The following Grace Quotes have
for their theme, The Loveliness of Jesus. Available at www.gracegyms.org. THOMAS WATSON CHRIST ALL IN ALL
Christ is all in all. Colossians 3 verse 11. All good things are transmitted
and conveyed to us through Christ. As our rich commodities, such
as jewels and spices, come to us by the sea, so all heavenly
blessings sail to us through the red sea of Christ's blood.
Christ is that spiritual pipe through which the golden oil
of mercy empties itself into the soul. Christ is all in all. He is the treasury and storehouse
of all spiritual riches. You may go with the bee, from
flower to flower, and suck a little sweetness here and there, but
you will never have enough until you come to Christ, for He is
all in all. There is enough in Christ to
scatter all our fears, to remove all our burdens, to supply all
our needs, the unsearchable riches of Christ. Ephesians 3 verse
8. There can be no defect in that
which is infinite. Christ is the most supreme good. Put what you will in the balance
with Christ, He infinitely outweighs it. Christ is the most sufficient
good. He who has Christ needs no more. He who has the ocean needs not
the cistern. Christ is the most suitable good.
In him dwells all fullness. Colossians 1 verse 19. Christ
is whatever the soul can desire. Christ is beauty to adorn. Gold, to enrich. Balm, to heal. Bread, to strengthen. Wine, to comfort. Salvation,
to crown. Christ sweetens all our comforts. He who has Christ may say, This
mercy is given to me by the hand of my Savior. This is a love
token from Him, a pledge of glory. Christ sanctifies all our crosses. They shall be medicinal to the
soul. They shall work sin out and work
grace in. Christ sees to it that his people
lose nothing in the furnace of affliction, but their drossy
impurities. Christ is a most rare blessing.
Christ is a jewel that few are enriched with. This should both
raise our esteem of Him and quicken our pursuit after Him. Many hear
of Christ, but few have Him. Many have Christ sounded in their
ears, but few who have Christ formed in their hearts. Christ
is the most choice good. God shows more love in giving
us Christ than in giving us crowns and kingdoms. God may give a
man many worldly things, and hate him. God may give others
a little gold and silver, but if he gives you Christ, he gives
you all that ever he had. Without Christ, nothing else
is good. Without Christ, health is not
good. It is fuel for lust. Without Christ, riches are not
good, they are golden snares. Without Christ, ordinances are
not good, they are as breasts without milk. Without Christ,
they will damn us. Millions go to hell loaded with
ordinances. Make Christ all in your affections. Desire nothing but Christ. He
is the aggregation of all good things. Why should the soul desire
less? How can it desire more? Love
nothing but Christ. Love is a choicest affection. It is the richest jewel the creature
has to bestow. O, if Christ is all, love him
better than all. He who is all, let him have all. Give him your love, who desires
it most and deserves it best. O Christian, have you seen the
Lord Jesus? has this morning star shone into
your heart with its enlightening, quickening beams. than rejoice
and be exceeding glad. Shall others rejoice in the world?
And will not you rejoice in Christ? How much better is He than all
other things? It reflects disbarment upon Christ,
when His saints are sad and drooping. Is not Christ yours? What more
would you have? Be thankful for Christ. God has
done more for you and given you Christ, than if He made you angels,
or had given you the whole world. God cannot give a greater gift
than Christ, who is all in all. Here is a breast of comfort to
every believer. Christ is all. When a Christian
sees a deficiency in himself, he may see an all-sufficiency
in his Savior. He who has Christ has no lack,
for Christ is all. In the hour of death, a believer
may rejoice. When he leaves all, he is possessed
of all. A godly man may say, I fear not
death, because I have Christ to go to. Death will but carry
me to that torrent of divine pleasure, which runs at his right
hand for evermore. I have the desire to depart and
be with Christ, which is far better. Philippians 1 verse 23 He has done all things well.
Mark 7 verse 37 Adapted from Octavius Winslow's The Sigh of
Christ Yes, from first to last. From our cradle to our grave,
from the earliest pang of sin's conviction to the last thrill
of sin's forgiveness, from earth to heaven, this will be our testimony
in all the way the Lord our God has led us in the wilderness.
