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Sixty choice Grace Gems!

Puritan Devotional • October, 29 2007 • Audio
3 Sermons
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Puritan Devotional • October, 29 2007
3 sermons
A selection of sixty choice quotes from various Puritan authors.

The sermon titled "Sixty Choice Grace Gems!" presents a comprehensive reflection on the centrality of Christ's blood and the futility of reliance on religious duties for salvation. The preacher emphasizes that true salvation and cleansing from sin is solely through the blood of Christ, as supported by Hebrews 9:22, which asserts that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. The sermon warns against the dangers of trusting in one’s religious works or duties, citing Luke 18:12 to illustrate how such reliance can lead to self-righteousness and ultimately damnation. It underscores the importance of resting in Christ's work of grace as the only source of hope and assurance for the believer. Practically, the message drives home the significant Reformed doctrine of salvation by faith alone, highlighting that genuine faith produces a life-transforming knowledge of Christ which draws believers nearer to Him.

Key Quotes

“A Cleaner Way to Hell... trusting in religious duties is a sure way, though a cleaner way, to hell.”

“It is not your duties, but your Christ that must save you. O rest not on anything but Jesus Christ.”

“The more I know Him, the more I love Him. The more I know Him, the more I desire Him.”

“True faith is a heart-breaking, a heart-melting faith. ... It will make them lament over Christ with a bitter lamentation.”

What does the Bible say about the importance of faith in Christ?

The Bible teaches that faith in Christ is essential for salvation and is the only means through which believers can rest in God's grace.

Scripture emphasizes that it is not through our religious duties or self-righteousness that we are saved, but through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Ephesians 2:8-9 states, 'For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.' This highlights that salvation is entirely a result of God's grace, not human effort. Furthermore, in Acts 4:12, it is affirmed that 'there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved,' indicating the exclusive necessity of faith in Christ for eternal life.

Ephesians 2:8-9, Acts 4:12

How do we know that God's grace is sufficient for our sins?

God's grace is revealed as sufficient through the redemptive work of Christ, who bore our sins and offers forgiveness.

God's grace is exemplified in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, which serves as the ultimate expression of His love and mercy toward sinners. 1 John 1:9 assures us, 'If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' This promise highlights God's commitment to grace and forgiveness, indicating that no sin is too great to be forgiven by Him. Furthermore, Romans 5:20 tells us that 'where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,' reassuring us that God's grace exceeds our failures, thus making it clear that His grace is always sufficient.

1 John 1:9, Romans 5:20

Why is turning away from sin important for Christians?

Turning away from sin is vital as it reflects the believer's commitment to God and fosters spiritual growth.

For Christians, repentance from sin is not only a command but a necessary response to God's love and grace. In Acts 2:38, Peter calls on believers to 'repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.' This turning away signifies not just a change of heart but also a transformative action that results in living in accordance with God's ways. Moreover, 2 Corinthians 7:10 states that 'godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation,' which underlines that true repentance is essential for spiritual growth and reflects an authentic relationship with God. By forsaking sin, believers demonstrate their desire to live in obedience and holiness.

Acts 2:38, 2 Corinthians 7:10

What does the Bible say about God's unchanging nature?

The Bible affirms that God is unchanging, providing believers with security and assurance in His promises.

God's unchanging nature is a cornerstone of Christian faith, reflected in passages such as Malachi 3:6: 'For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.' This consistency assures believers that God’s promises, character, and faithfulness remain constant despite circumstances. In Hebrews 13:8, it states, 'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever,' affirming the reliability of Christ and His teachings. Thus, understanding God's immutability provides believers with comfort and hope, knowing that His plans and purposes are assured to come to fruition.

Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8

Sermon Transcript

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Nothing but the blood of Christ
by William Plumer from sinners saved by unmerited kindness. Nothing but the blood of Christ
can quench the fire of God's wrath, the fire of lust, or the
fiery darts of Satan. A Cleaner Way to Hell by Thomas
Brooks from The Privy Key of Heaven, published in 1665. I
fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get, Luke 18 verse 12. Take heed of trusting in religious
duties. These duties, rested in, will
as eternally undo a man as the greatest and foulest enormities. Open wickedness slays her thousands,
but a secret resting upon duties slays her ten thousands. Open
profaneness is the broad, dirty way which leads to hell, but
trusting in religious duties is a sure way, though a cleaner
way, to hell. Profane people and formal professors
shall meet at last in the same hell. You know, in Noah's flood,
All that were not in the Ark, though they climbed up the tallest
trees, and the highest mountains and hills, yet were drowned. So let men climb up to this duty
and that, yet If they don't get into Christ, they will be damned. It is as natural to a man to
rest in his duties as it is for him to rest in his bed. It is
not your duties, but your Christ that must save you. Many shining
professors burn themselves by resting in their duties and services. O rest not on anything but Jesus
Christ. It is His free grace, it is His
special mercy, it is His infinite love which is your resting place. It is the bosom of Christ, the
favor of Christ, the satisfaction of Christ, and the pure, perfect,
spotless, matchless, and glorious righteousness of Christ, which
is your resting place. It was the saying of a precious
saint that he was more afraid of his religious duties than
of his sins. for his duties often made him
proud. His sins always made him humble. A Heaven Unto Me by Thomas Brooks
from Heaven on Earth published in 1667. That knowledge which
accompanies salvation is a heart-affecting knowledge. It affects the heart
with Christ and all spiritual things. Oh, it does wonderfully
endear Christ and the things of Christ to the soul. O feed
me with your love, your raisins and your apples, for I am utterly
lovesick. O, says the spouse, my heart
is taken with Christ, it is ravished with his love. My soul is burning,
my soul is beating towards Christ. O, none but Christ, none but
Christ! I cannot live in myself, I cannot
live in my duties. I cannot live in external privileges. I cannot live in outward mercies. I can only live in Christ, who
is my life, my joy, my love, my crown, my all in all. O the more I come to know Him,
in His natures, in His names, in His offices, in His discoveries,
in His visits, in His beauties, the more I find my heart and
affections to prize Christ, to run after Christ, to be affected
with Christ, and to be wonderfully endeared to Christ. O God, forbid
that my heart should be affected or taken with anything in comparison
with Christ. The more I know Him, the more
I love Him. The more I know Him, the more
I desire Him. The more I know Him, the more
my heart is knit unto Him. His beauty is captivating. His
love is ravishing. His goodness is attracting. His
manifestations are enticing. His person is enamoring. His lovely looks please me. His pleasant voice delights me. His precious spirit comforts
me. His holy word rules me. All these things make Christ
to be a heaven unto me. O, but all that mere notional
knowledge, that speculative knowledge which leaves a man short of salvation,
never affects the heart, it never draws it, it never endears the
heart to Christ, or to the precious things of Christ. Hence it is
that such men, under all their notions, under all their light
and knowledge, have no affection to Christ, no delight in Christ,
no workings of heart after Christ. If anyone does not love the Lord,
that person is cursed. 1 Corinthians 16 verse 22. A
killing of God. by Thomas Brooks from Heaven
on Earth published in 1667. The Deceitfulness of Sin Hebrews
3 verse 13 Sin has its original from a deceitful subtle serpent,
is the ground of all the deceit in the world, is the great deceiver
of souls. Sin debases the soul of man. defiles and pollutes the soul
of man, renders the soul most unlike to God, who is the best
and greatest. Sin renders the soul most like
to Satan, who is a very sea and sink of sin. Sin robs the soul
of the image of God, the holiness of God, the beauty of God, the
glory of God, the righteousness of God. Sin is a killing of God. But they kept shouting, Crucify
Him! Crucify Him! Luke 23 verse 21. A man too big for temptations
to conquer by Thomas Brooks from the hypocrite detected Communion
with God is the life of your graces, the sweetener of all
ordinances, providences, and mercies, the strengthener of
your hearts and hands, the soul of your comforts, and the crown
of your souls. Communion with God makes the
bitter things sweet and massive things light. nothing like communion
with God to fence you against temptations, to sweeten all afflictions,
and to make you cleave to God in the face of all troubles and
oppositions. A man high in communion with
God is a man too big for temptations to conquer or troubles to overcome. Souls that have no communion
or but little communion with God They are usually as soon
conquered as tempted, as soon vanquished as assaulted. A Precious Commodity in Hell, by
Thomas Brooks, from Heaven on Earth, published in 1667. Most men spend the greatest part
of their time on things that are of little or no value, as
Domitian, the Roman emperor, who spent his time in catching
a fly's. Make a speedy and a thorough
improvement of all opportunities of grace and mercy. Do not trifle
away your golden seasons. You have much work to do in a
short time. You have a god to honor, a race
to run, a crown to win, a hell to escape, a heaven to obtain,
weak graces to strengthen, strong corruptions to weaken, many temptations
to withstand, afflictions to bear, many mercies to improve,
and many services to perform. He who neglects a golden opportunity
does but create to himself a great deal of misery. time, says Bernard,
would be a precious commodity in hell, and the use of it most
gainful, where for one day a man would give ten thousand worlds
if he had them. When men trifle away their precious
time and golden opportunities, playing and toying with this
vanity and that vanity, We may ask whether these men have no
Christ, no scripture, no promises, no blessed experiences, no hopes
of heavenly glories to enjoy and take delight in. A vulture, a worm. eternally
gnawing him by Thomas Brooks from heaven on earth published
in 1667 and we who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's
glory are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing
glory 2nd Corinthians 3 verse 18 Saving knowledge is a transforming
knowledge, which metamorphoses the soul. Divine light, beating
on the heart, warms it and betters it. It transforms and changes
it. It molds and fashions it into
the very likeness of Christ. The naturalists observe that
the pearl, by the often beating of the sunbeams upon it, becomes
radiant. Just so, the often beating and
shining of the sun of righteousness, with his divine beams upon the
saints, causes them to glisten and shine in holiness, righteousness,
heavenly-mindedness, humbleness. Divine light casts a general
beauty and glory upon the soul. It transforms a man more and
more into the glorious image of Christ. Look, as the child
receives his features from his parents, just so the beings of
divine light and knowledge, shining into the soul, stamp the living
image of Christ upon the soul. Mere notional knowledge may make
a man excellent at praising the glorious and worthy acts and
virtues of Christ, but that transforming knowledge, which accompanies
salvation, will work in a man divinely to imitate the glorious
acts and virtues of Christ. When a beam of divine light shined
from heaven upon Paul, ah, how did it change and metamorphose
him? How did it alter and transform
him? It made his rebellious soul obedient. Lord, what will you have me to
do? Acts 9 verse 6 Divine Light lays upon a man
a happy necessity of obeying God. Divine Light makes this
Lion into a Lamb, this Persecutor into a Preacher, this Destroyer
of the Saints into a Strengthener of the Saints, this Tormentor
into a Comforter, this Monster into an Angel, this Notorious
Blasphemer into a very great admirer of God and the actings
of His free grace. Just so, when a spark of this
heavenly fire fell upon the heart of Mary Magdalene, oh, what a
change, what a transformation does it make in her! Now she
loves much, and believes much, and repents much, and weeps much. Oh, what a change did divine
light make in Zacchaeus and in the jailer! Truly, if your light,
your biblical knowledge, does not better you, if it does not
change and transform you, if, under all your light and knowledge,
you remain as vile and base as ever, your light, your knowledge,
your notions, your speculations will undo you. That knowledge
which is not a transforming knowledge will torment a man at last more
than all the devils in hell. It will be a sword to cut him,
a rod to lash him, a serpent to bite him, a scorpion to sting
him, and a vulture, a worm, eternally gnawing him. God at last will
own no knowledge but that which leaves the stamp of Christ, the
print of Christ, the image of Christ upon the heart, and only
that which changes and transforms the soul, which makes a man a
new man, another man than what he was before divine light shined
upon him. A Whore's Forehead by Thomas
Brooks from The Privy Key of Heaven, published in 1665. You have a whore's forehead. You refuse to be ashamed. Jeremiah 3, verse 3. Are they ashamed of their loathsome
conduct? No, they have no shame at all. They do not even know how to
blush." Jeremiah 6 verse 15. They had sinned away shame instead
of being ashamed of sin. Continuance in sin had quite
banished all sense of sin and all shame for sin, so that they
would not allow nature to draw her veil of blushing before their
great abominations. How applicable these scriptures
are to the present time, I will leave the prudent listener to
judge. But what does the Prophet do,
now that they were as bold in sin, and as shameless as so many
harlots, now that they were grown up to that height of sin and
wickedness? now that they were above all
shame and blushing, now that they were grown so proud, so
hardened, so obstinate, so rebellious, so bent on self-destruction,
that no mercies could melt them or allure them, nor any threatenings
or judgments could in any way terrify them or stop them, The
Prophet goes into a corner. He retires into the most secret
places, and there he weeps bitterly. There he weeps as if he were
resolved to drown himself in his own tears. I will weep in
secret because of your pride. My eyes will weep bitterly. overflowing with tears. Jeremiah
