August AM
* 08/01/AM
"Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn."
--Ruth 2:2
Downcast and troubled Christian, come and glean to-day in the
broad field of promise. Here are abundance of precious
promises, which exactly meet thy wants. Take this one: "He will
not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax." Doth
not that suit thy case? A reed, helpless, insignificant, and
weak, a bruised reed, out of which no music can come; weaker
than weakness itself; a reed, and that reed bruised, yet, He
will not break thee; but on the contrary, will restore and
strengthen thee. Thou art like the smoking flax: no light, no
warmth, can come from thee; but He will not quench thee; He will
blow with His sweet breath of mercy till He fans thee to a
flame. Wouldst thou glean another ear? "Come unto Me all ye
that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." What
soft words! Thy heart is tender, and the Master knows it, and
therefore He speaketh so gently to thee. Wilt thou not obey Him,
and come to Him even now? Take another ear of corn: "Fear not,
thou worm Jacob, I will help thee, saith the Lord and thy
Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." How canst thou fear with such
a wonderful assurance as this? Thou mayest gather ten thousand
such golden ears as these! "I have blotted out thy sins like a
cloud, and like a thick cloud thy transgressions." Or this,
"Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;
though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Or
this, "The Spirit and the Bride say, Come, and let him that is
athirst come, and whosoever will let him take the water of life
freely." Our Master's field is very rich; behold the handfuls.
See, there they lie before thee, poor timid believer! Gather
them up, make them thine own, for Jesus bids thee take them. Be
not afraid, only believe! Grasp these sweet promises, thresh
them out by meditation and feed on them with joy.
* 08/02/AM
"Who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will."
--Ephesians 1:11
Our belief in God's wisdom supposes and necessitates that He
has a settled purpose and plan in the work of salvation. What
would _creation_ have been without His design? Is there a fish
in the sea, or a fowl in the air, which was left to chance for
its formation? Nay, in every bone, joint, and muscle, sinew,
gland, and blood-vessel, you mark the presence of a God working
everything according to the design of infinite wisdom. And shall
God be present in creation, ruling over all, and not in _grace_?
Shall the new creation have the fickle genius of free will to
preside over it when divine counsel rules the old creation? Look
at _Providence_! Who knoweth not that not a sparrow falleth to
the ground without your Father? Even the hairs of your head are
all numbered. God weighs the mountains of our grief in scales,
and the hills of our tribulation in balances. And shall there be
a God in providence and not in grace? Shall the shell be
ordained by wisdom and the kernel be left to blind chance. No;
He knows the end from the beginning. He sees in its appointed
place, not merely the corner-stone which He has laid in fair
colours, in the blood of His dear Son, but He beholds in their
ordained position each of the chosen stones taken out of the
quarry of nature, and polished by His grace; He sees the whole
from corner to cornice, from base to roof, from foundation to
pinnacle. He hath in His mind a clear knowledge of every stone
which shall be laid in its prepared space, and how vast the
edifice shall be, and when the top-stone shall be brought forth
with shoutings of "Grace! Grace! unto it." At the last it shall
be clearly seen that in every chosen vessel of mercy, Jehovah
did as He willed with His own; and that in every part of the
work of grace He accomplished His purpose, and glorified His own
name.
* 08/03/AM
"The Lamb is the light thereof."
--Revelation 21:23
Quietly contemplate the Lamb as the light of heaven. Light in
Scripture is the emblem of _joy_. The joy of the saints in
heaven is comprised in this: _Jesus_ chose us, loved us, bought
us, cleansed us, robed us, kept us, glorified us: we are here
entirely through the Lord Jesus. Each one of these thoughts
shall be to them like a cluster of the grapes of Eshcol. Light
is also the cause of _beauty_. Nought of beauty is left when
light is gone. Without light no radiance flashes from the
sapphire, no peaceful ray proceedeth from the pearl; and thus
all the beauty of the saints above comes from Jesus. As planets,
they reflect the light of the Sun of Righteousness; they live as
beams proceeding from the central orb. If He withdrew, they must
die; if His glory were veiled, their glory must expire. Light is
also the emblem of _knowledge_. In heaven our knowledge will be
perfect, but the Lord Jesus Himself will be the fountain of it.
