Grace Audio Treasures

Galatians 2:20, "The Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me!" Let us sit down and ponder the matchless love of Jesus! Brethren, what are we, that the precious Jesus should love us and give Himself for us? We were vile sinners, God's enemies, and objects of His wrath--just like the perishing world around us. We have actually out-sinned many who are now in Hell! Oh! we were once poor wretches sitting upon the ash-heap, wallowing in our blood, yes, running headlong into damnation--and yet behold, "Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God!" Ephesians 5:2 Jesus is Heaven's delight, the joy of angels, the song of the redeemed, the radiance of the Father's glory! He is the sinner's only hope--mighty to save, tender to receive the undeserving, the ill-deserving and the Hell-deserving into His holy family. He is the Father's wondrous gift--sent in mercy and love, bruised for our transgressions, and faithful to cleanse us from all iniquity. And He is our soul's all-sufficient Portion--satisfying our every holy longing, supplying our every need, sustaining us in every trial, and securing our eternal joy. In Him alone, the heart finds rest, the conscience finds peace, and the soul finds life everlasting! "I will be yours forever," says Jesus, "and My grace shall be yours forever, and My glory shall be yours forever, and My righteousness shall be yours forever. All that I am and all that I have, shall be yours forever!" Oh, what heart can conceive, what tongue can express, this matchless love of Jesus! "May you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His lov

Knowing that each of us as sinners, deserve eternal damnation--anything better than Hell is sheer mercy! This solemn truth must settle deeply into the heart of every redeemed sinner. For if we truly understood the infinite guilt of our sin, and the unspeakable holiness of God--then we would count even the bitterest affliction as sweet, compared to what we justly deserve. Every breath that is not drawn in Hell, is grace. Every hour outside of eternal torment, is mercy. And every drop of suffering in this life, though painful, is far lighter than the cup of divine wrath which Jesus drained for us on the cross! If we were to lie in pain for fifty years, unable to find even a moment's relief--yet had the Lord pardoned our sins and made us His redeemed people--would we not still be infinitely more blessed than we deserve? Yet God has not only spared us from Hell, but He has given us His Son, adopted us into His family, and prepared for us an eternal inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade. Therefore, let us never complain under God's chastening rod, nor grow bitter in the furnace of affliction. For these light and momentary troubles are not punishments, but purifying fires. They come from a Father's hand--not to destroy us, but to refine us into the image of His beloved Son. Therefore, as sinners deserving divine wrath, we are bound to humbly submit to the chastenings of the Lord. Let us confess that we are sinners, and that every sorrow we endure is mingled with mercy. Let us accept His chastisements with reverence--acknowledging that our worst days on earth, are still infinitely better than the Hell we've been rescued from. "Blessed is the man who perseveres

Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." What a majestic opening to the Word of God! With ten simple words, the Bible shatters every false philosophy! Atheism is silenced--for there is a God. Polytheism is refuted--for there is but one God. Materialism is exposed--for matter is not eternal, but created. Evolution is denied--for creation was by divine fiat, not blind chance. Pantheism is dismissed--for God is distinct from His creation. "In the beginning God…"--this is where all true knowledge must begin. Before time, before space, before anything that is seen--there was God. He is self-existent, eternal, and independent. He needs nothing, but out of His own sovereign pleasure, He spoke the universe into being! Everything that exists--every atom, every planet, every creature--owes its existence to Him. The psalmist declares, "By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth!" (Psalm 33:6) This first verse of Scripture is foundational. If we do not believe that God created the heavens and the earth, then we will not rightly understand the rest of Scripture. Hebrews 11:3 reminds us: "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command." God alone is the Creator, and the Owner, and the Sustainer, and the Ruler--of all things in His creation. This verse also sets the tone for worship. If God is the Creator, then we are His creatures. We are not our own--we belong to Him. We are not the center of the universe--He is. We did not bring ourselves into being--we were made for His glory. "You are worthy our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and