13 verse 17 In the times wherein we live, hell seems to be broken
loose, and men turned into incarnate devils. Soul-damning wickednesses
walk up and down the streets with a hoarse forehead, without
the least check or restraint. What pride, luxury, lasciviousness,
licentiousness, wantonness, drunkenness, cruelties, injustice, oppressions,
fornications, adulteries, falsehoods, hypocrisies, Atheisms, horrid
blasphemies, and hellish impieties are now to be found rampant in
the midst of you. Ah, how the scriptures are rejected,
God derided, and wickedness tolerated! And what is the voice of all
these crying abominations but every Christian to his closet,
every Christian to his closet, and there weep, with weeping
Jeremiah, bitterly, for all these great abominations whereby God
is dishonored openly. O weep in secret for their sins,
who openly glory in their sins, which should be their greatest
shame! O blush in secret for those who
are past all blushing for their sins, for who knows but that
the whole land may fare the better for the sakes of a few who are
mourners in secret. All Honey Would Harm Us by Thomas
Brooks from his book The Mute Christian Under the Smarting
Rod published in 1659 Weeping may endure for a night,
but joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30 verse 5. Their mourning shall last but
until morning. God will turn their winter's
night into a summer's day, their sighing into singing, their grief
into gladness. their mourning into music, their
bitter into sweet, their wilderness into a paradise. The life of
a Christian is filled up with interchanges of sickness and
health, weakness and strength, want and wealth, disgrace and
honor, crosses and comforts, miseries and mercies, joys and
sorrows, mirth and mourning. All honey would harm us. All
wormwood would undo us. A composition of both is the
best way to keep our souls in a healthy constitution. It is
best and most for the health of the soul that the warm south
wind of mercy and the cold north wind of adversity do both blow
upon it. And though every wind which blows
shall blow good to the saints, Yet certainly their sins die
most, and their graces thrive best when they are under the
frigid, drying, nipping north wind of calamity, as well as
under the warm, nourishing south wind of mercy and prosperity. ALL THE HELL THAT YOU SHALL EVER
HAVE by Thomas Brooks from his book THE MUTE CHRISTIAN UNDER
THE SMARTING ROD published in 1659. Consider, Christian, that
all your trials and troubles, calamities and miseries, crosses
and losses which you meet with in this world is all the hell
that you shall ever have. Here and now you have your hell. Hereafter you shall have your
heaven. This is the worst of your condition. The best is yet to come. Lazarus
had his hell first, his heaven last. But Dives had his heaven
first, and his hell at last. You have all your pangs and pains
and throes here, that ever you shall have. Your ease and rest
and pleasure is yet to come. Here you have all your bitters,
your sweets are yet to come. Here you have your sorrows, your
joys are yet to come. Here you have your winter nights,
your summer days are yet to come. Here you have your evil things,
your good things are yet to come. Death will put an end to all
your sins and to all your sufferings. Death will be an inlet to those
joys, delights, and comforts which shall never have an end. Who can seriously meditate upon
this and not be silent under God's most smarting rod? Be Strong and Courageous by Thomas
Brooks from Heaven on Earth, published in 1667. God is glorious in his power,
wonderful in his counsel, infinite in his mercy. Precious in His
goodness, rich in His grace, unsearchable in His understanding. I will never leave you nor forsake
you. Be strong and courageous. Joshua 1 verses 5 and 6 When
God puts His people upon weighty services, He assures them of
His presence, and of His assistance. He assures them that He will
stand by them, and strengthen them, and support them, and uphold
them. He assures them that His power
should be theirs to defend them. His wisdom should be theirs to
direct them. His goodness should be theirs
to supply them. His grace should be theirs to
heal them. His mercy should be theirs to
pardon them. His joy should be theirs to strengthen
them. His promise should be theirs
to cheer them. His spirit should be theirs to
lead them. Devour Me, Devour Me by Thomas
Brooks from Heaven on Earth published in 1667. Assurance will sweeten
the thoughts of death and all the aches, pains, weaknesses,
sicknesses and diseases which are the forerunners of death.
Yes, it will make a man look and long for death. One said
to the King of Terrors, Devour me, devour me. Death cures all
diseases, the aching head and the unbelieving heart. Assurance
makes a man smile upon the king of terrors. The assured soul
knows that death shall be the funeral of all his sins, all
his sorrows, all his afflictions, all his temptations. He knows
that death shall be the resurrection of his joys. He knows that death
is both an outlet and an inlet, an outlet to sin. and an inlet
to the soul's clear, full, and constant enjoyment of God. And this makes the assured soul
to sing it sweetly out, O death, where is your sting? O grave,
where is your victory? I desire to depart and be with
Christ, which is better by far. Make haste, my beloved. Come,
Lord Jesus, come quickly. Now death is more desirable than
life. Now, says the soul, let him fear
death, who is averse to go to Christ. The Persians had a certain
day in the year in which they used to kill all serpents and
venomous creatures. The assured Christian knows that
the day of death will be such a day to him, and that makes
death lovely and desirable. He knows that sin was the midwife
which brought death into the world, and that death shall be
the grave to bury sin. And therefore death is not a
terror, but a delight unto him. He fears it not as an enemy,
but welcomes it as a friend. Every man has a heaven and a
hell. is the ungodly man's heaven. His hell is to come. The godly
have their hell upon earth when they are vexed with temptations
and afflictions by Satan and his accomplices. Their heaven
is above, in endless happiness. If it be ill with me on earth,
It is well that my torment is so short and easy. I cannot be
so unreasonable as to expect two heavens. If we have the kingdom
at last, it is no great matter what we suffer on the way to
it. All the sufferings of the believer
are not hell, but they are all the hell that they shall suffer. Every twig has a voice by Thomas
Brooks. Pay attention to the rod and
the one who ordained it. Micah 6 verse 9. Christians should
hear the rod and kiss the rod and sit mute and silent under
God's rod. Christians should be mute and
silent under the greatest afflictions, the saddest providences, and
sharpest trials which they meet with in this world. that they
may better hear and understand the voice of God's rod. As the
word has a voice, the spirit a voice, and conscience a voice,
so God's rod has a voice. God's rods are not mutes. They
are all vocal. They are all speaking as well
as smiting. Every twig has a voice. "'Ah,
soul,' says one twig, "'you say it smarts. Well, tell me, is
it good to provoke a jealous God?' "'Ah, soul,' says another
twig, "'you say it is bitter. It reaches to your heart. But
have not your own doings procured these things?' Ah, soul, says
another twig, where is the prophet, the pleasure, the sweet that
you have found in wandering from God? Ah, soul, says another twig,
was it not best with you when you were high in your communion
with God and when you were humble and close in your walking with
God? Ah, Christian, says another twig,
will you search your heart and try your ways, and turn to the
Lord your God? Ah, soul, says another twig,
will you die to sin more than ever, and to the world more than
ever, and to relations more than ever, and to yourself more than
ever? Ah, soul, says another twig,
will you live more to Christ than ever, and cleave closer
to Christ than ever, and prize Christ more than ever, and venture
further for Christ than ever? Ah, soul, says another twig,
will you love Christ with a more inflamed love, and hope in Christ
with a more raised hope, and depend upon Christ with a greater
confidence, and wait upon Christ with more invincible patience? Now, if the soul is not mute
and silent under the rod, how is it possible that it should
ever hear the voice of God's rod, or that it should ever hearken
to the voice of every twig of God's rod? Father Knows Best by Thomas Brooks
from his book The Mute Christian Under the Smarting Rod, published
in 1659. Our fathers disciplined us for
a little while as they thought best, but God disciplines us
for our good that we may share in his holiness. Hebrews 12 verse
10. what God, our Father wills, is
best. When he wills sickness, sickness
is better than health. When he wills weakness, weakness
is better than strength. When he wills want, want is better
than wealth. When he wills reproach, reproach
is better than honor. when he wills death, death is
better than life. As God is wisdom itself, and
so knows that which is best, so he is goodness itself, and
therefore cannot do anything but that which is best. Therefore
remain silent before the Lord. From his mother's womb Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Psalm 51 verse
5 David does not confess himself
guilty merely of someone or more sins, but that from his mother's
womb he has brought forth nothing but sin, and by nature is wholly
corrupt, and, as it were, immersed in sin. Every inclination of
his heart is evil from childhood. Genesis 8 verse 21 We, too, all
previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying
out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and by nature we
were children under wrath, as the others were also. Go and kill such a man. By Thomas
Brooks. From The Privy Key of Heaven.
Published in 1665. See now that I myself am he. There is no God beside me. I put to death and I bring to
life. I have wounded and I will heal. And no one can deliver out of
my hand. Deuteronomy 32 verse 39 All diseases
and sicknesses are under the command of God. They are all
His sergeants, His servants, to execute His pleasure. We must
acknowledge God's sovereign power and authority over the rod of
affliction, to break it, or burn it, or take it off, or lay it
on, as He pleases. When God bids diseases go and
afflict such a man, they go. Go and torment such a man, they
go. Go and kill such a man, they
go. When he calls them off, they
come off at his call. God is the author of all the
diseases, maladies, and sicknesses that are in the world. He sets
them on and calls them off at his own goodwill and pleasure. When disaster comes to a city,
has not the Lord caused it? Amos 3, verse 6. Grace, Grace by Thomas Brooks
from Heaven on Earth, published in 1667. that no flesh should glory in
his presence. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 29 God