He has done all things well. In providence and in grace, in
every truth of his word, in every lesson of his love, in every
stroke of his rod, in every sunbeam that is shown, and every cloud
that has shaded, and every element that has sweetened, and every
ingredient that has embittered, and all that has been mysterious,
inscrutable, painful, and humiliating, and all that he gave, and all
that he took away. This testimony is his just due. And this our grateful acknowledgment,
through time and through eternity, he has done all things well. Has He converted us through grace
by a way we had thought the most improbable? Has He torn up all
our earthly hopes by the roots? Has He thwarted our schemes,
frustrated our plans, disappointed our expectations? Has He taught
us in schools most trying, by a discipline most severe, in
lessons most humbling to our nature? Has he withered our strength
by sickness, Reduced us to poverty by loss, Crushed our heart by
bereavement? And have we been tempted to exclaim,
All these things are against me? Ah, no, faith will yet obtain
the ascendancy, And sweetly sing, I know in all things that befell
My Jesus has done all things well. Beloved, it must be so,
for Jesus can do nothing wrong. Study the way of His providence
and grace with a microscopic eye of faith. View them in every
light. Examine them in their minutest
detail, as you would the petal of a flower or the wing of an
insect. And oh, what wonders, what beauty,
what marvellous adaptation would you observe in all the various
dealings with you of your glorious Lord! I'll sing of Jesus crucified,
The Lamb of God who bled and died, A healing balm, a crimson
tide. Flowed from his head his feet
his side. Above the rest this note shall
swell, My Jesus has done all things well. He sought me in
the wilderness, And found me there in deep distress. He changed
and washed this heart of mine, And filled me with his love divine. Above the rest this note shall
swell, My Jesus has done all things well. For what the Lord
has done for me, For boundless grace, so rich and free, For
all his mercies that are past, I'll praise him all, my life
shall last. Above the rest, this note shall
swell, My Jesus has done all things well. When sorrow's ways
around me roll, His promises my mind console, When earth and
hell my soul assail, His grace and mercy never fail. Above the
rest this note shall swell, My Jesus has done all things well.
When death shall still upon my frame, To damp and quench the
vital flame, I'll look into my Saviour's breast, And there recline
and sweetly rest, Above the rest this note shall swell, My Jesus
has done all things well. And when we join the ransomed
throng, To chant the sweet immortal song, This tuneful heart, and
voice, and tongue, Will roll the lofty note along. Above the
rest this note shall swell, My Jesus has done all things well.
To him who washed us in his blood, And made us kings and priests
to God, Hosanna we will ever sing, And make the heavenly arches
ring, Above the rest this note shall swell, My Jesus has done
all things well. He has done all things well.
Mark 7 verse 37. Had I a thousand lives, a thousand
souls, John Fawcett, Christ, precious, my meditation of him
shall be sweet. Psalm 104, verse 34. It is a tendency of love to excite
in the mind many thoughts about the beloved object. A right knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ will fill the mind with thoughts and
meditations concerning him. so as to excite the affections,
to cleave to him with delight. A discovery of the glory of his
person, of the perfection of his atoning sacrifice, and of
the fullness of his grace, must inspire the heart with love to
him. Yes, he is very precious to you
who believe. 1 Peter 2 verse 7. It is much
to be lamented. that those who profess a sincere
attachment to the Redeemer should have their thoughts a little
employed about Him, where a multitude of worldly cares, desires, fears,
and hopes prevail in the mind, decumber it and perplex it, so
as to bring on a great disinclination to spiritual meditation. The
advice of the Apostle Paul is of great importance in this case,
if he who then arisen with Christ. Seek those things which are above,
where Christ sits at the right hand of God. Set your affection,
your mind, your thoughts on the things above, not on the things
on the earth. But earthly and sensual affections
fill the hearts and heads of men with multitudes of thoughts
concerning those objects on which they are fixed, so as to leave
no room, nor any inclination for spiritual and heavenly thoughts.
Shall not my thoughts, says the believer, be frequently employed
in meditating on the love of that infinitely glorious person,
to whom I am indebted for deliverance from the greatest misery, and
for all the hope I have of being one day advanced to everlasting
glory and felicity? He poured out His holy soul in
agonies, under the curse of the avenging law, to make me a partaker
of eternal blessedness. He perfectly fulfilled the precepts
of that holy law that I, by His obedience, might be made righteous. This glorious and adorable Redeemer
thought upon us long before the foundations of the world were
laid. He bore us on His heart when He hung on the cross, when
He was torn with wounds and racked with pain, when He poured out
His dying groans and spilled His blood. He remembers us now
when He is exalted at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens,
and will never, never forget us through all the ages of eternity. Surely then we ought to think
of him. Impressed with the sense of his
everlasting kindness, we should be ready to say he's a captive
in Babylon concerning their beloved city Jerusalem. If I forget you,
O blessed Jesus, let my right hand forget its scale. May my
tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I fail to remember you,
if I don't make you my highest joy. What holy transports of
soul! What divine delights have many
Christians experienced in meditating on the glories of the Redeemer!
