. A. James, "Female Piety—The Young Woman's Guide Through Life to Immortality") A married couple without mutual love, is one of the most pitiable spectacles on earth! They remain united only to be a torment to each other! A loving, united, harmonious family, where the children all promote the comfort of their parents and of one another; where each is studious to please and to perform all fond kindnesses for the rest, and all seek the happiness of each other, is one of the loveliest scenes to be found in our selfish and discordant world! So much time thrown away on these elegant trifles! (J. A. James, "Christian Zeal") "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Eph. 5:16 There are three things which, if lost, can never be recovered—time, the soul, and an opportunity. In order to be useful, it is necessary to cultivate habits of order, punctuality, and the right employment of time. There is no doing good without the proper use of time. Two things cannot be done at once. Benevolent service requires time. And how much time is wasted, which the miseries and needs of society require! "Redeem the time!" is a warning that should ever be sounding in our ears! We need time for the improvement of our own souls—and we need it for the good of others. We can do much with a proper use of time—and nothing without it. There is scarcely anything to which the injunction of our Lord more strictly applies than to time—"Gather up the fragments that nothing be lost." Order redeems time, so does punctuality—therefore order and punctuality are ways of supplying the time necessary for the exercise of deeds of mercy. Redeem time from useless reading, and other selfish entertainments—and also from that excessive addictedness to the worldly accomplishments of music, arts, and fancy craft-works, which are so characteristic of the present day. That some portion of time may be given to these things is admitted. I am not for parting with the exquisite polish which skill in these matters imparts to female elegance. I love to see the decorations of female mind and manners. Of this I may have to speak again in a future chapter, and therefore shall merely now enquire—when the cries of misery are entering into her ears, and the groans of creation are arising all around her; when countless millions abroad are living and dying without the light of the gospel and the hope of salvation; when at our own doors will be found so many passing in ignorance and wickedness to their eternal destinies—is it humane for a Christian woman to spend so much precious time each day over her knitting, crotchet, or embroidery work? As she sits plying those needles, and bringing out, it may be, the tasteful design, hour after hour—does she never hear the cry of human woe, "Come over and help us!" Does it never occur to her, how many souls have gone into eternity unprepared to meet their God, since she took her chair and commenced her daily entertainment? Or, even leaving out of view the employment of her time for deeds of mercy to others; is it not an afflicting sight to behold so much time thrown away on these elegant trifles, which might be employed in cultivating one's own mind and heart, by reading useful Christian literature? You cannot, systematically, do good either to yourself or others, without redeeming time for the purpose! True religion (J. A. James, "The Young Man Leaving Home" 1844) True religion is . . . personal, experimental, practical. It is a thing of the heart—and not merely external religious forms. True religion is a living principle in the soul . . . influencing the mind, alluring the affections, guiding the will, directing and enlightening the conscience. True religion is a supreme—not a subordinate matter. It demands and obtains the throne of the soul. It guides the whole character—and requires the whole man and all his conduct to be in subordination. True religion is not an occasional thing—but habitual. It takes up its abode in the heart—and not merely visits it at certain times and at particular seasons. True religion is not a partial thing—but universal. It does not confine itself to certain times, places, and occasions—but forms an integral part of the character—and blends with everything we do. True religion is noble and lofty—not an abject, servile, and groveling thing. It communes . . . with God, with truth, with holiness, with heaven, with eternity, with infinity! True religion is a happy—and not a melancholy thing. It gives peace that passes understanding, and joy that is unspeakable, and full of glory! True religion is a durable—and not a transient thing. It . . . passes with us through life, lies down with us on the pillow of death, rises with us at the last day, and dwells in our souls in heaven as the very element of eternal life! Such is true religion—the most sublime thing in the world—sent down to be our comforter on earth—and our guide to everlasting life through all this gloomy valley! Literature, science, politics, commerce, and the arts (J. A. James, "The Young Man Leaving Home" 1844) Literature, science, politics, commerce, and