CHOICE EXCERPTS from John Flavel's "The Method of Grace" You have all your hearts can wish! "My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 O say with a melting heart—I have a full Christ, and He is filled for me! I have . . . His pure and perfect righteousness to justify me, His holiness to sanctify me, His wisdom to guide me, His comforts to refresh me, His power to protect me, His all-sufficiency to supply me. O be cheerful, be thankful— you have all your hearts can wish! And yet be humble—it is all from free-grace to empty and unworthy creatures! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ No sin startles less—or damns surer! Unbelief is man's great sin, and condemnation is his great misery. How dreadful a sin is the sin of unbelief, which brings men under the condemnation of the great God. No sin startles less—or damns surer! Unbelief is a sin which does not affright the conscience as some other sins do, but it kills the soul more certainly than any of those sins. Other sins could not damn us were it not for unbelief, which fixes the guilt of them all upon us. Unbelief is the sin of sins; and when the Spirit comes to convince men of sin, He begins with this as the capital sin. Adorn the gospel "That they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things." Titus 2:10 Your duty is to adorn the gospel by your life. The words signify to deck or adorn the gospel, to make it attractive and lovely to the eyes of beholders. When there is a beautiful harmony and lovely proportion between Christ’s doctrine and our practice—then do we walk suitably to the Lord of glory. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The mirth of unregenerate men! How groundless is the mirth of unregenerate men! They feast in their prison and dance in their fetters. O the madness that is in their hearts! If men did but realize that they are condemned already, it would be impossible for them to live in vanity as they do. And is their condition less dangerous because it is not understood? Surely not, but much more so! O poor sinners, perhaps you have found out a way to prevent your present troubles. It would be infinitely better if you could find out how to prevent eternal misery! But it is easier for a man to stifle conviction, than to prevent damnation. Your mirth prevents repentance and increases your future torment. O what a hell will theirs be—who drop into it out of all the sinful pleasures of this world! "In hell, where he was in torment." Luke 16:23 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Does it not deserve a tear? As death takes the believer from many sorrows, and brings him to the vision of God, to a state of freedom and full satisfaction; so it drags the unregenerate from all his sensual delights to the place of torment! Death is the king of terrors—a serpent with a deadly sting to every man who is out of Christ. How lamentable is the state of unregenerate persons! Were this truth heartily believed, we could not but mourn over them with the most tender compassion and sorrow. If our husbands, wives, or children are dying a natural death—how are our hearts rent with pity and sorrow for them; what cries, tears, and wringing of hands show the deep sense we have of their misery! O Christians, is all the love you have for your relatives spent upon their bodies ? Are their souls of no value? Is spiritual death no misery? Does it not deserve a tear? May the Lord open your eyes, and affect your hearts with the wretchedness of spiritual death. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ In a deep sleep! The Christless and unregenerate world are in a deep sleep! A spirit of slumber and security is fallen upon them, though they lie immediately exposed to eternal wrath, ready to drop into hell every moment! A man fast asleep in a house on fire, and while the consuming flames are round about him, having his imagination sporting itself in some pleasant dream, is a very accurate picture of the unregenerate soul. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The old has gone, the new has come! "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! " 2 Cor. 5:17 All the faculties of the soul are renewed by regeneration. The understanding was dark—but now is light in the Lord. The conscience was dead, or full of guilt and horror—but is now become tender, watchful, and full of peace. The will was rebellious and inflexible—but is now obedient to the will of God. The desires once pursued vanities—now they are set upon God. Love once doated upon earthly things—now it is swallowed up in the infinite excellencies of God and Christ. Joy was once in trifles—now his rejoicing is in Christ Jesus. Fear once was about worldly things—now God is the object of his reverence, and sin the object of his dread. The expectations were once only from this world—but now are from that to come. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Poor toys and empty bubbles Saints and sinners are wonders one to the other. It is the wonder of the world to see Christians glorying in reproaches; they wonder that the saints run not with them into the same excess of riot. And it is a wonder to believers how such poor toys and empty bubbles should keep the sinner from Jesus Christ and their everlasting happiness in Him. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The astonishing wonder of the whole world! How wonderful was the love of Christ the Lord of glory—to be so abased and humbled for us vile and sinful dust! It is astonishing to conceive that ever Jesus Christ should strip Himself of His robes of glory—to clothe Himself with the lowly garment of our flesh. If the sun had been turned into a wandering atom, if the most glorious angel in heaven had been transformed even into a fly—it would be nothing compared to the abasement of the Lord of glory. This act of Christ's love, is the astonishing wonder of the whole world! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ One step beyond the state of this mortality Christ cures all outward troubles in His people by death, which is their removal from the place of sorrows—to peace and rest for evermore. Then God wipes all tears from their eyes, and the days of their mourning are at an end. They then put off the garments and spirit of mourning, and enter into peace. They come to that place and state where tears and sighs are unknown. One step beyond the state of this mortality brings us quite out of the sight and hearing of all troubles and lamentations. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The scale What is guilt, but the obligation of the soul to everlasting punishment and misery? It puts the soul under the sentence of God to eternal wrath —the condemning sentence of the great and awesome God! Nothing is more dreadful and insupportable than this! Put all pains, all poverty, all afflictions, all miseries in one scale —and God’s wrath in the other; and you weigh but so many feathers against a ton of lead. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The louder our groans Grace never appears grace—until sin appears to be sin. The deeper our sense of the evil of sin—the deeper will be our apprehensions of the free grace of God in Christ. The louder our groans have been under the burden of sin—the louder will our acclamations and praises be for our salvation from it by Jesus Christ! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I was upon the brink of hell Acceptance with God brings you to heaven hereafter, but assurance will bring heaven into your souls now! O, what a life of delight and pleasure does the assured believer live! What pleasure is it to him to look back and consider where he once was—and where he now is; to look forward, and consider where he now is—and where shortly he shall be! "I was in my sins—I am now in Christ! I am in Christ now—I shall be with Christ, and that forever, after a few days! I was upon the brink of hell —I am now upon the very borders of heaven!" ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Why is this to such a worm as I? The heart that receives Jesus Christ is in a frame of deep humiliation and self-abasement. O, when a man begins to apprehend the first approaches of grace, pardon, and mercy by Jesus Christ to his soul; when he is convinced of his utter unworthiness and desert of hell, and can scarcely expect anything from the just and holy God but damnation—how do the first dawnings of mercy melt and humble him! "O Lord, what am I , that you should feed me and preserve me; that you should but for a few years spare me! But that ever Jesus Christ should love me, and give Himself for me; that such a wretched sinner as I should obtain union with his person, pardon, peace, and salvation by his blood! Lord, why is this to such a worm as I? And will Christ indeed bestow Himself on me? Shall so great a blessing as Christ, ever come to such a soul as mine? Will God in very deed be reconciled to me in his Son? What, to me —to such an enemy as I have been? Shall my sins, which are so many, so horrid, so much aggravated beyond the sins of most men, be forgiven? O, what am I , vile dust, base wretch, that ever God should do this for me!" ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Supernatural and astonishing Now for a soul to renounce and deny self, in all its forms, modes, and interests, as everyone does who comes to Christ; to disclaim and deny natural, moral, and religious self; and come to Christ as a poor, miserable, wretched, empty creature, to live upon His righteousness forever, is as supernatural and astonishing as to see the hills and mountains start from their bases and centers, and fly like wandering atoms in the air! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Till God draws "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him." John 6:44 All the preaching in the world can never effect the new birth—unless a supernatural and mighty power goes forth with it. Let the angels of heaven be the preachers, till God draws —the soul comes not to Christ. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ At last reach heaven As nothing can comfort a man that must go to hell at last; so nothing should deject a man that shall, through many troubles, at last reach heaven . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The great change Conversion is the great change which the Spirit causes upon the soul, turning it by a sweet, irresistible efficacy, from the power of sin and Satan—to God in Christ. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Those who see God in the clearest light "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself , and repent in dust and ashes." Job 42:5-6 Those who see God in the clearest light , abhor themselves in the deepest humility. If the Lord had effectually opened your eyes by a discovery of your state by nature, and the course of your life under the influence of continual temptations and corruptions —how would your pride fall. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ A white hand—and a very foul heart The crucifixion of sin does not consist in the suppression of the external acts of sin only; for sin may reign over the souls of men, while it does not break forth in open actions. Many a man shows a white hand who has a very foul heart. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The consolation of believers "As many as I love I rebuke and chasten." Revelation 3:19 Are outward afflictions the ground of dejection and trouble? How do our hearts fail and our spirits sink, under the many smarting rods of God upon us! But our relief and consolation under them all is in Christ Jesus; for the rod that afflicts us is in the hand of Christ who loves us! His design in affliction is our profit. Hebrews 12:10. That design of His for our good shall certainly be accomplished—and after that no more afflictions forever! "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Revel. 21:3. Thus two things are most evident: 1. Nothing can comfort the soul without Christ. He is the soul that animates all comforts; they would be dead without him. Temporal enjoyments, riches, honors, health, relations, yield not a drop of true comfort without Christ. Spiritual enjoyments, ministers, ordinances, promises, are fountains sealed and springs shut up until Christ opens them; a man may go comfortless in the midst of them all. 2. No troubles or afflictions can deject the soul which Christ comforts. "As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing." 2 Corin. 6:10. A believer may walk with a heart full of comfort amidst all the troubles of the world. So that the conclusion stands firm—that Christ, and Christ only, is the consolation of believers . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Though Satan pulls hard "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish—ever! No one will snatch them out of My hand." John 10:28 Though Satan pulls hard , yet he will never be able to pluck them out of Jesus' hand! O what relief is this! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Places of worship The presence of Jesus Christ gives a more real and excellent glory to places of worship than any external beauty whatever can bestow upon them. Our eyes, like the disciples, are apt to be dazzled with the goodly stones of the temple, and in the mean time to neglect and overlook that which gives it the greatest honor and beauty. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All your sorrows and tears for sin All your sorrows and tears for sin cannot obtain God's mercy. Could you shed as many tears for any sin you have committed, as all the children of Adam have shed since the creation of the world—they would not purchase the pardon of that one sin. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The cure of the dominion of sin As Jesus cures the guilt of sin by pouring out His blood for us; so He cures its dominion by pouring out His Spirit upon us. Justification is the cure of guilt; sanctification is the cure of the dominion of sin . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Go to a filthy puddle How unreasonable and wholly inexcusable in believers is the sin of backsliding from Christ. Have you found rest in Him, when you could not find it in any other? Did He receive you, and give peace to your soul when all other persons and things were physicians of no value? And will you after this backslide from Him? O what madness! No man in his right mind would leave the pure, cold, refreshing stream of a crystal fountain—to go to a filthy puddle or an empty cistern! Such are the best enjoyments of this world in comparison with Jesus Christ. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ If there is justice in heaven, or fire in hell "The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him." John 3:36 There are dreadful threatenings denounced by the Spirit in the word against all who refuse or neglect to come to Christ, which are of great use to engage and quicken souls in their way to Christ. If there is justice in heaven, or fire in hell , every soul who does not come to Christ must perish to all eternity! Upon your own heads be the destruction of your own souls forever if you will not come to him. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The necessities of our souls "You are complete in Him." Colossians 2:10 Christ is virtually and eminently all that the necessities of our souls require: bread to the hungry, and clothing to the naked. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Do you not teach yourself? "You, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? " Romans 2:21 O, it is far easier to study and press a thousand truths upon others, than to feel the power of one truth upon our own hearts! It is easier to teach others duties to be done, than duties by doing them. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The disordered soul Man, by the apostasy, has become a most disordered and rebellious creature, opposing his Maker— as the First Cause, by self-dependence; as the Chief Good, by self-love; as the Highest Lord, by self-will; and as the Last End, by self-seeking. Thus he is quite disordered, and all his actions are irregular. But by regeneration the disordered soul is set right; this great change being, the renovation of the soul after the image of God, in which— self-dependence is removed by faith; self-love, by the love of God; self-will, by subjection and obedience to the will of God; and self-seeking by self-denial. The darkened understanding is illuminated, the refractory will sweetly subdued, the rebellious appetite gradually conquered. Thus the soul which sin had universally depraved, is by grace restored. |
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John Flavel (1628 - 1691)
Was an English Presbyterian clergyman, puritan, and author. Flavel, the eldest son of the Rev. Richard Flavel, described as ‘a painful and eminent minister,’ who was incumbent successively of Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, Hasler and Willersey, Gloucestershire (from which last living he was ejected in 1662), was born in or about 1630 at Bromsgrove.He was ejected from his living by the passing of the Act of Uniformity in 1662, but continued to preach and administer the sacraments privately till the Five Mile Act of 1665, when he retired to Slapton, 5 miles away. He then lived for a time in London, but returned to Dartmouth, where he labored till his death in 1691. He was married four times. He was a vigorous and voluminous writer, and not without a play of fine fancy. His principal works are his Navigation Spiritualized (1671); The Fountain of Life, in forty-two Sermons (1672); The Method of Grace (1680); Pneumatologia, a Treatise on the Soul of Man (1698); A Token for Mourners; Husbandry Spiritualized (1699).
John Flavel was an English Presbyterian clergyman. Flavel was born at Bromsgrove, Worcestershire and studied at Oxford. A Presbyterian, held livings at Diptford (in Devon) and Dartmouth. He was ejected from the latter as a result of the Great Ejection of 1662; however, he continued to preach there secretly. After the Declaration of Indulgence 1687, became a minister of a Nonconformist Church there.
He was a prolific and popular author. Among his works are The Mystery of Providence (1678), Husbandry Spiritualised (1669) and Navigation Spiritualised (1671), The Seamon's Companion (1676), titles which suggest some of his characteristics as a writer.
He died at Exeter, Devonshire, on 26 June 1691. Flavel is commemorated in the name of Flavel Road on Bromsgrove's Charford Estate.
John Flavel (or Flavell) was born in 1628 in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. He was the son of Richard Flavel, a minister who died of the plague in 1665 while in prison for nonconformity. John Flavel was educated by his father in the ways of religion, then "plied his studies hard" as a commoner at University College, Oxford. In 1650, he was ordained by the presbytery at Salisbury. He settled in Diptford, where he honed his numerous gifts.
He married Joan Randall, a godly woman, who died while giving birth to their first child in 1655. The baby died as well. After a year of mourning, Flavel married Elizabeth Stapell and was again blessed with a close, God-fearing marriage, as well as children.
In 1656, Flavel accepted a call to be minister in the thriving seaport of Dartmouth. He earned a smaller income there, but his work was more profitable; many were converted. One of his parishioners wrote of Flavel, "I could say much, though not enough of the excellency of his preaching; of his seasonable, suitable, and spiritual matter; of his plain expositions of Scripture; his talking method, his genuine and natural deductions, his convincing arguments, his clear and powerful demonstrations, his heart-searching applications, and his comfortable supports to those that were afflicted in conscience. In short, that person must have a very soft head, or a very hard heart, or both, that could sit under his ministry unaffected."