Ascending the mount of contemplation, their souls have taken wing and
explored the height and depth, the length and breadth of the
love of Christ which passes knowledge. They have seen, by the eye of
faith, that he is infinitely lovely in himself, that he is
the admiration of angels, the darling of heaven, and the delight
of the Father. They have viewed him in the brightness
of his ineffable glory, clothed with indescribable majesty and
honour. They have been transported with
the smiles of his countenance, and said of him, He is the chief
among ten thousand, and altogether lovely. They have also considered
their own unworthiness, and said, Can such a wretch as I be the
object of his love? So vile a worm, so unprofitable
a creature, so great a sinner, one so deserving of his everlasting
abhorrence! Has he loved me so as to give
himself for me? O, what marvellous kindness is
this! Is my worthless name written
in his book of life? Am I redeemed by his blood, renewed
by his spirit? Beautified with his loveliness,
and clothed in his righteousness! O wonder of wonders! How can
I forbear to love this adorable Saviour? Can I withhold my choicest
affections from Him? Ah, no! Had I a thousand lives,
a thousand souls, they would all be devoted to Him. You tempted
vanities of this base world! You flattering honours! You deceitful
riches! Adieu! Jesus is my all. He is my light, my life, my infilling
treasure, my everlasting portion. Nothing below the skies is deserving
of my love. Precious Redeemer in You the
boundless wishes of my soul are filled. I long to leave this
tenement of clay and to rest in the bosom of Your love for
ever. my meditation of him shall be sweet Psalm 104 verse 34 the most precious thing in heaven
or earth John Flavel the fountain of life 1671 in giving Christ
to die for poor sinners God gave the richest jewel in his cabinet
a mercy of the greatest worth and most inestimable value. Heaven itself is not so valuable
and precious as Christ is. Ten thousand thousand worlds,
as many worlds as angels can number, would not outweigh Christ's
love, excellency and sweetness. Oh, what a lovely one! What an
excellent, beautiful, ravishing one is Christ! Put the beauty
of ten thousand paradises, like the Garden of Eden, into one.
Put all flowers, all fragrances, all colors, all tastes, all joys,
all sweetness, all loveliness, into one. What a lovely and excellent
thing would that be! And yet it would be less to that
loveliest and dearest well-beloved Christ than one drop of rain
to all the seas, rivers, lakes, and fountains of ten thousand
earths. Now, forgot to bestow the mercy
of mercies, the most precious thing in heaven or earth, upon
poor sinners, and as great, as lovely, as excellent as his son
was, what kind of love is this? The only true delight. From Charles
Spurgeon's sermon A Bundle of Myrrh. Christ Jesus is unutterably
precious to believers. Nothing gives a believer so much
joy as fellowship with Christ. The Christian has joy as other
men have in the common mercies of life. For him there are charms
in music, excellence in painting, and beauty in sculpture. For
him the hills have sermons of majesty, the rocks hymns of sublimity,
and the valleys lessons of love. He can look upon all things with
an eye as clear and joyous as another man's. He can be glad
both in God's gifts and God's works. He is not dead to the
happiness of his home. Around his hearth he finds happy
relationships, without which life would be dreary indeed.
His children fill his home with glee. His wife is his solace
and delight. His friends are his comfort and
refreshment. He accepts the comforts which
soul and body can yield him according as God sees it wise to afford
them unto him. But he will tell you that in
all these separately, yes, and in all of them added together,
he does not find such substantial delight as he does in the person
of his Lord Jesus. In our esteem, the joys of earth
are little better than husks for swine, compared with Jesus
a heavenly manna. I would rather have one mouthful
of Christ's love and a sip of his fellowship than a whole world
full of carnal delights. What is a chaff to the wheat?
What is a sparkling paste to the true diamond? What is a dream
to the glorious reality? What is time's mirth in its best
trim compared to our Lord Jesus in His most despised estate? No spring yields such sweet water
as that well of God which was digged with the soldier's spear.