the arts, are all important in their place and measure; and men give proof that they duly, or rather unduly estimate their importance—by the devoted manner in which they attend to them. To multitudes, these thing are everything. Yet man is an immortal creature, and there is an eternity before him—and what direct relation have these things to immortality? Or what influence do they exert on our everlasting destiny in the eternal world? More—do they make us either virtuous or happy in this world? Is there any necessary connection between any, or all of these things—with human felicity? They call out and employ the noble faculties of the mind; they raise man from savage to civilized society; they refine the taste; they embellish life; they decorate the stage on which the great drama of existence is carried on—and give interest to the performance! But do any of these things reach the seat of man's chief pleasures or pains—the heart? Do they . . . cure its disorders, correct its tastes, mitigate its sorrows, or soften its weightiest cares? Do any of these things comfort man amid . . . the wreck of his fortunes, the disappointment of his hopes, the loss of his friends, the malignity of his enemies, the pains of a sick chamber, the struggles of a dying bed, the prospect of a coming judgment? No! True religion is that, and that alone, which can do this! And this it can do, and is continually doing! The surest guide to success in this world (John Angell James) What is your life, but a voyage to eternity! A life altogether unprepared for, must be a life of perpetual mistakes, faults, and miseries. The chief preparation for life is the formation of a moral and spiritual character. Genuine piety, the parent of sound morality, is the surest guide to success in this world. And as true religion is the best guide to happiness in this world, likewise it is the only way to happiness in the world to come. True piety will preserve you from all the habits which tend to poverty and misery—and aid the formation of all habits which tend to usefulness and happiness. "Who can show us any good?" (J. A. James, "The Young MAN'S Friend and Guide through Life to Immortality") Many are asking, "Who can show us any good?" Psalm 4:6 Man is made for happiness, and is capable of it. But what is happiness—and how is it to be obtained? To possess and enjoy it, man must be furnished with some good—suited to his nature, adapted to his condition, and adequate to his capacity and desires. The nature of the chief good has been, in every age, the interesting subject of most earnest philosophic inquiry. But how various and opposed, have been the conclusions at which the inquirers have arrived on this important subject. Varro, a learned Latin writer, who lived before Christ, reckoned up more than two hundred different opinions on this subject—thus plainly evincing man's ignorance of his own nature, circumstances, and needs. Not perceiving what it is that has made him miserable—man cannot know what will make him happy! Unacquainted with, or rather overlooking, the disease—he cannot know the remedy! He feels an aching void within, an unsatisfied craving after something—but knows neither the nature, nor the source, of the food adapted to meet and satisfy his hungry appetite. The vagrant spirit of man is seen wandering from God—the fountain of bliss—roaming through this "dry and thirsty land, where there is no water;" anxiously looking for happiness, but never finding it; coming often to springs that are dry, and to cisterns that are broken; until weary of the pursuit and disappointed in its hopes, it is ready to give up all in despair, and reconcile itself to misery, under the notion that happiness is but a fiction! In this sad and hopeless mood, the victim of grief and despondency is met by the Bible, which takes him by the hand, and leads him to the fountain of living waters. Such is the design of Scripture—to show first of all what will not make man happy, and then what will. Upon all the most coveted possessions of this world, it pronounces the solemn and impressive sentence, "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!" It interrogates singly every coveted object of human desire, and asks, "What are you?" only to receive the melancholy answer, "Vanity!" Nothing 'on earth' can satisfy the soul of man, as its supreme good. Science has multiplied its discoveries, art its inventions, and literature its productions. Civilization has opened new sources of luxury, and ingenuity has added innumerable gratifications of appetite and of taste. Every domain of nature has been explored; every conceivable experiment been made, to find new means of enjoyment, and new secrets of happiness. But still the heart of man confirms, and the experience of the human race prolongs the echo—"Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!" What is the nature and the source of happiness? What is . . . to terminate the weary pursuits, to revive the languid hopes, to gratify the anxious desires, of destitute and sorrowing people, hungering and