Dark providences, never understood before, will then be clearly
seen, and all that puzzles us now will become plain to us in the
light of the Lamb. Oh! what unfoldings there will be and what
glorifying of the God of love! Light also means _manifestation_.
Light manifests. In this world it doth not yet appear what we
shall be. God's people are a hidden people, but when Christ
receives His people into heaven, He will touch them with the
wand of His own love, and change them into the image of His
manifested glory. They were poor and wretched, but what a
transformation! They were stained with sin, but one touch of His
finger, and they are bright as the sun, and clear as crystal.
Oh! what a manifestation! All this proceeds from the exalted
Lamb. Whatever there may be of effulgent splendour, Jesus shall
be the centre and soul of it all. Oh! to be present and to see
Him in His own light, the King of kings, and Lord of lords!
* 08/04/AM
"The people that do know their God shall be strong."
--Daniel 11:32
Every believer understands that to know God is the highest
and best form of knowledge; and this spiritual knowledge is a
source of strength to the Christian. It strengthens his _faith_.
Believers are constantly spoken of in the Scriptures as being
persons who are enlightened and taught of the Lord; they are
said to "have an unction from the Holy One," and it is the
Spirit's peculiar office to lead them into all truth, and all
this for the increase and the fostering of their faith.
Knowledge strengthens _love_, as well as faith. Knowledge opens
the door, and then through that door we see our Saviour. Or, to
use another similitude, knowledge paints the portrait of Jesus,
and when we see that portrait then we love Him, we cannot love a
Christ whom we do not know, at least, in some degree. If we know
but little of the excellences of Jesus, what He has done for us,
and what He is doing now, we cannot love Him much; but the more
we know Him, the more we shall love Him. Knowledge also
strengthens _hope_. How can we hope for a thing if we do not
know of its existence? Hope may be the telescope, but till we
receive instruction, our ignorance stands in the front of the
glass, and we can see nothing whatever; knowledge removes the
interposing object, and when we look through the bright optic
glass we discern the glory to be revealed, and anticipate it
with joyous confidence. Knowledge supplies us reasons for
_patience_. How shall we have patience unless we know something
of the sympathy of Christ, and understand the good which is to
come out of the correction which our heavenly Father sends us?
Nor is there one single grace of the Christian which, under God,
will not be fostered and brought to perfection by holy
knowledge. How important, then, is it that we should grow not
only in grace, but in the "knowledge" of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ.
* 08/05/AM
"We know that all things work together for good to them that
love God."
--Romans 8:28
Upon some points a believer is absolutely sure. He knows, for
instance, that God sits in the stern-sheets of the vessel when
it rocks most. He believes that an invisible hand is always on
the world's tiller, and that wherever providence may drift,
Jehovah steers it. That re-assuring knowledge prepares him for
everything. He looks over the raging waters and sees the spirit
of Jesus treading the billows, and he hears a voice saying, "It
is I, be not afraid." He knows too that God is always wise, and,
knowing this, he is confident that there can be no accidents, no
mistakes; that nothing can occur which ought not to arise. He
can say, "If I should lose all I have, it is better that I
should lose than have, if God so wills: the worst calamity is
the wisest and the kindest thing that could befall to me if God
ordains it." "We know that all things work together for good to
them that love God." The Christian does not merely hold this as
a theory, but _he knows it_ as a matter of fact. Everything
_has_ worked for good as yet; the poisonous drugs mixed in fit
proportions have worked the cure; the sharp cuts of the lancet
have cleansed out the proud flesh and facilitated the healing.
Every event as yet has worked out the most divinely blessed
results; and so, believing that God rules all, that He governs
wisely, that He brings good out of evil, the believer's heart is
assured, and he is enabled calmly to meet each trial as it
comes. The believer can in the spirit of true resignation pray,
"Send me what thou wilt, my God, so long as it comes from Thee;
never came there an ill portion from Thy table to any of Thy
children."