As for the house of feasting, the joy of harvest, the mirth
of marriage, the sports of youth, the recreations of mature age,
they are all as a small dust of the balance compared with
the joy of Immanuel, our best beloved. As a preacher said,
so say we. I said of laughter, it is mad,
and of mirth, what is it? Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. All earthly bliss is of the earth,
earthy, but the comforts of Christ's presence are like himself, heavenly. We can review our communion with
Jesus and find no regrets of emptiness therein. There are
no dregs in this wine, no dead flies in this ointment. The joy
of the Lord is solid and enduring. Vanity is not looked upon it,
but discretion and prudence testify that it abides a test of years. And isn't time and eternity worthy
to be called the only true delight? No wonder the maidens love you,
James Durham, the Song of Solomon. Let him kiss me with the kisses
of his mouth, for your love is more delightful than wine. Pleasing
is the fragrance of your perfumes, your name is like perfume poured
out. No wonder the maidens love you,
Song of Solomon, chapter 1, verses 2 and 3. Believers are not soon
satisfied in expressing Christ's worth. Christ and all that is
in him is as refreshing as a box that is full of the most precious
perfume. Christ is well stored with grace,
it is poured into his lips. This fragrant of Christ's graces
is not felt by everyone. The box of his perfumes is not
open to all, but only to those who believe, for to them he is
precious. And everything that is in him
is most cordial and fragrant to the believer. Yes, he is very
precious to you who believe, 1 Peter 2 verse 7. The more Christ
in his worth is known, it will fragrance the better, and be
the more refreshing, for it is his name which is this perfume. Christ in his excellent worth
is unknown to the world. They do not inquire into this
fragrant name. But if he were once known, they
would find in him that which would make them give over their
other unprofitable pursuits and pant after him. My lover is radiant
and dazzling, better than ten thousand others. Song of Solomon
5 verse 10. His mouth a sweetness itself,
he is altogether lovely. This is my lover, this my friend. Song of Solomon 5 verse 16. O what crowds of pitiable objects! J.C. Philpott, Daily Portions
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, So
that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our
time of need. Hebrews 4 verse 16 What heart
can conceive or tongue recount the daily, hourly triumphs of
the Lord Jesus Christ's all-conquering grace? We see scarcely a millionth
part of what He, as a King on His throne, is daily doing. What a crowd of needy petitioners
every moment surrounds His throne! What urgent needs and woes to
answer! What cutting griefs and sorrows
to assuage! What broken hearts to mind up?
What wounded consciences to heal? What countless prayers to hear?
What earnest petitions to grant? What stubborn foes to subdue?
What guilty fears to quell? What grace? What kindness? What patience? What compassion? What mercy, what love, what power,
what authority does this Almighty Sovereign display? No circumstances
too trifling, no petitioner too insignificant, no case too hard,
no difficulty too great, no seeker too importunate, no bigger too
ragged, no banked rupt, too penniless, no debtor, too insolvent, for
him not to notice and not to relieve. Sitting on his throne
of grace, his all-seeing eye views all, his almighty hand
grasps all, and his loving heart embraces all whom the Father
chose, whom he himself redeemed by his blood. in whom the Blessed
Spirit has quickened into life by His invincible power, the
hopeless, the helpless, the outcasts, whom no man cares for, the tempest-tossed
and not comforted, the ready to perish, the mourners in Zion,
the bereaved widow, the wailing orphan, the sick in body, the
still more sick in heart, the rat with hourly pain, the wrestler
with death's last struggle, O what crowds of pitiable objects surround
his throne, and all needing a look from his eye, a word from his
lips, a smile from his face, a touch from his hand, O could
we but see what his grace is, what his grace has, what his
grace does, and could we but feel more what it is doing in
and for ourselves, we would have more exalted views of the reign
of grace now exercised on high by Zion's enthroned king. Let
us then approach the throne of grace with confidence. so that
we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time
of need. Hebrews 4 verse 16 The Best Physician Thomas Watson
The Soul's Melody and Cure Christ is the best physician. Christ
is the most skillful physician. There is no disease too hard
for Him, Psalm 103, verse 3, who heals all your diseases. He can cure the gangrene of sin
even when it comes to the heart. He can melt a heart of stone
and wash away black sins in the crimson of His blood. There are
no desperate cases with Christ. He has those salves, oils, and
balsams which can cure the worst diseases. Christ is the cheapest
physician. Sickness is not only a consumption
to the body, but the purse. Luke 8 verse 43. Physicians charge
fees. But Jesus Christ gives our medicine
freely. He takes, no fee. Isaiah 55,
1. Come without money and without
price. He desires us to bring nothing
to him but broken hearts. And when he has cured us, he
desires us to bestow nothing upon him but our love, and one
would think that was very reasonable. Christ heals with more ease than
any other. Other physicians apply pills,
potions, or remedies. Christ cures with more ease. Christ made the devil go out
with the word spoken. Mark 9 verse 25. So when the
soul is spiritually possessed, Christ can heal with a word,
nay he can cure with a look. When Peter had fallen into a
relapse, Christ looked on Peter and he wept. Christ's look melted