thirsting after bliss? What human reason is thus proved to be too ignorant and too weak to decide, the Bible undertakes to settle; and explicitly, imperatively, and infallibly, determines for all and forever. Only Biblical Christianity . . . suits the nature, meets the needs, alleviates the sorrows, satisfies the desires, of the human soul—and is its portion forever. Only Christianity . . . finds man depraved—and makes him holy; finds him little—and makes him great; finds him earthly—and raises him to heaven! "You are my portion, O my God. Your favor is life, and your love is better than life. You are the center, the rest, the home of my heart!" "Everyone who drinks this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life!" John 4:13-14 The idol of our day! (J. A. James, "The Young Man's Friend and Guide through Life to Immortality") One of the evils of our age, is an excessive love of pleasure, which leads to self-indulgence, and indisposes the mind for sober thought and true piety. Love of pleasure is one of the growing tendencies of the day in which we live, and threatens infinite damage to the present and eternal welfare of mankind, by bringing on an age of frivolity, sensuality and 'practical atheism'. Find your pleasure, young men . . . in the improvement of your mind, in attention to duties, in true piety, and in active benevolence. Is there not scope enough for enjoyment here? Excessive worldliness is another of the dangers of this age. In our wealthy and materialistic country, there is most imminent peril of sinking into the mere worldling, and living only to get wealth. Never was there so great a danger of having . . . the conscience benumbed, moral principles prostrated, the heart rendered callous, the intellect emptied of its strength, as in the age in which we live! Wealth is the idol of our day! Without watchfulness and prayer, you are in danger of . . . bowing devoutly at its shrine, becoming its worshipers, and immolating your souls as a burnt-offering on its altars! A bad word! (J. A. James, "The Young Man's Friend and Guide Through Life to Immortality") "We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall." Proverbs 16:33 "Luck!" There is no such thing in our world, none in nature, none in human affairs. Luck means that an event has no cause at all. It is a bad word—a heathen term. Drop it from your vocabulary! Trust nothing to luck, and expect nothing from it. Avoid all practical dependence upon it or its kindred words . . . fate, chance, fortune. Never forget your dependence upon God. He can exalt you to prosperity—or sink you into the lowest depth of adversity. He can make everything to which you set your hand to prosper—or to fail. Devoutly acknowledge this. Abhor the atheism that shuts God out of His own world! The sin of killing time (J. A. James, "The Young Man's Friend and Guide Through Life to Immortality") "Only fools idle away their time." Proverbs 12:11 Idleness is a complicated vice. Yes, I say VICE! First it is a most wasteful vice. It wastes time, which is more precious than rubies; it wastes a man's mental faculties; it wastes property. Idleness is a disgraceful vice. How reproachful is it in a being made to be active, to spend life in doing nothing, and to throw away his mental powers in sloth. Idleness is a criminal vice. God has commanded us to be active, and will call us to account for the sin of killing time. Idleness is a dangerous vice. Doing nothing is next to doing evil—and is sure to lead to it. From its very inaction it ultimately becomes the active cause of all evil. "The Devil tempts all men; but the idle man tempts the Devil." Idleness is a wretched vice. An idle man is the most miserable of all God's creatures. Woe be to the man who is doomed to bear the pain and penalties of a slothful disposition. "And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle." 1 Thessalonians 5:14 Fortified by true piety (J. A. James, "The Character of Joseph") "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4 Parents! How momentous a duty is it to give sound Christian instruction to your children at the earliest period in which they can receive it; and endeavor, by the most judicious, affectionate, and persevering methods, to form their character by true religion! Train them up in the fear of God—that they may leave home fortified by true piety, to encounter the temptations of the world, and to endure the trials of life. Next to God Himself, a pious child is a parent's best companion amid the infirmities of old age, and in the chamber of sickness and death. Self-seeking, men-pleasing ministers (J. C. Philpot, "The Precepts of the Word of God") "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10 A fearless disregard of . . . smiles or frowns, character or consequences, opposition or approbation, pay or popularity, will always distinguish the true servant of Christ from self-seeking, men-pleasing ministers. "For we speak as messengers who have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel. Our purpose is to please God, not men. He is the one who examines the motives of our hearts." 