"Say not my soul, 'From whence can God relieve my care?
Remember that Omnipotence has servants everywhere.
His method is sublime, His heart profoundly kind,
God never is before His time, and never is behind.'"
* 08/06/AM
"Watchman, what of the night?"
--Isaiah 21:11
_What enemies are abroad_? Errors are a numerous horde, and
new ones appear every hour: against what heresy am I to be on my
guard? Sins creep from their lurking places when the darkness
reigns; I must myself mount the watch-tower, and watch unto
prayer. Our heavenly Protector foresees all the attacks which
are about to be made upon us, and when as yet the evil designed
us is but in the desire of Satan, He prays for us that our faith
fail not, when we are sifted as wheat. Continue O gracious
Watchman, to forewarn us of our foes, and for Zion's sake hold
not thy peace.
"Watchman, what of the night?" _What weather is coming_ for
the Church? Are the clouds lowering, or is it all clear and fair
overhead? We must care for the Church of God with anxious love;
and now that Popery and infidelity are both threatening, let us
observe the signs of the times and prepare for conflict.
"Watchman, what of the night?" _What stars are visible_?
What precious promises suit our present case? You sound the
alarm, give us the consolation also. Christ, the polestar, is
ever fixed in His place, and all the stars are secure in the
right hand of their Lord.
But watchman, _when comes the morning_? The Bridegroom
tarries. Are there no signs of His coming forth as the Sun of
Righteousness? Has not the morning star arisen as the pledge of
day? When will the day dawn, and the shadows flee away? O Jesus,
if Thou come not in person to Thy waiting Church this day, yet
come in Spirit to my sighing heart, and make it sing for joy.
"Now all the earth is bright and glad
With the fresh morn;
But all my heart is cold, and dark and sad:
Sun of the soul, let me behold Thy dawn!
Come, Jesus, Lord,
O quickly come, according to Thy word."
* 08/07/AM
"The upright love Thee"
--Song of Solomon 1:4
Believers love Jesus with a deeper affection then they dare
to give to any other being. They would sooner lose father and
mother then part with Christ. They hold all earthly comforts
with a loose hand, but they carry Him fast locked in their
bosoms. They voluntarily deny themselves for His sake, but they
are not to be driven to _deny_ Him. It is scant love which the
fire of persecution can dry up; the true believer's love is a
deeper stream than this. Men have laboured to divide the
faithful from their Master, but their attempts have been
fruitless in every age. Neither crowns of honour, now frowns of
anger, have untied this more than Gordian knot. This is no
every-day attachment which the world's power may at length
dissolve. Neither man nor devil have found a key which opens
this lock. Never has the craft of Satan been more at fault than
when he has exercised it in seeking to rend in sunder this union
of two divinely welded hearts. It is written, and nothing can
blot out the sentence, "_The upright love Thee_." The intensity
of the love of the upright, however, is not so much to be judged
by what it appears as by what the upright long for. It is our
daily lament that we cannot love enough. Would that our hearts
were capable of holding more, and reaching further. Like Samuel
Rutherford, we sigh and cry, "Oh, for as much love as would go
round about the earth, and over heaven--yea, the heaven of
heavens, and ten thousand worlds--that I might let all out upon
fair, fair, only fair Christ." Alas! our longest reach is but a
span of love, and our affection is but as a drop of a bucket
compared with His deserts. Measure our love by our intentions,
and it is high indeed; 'tis thus, we trust, our Lord doth judge
of it. Oh, that we could give all the love in all hearts in one
great mass, a gathering together of all loves to Him who is
altogether lovely!
* 08/08/AM
"They weave the spider's web."
--Isaiah 59:5
See the spider's web, and behold in it a most suggestive
picture of the hypocrite's religion. _It is meant to catch his
prey_: the spider fattens himself on flies, and the Pharisee has
his reward. Foolish persons are easily entrapped by the loud
professions of pretenders, and even the more judicious cannot
always escape. Philip baptized Simon Magus, whose guileful
declaration of faith was so soon exploded by the stern rebuke of
Peter. Custom, reputation, praise, advancement, and other flies,
are the small game which hypocrites take in their nets. A
spider's web is _a marvel of skill_: look at it and admire the
cunning hunter's wiles. Is not a deceiver's religion equally
wonderful? How does he make so barefaced a lie appear to be a
truth? How can he make his tinsel answer so well the purpose of
gold? A spider's web _comes all from the creature's own bowels_.