Peter into repentance. It was a healing look. Other
physicians can only cure those who are sick, but Christ cures
those who are dead. Ephesians 2 verse 1, You hath
he quickened who are dead in trespasses and sins. Christ cures
not only our diseases, but our deformities. The physician can
make the sick man well, but if he is deformed, he cannot make
him lovely. Christ gives not only health,
but beauty. Sin has made us ugly and misshapen. Christ's medicines do not only
take away our sickness, but our spots. He not only makes us whole,
but lovely. Christ not only heals, but adorns. Last, Christ is the most bountiful
physician. Other patients enrich their physicians,
but here the physician enriches the patient. Christ advances
all his patients. He not only cures them, but crowns
them. Revelation 2 verse 10. Christ
not only raises from the sick bed, but to the throne. He gives
the sick man not only health, but heaven. Oh, the love of this
heavenly physician. Christ himself drank that bitter
cup, which we should have drunk. And by his taking the bitter
potion, we are healed and saved. Thus Christ has shown more love
than any physician ever did to the patient. HIS NAMES AND TITLES William
S. Plumer THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION
1867 Jesus Christ is a wonderful, a glorious person. His names
and titles are as important as they are significant. Every one
of them is an ointment poured forth. His people sit under his
shadow with great delight, and his fruit is sweet to their taste. To them he is altogether lovely. He is their advocate, the angel
of the covenant, the author and finisher of their faith. He is
as the apple tree among the trees of the forest, the Alpha and
the Omega. He is their beloved, the shepherd
and bishop of souls, the bread of life, the righteous branch,
the bridegroom. To brightness of the Father's
glory and the express image of His person He is a bundle of
myrrh. To His saints He is in His own
to be Creator. CAPTAIN, COUNSELOR, COVENANT,
CORNERSTONE, A COVERT, FROM THE TEMPEST, AND THE CHIEF, AMONG
TEN THOUSAND. HE IS TO THEM AS A DO, THE DOOR
INTO THE FOLD, A DAYSMAN, A DAY-STAR, A DELIVERER, A DIADEM, AND A
DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS, RANKS, AND GENERATIONS OF PIOUS MEN. In their eyes He is the elect,
Emmanuel, the everlasting Father and eternal life. He is a fountain
of living waters to thirsty souls, of joy to troubled souls, of
life to dying souls. He is the foundation on which
His people of all ages safely build their hopes of heaven.
He is the Father of eternity, the fir tree under whose shadow
the saints rejoice. the first and the last, the first
fruits of the greatest harvest ever gathered, the first born
among many brethren and the first begotten from the dead. To his
chosen he is the most fine gold, a guide, a governor, a glorious
Lord, God, the true God, God over all, blessed forever. He is the head of the church,
the health, the hope, the husband, the heritage, the habitation
of his people. He is the horn of their salvation. He rides upon the heavens by
his name Jah. He is Jehovah, the Inheritance,
Judge, and King of His Saints. He is their Light, their Life,
their Lord, their Leader, their Lawgiver, their Atoning Lamb,
the Lily of the Valley, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He is
the Man, Christ Jesus, the Master, the Mediator, the Messenger of
the Covenant, the minister of the true sanctuary. He is the
mighty God of Isaiah, the Michael of Daniel, the Melchizedek of
David and of Paul, the bright and morning star of John, and
the Messiah of all the prophets. He is the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth. He is at once the root and the
offspring of David. He is the peace the Prince, the
Priest, the Prophet, the Potentate, the Purifier, the Propitiation
for our sins, the Physician of Souls, the Plant of Renown, the
Power of God unto Salvation, the Passover of all Saints. He
is a polished shaft in the quiver of God. He is the Rock, the Refuge,
the Ruler, the Ransom, the Refiner, the Redeemer, the Righteousness
and the Resurrection of all who walk in white. He is the Rose
of Sharon, He is the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham,
the seed of David, the stem of Jesse, the son of God, the son
of man, the shield, the strength, the surety, the Shiloh, the sacrifice,
the sanctuary, the salvation, the sanctification, and the son
of righteousness to all believers. He is the truth, the treasure,
the teacher, the temple, the tree of life, the great testator
of his church. He is the way, the well of salvation,
the word of God, the wisdom of God, the faithful witness. He is the wonderful. His person
is one. His natures are two. He is both
human and divine, finite and infinite, created and uncreated. He was before Abraham, though
not born for ages, after that patriarch slept with his fathers. He was dead, and behold, he is
alive forevermore. On earth he had nowhere to lay
his head, yet he disposes of all diadems. By him kings rule
and princes decree justice. He has the arm of a god and the
heart of a brother. To him all tongues shall confess
and all knees bow. Yet he learned obedience by the
things which he suffered. None loves like him, none pities
like him, none saves like him. It is not surprising that such
a person lives and reigns in the hearts of his people. No
marvel that the virgins love him, and the saints praise him,
and the martyrs die for him, and the confessors are not ashamed
of him, and the sorrowings sigh for him, and the penitent lie
at his cross, and pour out their tears before him, and the humble
trust in him, and the believing lay fast hold of him, and will
not let him go. His frown shakes a frame of universal
nature. His smile gives life. His presence
converts dungeons into palaces. His blood cleanses from all sin.