1 Thes. 2:4 By its own powerful and holy instinct (J. A. James, "The Young Man from Home") "I will give you a new heart with new and right desires, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony heart of sin and give you a new, obedient heart." Ezekiel 36:26 The new nature, by its own powerful and holy instinct, will turn away your feet from every forbidden place, and every unhallowed scene. Panting after God, and thirsting for the living God, taking pleasure in His ways, you will shudder at the idea of being found in the haunts of vice, or in the society of the vicious. It will be unnecessary to forbid your going to the tavern, the theater, the house of ill fame, the gambling-table, or horse-race. Your own renewed and sanctified nature will be a law against these things. The shrine of Mammon (J. A. James, "The Young Man's Friend and Guide Through Life to Immortality") "You lack only one thing. Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me." At this, the man's face fell, and he went sadly away because he had many possessions. Mark 10:21-22 You see what was the defect in this young man. He did not possess the faith which overcomes the world. He wished to unite two things utterly irreconcilable—the love of God and the love of the world. He wanted to serve two masters, God and Mammon. It was not open vice and profligacy that kept him from true religion here, and from heaven hereafter. It was the more decent and reputable sin of supreme attachment to worldly things. He could give up many sins, but he could not give up his besetting sin—supreme regard to wealth. He could do many things, but he could not give up all to follow Christ. He could give up open vice, but he could not deny himself and take up his cross. He had many good qualities, but he lacked one thing. If open vice has slain its thousands, worldliness has slain its tens of thousands! Of all the false gods, the shrine of Mammon is most resorted to—it is from that idolatrous temple, the broadest and most beaten path to the bottomless pit will be found. In the crowd which press along that path, are included, not only the knaves, the cheats, and men of dishonorable character; but men who follow things which are just, and honest, and true, and reputable; who yet rise to no higher than to be the worshipers of this sordid deity. Yes, even Mammon can boast of devotees who scorn all that is vile, dishonorable and unjust. In the broad road which leads to destruction, there is a path for the lovers of the world—as well as for the lovers of vice! Other Baals! (J. A. James, "The Young Man's Friend and Guide Through Life to Immortality") "How long are you going to waver between two opinions? If Jehovah is God, follow Him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!" 1 Kings 18:21 There are other Baals in this age, in all the various forms under which they are objects of human idolatry. It is true you are not called, invited or disposed, to bow the knee to idols of wood, stone, or metal. These, however, are not the only way in which idolatry may be practiced. Everyone has a god, and if man does not love and worship Jehovah, he will make a deity of his own image. Survey, young men, the idols which you are called upon to worship! Among them, sustaining a high place, is the idol of SENSUALITY. This goddess is decked out with all that can pollute the imagination, inflame the passions, or excite the evil propensities of a youthful heart. Before this image, multitudes of devotees of both sexes bow the knee and offer the most costly sacrifices of property, health, principle, and reputation! Near her is the bewitching and smiling image of WORLDLY PLEASURE, with the sound of music, the song, and the dance—alluring the giddy and thoughtless to its orgies; and throwing the spell of its fascinations over the imagination of multitudes who go merrily to their ruin! MAMMON, the despicable deity of wealth, is there, glittering with gold, and offering riches to his eager followers as the reward of their diligent and faithful adherence. His liturgy is the cry of "Money! Money! Money!" His sacrifices are the time, the bodies, the comfort, and the souls of his worshipers! Near this is the shrine of HUMAN KNOWLEDGE. This idol is only evil, when raised above the place of faith, piety, and virtue. When thus exalted above Scripture, it is a deceiving, corrupting idol—the false goddess of a Pantheon of Vices. Nor must we leave out the idols of FALSE RELIGION, the chief of which is Popery—the anti-Christ of the Apocalypse, "the Man of Sin sitting in the temple of God, exalting itself above all that is called God." This idol, taking the name of Christ as its designation, assuming the cross as its symbol, and boasting of an apostle as its first pope; enriched by wealth; venerable for antiquity; dignified by learning; decorated by sculpture, architecture, and painting; and adding the abysmal policies, and most serpentine craft to all these other dangerous qualities, has fascinated countless millions! And, notwithstanding the monstrous