The bee gathers her wax from flowers, the spider sucks no
flowers, and yet she spins out her material to any length. Even
so hypocrites find their trust and hope within themselves; their
anchor was forged on their own anvil, and their cable twisted by
their own hands. They lay their own foundation, and hew out the
pillars of their own house, disdaining to be debtors to the
sovereign grace of God. But a spider's web is _very frail_. It
is curiously wrought, but not enduringly manufactured. It is no
match for the servant's broom, or the traveller's staff. The
hypocrite needs no battery of Armstrongs to blow his hope to
pieces, a mere puff of wind will do it. Hypocritical cobwebs
will soon come down when the besom of destruction begins its
purifying work. Which reminds us of one more thought, viz., that
such cobwebs _are not to be endured in the Lord's house_: He
will see to it that they and those who spin them shall be
destroyed for ever. O my soul, be thou resting on something
better than a spider's web. Be the Lord Jesus thine eternal
hiding-place.
* 08/09/AM
"The city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine
in it."
--Revelation 21:23
Yonder in the better world, the inhabitants are independent
of all creature comforts. They have no need of raiment; their
white robes never wear out, neither shall they ever be defiled.
They need no medicine to heal diseases, "for the inhabitant
shall not say, I am sick." They need no sleep to recruit their
frames--they rest not day nor night, but unweariedly praise Him
in His temple. They need no social relationship to minister
comfort, and whatever happiness they may derive from association
with their fellows is not essential to their bliss, for their
Lord's society is enough for their largest desires. They need no
teachers there; they doubtless commune with one another
concerning the things of God, but they do not require this by
way of instruction; they shall all be taught of the Lord. Ours
are the alms at the king's gate, but they feast at the table
itself. Here we lean upon the friendly arm, but there they lean
upon their Beloved and upon Him alone. Here we must have the
help of our companions, but there they find all they want in
Christ Jesus. Here we look to the meat which perisheth, and to
the raiment which decays before the moth, but there they find
everything in God. We use the bucket to fetch us water from the
well, but there they drink from the fountain head, and put their
lips down to the living water. Here the angels bring us
blessings, but we shall want no messengers from heaven then.
They shall need no Gabriels there to bring their love-notes from
God, for there they shall see _Him_ face to face. Oh! what a
blessed time shall that be when we shall have mounted above
every second cause and shall rest upon the bare arm of God! What
a glorious hour when God, and not His creatures; the Lord, and
not His works, shall be our daily joy! Our souls shall then have
attained the perfection of bliss.
* 08/10/AM
"Christ, who is our life."
--Colossians 3:4
Paul's marvellously rich expression indicates, that Christ is
the _source_ of our life. "You hath He quickened who were dead
in trespasses and sins." That same voice which brought Lazarus
out of the tomb raised us to newness of life. He is now the
_substance_ of our spiritual life. It is by His life that we
live; He is in us, the hope of glory, the spring of our actions,
the central thought which moves every other thought. _Christ is
the sustenance of our life_. What can the Christian feed upon
but Jesus' flesh and blood? "This is the bread which cometh down
from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die." O wayworn
pilgrims in this wilderness of sin, you never get a morsel to
satisfy the hunger of your spirits, except ye find it in Him!
_Christ is the solace of our life_. All our true joys come from
Him; and in times of trouble, His presence is our consolation.