does not look for any goodness or merit in the creature to draw
his love, but he will justify, pardon, and save for his name's
sake. All the motives which move God
to show mercy are in his own bosom. Salvation is only from
free grace and not from anything good in us or done by us. God is free to bestow his promises
upon whomever he pleases. He often steps over the rich
and chooses the poor. He often steps over the learned,
and chooses the ignorant. He often steps over the strong,
and chooses the weak. He often steps over the sweet
nature, and chooses the wicked nature. He often steps over the
noble, and chooses the vile, that no flesh may glory, and
that all may shout out, Grace! Grace! By the grace of God, I
am what I am, 1 Corinthians 15 verse 10. He awoke with everlasting flames
about his ears, by Thomas Brooks, from his sermon, The Transcendent
Excellency of a Believer's Portion Above All Earthly Portions. Earthly
riches commonly load the soul with a multitude of cares, fears,
griefs, and vexations, which mightily disturb the soul, distract
the soul, yes, often rack, torture, and torment the soul. Earthly
riches, for the most part, do a world of mischief and hurt
to their owners. Oh, the souls which earthly riches
have pierced through and through with many sorrows! O the minds
which earthly riches have blinded! O the hearts which earthly riches
have hardened! O the consciences which earthly
riches have benumbed! O the wills which earthly riches
have perverted! O the affections which earthly
riches have disordered! O the lives which earthly riches
have corrupted! O the time, the thoughts, the
strength, the energy, which rich men spend and consume upon their
riches, while their precious souls lie a-bleeding to death,
and an eternity of misery is hastening upon them! Dives was
so taken up with his riches, pomp, state, and with his royal
apparel, royal attendance, and royal fare, that he never minded
heaven nor ever dreaded hell, until he awoke with everlasting
flames about his ears. When the bodies of the wicked
are rotting in their graves, and their souls are roaring in
hell, none of their worldly greatness, pomp, state, glory, gallantry,
riches, houses, or revenues shall descend after them to administer
one drop of comfort to them. Therefore, never envy their outward
prosperity or worldly glory. He was still a-pointing at the
toads in their bosoms by Thomas Brooks, from his book The Privy
Key of Heaven, published in 1665. How shall we find out that particular
sin for which God corrects us, for which He has brought the
rod upon us? Seriously observe what that sin
is which your soul would have spared above all, which your
soul is most unwilling to leave and bid an everlasting farewell
to. Observe what your right hand
sin, your bosom sin, your constitutional sin, your complexion sin is,
for it is a hundred to one that God has sent the rod for the
subduing of that very sin. Commonly by the rod, God points
at the mortifying of that particular sin to which the heart stands
most strongly inclined. It may be that sin which you
cannot endure should be touched, or reproved, or spoken against. Ah, how proud, how impatient,
how passionate, how mad are many, when you come to touch their
right eye-sin, when you come to touch them in the tender part! Oh, then they fume, and swell,
and rage, and carry on like people out of their wits, as you may
see in the scribes and Pharisees, who were so angry and mad with
Christ that they sought his death, and all because he was still
appointing at the toads in their bosoms, namely pride, vainglory,
hypocrisy, and self-righteousness. O, they could not endure that
the sharp razor of reproof Should come near their sorest part! Certainly that Christian must
be under a very bad distemper, Who smites a righteous man with
reproach For smiting him with a reproof. Though gracious reproofs
are a choice remedy, Yet few stomachs can bear them. Who is
angry with the physician for prescribing a bitter medicine?
And yet, ah, how angry are many Christians when they fall under
holy reproofs! Now, doubtless, the voice of
the rod is this. Soul, take heed of that sin which
you cannot endure should be touched. Labor mightily with God to get
that particular sin mortified which you cannot endure should
be reproved. It is very probable that, for
the subduing of that particular sin, the Lord has visited you
with his fatherly rod. I am not what I once was, by
William Plumer, from his sinners saved by unmerited kindness,
In his old age, when he could no longer see to read, John Newton
heard someone recite this text. By the grace of God, I am what
I am. He remained silent a short time
and then said, I am not what I ought to be. Ah, how imperfect
and deficient. I am not what I wish to be. I abhor that which is evil, and
I would cleave to that which is good. I am not what I hope
to be. Soon, soon I shall put off mortality,
and with mortality all sin and imperfection. Though I am not
what I ought to be, what I wish to be, and what I hope to be,
yet I can truly say I am not what I once was, a slave to sin
and Satan. I can heartily join with the
Apostle and acknowledge, by the grace of God, I am what I am. IF YOU ATTEMPT TO ENTHRONE THE
CREATURE By Thomas Brooks From his book THE MUTE CHRISTIAN UNDER
THE SMARTING ROD Published in 1659 O Christian, God has removed
one of your sweetest mercies, comforts, or enjoyments. It may
be you have overloved them, and overpriced them, and overmuch
delighted yourself in them. It may be they have often had
your heart, when they should have had but your hand. It may
be that care, that concern, that confidence, that joy, which should
have been expended upon more noble objects, has been expended
upon them. Your heart is Christ's bed of
spices, and it may be that you have bedded your mercies with
you, when Christ has been made to lie outside. You have had
room for them when you have had none for Him. They have had the
best when the worst have been counted good enough for Christ.
Ah, how often has one creature comfort and sometimes another
been put in between Christ and your souls! How often have your
dear enjoyments gone up to Christ's bed? Your near and dear mercies
have come into Christ's bed of love, your hearts. Now, if you
take a husband, a child, a friend, into that room in your soul which
only belongs to God, he will either embitter it, remove it,
or be the death of it. if once the love of a wife runs
out more to a servant than to her husband, the husband will
remove that servant, though otherwise he was a servant worth gold.
Now, if God has stripped you of that very mercy with which
you have often committed spiritual adultery and idolatry, have you
any cause to murmur There are those who love their mercies
into their graves, who hug their mercies to death, who kiss them
until they kill them. Many a man has slain his mercies
by setting too great a value upon them. Many a man has sunk
his ship of mercy by overloading it. Overloved mercies are seldom
long-lived. The way to lose your mercies
is to indulge them. The way to destroy them is to
fix your minds and hearts upon them. You may write bitterness
and death upon that mercy first, which has first taken away your
heart from God. Christian, your heart is Christ's
royal throne, and in this throne Christ will be chief. He will
endure no competitor. If you attempt to enthrone the
creature, be it ever so near and dear unto you, Christ will
dethrone it. He will destroy it. He will quickly
lay them in a bed of dust, who shall aspire to his royal throne. This is what the Sovereign Lord
says. I am about to desecrate my sanctuary,
the stronghold in which you take pride, the delight of your eyes,
the object of your affection. The sons and daughters you left
behind will fall by the sword. Ezekiel 24, verse 21. It would make him pull his hat
over his eyes. By Thomas Brooks, from his book
The Privy Key of Heaven, published in 1665. All Christians have their secret
sins, secret not only from other men, but from themselves. It
is but natural for every man to err, and then to be ignorant
of his errors. Every man's sins are beyond his
understanding. There is not the best, the wisest,
nor the holiest man in the world who can give a full and entire
list of his sins. Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults. Psalm 19 verse 12. Who can understand
his errors? This interrogation has the force
of an affirmation. Who can? No man. No, not the most perfect and
innocent man in the world. O friends, who can reckon up
the secret sinful imaginations, the secret sinful inclinations,
the secret pride, the secret blasphemies, the secret hypocrisies,
the secret atheistical risings, the secret murmurings, the secret
repinings, the secret discontents, the secret insolences, the secret
filthinesses, the secret unbelievings which God might every day charge
upon his soul. Should the best and holiest man
on earth have but his secret sins written on his forehead,
it would not only put him to a crimson blush, but it would
make him pull his hat over his eyes, or cover his face with
a double scarf. Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults.
Psalm 19 verse 12. Kisses by Thomas Brooks from
Heaven on Earth published in 1667. Oh, that he would kiss
me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is more delightful
than wine. Song of Solomon 1 verse 2. Not with a kiss, but with the
kisses of his mouth. A soul once kissed by Christ
can never have enough of the kisses of Christ. His lips drop
myrrh and mercy. No kisses compare to the kisses
of Christ. The more any soul loves Christ,
the more serious, studious, and industrious will that soul be
to have the love of Christ discovered, confirmed, witnessed, and sealed
to it. A soul once kissed by Christ
would gladly have her drop turned into an ocean, her spark into
a flame, her penny into a pound, her might into a million. A soul who truly loves Christ
can never see enough, nor ever taste enough, nor ever feel enough. nor ever enjoy enough of the
love of Christ. When once they have found His
love to be better than wine, then nothing will satisfy them
but the kisses of His mouth. May you experience the love of
Christ, though it is so great, you will never fully understand
it. Ephesians 3 verse 19 Loathsome Thoughts by Thomas
Brooks from Heaven on Earth published in 1667 You will remember your conduct
and all the actions by which you have defiled yourselves,
and you will loathe yourselves for all the evil you have done."
Ezekiel 20 verse 43. True repentance includes a loathing
and abhorring of sin and of ourselves for sin. The sincere penitent
loathes his sins, And also loathes himself because of his sins. He cries out, O these wanton
eyes! O these wicked hands! O this deceitful tongue! O this
crooked will! O this corrupt heart! O how do I loathe my sins! How I loathe myself! My sins
are a burden to me, and they make me a burden to myself. My sins are abhorrent to me,
and they make me abhor myself in dust and ashes. A true penitent