absurdity of its doctrines, the blood-stained page of its history, and its hostility to the liberties of mankind—is now putting forth the most arrogant claims, and making the most audacious attempts for the conquest of our country! These idolaters have chosen their god, and are the determined and devoted worshipers of their Baals! They have hardened their hearts, and seared their consciences, except it be an occasional qualm in the season of death or sickness. They congratulate themselves upon their having thrown off all the weaknesses and fears of Christianity, and upon their being now enabled to pursue their downward course unchecked by the restraint of conscience. Unhappy men, blind, and glorying in their blindness; benumbed in all their moral faculties, and exulting in their stupidity! With every tie cut, which held them to piety and truth, they account it a privilege that they are drifting unobstructed to destruction—determined to be lost, and rejoicing that nothing bars their path to the bottomless pit! "These men have set up idols in their hearts!" Ezekiel 14:3 "Their hearts were devoted to their idols!" Ezekiel 20:16 Saving faith (J. A. James, "The Young Man's Friend and Guide Through Life to Immortality") Saving faith expresses itself not only in worship, in religious zeal, in charity to the poor—but in a systematic and strong restraint upon the passions, imagination, temper, and appetites. Saving faith will ensure you . . . the protection of omnipotence; the guidance of omniscience; the companionship of omnipresence; the supplies of all-sufficiency. Saving faith will fill your intellect with the thoughts of God's own mind, and your soul with the joy of God's own heart—and thus furnish you at once with the supreme truth, and the chief good. Saving faith will mingle its own heavenly pleasures with the pure delights of earth. Saving faith will preserve you equally from the snares of prosperity, and the withering blasts of adversity. Saving faith will be . . . your nurse in sickness, your companion in solitude, and your preserver amid the corruptions of society. Saving faith will be your shield against temptations to sin, and the insidious attacks of infidelity and false philosophy. Saving faith will be . . . the guide of your youth, the protector of your matured life, and the prop of your old age. Saving faith will prepare you for early death, or for living until old age. It will smooth the pillow of death, by giving you immortal hopes amid the dissolution of nature. It will rise with you from the grave in that day when death shall be swallowed up in victory, and will put you in possession of glory, honor, immortality, and eternal life! These are the fools of whom Solomon speaks! (J. A. James, "The Young Man's Friend and Guide Through Life to Immortality") "Whoever walks with the wise will become wise; but the companion of fools shall be destroyed!" Pr. 13:20 Young men! There are evil companions to be avoided! The workhouse, the lunatic asylum, the prison, the gallows, the bottomless pit, all, all, attest the truth of this, by the millions they have swallowed up in their jaws of destruction! Evil companionship has ruined . . . more characters, more fortunes, more bodies, and more souls, than almost anything else that could be named. Young men! Evil companionship is one of your first and most pressing dangers. Character assimilates to that which surrounds it. You must take your character, to a certain extent, from your companions. Do not have bad companions! Men . . . who scoff at Christianity, who ridicule the godly, who make light of sin and laugh at conscience, who are lewd in their actions, or obscene in their talk, who are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, who are extravagant in their habits, who are loose in their moral principles, these are the fools of whom Solomon speaks, —who will bring their own destruction upon you, if you do not avoid them! With much the same emphasis do I warn you against bad BOOKS. There are books that inflame the imagination and corrupt the taste—that by their excitement unfit the mind for the sober realities of life—or by continuous light entertainment, indispose the mind for what is serious and holy. These are all to be avoided. In some respects bad books are more mischievous than bad companions, since they are more accessible, and more constantly with us. They can be more secretly consulted, and lodge their poison more abidingly in . . . the imagination, the intellect, and the heart! A bad book is a bad companion of the worst kind, and prepares for bad companions of all other kinds! "Whoever walks with the wise will become wise; but the companion of fools shall be destroyed!" Pr. 13:20 This trouble from which you are now suffering (John MacDuff, "A Book for the Bereaved") "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten." Revelation 3:19 "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her." Hosea 2:14 "For the moment all chastening seems painful rather than pleasant." Hebrews 12:11 This trouble from which you are now suffering may be