Behold His precious Gift transfixed to it! (Octavius Winslow, "Morning Thoughts") "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" Romans 8:32 Look at the cross! Behold His precious Gift transfixed to it, and that by His own hand, and for your sins. Then look at your present circumstances, survey . . . your needs, your trials, your chastisements, your bereavements, your heart sickening, heartbreaking tribulations, and know that God still is love. If He had love strong enough, deep enough, to give you Jesus; to tear Him, as it were, from His bosom, and to transfix Him on yonder accursed tree for your iniquities; then has He not love enough to bow His ear to your cry, and His heart to your sorrow? Will He not . . . rescue you from this difficulty, deliver you out of this trouble, shield you in this temptation, supply this need, support and comfort you in this grief? Oh yes, He will! doubt it not! The cross of Calvary is a standing pledge; standing until sin and guilt, need and woe, shall be known no more; that God, who "spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, will with Him also freely give us all things" necessary to our good, and promotive of His glory.

Psalm 71:18, "Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God!" There is a sacred beauty in the twilight years of a Christian's life. Though the body may weaken and the outward man decay, the inward man is being renewed day by day. Old age is not the closing chapter of usefulness or joy--but rather, the crowning season of God's faithfulness on full display. The advancing years bring with them many changes. Strength wanes. Memory fades. Loved ones depart. The once-busy hands may tremble, and the once-swift feet may falter. But one thing remains gloriously unchanged: the faithful, sustaining presence of our Savior-God! "I made you," He says. That means you are not here by accident. You were crafted by His hand, loved from eternity, and adopted into His family by grace. And now, in your latter years, you are not left to walk alone. He will carry you--not just support you or walk beside you--but carry you, with the tenderness of a Father and the strength of a mighty Savior. The psalmist's plea in Psalm 71 arises not from doubt but from dependence. He knows that the God who sustained him in youth, is the same God he needs in old age. He does not ask for ease, nor for the restoration of youthful vigor--but for the nearness of God: "Do not forsake me, O God!" That cry is not in vain, For your redeemer-God answers with a tender, personal assurance: "Even when you are old, I will take care of you,  even when you have gray hair, I will carry you.  I made you and I will support you;  I will carry you and rescue you." Isaiah 46:4 What a mercy this is! Our God is not like man, who grows weary and forgetful. He never ages, never weakens, never withdraws His care. He is the

"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." John 3:8 The workings of grace in the heart are utterly mysterious and unsearchable. We cannot explain why the Word produces effects on one person in a congregation, and not upon another. We cannot explain why, in some cases; with every possible advantage, and in spite of every entreaty; people reject the Word, and continue dead in trespasses and sins. We cannot explain why in other cases; with every possible difficulty, and with no encouragement; people are born again, and become decided Christians. We cannot define the manner in which the Spirit of God conveys life to a soul, and the exact process by which a believer receives a new nature. All these are hidden things to us. We see certain results, but we can go no further. This is deeply instructive. It is humbling no doubt to ministers, and teachers of others. The highest abilities, the most powerful preaching, the most diligent working, cannot command success. God alone can give spiritual life. But it is a truth at the same time, which supplies an admirable antidote to excessive anxiety and despondency. Our principal work is to sow the seed. That done, we may wait with faith and patience for the result. We may leave our work with the Lord. He alone can, if He thinks fit, give success.

Psalm 145:3, "Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom!" God is pure Being--independent, infinite, and unchangeable. Before the mountains were born, before man was formed from the dust, before angels lifted their voices in praise--God was. He had no beginning, and He shall have no end. He exists of Himself, by Himself, and for Himself. He is the eternal I AM! To contemplate God's nature is to approach a blazing glory that no creature can fully endure. Yet He has revealed Himself--not exhaustively, but truly--in His Word. What He makes known is sufficient to bow our hearts in reverent awe. He is spirit, not limited by body or bounds. (John 4:24) He is life itself, the fountain of all existence. He is immutable: "I the Lord do not change!" (Malachi 3:6) Nothing can add to Him, improve Him, or diminish Him. He is eternally perfect in all His being. All of His attributes--His wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth--are not something He has, but the very essence of who He is. His justice is holy, His love is wise, His mercy is sovereign. Each attribute is harmoniously one with all the rest, perfectly united in His glorious essence. Though we are finite and fallen, the regenerate soul delights in the nature of God. The more we see Him as He is, the more we see ourselves as we are: a mixture of dust and sin. And yet, wonder of wonders, this infinite God condescends to be known, to be worshiped, and to be loved by His creatures. Let us then draw near with reverence and joy, remembering that to know God rightly is life eternal. (John 17:3) Let us worship Him not as a vague power, but as the living, personal, triune God--Fath