has not only low thoughts of himself, but loathsome thoughts
of himself. None can think or speak so vilely
of a Christian as he thinks and speaks so vilely of himself. Behold, I am vile. Job 40 verse
4. They will loathe themselves for
the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices. Ezekiel 6 verse 9. Lord, here I am by Anne Dutton
from her letters on spiritual subjects. Lord, here I am. I give myself up to you to be
yours entirely. I give up everything that you
have given me into your all-wise, all-gracious, and all-powerful
hands. O Lord, the difficulties I am
encompassed with are too great for my wisdom and strength. But
You know no difficulty. I cast them all upon You. I am oppressed. O Lord, undertake for me. And were everything else gone,
give me grace to glorify You and to count myself happy. fully,
ineffably happy, in your great Self as my earthly portion, and
my eternal All. I call nothing my own, but you,
my great God. Do with me, and all things that
concern me, just as you desire. NOT THE DOLL NOR THE RATTLE by
Thomas Brooks from his sermon The Transcendent Excellency of
a Believer's Portion Above All Earthly Portions The one who
loves money is never satisfied with money, and whoever loves
wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile. Ecclesiastes 5 verse 10. Worldly portions can never satisfy
the souls of man. Absalom's beauty could not satisfy
him. Haman's honor could not satisfy
him. Ahab's kingdom could not satisfy
him. Balaam's gold could not satisfy
him. Ahithophel's wisdom could not
satisfy him. The Pharisee's learning could
not satisfy them. Dive's riches could not satisfy
him. All the world cannot fill the
soul, nor can all the creatures in the world fill up the soul
with complete satisfaction. Nothing can be the satisfaction
of the soul but he who made it. All earthly portions are dissatisfying
portions. They do but vex and fret, gall
and grieve, tear and torment the souls of men. The world is
a circle, and the heart of man is a triangle, and no triangle
can fill a circle. Some good or other will always
be lacking to that man who has only outward good to live upon. The soul can never be at rest
until it comes to rest and center in God. God himself is the soul's
only home. No good, but the chief good,
can suffice an immortal soul. It is the breast, and not the
doll nor the rattle, which will satisfy the hungry babe. And
it is God, and not this or that creature, which will satisfy
the soul of man. PAMBUS WEPT WHEN HE SAW A HARLOT
By Thomas Brooks From Heaven on Earth Published in 1667 What
labor and pains whirlings take To obtain the vain things of
this life, To obtain the poor things of this world, Which are
but shadows and dreams, and mere nothings! Oh, how should this
stir and provoke Christians to be up and doing, to labor as
for life, to make sure of spiritual and eternal things? Is earth
better than heaven? No! O then be ashamed, Christians,
that whirlings are more studious and industrious to obtain pebbles
than you are to obtain pearls. They labor to obtain those things
which at last will be their burden, their bane, their plague, their
hell. You are to labor to obtain those
things which will be your joy and crown, in life, in death,
and in the day of judgment. Pambus wept when he saw a harlot,
dressed with much care and cost, partly to see one take so much
pains to go to hell. and partly because he had not
been so careful to please God as she had been to please her
sluttish lovers. Ah, Christians, what great reason
have you to sit down and weep bitterly, that whirlings take
so much pains to make themselves miserable, and that you have
taken no more pains to get more of Christ into your hearts? Redeeming the Time by Thomas
Brooks from The Privy Key of Heaven, published in 1665. Redeeming the Time Because the
Days are Evil, Ephesians 5 verse 16. Time is the only thing, says
Seneca, that we can innocently be covetous of, and yet there
is nothing of which many are more lavishly and profusely wasteful. Shiloh, one of the seven sages,
being asked what was the hardest thing in the world to be done,
answered, to use and employ a man's time well. We trifle with that
which is most precious, and throw away that which is our greatest
interest to redeem. Many Christian professors, instead
of redeeming of precious time, do trifle and fool away much
of their precious time at the mirror, the comb, the lute, the
violin. the pipe, or at vain sports and
foolish pastimes, or by idle jestings, immoderate sleeping,
and superfluous feasting. The best Christian is he who
is the greatest monopolizer of time for private prayer. That
man is doubtless upon the brink of ruin, whose worldly business
eats up all thoughts of God, of Christ. of heaven, of eternity,
of his soul, and of his soul concerns. That man is lost, that
man is cursed, who can find time for anything, but none to meet
with God in his closet. short-lived, imperfect, and unsatisfying
by William Plumer from his sinners saved by unmerited kindness. In your presence is abundant
joy, and in your right hand are eternal pleasures. Psalm 16 verse
11. Here on earth, our greatest joys
are short-lived, imperfect, and unsatisfying. Nothing continues
in a perpetually happy state. All is unsettled and easily marred. In heaven, all is as stable as
eternity. All is as durable as the throne
of God. all flows from the bounty of
an infinite God and Savior. Here on earth, sorrows beset
us in troops. In heaven, all sorrows cease. Sickness, sadness, and sighing
flee away. Bereavement never desolates. Tears never flow. Tempests never
rage. Temptations never vex. Poverty, war, and death never
enter. Rust never corrupts. Thieves
never steal. Weariness and vanity are forever
unknown. Sin never defiles. Peace reigns
unbroken. The wicked cease from troubling,
and the weary are at rest. Well done, good and faithful
servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord. Matthew 5, verse 21. Some Delilah by Thomas Brooks. There is some Delilah, some darling,
some beloved sin or other that a Christian's calling, condition,
constitution, or temptations leads him to play with and to
hug in his own bosom. as in a plot of ground which
lies untilled among the great variety of weeds, there is usually
some master weed that is more plenteous and more repulsive
than all the rest. So it is also in the souls of
men. Though there is a general mixture
and medley of all evil and corrupt qualities, Yet there is some
one sin which is usually paramount, which is most powerful and prevalent,
which sways and manifests itself more eminently and evidently
than any other of them do. So, though the root of sin and
bitterness has spread itself over all, yet every man has his
inclination to one kind of sin rather than another. And this
may be called a man's besetting sin, his bosom sin, his darling
sin. Now it is one of the hardest
works in this world to subdue and bring under control this
bosom sin. Oh, the prayers, the tears, the
sighs, the sobs, the groans, the pains that it will cost a
Christian before he subdues this darling sin! A man may easily
subdue and mortify such and such sins, but when it comes to the
Master's sin, to the bosom's sin, oh, what tugging and pulling
is there, what striving and struggling is there to get off that sin,
to get down that darling sin. Now if the Lord, by smiting you
in some near and dear enjoyment, shall draw out your heart to
fall upon the smiting of your master's sin, and shall so sanctify
the affliction as to make it issue in the mortification of
your bosom corruption, what eminent cause will you have rather to
bless him than to sit down and murmur against him? And doubtless,
if you are dear to God, God will, by striking your dearest mercy,
put you upon striking at your darling's sin. Therefore do not
murmur, even when God touches the apple of your eye, even when
He has snatched the fairest and the sweetest flower out of your
bosom. Soul Mollifying by Thomas Brooks
from Heaven on Earth, published in 1667. Saving faith is soul
softening. It is soul-mollifying. Peter
believes soundly and weeps bitterly. Mary Magdalene believes much
and weeps much. Faith sets a wounded Christ,
a bruised Christ, a despised Christ, a pierced Christ, a bleeding
Christ before the soul. And this makes the soul sit down
and weep bitterly. They will look on me whom they
have pierced and mourn for me as for an only son. They will
grieve bitterly for me as for a firstborn son who has died. Zechariah 12 verse 10. O the sight of those wounds which
their sins have made will wound their hearts through and through. It will make them lament over
Christ with a bitter lamentation. Ah, nothing will kindly, sweetly,
and effectually break the hardened heart of a sinner but faith's
beholding the blood of Christ trickling down his sides. that
Christ should love man when he was most unlovely, that man's
extreme misery should but inflame Christ's affections of love and
mercy, this melts the believing soul. That Christ should leave
the eternal bosom of his Father, that he who was equal with God
should come in the form of a servant, that he who was clothed with
glory should be wrapped in rags, that he whom the heaven of heavens
could not contain should be cradled in a manger, That from his cradle
to his cross his whole life should be a life of sorrows and sufferings. That the judge of all flesh should
be condemned. That the Lord of life should
be put to death. That he who was his father's
joy should in anguish of spirit cry out, My God, my God, why
have you forsaken me? That the head, which was crowned
with honor, should be crowned with thorns. That those eyes,
which were as a flame of fire, which were clearer than the sun,
should be closed up by the darkness of death. That those ears, which
were used to hear nothing but hallelujahs, should hear nothing
but blasphemies. That that face, which was white
and ruddy, should be spit upon. That that tongue, which spoke
as never any man spoke, yes, as never any angel spoke, should
be accused of blasphemy. That those hands, which swayed
both a golden scepter and an iron rod, And those feet, which
were as fine brass, should be nailed to the cross. And all
this for man's transgression, for man's rebellion. O the sight
of these things, the believing of these things, makes a gracious
soul to break and bleed, to sigh and groan, to mourn and lament. True faith is a heart-breaking,
a heart-melting faith. Splendid Sins by Thomas Brooks
from The Privy Key of Heaven, published in 1665. Prayers which are not directed
to the glory of God never reach the ear of God, nor delight the
heart of God. The end must be as noble as the
means, or else a man may be undone after all his doings. A man's
most splendid actions will at last be found to be but splendid
sins, if he has made himself, and not the glory of God, the
end of those actions. That White Devil by Thomas Brooks
from his book The Privy Key of Heaven published in 1665 While the disciples were healing