There is nothing worth living for but Him; and His
lovingkindness is better than life! _Christ is the object of our
life_. As speeds the ship towards the port, so hastes the
believer towards the haven of his Saviour's bosom. As flies the
arrow to its goal, so flies the Christian towards the perfecting
of his fellowship with Christ Jesus. As the soldier fights for
his captain, and is crowned in his captain's victory, so the
believer contends for Christ, and gets his triumph out of the
triumphs of his Master. "For him to live is Christ." _Christ is
the exemplar of our life_. Where there is the same life within,
there will, there must be, to a great extent, the same
developments without; and if we live in near fellowship with the
Lord Jesus we shall grow like Him. We shall set Him before us as
our Divine copy, and we shall seek to tread in His footsteps,
until He shall become _the crown of our life in glory_. Oh! how
safe, how honoured, how happy is the Christian, since Christ is
our life!
* 08/11/AM
"Oh that I were as in months past."
--Job 29:2
Numbers of Christians can view the past with pleasure, but
regard the present with dissatisfaction; they look back upon the
days which they have passed in communing with the Lord as being
the sweetest and the best they have ever known, but as to the
present, it is clad in a sable garb of gloom and dreariness.
Once they lived near to Jesus, but now they feel that they have
wandered from Him, and they say, "O that I were as in months
past!" They complain that they have lost their evidences, or
that they have not present peace of mind, or that they have no
enjoyment in the means of grace, or that conscience is not so
tender, or that they have not so much zeal for God's glory. The
causes of this mournful state of things are manifold. It may
arise through a comparative _neglect of prayer_, for a neglected
closet is the beginning of all spiritual decline. Or it may be
the result of _idolatry_. The heart has been occupied with
something else, more than with God; the affections have been set
on the things of earth, instead of the things of heaven. A
jealous God will not be content with a divided heart; He must be
loved first and best. He will withdraw the sunshine of His
presence from a cold, wandering heart. Or the cause may be found
in _self-confidence_ and _self-righteousness_. Pride is busy in
the heart, and self is exalted instead of lying low at the foot
of the cross. Christian, if you are not now as you "were in
months past," do not rest satisfied with _wishing_ for a return
of former happiness, but go at once to seek your Master, and
tell Him your sad state. Ask His grace and strength to help you
to walk more closely with Him; humble yourself before Him, and
He will lift you up, and give you yet again to enjoy the light
of His countenance. Do not sit down to sigh and lament; while
the beloved Physician lives there is hope, nay there is a
certainty of recovery for the worst cases.
* 08/12/AM
"The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice."
--Psalm 97:1
Causes for disquietude there are none so long as this blessed
sentence is true. _On earth_ the Lord's power as readily
controls the rage of the wicked as the rage of the sea; His love
as easily refreshes the poor with mercy as the earth with
showers. Majesty gleams in flashes of fire amid the tempest's
horrors, and the glory of the Lord is seen in its grandeur in
the fall of empires, and the crash of thrones. In all our
conflicts and tribulations, we may behold the hand of the divine
King.
"God is God; He sees and hears
All our troubles, all our tears.
Soul, forget not, 'mid thy pains,
God o'er all for ever reigns."
_In hell_, evil spirits own, with misery, His undoubted
supremacy. When permitted to roam abroad, it is with a chain at
their heel; the bit is in the mouth of behemoth, and the hook in
the jaws of leviathan. Death's darts are under the Lord's lock,
and the grave's prisons have divine power as their warder. The
terrible vengeance of the Judge of all the earth makes fiends
cower down and tremble, even as dogs in the kennel fear the
hunter's whip.
"Fear not death, nor Satan's thrusts,
God defends who in Him trusts;
Soul, remember, in thy pains,
God o'er all for ever reigns."
_In heaven_ none doubt the sovereignty of the King Eternal, but
all fall on their faces to do Him homage. Angels are His
courtiers, the redeemed His favourites, and all delight to serve
Him day and night. May we soon reach the city of the great King!
"For this life's long night of sadness
He will give us peace and gladness.
Soul, remember, in thy pains,
God o'er all for ever reigns."
* 08/13/AM
"The cedars of Lebanon which He hath planted."