Christ is the least expensive Physician. He takes no fee. He desires us to bring nothing to Him but broken hearts. And when He has cured us, He desires us to bestow nothing on Him but our love. Christ heals with more ease than any other. Christ makes the devil go out with a word (Mark 9:25). Nay, He can cure with a look: Christ's look melted Peter into repentance; it was a healing look. If Christ does but cast a look upon the soul, He will heal it. Christ is the most tender-hearted Physician. He is not more full of skill than sympathy, 'He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds' (Psalm 147:3). Every groan of the patient, goes to the heart of this Physician. Christ never fails of success. Christ never undertakes to heal any, but He makes a full cure. Other physicians can only cure those who are sick, but Christ cures those who are dead! "And you has He quickened, who were dead!" (Ephesians 2:1). Christ is a Physician for the dead! Of every one whom Christ cures it may be said, "He was dead, and is alive again!" (Luke 15:32) Christ is the most bountiful Physician. Other patients enrich their physicians; but here the Physician enriches the patient. Christ elevates all His patients. He not only cures them, but crowns them! (Revelation 2:10). Christ does not only raise them from the bed, but to the throne! He gives the sick man not only health, but also Heaven!

What a sweet and trusting declaration from the lips of David! In the midst of trouble, betrayal, and weakness--David casts himself wholly upon his Savior-God. These are not merely words of resignation, but of restful trust in the absolute sovereignty of God. The believer knows that . . . his every moment, his every event, his every affliction, and his every joy, are lovingly decreed and directed by his wise and gracious Father. Nothing is random. Nothing is meaningless. Nothing is outside of His control. "My times"--not just the favorable ones, but the painful ones too! Times of darkness and delay, times of persecution and sorrow, times of temptation and confusion --they are all in His loving hands. Whose hands? The hands that fashioned the heavens, and laid the foundation of the earth. The hands that uphold universe by the word of His power. The hands that were pierced for our transgressions. The hands that gently lead His flock, carry His lambs, and uphold His weak ones. Into those hands, David entrusts not only his soul, but his very moments and seasons. This is the anchor for every storm-tossed saint--that his life is not governed by chance, nor is it at the mercy of evil men or fickle circumstances. His times are in the hands of Him who cannot err, who always acts for the good of His people and the glory of His Name. The believer may not know what tomorrow holds--but he knows Who holds tomorrow. He may not understand the present sorrow--but he is assured that not a moment of it is wasted, for all is measured out by unerring wisdom and infinite love. Here is rich comfort: Nothing can touch the believer, but what first pass

1 Peter 2:7, "To you who believe, He is precious!" To the regenerate soul, Jesus Christ is the chief delight and treasure of the heart. The world may see no beauty in Him, but to the one born of God, Jesus is altogether lovely and worthy of all of our love, honor, and adoration. His preciousness lies first in His Person. In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and yet He took upon Himself true humanity. What mystery, that He who upholds all things by the word of His power, also humbled himself to become obedient to death--even death on a cross! Who can fathom such condescension? Who is like this glorious Mediator, who is both the Son of God and the Son of Man? Christ is also precious in His offices. As Prophet, He reveals the Father's will, teaching us the way of salvation with divine authority and tenderness. As Priest, He offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, and ever lives to intercede for us. As King, He rules over us with perfect righteousness and protects us from all our enemies. Each office meets our deepest need, and each one displays His surpassing worth. Further, He is precious in His benefits. Who but Jesus can give rest to the weary, peace to the troubled, righteousness to the guilty, and life to the dead? His blood cleanses from all sin. His Spirit renews the heart. His intercession secures both our perseverance and preservation. His promises are sure and sweet, and His presence is the joy of the believer's soul. All the infinite treasures of grace are found in Him! The more we grow in grace, the more Christ becomes our all. The soul cannot but long for Him, be satisfied with Him, and rejoice in Him above all things! This longing