diseases and casting out demons, the proud white devil was a stirring
in their own souls, as is evident by that gentle rebuke which our
Savior gives them in Luke 10 verse 20. Don't rejoice that
the spirits submit to you. There is no pious duty which
a Christian performs, but one white devil or another, one lust
or another, will be still dogging and following him to that duty. There is no public duty. There
is no family duty. There is no private duty which
a Christian performs, but either that white devil pride, or that
white devil hypocrisy, or that white devil vainglory, or else
some other white devil will follow the soul near at his heels. The Ablest Minister by J.C. Philpott from Meditations on
the Preceptive Part of the Word of God. He is the ablest minister
who is soundest in doctrine, deepest in experience, most godly
in practice. He must have also a gracious
experience in his own soul of the truths which he preaches
in their savor, sweetness, and power. The cockatrice must be crushed
by Thomas Brooks from The Privy Key of Heaven, published in 1665. Lust, having conceived, brings
forth sin. James 1, verse 15. First, sin
has its conception, which is its delight. And then, sin has
its birth, which is its action. And then, sin has its growth,
which is its custom. And then, sin has its end, which
is its damnation. The very thought of sin, if but
meditated on, will break forth into action, action into custom,
custom into habit, and then both body and soul are irrecoverably
lost to all eternity. If the subtle serpent can but
wriggle in its tail by a sinful thought, He will soon get in
his head by a worse action. The cockatrice must be crushed
in the egg, else it will soon become a serpent. The Funeral by Thomas Brooks
from his sermon The Transcendent Excellency of a Believer's Portion
Above All Earthly Portions A Christian knows that death shall be the
funeral of all his sins, his sorrows, his afflictions, his
temptations, his vexations, his oppressions, his persecutions,
He knows that death shall be the resurrection of all his hopes,
his joys, his delights, his comforts, his contentments. He knows that
death shall bring him to a more clear, full, perfect, and constant
enjoyment of God. This makes him sweetly and triumphantly
to sing it out, O death! Where is your sting? O grave,
where is your victory? 1 Corinthians 15 verses 35 through
37. The Hypocrites Hope by Thomas Brooks
from Heaven on Earth published in 1667. For what hope do the godless
have when God cuts them off and takes away their life? Job 27
verse 8. When the wicked die, their hopes
all perish. Proverbs 11 verse 7. That assurance is but presumption
which allows men to play with sin, to be bold with sin, to
make light of sin, to walk on in the ways of sin. Such assurance
will never bring a man to heaven. It will never keep him from dropping
into hell. Yes, it will double his damnation,
and make him the most miserable among all damned, wretched, and
forlorn spirits. So are the paths of all who forget
God, and the hypocrite's hope shall perish. Job 8 verse 13. Ah, Lord, from such false hopes
deliver my soul, and give me more and more of that divine
hope which makes sin to be more hateful than hell. The Mortifying of Your Darling
Sins by Thomas Brooks from Heaven on Earth, published in 1667. Most professing Christians have
not the right art of mortifying sin. All their attempts are to
hide a lust, not to quench it. A great motive to provoke you
to the mortifying of your darling sins is solemnly to consider
that the conquest and effectual mortifying of one bosom sin will
yield a Christian more glorious joy, comfort, and peace than
ever he has found in the gratifying and committing of all other sins. The pleasure and sweetness which
follows victory over sin is a thousand times beyond that seeming sweetness
which is in gratifying of sin. The joy which attends the subduing
of sin is a noble joy, a pure joy, a special joy, an increasing
joy, and a lasting joy. But that joy which attends the
committing of sin is an ignoble joy, a corrupt joy, a decreasing
joy, a dying joy. The truth is, if there were the
least real joy in sin, there could be no hell torments, where
men shall most totally sin, and be most totally tormented with
their sin. Ah, Christians, be restless until
in the Spirit and power of Jesus you have brought under control
that sin which sticks so close unto you. Remember this, nothing
below the conquest of bosom sins can make a jubilee in the heart.
It is not a man's whining and complaining over sin, but his
mortifying of sin, which will make his life a paradise of pleasure. If, notwithstanding all that
has been said, you are still resolved to dally with sin, then
you must resolve to live as a stranger to God. You must expect sad trials
without, and sore troubles within. This shall be your just wages
for playing with sin. If you like the wages, then dally
with sin still. If otherwise, then sacrifice
your Isaac. Ah, souls of all unpardoned sins,
your bosom sins will be presented by God, conscience, and Satan
at last, as the most filthy and ugly, as the most terrible and
dreadful. Your bosom sins at last will
appear to be those monsters, those fiends of hell, which have
most provoked God against you. which have shut up Christ's affections
of love and compassion from you, which have armed conscience against
you, which have barred the gates of glory against you, which have
prepared the hottest place in hell for you, and which have
given Satan the greatest advantage eternally to triumph over you. THE ONLY LEGITIMATE PURPOSE OF
AMUSEMENT by William Sprague from his Lectures to Young People
If you will accomplish the greatest amount of good in your life,
so far as is possible, the whole of your time should be occupied
in doing good. I would not be surprised if the
query should arise in some of your minds whether this is indeed
possible, and whether it is not necessary, from the very constitution
of our nature, that part of our time should be devoted to amusement. I answer, the constitution of
our nature does require an occasional cessation from severe labor,
and an occasional change of employment. but it does not require that
it should be a change from what is useful to what is useless
or foolish. On the contrary, the whole purpose,
the only legitimate purpose of amusement, is answered by a change
from one useful employment to another, an employment which
keeps you still doing good, though you are doing good in a different
way. If you govern your conduct by
this principle, you will find yourselves blessed with a far
higher degree of activity both of mind and body. and will be
far better fitted for the discharge of your ordinary duties than
if you should yield yourselves up to absolute inactivity, or
to what ordinarily passes with the world under the name of amusement,
which is usually useless or foolish. In this way, too, many of your
precious moments which would otherwise be lost, or worse than
lost, are improved to the benefit of your own soul, your fellow
man, and the glory of God. The Ruling Passion by William
Sprague from his Lectures to Young People We, too, all previously
lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations
of our flesh and thoughts, and by nature we were children under
wrath, as the others were also. Ephesians 2 verse 3 In the time
of youth there is a natural relish for worldly pleasure. previous
to conversion, no doubt the love of pleasure is the ruling passion. There is a natural buoyancy of
spirits incident to that period, which usually finds its element
either in scenes of mirthful diversion or sensual indulgence. But whenever the heart comes
under the influence of true piety, it, of course, yields to the
dominion of a new set of principles, and he who was before supremely
a lover of pleasure now becomes supremely a lover of God. For those whose lives are according
to the flesh, think about the things of the flesh, but those
whose lives are according to the Spirit, about the things
of the Spirit." Romans 8 verse 5. The Slippery and Insidious Nature
of Vice by William Sprague from his Lectures to Young People
the deceitfulness of sin. How insidious is sin! From small and almost imperceptible
beings it gradually makes its way until it reduces the whole
man to its dominion, and brings into captivity every affection
and faculty of the soul. Sin first throws out the bait
of pleasure, and flatters its victim on to forbidden ground. Then it makes him the sport of
temptation, and does not give him over until he is fast bound
in the chains of eternal death. In its very nature, sin is deceitful. Its very element is the region
of false appearances, and lying promises, and fatal snares. When it addresses itself to the
unwary youth, it puts on a smiling countenance, and makes fair pretensions,
and takes care to conceal its hideous features. until, like
a serpent, it has entwined him with its deadly coils, and rendered
his escape impossible. You may venture into the path
of vice with that most foolish of all notions, that you shall
retreat early enough to save your soul. Alas, I fear you have
not yet learned the slippery and insidious nature of vice. As well might you think to take
the deadly viper into your bosom and render him harmless by flattering
words, or as well might you drink down the fatal poison and expect
to stop its progress in your system when the blood had curdled
at your heart. The sweetest joys are from the
sourest tears, by Thomas Brooks, from Heaven on Earth, published
in 1667. Sin is a turning the back upon
God. and the face towards hell. Repentance is a turning the back
upon sin and a setting the face towards God. True repentance
is a sorrowing for sin because it is offensive to God. Peter
was sorry for his sin. Judas was sorry for his punishment. Peter grieves because Christ
was grieved. Judas grieved because he would
be damned. As Noah's flood drowned his nearest
and his dearest friends, so the flood of penitent tears drowns
men's nearest and their dearest lusts. Be they Isaac's or Benjamin's,
be they right eyes or right hands, true repentance puts all to the
sword. It spares neither father nor
mother, neither Agag nor Achan. Repentance is a turning from
all sin, without any reservation or exception. One stab at the
heart kills. One hole in the ship sinks her. One act of treason makes a traitor. Just so, one sin, not forsaken,
not turned from, will undo a soul forever. A true penitent looks
upon every sin as poison, as the vomit of a dog, as the mire
of the street, as the minstrel's cloth, which of all things in
the law was most unclean, defiling, and polluting. He looks thus
upon every sin, turns his heart against every sin, and makes
him not only to refrain from sin, but to forsake it, and to
loathe it more than hell. True repentance breaks the heart
with sighs, sobs, and groans that a loving father is offended,
a blessed Savior crucified, and the sweet Comforter grieved. Penitent Mary Magdalene weeps