--Psalm 104:16
Lebanon's cedars are emblematic of the Christian, in that
_they owe their planting entirely to the Lord_. This is quite
true of every child of God. He is not man-planted, nor
self-planted, but God-planted. The mysterious hand of the divine
Spirit dropped the living seed into a heart which He had Himself
prepared for its reception. Every true heir of heaven owns the
great Husbandman as his planter. Moreover, the cedars of Lebanon
_are not dependent upon man for their watering_; they stand on
the lofty rock, unmoistened by human irrigation; and yet our
heavenly Father supplieth them. Thus it is with the Christian
who has learned to live by faith. He is independent of man, even
in temporal things; for his continued maintenance he looks to
the Lord his God, and to Him alone. The dew of heaven is his
portion, and the God of heaven is his fountain. Again, the
cedars of Lebanon _are not protected by any mortal power_. They
owe nothing to man for their preservation from stormy wind and
tempest. They are God's trees, kept and preserved by Him, and
by Him alone. It is precisely the same with the Christian. He is
not a hot-house plant, sheltered from temptation; he stands in
the most exposed position; he has no shelter, no protection,
except this, that the broad wings of the eternal God always
cover the cedars which He Himself has planted. Like cedars,
believers are _full of sap_ having vitality enough to be ever
green, even amid winter's snows. Lastly, the flourishing and
majestic condition of the cedar _is to the praise of God only_.
The Lord, even the Lord alone hath been everything unto the
cedars, and, therefore David very sweetly puts it in one of the
psalms, "Praise ye the Lord, fruitful trees and all cedars." In
the believer there is nothing that can magnify man; he is
planted, nourished, and protected by the Lord's own hand, and to
Him let all the glory be ascribed.
* 08/14/AM
"Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through Thy work."
--Psalm 92:4
Do you believe that your sins are forgiven, and that Christ
has made a full atonement for them? Then what a joyful Christian
_you ought to be_! How you should live above the common trials
and troubles of the world! Since sin is forgiven, can it matter
what happens to you now? Luther said, "Smite, Lord, smite, for
my sin is forgiven; if Thou hast but forgiven me, smite as hard
as Thou wilt"; and in a similar spirit you may say, "Send
sickness, poverty, losses, crosses, persecution, what Thou wilt,
_Thou hast forgiven me_, and my soul is glad." Christian, if
thou art thus saved, whilst thou art glad, _be grateful and
loving_. Cling to that cross which took thy sin away; serve thou
Him who served thee. "I beseech you therefore, by the mercies of
God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." Let not
your zeal evaporate in some little ebullition of song. Show your
love in expressive tokens. Love the brethren of Him who loved
you. If there be a Mephibosheth anywhere who is lame or halt,
help him for Jonathan's sake. If there be a poor tried believer,
weep with him, and bear his cross for the sake of Him who wept
for thee and carried thy sins. Since thou art thus forgiven
freely for Christ's sake, go and tell to others the joyful news
of pardoning mercy. Be not contented with this unspeakable
blessing for thyself alone, but publish abroad the story of the
cross. Holy gladness and holy boldness will make you a good
preacher, and all the world will be a pulpit for you to preach
in. Cheerful holiness is the most forcible of sermons, but the
Lord must give it you. Seek it this morning before you go into
the world. When it is the Lord's work in which we rejoice, we
need not be afraid of being too glad.
* 08/15/AM
"Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide."
--Genesis 24:63
_Very admirable was his occupation_. If those who spend so
many hours in idle company, light reading, and useless pastimes,
could learn wisdom, they would find more profitable society and
more interesting engagements in meditation than in the vanities
which now have such charms for them. We should all know more,
live nearer to God, and grow in grace, if we were more alone.
Meditation chews the cud and extracts the real nutriment from
the mental food gathered elsewhere. When Jesus is the theme,
meditation is sweet indeed. Isaac found Rebecca while engaged in
private musings; many others have found their best beloved
there.
_Very admirable was the choice of place_. In the field we
have a study hung round with texts for thought. From the cedar
to the hyssop, from the soaring eagle down to the chirping
grasshopper, from the blue expanse of heaven to a drop of dew,
all things are full of teaching, and when the eye is divinely
opened, that teaching flashes upon the mind far more vividly
than from written books. Our little rooms are neither so
healthy, so suggestive, so agreeable, or so inspiring as the
fields. Let us count nothing common or unclean, but feel that
all created things point to their Maker, and the field will at
once be hallowed.