His righteousness is a white robe of the redeemed. If men
would be safe, or wise, or holy, or happy, or useful, or strong,
or victorious, let them look to Jesus. Let them look to none
else. Let them walk in Him, abide in
Him, glory in Him, and count His loss all things besides. You may look at the law until
the spirit of bondage overwhelms you with tears and torment. You
may go about to establish your own righteousness until you can
boast and sin and perish like a Pharisee. You may weep until
the fountain of your tears has gone dry. You may have all gifts,
understand all mysteries, bestow all your goods to feed the poor
and yield your body to be burned, but all these things will not
atone for sin, will do nothing toward regaining the lost favor
of God, will not make you fit for the inheritance of the saints
in light. None but Christ. None but Christ. None but Christ
has been the cry of the faithful witnesses of all ages, when truth
has triumphed, when sinners were converted, when saints shouted
for joy, when the Word of God mightily grew and prevailed. What more can any Christian desire? Thomas Brooks, The Golden Key
to Open Hidden Treasures. As for me, God forbid that I
should boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 6 verse 14. There is
enough in a suffering Christ to fill us and satisfy us to
the full. He is of greatest worth and wealth
in Him. Look, as the worth and value
of many pieces of silver is to be found in one piece of gold,
just so all the petty excellencies which are scattered abroad in
the creatures are to be found in a bleeding, dying Christ. Yes, all the whole volume of
perfections which is spread through heaven and earth is epitomized
in Him who suffered on the cross. A man cannot exaggerate in speaking
of the glories of Christ. Certainly, it is as easy to contain
the sea in a seashell as to fully relate the transcendent excellencies
of a suffering Christ. O sirs, there is in a crucified
Jesus something proportionate to all the straits, needs, necessities,
and desires of his poor people. He is a bread to nourish them,
a garment to cover and adorn them, a physician to heal them,
a counselor to advise them, a captain to defend them, a prince to rule
them, a prophet to teach them, a priest to make atonement for
them, a husband to protect them. a father to provide for them,
a brother to relieve them, a foundation to support them, a head to guide
them, a treasure to enrich them, a son to enlighten them, and
a fountain to cleanse them. What more can any Christian desire
to satisfy Him and save Him and to make Him holy and happy in
time and in eternity? altogether lovely, from Charles
Spurgeon's sermon The Best Beloved. No words can ever express the
gratitude we owe to Him who loved us even when we were dead in
trespasses and sins. The love of Jesus is unutterably
precious, and worthy of daily praise. No songs can ever fitly
celebrate the triumphs of that salvation which he wrought single-handed
on our behalf. The work of Jesus' glory is beyond
all comparison, and all the harps of angels fall short of its worthy
honor. We prize His bounty to us, but
we worship Him. His gifts are valued, but He
Himself is adored. While we contemplate, with mingled
feelings of awe, admiration, and thankfulness, His atonement,
His resurrection, His glory in heaven, and His second coming,
still it is Christ Himself, stupendous in His dignity as the Son of
God, and superbly beautiful as the Son of Man. who sheds an
incomparable charm on all those wonderful achievements wherein
his might and his merit, his goodness and his grace appear
so conspicuous. For him let our choicest spices
be reserved, and to him let our sweetest anthems be raised. Our choicest ointment must be
poured upon his head, and for his own self alone our most costly
alabaster boxes must be broken. He is altogether lovely. Not
only is his teaching attractive, his doctrine persuasive, his
life irreproachable, his character enchanting in his work, a self-denying
labor for the common good of all his people, but he himself
is altogether lovely. Do not look for anything lovely
outside of Jesus, for he has all the loveliness. All perfections
are in him, making up one consummate perfection. And all the loveliness
which is to be seen elsewhere is but a reflection of his own
unrivaled charms. Jesus is the monopolizer of all
loveliness. He is the engrosser of all that
is admirable in the entire universe. Unfathomable Oceans of Grace
Robert Murray McChain Let us fix our eyes on Jesus. Hebrews
12 verse 2 For every look itself, take ten looks at Christ. Live
near to Jesus, and all things will appear little to you in
comparison with eternal realities. How many millions of dazzling
pearls and gems are at this moment hidden in the deep recesses of
the ocean caves? Likewise, unfathomable oceans
of grace are in Christ for you. Dive, and dive again. You will
never come to the bottom of these depths. When you gaze upon the
sun, it makes everything else dark. When you taste honey, it