utterly incomprehensible. Jehovah's name to you, as it often has been to His tried and afflicted children, may be that which He gave to Manoah—"Wonderful," "Secret," "Mysterious." But, be assured, that your present place and season of suffering, is the figurative "wilderness," where He "allures" His people—rousing them . . . from the dream of earthly happiness, from the sordid and the secular, from busy care and debasing concerns, to the divine and the heavenly—leading them to exchange the earthly pottage for the bread of life; perishable substance for the fine gold of heavenly gain and durable riches! Suffering Christian! you may well trust Him who gave the mightiest pledge of love He could give by giving His own life—that there is some all-wise "needs be" in the trial He has laid upon you. It is designed to bring you nearer Himself. It is one of His own appointed gateways, opening up and admitting to great spiritual blessings! He rebukes and chastens just because He loves; and, contradictory as the remark may seem, we believe never is His love more tender than when the rod is in His hand, and the rebuke on His lips! The rebukes of other earthly friends are often mis-timed; the result, it may be, of passion or caprice—"but He disciplines us for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness." Hebrews 12:10 No nobler result of trial surely than this—to lead the mourner to grope his tearful way more meekly and trustfully in search of a Savior's hand, seeking only to hear His guiding voice saying, "This is the way—walk in it." A most dangerous propensity! (J. A. James, "The Young Man Leaving Home" 1844) "Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God." 2 Tim. 3:4 A pleasure-loving youth will become a pleasure-loving man. A love of pleasure, a taste for amusement, is a most dangerous propensity! Novels (James, "The Christian Father's Present to His Children") As to novels, I join with every other moral and religious writer in condemning, as the vilest trash, the greater part of these productions, which have carried a turbid stream of vice over the morals of mankind. Novels . . . corrupt the taste, pollute the heart, debase the mind, demoralize the conduct. Novels throw prostrate the understanding; sensualize the affections; enervate the will; and bring all the high faculties of the soul into subjection to a wild imagination. Novels generate a morbid, sickly sentimentalism, instead of a just and lovely realism. A wise man should despise novels, and a godly man should abhor them! The theater! (John Angell James, "On Theatrical Amusements" 1825) I do not hesitate for a moment to pronounce the theater to be one of the broadest avenues which lead to destruction! Fascinating, no doubt it is—but on that account the more delusive and the more dangerous! Let a young man once acquire a taste for this species of entertainment, and yield himself up to its gratification, and he is in imminent danger of becoming a lost character—rushing upon his ruin! All the evils that can . . . waste his property, corrupt his morals, blast his reputation, impair his health, embitter his life, and destroy his soul, lurk in the confines of the theater! Vice, in every form, lives, and moves, and has its being there! Myriads have cursed the hour when they first exposed themselves to the contamination of the theater. >From that fatal evening, they date their destruction! Take warning then, and have nothing to do with the theater. Avoid it as one of the avenues to the broad road that leads to destruction. The danger is greater than I describe. The doors of the theater are as the jaws of the devouring lion! "Do not follow the crowd in doing evil." Exodus 23:2 Our life is a bubble! (James, "The Christian Father's Present to His Children") "What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes!" James 4:14 Our world is a valley of tears. Our life is a bubble, raised from those tears, inflated by sighs; which, after floating a little while, decked with a few gaudy colors —is touched by the hand of death, and dissolves! Poverty, disease, misfortune, unkindness, instability, death, all assail the travelers as they journey onward to eternity through this gloomy valley. "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinth. 4:18 When the honey is all sucked! (James, "The Christian Father's Present to His Children") Love of worldly pleasure is a great impediment to true piety. It has been most wickedly said, "Youth is the time for pleasure, manhood is the time for business, old age is the time for religion." It is painful to observe, that if the two latter parts of human life are neglected, the first is not. Young people too often answer the description given by the apostle, "Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God." In youth, there are many temptations to this wicked propensity . . . the senses are vigorous, the spirits lively, the imagination ardent, the passions warm, and the concerns of life but few and feeble. Hence many give themselves up to the impulses of their corrupt nature, and are held in alienation