_Very admirable was the season_. The season of sunset as it
draws a veil over the day, befits that repose of the soul when
earthborn cares yield to the joys of heavenly communion. The
glory of the setting sun excites our wonder, and the solemnity
of approaching night awakens our awe. If the business of this
day will permit it, it will be well, dear reader, if you can
spare an hour to walk in the field at eventide, but if not, the
Lord is in the town too, and will meet with thee in thy chamber
or in the crowded street. Let thy heart go forth to meet Him.
* 08/16/AM
"Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name."
--Psalm 29:2
God's glory is the result of His nature and acts. He is
glorious in His character, for there is such a store of
everything that is holy, and good, and lovely in God, that He
must be glorious. The actions which flow from His character are
also glorious; but while He intends that they should manifest to
His creatures His goodness, and mercy, and justice, He is
equally concerned that the glory associated with them should be
given only to Himself. Nor is there aught in ourselves in which
we may glory; for who maketh us to differ from another? And what
have we that we did not receive from the God of all grace? Then
how careful ought we to be to _walk humbly before the Lord_!
The moment we glorify ourselves, since there is room for one
glory only in the universe, we set ourselves up as rivals to the
Most High. Shall the insect of an hour glorify itself against
the sun which warmed it into life? Shall the potsherd exalt
itself above the man who fashioned it upon the wheel? Shall the
dust of the desert strive with the whirlwind? Or the drops of
the ocean struggle with the tempest? Give unto the Lord, all ye
righteous, give unto the Lord glory and strength; give unto Him
the honour that is due unto His name. Yet it is, perhaps, one of
the hardest struggles of the Christian life to learn this
sentence--"Not unto us, not unto us, but unto Thy name be
glory." It is a lesson which God is ever teaching us, and
teaching us sometimes by most painful discipline. Let a
Christian begin to boast, "I can do all things," without adding
"through Christ which strengtheneth me," and before long he will
have to groan, "I can do nothing," and bemoan himself in the
dust. When we do anything for the Lord, and He is pleased to
accept of our doings, let us lay our crown at His feet, and
exclaim, "Not I, but the grace of God which was with me!"
* 08/17/AM
"The mercy of God."
--Psalm 52:8
Meditate a little on this mercy of the Lord. It is _tender
mercy_. With gentle, loving touch, He healeth the broken in
heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He is as gracious in the
manner of His mercy as in the matter of it. It is _great
mercy_. There is nothing little in God; His mercy is like
Himself--it is infinite. You cannot measure it. His mercy is so
great that it forgives great sins to great sinners, after great
lengths of time, and then gives great favours and great
privileges, and raises us up to great enjoyments in the great
heaven of the great God. It is _undeserved mercy_, as indeed all
true mercy must be, for deserved mercy is only a misnomer for
justice. There was no right on the sinner's part to the kind
consideration of the Most High; had the rebel been doomed at
once to eternal fire he would have richly merited the doom, and
if delivered from wrath, sovereign love alone has found a cause,
for there was none in the sinner himself. It is _rich mercy_.
Some things are great, but have little efficacy in them, but
this mercy is a cordial to your drooping spirits; a golden
ointment to your bleeding wounds; a heavenly bandage to your
broken bones; a royal chariot for your weary feet; a bosom of
love for your trembling heart. It is _manifold mercy_. As Bunyan
says, "All the flowers in God's garden are double." There is no
single mercy. You may think you have but one mercy, but you
shall find it to be a whole cluster of mercies. It is _abounding
mercy_. Millions have received it, yet far from its being
exhausted; it is as fresh, as full, and as free as ever. _It is
unfailing mercy_. It will never leave thee. If mercy be thy
friend, mercy will be with thee in temptation to keep thee from
yielding; with thee in trouble to prevent thee from sinking;
with thee living to be the light and life of thy countenance;
and with thee dying to be the joy of thy soul when earthly
comfort is ebbing fast.
* 08/18/AM
"Strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the Lord's house."