makes everything else tasteless. Likewise, when your soul feeds
on Jesus, it takes away the sweetness of all earthly things. Praise,
pleasure, fleshly lusts all lose their sweetness. Keep a continued
gaze. Run, looking unto Jesus. So will
the world be crucified to you, and you unto the world. Very Precious John Fawcett Christ
Precious Yes, He is very precious to you who believe. 1 Peter 2
verse 7 Jesus is precious to believers
as the bread of God coming down from heaven and giving everlasting
life to their souls. By him they are really, constantly
and daily supported, fed and sustained. As bread is sweet
and precious to a hungry man, so is Christ sweet and precious
to those who live by Him. The entertainment that He gives
to them is a divine, a spiritual feast. Jesus is precious to believers,
is the Son of Righteousness. The beams of His grace are healing,
enlightening, cheering, and full of consolation. If natural light
is sweet, if it is a pleasant thing to behold the sun, how
much more pleasant to experience the irradiating influences of
the light of life. Jesus is precious to believers.
is a fountain where they bathe their weary souls and in which
they are cleansed from all sin and impurity. He is a tree of
life, under the shadow of which they sit with great delight,
and his fruit is sweet to their taste. He is a rock, a strong
tower, a hiding place, where they find protection from every
storm and security from every foe. He was precious to the psalmist
under all these views. I will love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress,
and my deliverer, my God, my strength in whom I trust, my
shield and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. It is therefore
the delight of their lives to know Him, to love and honor Him
with their whole hearts, and to aspire after conformity to
His blessed image and His holy will. O blessed Redeemer, I find
in You all that my poor, helpless soul stands in need of, though
I have the greatest reason for shame and humiliation, on account
of what I am in myself. Yet in You I behold everything
to elevate my hopes and to afford me relief and encouragement.
May my soul magnify the Lord and my spirit rejoice in God
my Saviour. The characters and relations
in which you have revealed yourself to me in your word exhibit a
balm for every wound and a cordial for every fear. If I am naked,
you are the Lord my righteousness. If I am soul sick, you are my
physician. If I am weak and helpless, you
are my strength. If I am neglected and despised,
you are my compassionate and faithful friend. If I am ignorant,
you are made unto me wisdom. If I am polluted and enslaved,
you made unto me sanctification and redemption. If I am nothing
but emptiness and vanity, you are full of grace and truth.
Yes, He is very precious to you who believe. That Almighty Friend, Advocate
and Physician J.C. Ryle, Do You Believe? Christ
is that brazen serpent which God has set up in the world for
the healing of all sin-bitten souls who desire to be cured.
The believer looks to Him by faith and receives life, health,
and spiritual strength. Christ is that true city of refuge
to which the man fleeing from the avenger of blood runs. and
in which he is safe. Christ is that altar which provided
a sanctuary to him who laid hold on his horns. Christ is that
almighty hand of mercy which God holds out from heaven to
lost and drowning sinners. The believer lays hold on this
land by faith and is delivered from the pit of hell. The Lord
Jesus says, My flesh is food indeed. He who eats of this bread
shall live forever. John 6 verses 55 and 58. Christ is that divine food which
God has provided for starving sinners. He is that divine bread
which is at the same time life, nourishment and medicine. The
believer feeds on this bread of life. by faith. His hunger is relieved. His soul
is delivered from damnation. The Lord Jesus says, My blood
is drink indeed. John 6 verse 55 Christ is that
fountain of living water which God has opened for the use of
all thirsty and sin-defiled sinners, proclaiming, Whoever will, let
him take the water of life freely. Revelation 22 verse 17. The believer drinks of this living
water and his thirst is quenched. Christ is the appointed keeper
and guardian of his people. It is his office to preserve
from sin, death, hell, and the devil, any who are committed
to his charge. The believer places his soul
in the hands of this almighty treasure-keeper, and is insured
against loss to all eternity. He trusts himself to Christ and
is safe. Christ is that almighty friend,
advocate, and physician to whom all sinners, needing help, are
commanded to apply. The believer comes to him by
faith and is relieved. This baffles all our comprehension. John McNuff, cleft of the rock,
1874. So the word became human and
lived here on earth among us. John 1 verse 14. What a transition! What a stoop for that infinite
being who proclaimed himself the Alpha and the Omega! For
the ancient of days to assume the nature and take the form
of a cradled infant sleeping on a virgin mother's breast!