from a life of piety—by a love of pleasure. Some are carried away by a vain and frivolous love of dress and show; others by a delight in mirth and parties; others by games, balls, and theatrical performances; others by the sports of the field; others by intemperance and debauchery. It is admitted that all these gratifications are not equally degrading in themselves—nor equally destructive of reputation and health. But if indulged in as the chief good, they may all prevent the mind from attending to the concerns of true religion. A predominant love of worldly pleasure, of any kind—is destructive in every point of view. It often leads on from gratifications which, in the opinion of the world, are decent and moral—to those which are wicked and immoral. It is incompatible with the duties and comforts of domestic life. It hinders the improvement of the understanding, and keeps the mind barren and empty. It prevents from becoming the benefactors of society. But its greatest mischief is, that it totally indisposes the mind for true religion, and thus extends its mischief to eternity! In short, if a predominant love of worldly pleasure is cherished and persisted in, it ruins and damns the soul forever! My children, beware of this most dangerous propensity for worldly pleasure! Consider where it leads—resist it to the uttermost—and ask grace from God to acquire a better taste. Yes, if you live for worldly pleasure, and neglect true religion, you are giving up an exceeding great and eternal weight of glory—for light and frivolous gratifications, which are but for a moment! You are, for the sake of a few years' empty mirth, entailing everlasting ages of unmitigated torments! Besides, though worldly pleasure may temporarily gratify —it does not really satisfy! When the honey is all sucked —it leaves a sting behind! And what are the pleasures of the world, compared with those of true piety? But the shadow to the substance; the stagnant pool to the fresh and running fountain; the smoking candle to the midday sun! Shall worldly pleasure cheat you of eternal salvation? He certainly acts as an Atheist! (James, "The Christian Father's Present to His Children") Fathers! Your children are immortal beings! The stamp of eternity is upon them! Everlasting ages are before them! They are like the rest of the human race—depraved, guilty, and condemned creatures; and consequently in danger of eternal misery! Yet they are, through the mercy of God, creatures capable of attaining to glory, honor, immortality, and eternal life. Looking upon them in this light, what should be your chief concern for them—and what should be your conduct towards them? Fathers! Your children are hastening to either eternal happiness—or eternal torment! The man who does not make the eternal welfare of his children, the supreme end of all his conduct towards them, may profess to believe as a Christian —but he certainly acts as an Atheist! Once more let it be stated, and stated with all possible emphasis—that the chief design of this work is to form the pious character of its readers, and to implant those virtues which shall live, and flourish, and dignify, and delight—infinite ages after every object that is dear . . . to avarice or pride, to learning or science, to taste or ambition, shall have perished in the conflagration of the universe! It is in the highest degree inconsistent, absurd, cruel, and wicked—for a Christian parent not to be supremely desirous of the everlasting welfare of his children! Let a supreme concern for their immortal interests be at the bottom of all your conduct, and be interwoven with all your parental habits! Taste & distaste (J. A. James, "The Young Man Leaving Home" 1844) True religion changes the moral nature, producing . . . a dislike and dread of sin, and a love of holiness and virtue. Piety is a spiritual taste; and, like every other taste, it is accompanied with a distaste for the opposites of those things or qualities which are the subjects of its delight. Sin is that bitter thing which the soul of a true Christian hates. It is the object of his antipathy—and therefore of his dread. He turns from it with aversion and loathing, as that which is offensive and disgusting. It is not merely that he is commanded by authority to abstain from sin—but he is led away from it by the expulsive power of a new attraction. He may have sinful propensities of his carnal nature—but he resists the indulgence of them, for it is sin against God. When you have once tasted the sweetness of true religion—how insipid, how nauseous, will be those draughts of 'wicked pleasure' with which the sinner intoxicates and poisons his soul! When you have acquired a relish for the pure, calm, satisfying joys of faith and holiness—how entirely will you disrelish the polluting, boisterous, and unsatisfying pleasures of sin! When you have once drunk of the waters of the river of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb—how loathsome will be the filthy turbid streams of licentious gratification!

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