much, as well as loves much. Tears instead of jewels were
the ornaments of penitent David's bed. Surely that sweet singer
never sang more melodiously than when his heart was broken most
penitentially. The sweetest joys are from the
sourest tears. Penitent tears are the breeders
of spiritual joy. The bee gathers the best honey
off the bitterest herbs. Christ made the best wine of
water. The strongest, the purest, the
truest, the most permanent, and the most excellent joy is made
of the waters of repentance. Those who sow in tears will reap
with songs of joy. Psalm 126 verse 5. The Trifles Which God Gives by
Thomas Brooks from Heaven on Earth published in 1667. The Emperor Augustus, in his
great feasts, gave trifles to some, but gold to his favorites. Just so, honors, riches, and
worldly pleasures are the trifles which God gives to the worst
of men. God gives his gold, his special
love and grace, only to his people. The Unsearchable Riches of Christ
by Thomas Brooks There is everything in Christ to encourage the greatest
sinners to believe on Him, to rest and lean upon Him for all
happiness and blessedness. Christ is the greatest good,
the choicest good, the chief good, the most suitable good,
the most necessary good, a pure good, a real good, a total good,
an eternal good, a soul satisfying good. Sinners, are you poor? Christ has gold to enrich you. Are you naked? Christ has royal
robes and white clothing to clothe you. Are you blind? Christ has eyesalve to enlighten
you. Are you hungry? Christ will be
manna to feed you. Are you thirsty? He will be a
well of living water to refresh you. Are you wounded? He has a balm under his wings
to heal you. Are you sick? He is a physician
to cure you. Are you prisoners? He has laid
down a ransom for you. THE UNSEARCHABLE RICHES OF CHRIST
EPHESIANS 3 VERSE 8 THEN THE SCUM APPEARS by Thomas
Brooks from his book THE MUTE CHRISTIAN UNDER THE SMARTING
ROD published in 1659 Few Christians see themselves
and understand themselves rightfully. By trials, God discovers much
of man's sinful self to his pious self. When the fire is put under
the pot, then the scum appears. So when God tries a poor soul,
oh, how the scum of pride The scum of murmuring, the scum of
distrust, the scum of impatience, the scum of worldliness, the
scum of carnality, the scum of foolishness, the scum of willfulness,
discover itself in the heart of the poor creature. Trials
are God's looking-glass, in which his people see their own faults. O, that looseness, that vileness,
that wretchedness, that sink of filthiness, that gulf of wickedness,
which trials show to be in their hearts! I have tested you in the furnace
of affliction. Isaiah 48 verse 10 There is none like Jesus by William
Plumer from his sinners saved by unmerited kindness. What is
your beloved more than another beloved? from Song of Solomon
5 verse 9 Our Beloved alone can do sinners
good. His blood alone atones. He loved us unto death. Jesus has at once an almighty
arm and a brother's heart. None is more exalted, yet none
stooped so low. None is mightier, yet none is
more tender. He shall not break the bruised
reed, nor quench the smoking flax. He is meek and lowly, merciful
and mild. At the same time, He is the Omnipotent
Jehovah. He enlightens, purifies, and
comforts the heart. His word cannot be broken. His power cannot be resisted. The law of heavenly kindness
is in his heart. Great is his faithfulness. His royal titles are Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. To the pious, Jesus is the source
of all hope, all joy, all peace, all life, all comfort. Jesus is still as gentle, as
kind, as tender, as when he wept at the grave of Lazarus, gave
eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame, or granted mercy to
a wretch hanging by his side. In him dwell all excellencies. He is full of grace and truth. He takes poor, vile, ignorant,
guilty, helpless sinners, raises them to sonship with God, and
makes them partakers of His holiness. There is none like Him. No, not one. He is the chief
among 10,000. Wherever he is, there is heaven. There is none like Jesus. Yes, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved and this is
my friend. Song of Solomon 5 verse 16. Worthy is the lamb who was slain
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor
and glory and praise, Revelation 5 verse 12. To Sin and Not to Blush, by Thomas
Brooks, from Heaven on Earth, published in 1667. Only those things which are sinful
are shameful. Then, when I make atonement for
you, for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed,
and never again open your mouth because of your humiliation,
declares the Sovereign Lord. Ezekiel 16 verse 63 When the penitent soul sees his
sins pardoned, the anger of God pacified, and divine justice
satisfied, then he sits down ashamed. Sin and shame are inseparable
companions. A Christian cannot have the seeming
sweet of sin, but he shall have the real shame which accompanies
sin. These two God has joined together,
and all the world cannot put them asunder. It was the vile
and impenitent Caligula who said of himself that he loved nothing
better in himself than that he could not be ashamed. A soul
who has sinned away all shame is a soul ripe for hell and given
up to Satan. A greater plague cannot befall
a man in this life than to sin and not to blush. Two infamous strumpets by Thomas
Brooks from the Privy Key of Heaven, published in 1665. You have set our iniquities before
you, our secret sins, in the light of your presence. Psalm
90 verse 8. Can anyone hide in secret places
so that I cannot see him? Do not I fill heaven and earth? Jeremiah 23 verse 24. The eyes of the Lord are everywhere,
keeping watch on the wicked and the good. Proverbs 15 verse 3
As we are never out of the reach of God's hand, so we are never
from under the view of God's eye. God is privy to our most
secret sins. His eye is as much upon secret
sins as it is upon open sins. God has an eye upon our inmost
evils. He sees all that is done in the
dark. There is no cloud, nor curtain,
nor moment of darkness which can stand between the eyes of
God and the ways of men. For all a man's ways are in full
view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths. Proverbs 5 verse
21 In this scripture, Solomon mainly
speaks of the ways of the adulterer, which usually are plotted with
the most cunning secrecy. Yet God sees all those ways.
Look, as no boldness can exempt the adulterer from the justice
of God, so no secrecy can hide him from the eye of God. Though
men labor to hide their ways from others and from themselves,
yet it is but labor in vain to endeavor to hide them from God.
that men who labor to hide God from themselves can never hide
themselves from God. Venusius turned Theus and Ephraim,
two infamous trumpets from their harlotry, with only this argument,
that God sees all things in the dark when the doors are closed,
the windows shut, and the curtains drawn. Those sins which lie closest
and are most secretly lurking in the heart are as obvious and
odious to God as those who are most fairly written upon a man's
forehead. God is all eye, so that he sees
all, even the most secret turnings and windings of our hearts. neither
is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight but
all things are naked and opened that is anatomized to the eyes
of him with whom we have to do Hebrews 4 verse 13 what is the
curtain or the darkest night or the double lock or the secret
chamber to him who clearly observes all things in a perfect nakedness
God has an eye upon the most inward intentions of the heart
and the most subtle motions of the soul. Certainly, there is
not a creature, not a thought, not a thing, but lies open to
the all-seeing eye of God. The Lord knows all our secret
sinnings as exactly as our visible sinnings. If you cannot hide
yourself from the Son, which is God's minister of light, how
impossible will it be to hide yourself from Him whose eyes
are 10,000 times brighter than the sun? My eyes are on all their
ways. They are not hidden from me,
nor is their sin concealed from my eyes. Jeremiah 16 verse 17 This is the killing aggravation
of all sin, that it is done before the face of God, that it is committed
in the royal presence of the King of Kings. The very consideration
of God's omnipresence should bravely arm us against sin. Shall not the strict, the pure,
the jealous eye of an all-seeing God keep you from sinning in
the secret chamber, when all curtains are drawn, doors bolted,
and everyone in the house sleeping, but you and your Delilah? O what dreadful atheism is bound
up in that man's heart, who is more afraid of the eye of his
father, his pastor, his child, than he is of the eye and presence
of the Eternal God! Those who wallow in secret sins
act as if there were no God to behold them, nor conscience to
accuse them, nor judgment day to arraign them, nor justice
to condemn them, nor hell to torment them. Though they may
escape the eyes of men, yet they shall never escape the judgment
of God. What Devils Never Did by William
Plumer from Sinners Saved by Unmerited Kindness You are the
children of your father the devil. and you love to do the evil things
he does." John 8 verse 44 Such is the sad state of man by nature,
that he bears a fearful resemblance to devils. This truth is very
abasing to human pride. Unconverted men are like devils,
in the sense in which a child is like a man, or a cub like
a lion. All admit that devils have no
holiness. In this, unconverted men are
precisely like them. They do not love God's law or
nature or government. They are alienated from Him and
opposed to all His attributes and authority. They do not glorify
Him, do not delight in Him, do not find pleasure in thinking
on his name. They choose sin and death rather
than holiness and life. Laws, public opinion, and God's
providence now restrain many, but the heart of unrenewed man
is as wicked as it ever was. It hates holiness. In some things,
the ungodly do what devils never did. They reject mercy and grace
kindly offered to them by the Lord. Devils never did that. You say, they never had the opportunity. True, but they never did it. Neither did they ever laugh at
eternity, judgment, and damnation. The devil has too fearful a sense
of the wrath of God to be able to mock and jest at these solemn
things. How dreadful is sin! It converts
angels into devils, and men into fiends. There is no unfitness
in the arrangement which God has made for having one great
prison-house for all His incorrigible foes. The very place prepared
for the devil and his angels will be the final abode of impenitent
men. Then he will say to those on
the left, Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal
fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Matthew 25 verse
41 How dreadful will hell be! What a pitiful perishing portion
is that, by Thomas Brooks, from his sermon The Transcendent Excellency
of a Believer's Portion Above All Earthly Portions. Men of