We have no plumb-line to sound the depths of that humiliation.
We have no arithmetic by which it can be submitted to any process
of calculation. If we can entertain for a moment
the shocking supposition of the loftiest created spirit in heaven,
abjuring his angel nature and becoming an insect or a worm,
we can in some feeble degree estimate the descent involved
in the transformation. But for the illimitable, everlasting
Jehovah himself to become incarnate, the Creator to take the nature
of the created, the Infinite to be joined with the finite,
Deity to be linked with dust. This baffles all our comprehension. We can only lie in adoring reverence
and exclaim with the Apostle, O the depth! Wonder, O heavens,
and be astonished, O earth! THIS MOST PRECIOUS AND SUITABLE
SAVIOR LETTERS OF J.C. PHILPOTT FOR WE DO NOT HAVE A
HIGH PRIEST WHO IS UNABLE TO SYMPATHIZE WITH OUR WEAKNESSES
Hebrews 4 verse 15, What a mercy it is to have a faithful and
gracious, compassionate high priest, who can sympathize with
his poor, tried, tempted family, so that however low they may
sink, his pitiful eye can see them in their lowest state. His
gracious ear hears their cries. His loving heart melts over them,
and his strong arm plucks them from their destructions. Oh,
what would we do without such a gracious and most suitable
Savior as the Blessed Jesus? How He seems to rise more and
more in our estimation, in our thoughts, in our desires, in
our affections. As we see and feel what a wreck
and ruin we are, what dreadful havoc sin has made with both
body and soul, what miserable outcasts we are by nature. But oh, how needful it is, dear
friend, to be brought down in our soul, to be the chief of
sinners, viler than the vilest, and worse than the worst, that
we may really and truly believe in and cleave unto this most
precious and suitable Savior. A mixture of clay, dirt, and
corruption. Thomas Vincent, love to the unseen
Christ. Yes, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, this my friend. Song of Songs 5 verse 16 Christ
is the most lovely person and the most suitable object for
your love. There never was, nor will be
found, any person so lovely, so beautiful, and so every way
deserving of your love, as the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a
matchless, transcendent, and incomparable beauty and excellency
in Him. How passionately are some foolish
men in love with the external beauty which they see in some
women. They love the exact symmetry
of parts and lovely proportion of the body, the amiable features
and lovely mixtures of colors in the face, the beauty of the
eyes and features, their graceful motions and amorous glances.
How does this ravish the hearts of some foolish men? Although
the most beautiful woman in the world is no better than a mixture
of clay, dirt, and corruption, enclosed in a lovely skin, which
sickness will cause to look pale and ashen, and death will fully
mar and spoil. But the amiableness and beauty
of Christ is more transcendent and permanent, and therefore
a more fit object for your love. Christ is all fair without any
spot. altogether lovely, without any
blemish or deformity. Could we suppose all the loveliness
that ever was seen or found in the most lovely people that ever
lived, were to meet in one person? How lovely would that person
be! Yet such, though ever so resplendent beauty, would be
but a dark shadow compared with the brightness of our most beautiful
Christ. Can you love the imperfect beauty
which you see in creatures? And will you not love the perfect
beauty which there is in Christ? Can you love a fading beauty
which soon withers like the flower? And will you not love Christ
whose beauty never decays, but always abides more fresh than
beauty in the flower of youth? Can you be soon affected with
beautiful objects which are before the eye of your sense? And will
you not be affected with this far more beautiful object, the
Lord Jesus Christ, who is so clearly discernible by the eye
of faith? If the eye of your faith was
open and clear, to look upon the transcendent loveliness which
is in Christ, you could not but love Him. Could ye see the glances
of his eye, and the sweet smiles of his lovely face? Your hearts
would be overcome and ravished with love, and filled with ecstasies
of joy and ineffable delight. Yes, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, this my friend.