the world, whose portion is in this life. Psalm 17 verse 14 Certainly, men whose hearts are
worldly, whose minds are worldly, whose spirits are worldly, whose
desires are worldly, whose hopes are worldly, whose main ends
are worldly, have only the world for their portion. And what a
pitiful, perishing portion is that! Such men choose the world
as their portion, and delight in the world as their portion,
and trust in the world as their portion, and in straits run to
the world as their portion, and take contentment and satisfaction
in the world as their portion. Doubtless, that word was a thunderbolt
to dives. Remember that during your life
you received your good things, just as Lazarus received bad
things. But now he is comforted here
while you are in agony. Wicked men have their best here. Their worst is to come. They
have their comforts here. Their torments are to come. They
have their joys here. Their sorrows are to come. They
have their heaven here. Their hell is to come. What Should Move God to Love
Us by Thomas Brooks from his sermon The Transcendent Excellency
of a Believer's Portion Above All Earthly Portions The free
favor and love of God The good will and pleasure of God is the
true ground and cause of God's bestowing of himself as a portion
upon his people. There was no cause, nor loveliness,
nor desirableness in them which could move God to bestow himself
upon them. God, for the glory of his own
free grace and love, has bestowed himself as a portion upon those
who have deserved to have their portion among devils and damned
spirits, in those torments which are endless, ceaseless, and remediless. But what should move God to love
us, who were so unworthy, so filthy, so empty, so beggarly? The question may be resolved
in these words, he loves us because he loves us. The root of all
divine love to us lies only in the bosom of God. When Brutus Went to Stab Julius
Caesar by Thomas Brooks from Heaven on Earth published in
1667. For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me." Psalm 51, verse 3. Sin most afflicts a gracious
soul. The deer, feeling within her
the working of the serpent's poison, runs through the thorns
and thickets, and runs over the green and pleasant pastures that
she may drink of the fountain and be cured. Just so, gracious
souls, being sensible of the poison and venom of sin, run
from the creatures, which are but as thorns and thickets, and
run over their own duties and righteousness, which are but
as pleasant pastures, to come to Christ, the Fountain of Life.
that they may drink of those waters of consolation, of those
wells of salvation which are in him, and cast up and cast
out their spiritual poison, and be cured for ever. Believers
know that their sins do most pierce and grieve the Lord. The
sins of God's people provoke Him most and sadden Him most,
and this makes them sigh and groan it out. What a wretched
man I am! Who will rescue me from this
body of death? If a snake were to sting your
dearly beloved spouse to death, would you preserve it alive?
warm it by the fire, and hug it in your bosom? Would you not
rather stab it with a thousand wounds?" When Brutus went to
stab Julius Caesar, he cried out, "'What, you, my son, Brutus?'
So may God well cry out, "'What, you, my son? What, will you stab
me with your sins? Is it not enough that others
stab my honor? But will you, my son? You are
wise, and know how to apply it." When He Shows No Anger by Thomas
Brooks from his book The Mute Christian Under the Smarting
Rod, published in 1659, The Lord disciplines the one
He loves, and punishes every son whom He receives. Hebrews
12 verse 6. There cannot be a greater evidence
of God's hatred and wrath than His refusing to correct men for
their sinful courses and vanity. where God refuses to correct,
there God resolves to destroy. There is no man so near God's
axe, so near the flames, so near hell, as he whom God will not
so much as spend a rod upon. Those whom I love, I rebuke and
discipline. Revelation 3 verse 19 God is
most angry when he shows no anger. Who can seriously meditate upon
this and not be silent under God's most smarting rod? Whining and Whimpering by Thomas
Brooks from Heaven on Earth, published in 1667. My beloved is mine, and I am
his. Song of Solomon 2 verse 16. I know, says the spouse, that
Jesus Christ is mine. I can, with the greatest confidence
and boldness, affirm it. He is my head, my husband, my
Lord, My Redeemer. My Justifier. My Savior. And I am His. I am sure that
I am His. I am His by purchase. I am His by conquest. I am His
by election. I am His by covenant. I am His by marriage. I am wholly His. I am specially
His. I am universally His. I am eternally his. A well-grounded
assurance will make a man patient in waiting, courageous in doing,
cheerful in suffering. it will make a heaven in a man's
heart on this side of heaven and make him go singing into
paradise despite all of life's calamities and miseries as he
realizes that he is everlastingly chosen and beloved of God that
God's heart is set upon him that his name is written in the book
of life that there is laid up for him a crown of righteousness,
and that nothing shall be able to separate him from him who
is his light, his life, his crown, his all in all. Ah, Christians,
only remember what Christ has done for you, and what He is
still doing for you in heaven, and what He will do for you to
all eternity, and you will not be able to spend your days in
whining and whimpering. Christians, your mercies are
greater than your miseries. One hour's being in the bosom
of Christ will recompense you for all your trouble and travail
on earth. Why, then, do you spend more
time in sighing than in rejoicing? without a rag on his back or
a penny in his purse by Thomas Brooks the Lord is my portion
says my soul therefore I will hope in him Lamentations 3 verse
24 Lazarus having God for his portion when he died he went
to heaven without a rag on his back or a penny in his purse
Whereas dives, who did not have God for his portion, when he
died, went tumbling down to hell in all his riches, bravery, and
glory. Oh, how infinitely better to
go to heaven a beggar than to go to hell an emperor! You are the one who has done
this, by Thomas Brooks, from his book The Mute Christian Under
the Smarting Rod, published in 1659. I was silent, I would not
open my mouth, for you are the one who has done this, Psalm
39 verse 9. In the words, you may observe
three things. First, the person speaking, and
that is David. David, a king. David, a saint. David, a man after God's own
heart. David, a Christian. And here
we are to look upon David not as a king, but as a Christian,
as a man whose heart was right with God. Secondly, the action
and carriage of David under the hand of God in these words, I
was silent, I would not open my mouth. Thirdly, the reason
of this humble and sweet carriage of his, in these words, for you
are the one who has done this. The proposition is this, that
it is the great duty and concern of gracious souls to be mute
and silent under the greatest afflictions, the saddest providences,
and sharpest trials that they meet with in this world. David's
silence is an acknowledgment of God as the author of all afflictions
that come upon us. There is no sickness so little,
but God has a finger in it, though it be but the aching of the little
finger. David looks through all secondary
causes to the first cause, and is silent. He sees a hand of
God in all, and so sits mute and quiet. The sight of God in
an affliction is of an irresistible efficacy to silence the heart,
and to stop the mouth of a godly man. Men who don't see God in
an affliction are easily cast into a feverish fit. They will
quickly be in a flame, and when their passions are up and their
hearts on fire, they will begin to be saucy and make no bones
of telling God to his teeth that they do well to be angry. such
as will not acknowledge God to be the author of all their afflictions,
will be ready enough to fall in with that mad principle of
the Maniches, who maintained the devil to be the author of
all calamities, as if there could be any evil or affliction in
the city, and the Lord have no hand in it. Amos 3 verse 6 If God's hand be not seen in
the affliction, the heart will do nothing but fret and rage
under affliction. Such as can see the ordering
hand of God in all their afflictions, will, with David, lay their hands
upon their mouths, when the rod of God is upon their backs. They see that it was a Father
that put those bitter cups in their hands, and love that laid
those heavy crosses upon their shoulders, and grace that put
those yokes around their necks, and this caused much quietness
and calmness in their spirits. When God's people are under the
rod, He makes, by His Spirit and Word, such sweet music in
their souls as allays all tumultuous motions, passions, and perturbations. I was silent, I would not open
my mouth, for you are the one who has done this. Psalm 39 verse
9 You have been long a gathering
rust by Thomas Brooks, from his book The Mute Christian Under
the Smarting Rod, published in 1659. Oh, but my afflictions
are greater than other men's afflictions are. Oh, there is
no affliction like my affliction. How can I not murmur? It may
be your sins are greater than other men's sins. If you have
sinned against more light, more love, more mercies, more promises
than others, no wonder if your afflictions are greater than
others. If this be your case, you have
more cause to be mute. than to murmur. It may be that
the Lord sees that it is very needful that your afflictions
should be greater than others. It may be your heart is harder
than other men's hearts, and prouder and stouter than other
men's hearts. It may be your heart is more
impure than others, and more carnal than others, or else more
selfish and more worldly than others, or else more deceitful
and more hypocritical than others, or else more cold and careless
than others, or more formal and lukewarm than others. Now, if
this is your case, certainly God sees it very necessary for
the breaking of your hard heart, and the humbling of your proud
heart, and the cleansing of your foul heart, and the spiritualizing
of your carnal heart. It's for this reason that your
afflictions should be greater than others. And therefore, do
not murmur. where the disease is strong,
the remedy must be strong, else the cure will never be wrought. God is a wise physician, and
he would never give strong medicine if a weaker one could affect
the cure. The more rusty the nail is, the
oftener we put it into the fire to purify it. And the more crooked
it is, the more blows, and the harder blows we give, to straighten
it. You have been long a gathering
rust, and therefore, if God deal thus with you, you have no cause
to complain. For the Lord disciplines the
one he loves, and punishes every son whom he receives. Hebrews
12 verse 6.
Broadcaster:
Grace Audio Treasures
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