--Jeremiah 51:51
In this account the faces of the Lord's people were covered
with shame, for it was a terrible thing that men should intrude
into the Holy Place reserved for the priests alone. Everywhere
about us we see like cause for sorrow. How many ungodly men are
now educating with the view of entering into the ministry! What
a crying sin is that solemn lie by which our whole population is
nominally comprehended in a National Church! How fearful it is
that ordinances should be pressed upon the unconverted, and that
among the more enlightened churches of our land there should be
such laxity of discipline. If the thousands who will read this
portion shall all take this matter before the Lord Jesus this
day, He will interfere and avert the evil which else will come
upon His Church. To adulterate the Church is to pollute a well,
to pour water upon fire, to sow a fertile field with stones. May
we all have grace to maintain in our own proper way the purity
of the Church, as being an assembly of believers, and not a
nation, an unsaved community of unconverted men.
Our zeal must, however, begin at home. Let us examine
_ourselves_ as to our right to eat at the Lord's table. Let us
see to it that we have on our wedding garment, lest we ourselves
be intruders in the Lord's sanctuaries. Many are called, but few
are chosen; the way is narrow, and the gate is strait. O for
grace to come to Jesus aright, with the faith of God's elect. He
who smote Uzzah for touching the ark is very jealous of His two
ordinances; as a true believer I may approach them freely, as an
alien I must not touch them lest I die. Heartsearching is the
duty of all who are baptized or come to the Lord's table.
"Search me, O God, and know my way, try me and know my heart."
* 08/19/AM
"He shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord."
--Micah 5:4
Christ's reign in His Church is that of a _shepherd-king_. He
has supremacy, but it is the superiority of a wise and tender
shepherd over his needy and loving flock; He commands and
receives obedience, but it is the willing obedience of the
well-cared-for sheep, rendered joyfully to their beloved
Shepherd, whose voice they know so well. He rules by the force
of love and the energy of goodness.
His reign is _practical in its character_. It is said, "He
shall _stand and feed_." The great Head of the Church is
actively engaged in providing for His people. He does not sit
down upon the throne in empty state, or hold a sceptre without
wielding it in government. No, He stands and feeds. The
expression "feed," in the original, is like an analogous one in
the Greek, which means to shepherdize, to do everything expected
of a shepherd: to guide, to watch, to preserve, to restore, to
tend, as well as to feed.
His reign is _continual in its duration_. It is said, "_He
shall stand_ and feed"; not "He shall feed now and then, and
leave His position"; not, "He shall one day grant a revival, and
then next day leave His Church to barrenness." His eyes never
slumber, and His hands never rest; His heart never ceases to
beat with love, and His shoulders are never weary of carrying
His people's burdens.
His reign is _effectually powerful in its action_; "He shall
feed in the strength of Jehovah." Wherever Christ is, there is
God; and whatever Christ does is the act of the Most High. Oh!
it is a joyful truth to consider that He who stands to-day
representing the interests of His people is very God of very
God, to whom every knee shall bow. Happy are we who belong to
such a shepherd, whose humanity communes with us, and whose
divinity protects us. Let us worship and bow down before Him as
the people of His pasture.
* 08/20/AM
"The sweet psalmist of Israel."
--2 Samuel 23:1
Among all the saints whose lives are recorded in Holy Writ,
David possesses an experience of the most striking, varied, and
instructive character. In his history we meet with trials and
temptations not to be discovered, as a whole, in other saints of
ancient times, and hence he is all the more suggestive a type of
our Lord. David knew the trials of all ranks and conditions of
men. Kings have their troubles, and David wore a crown: the
peasant has his cares, and David handled a shepherd's crook: the
wanderer has many hardships, and David abode in the caves of
Engedi: the captain has his difficulties, and David found the
sons of Zeruiah too hard for him. The psalmist was also tried in
his friends, his counsellor Ahithophel forsook him, "He that
eateth bread with me, hath lifted up his heel against me." His
worst foes were they of his own household: his children were his
greatest affliction. The temptations of poverty and wealth, of
honour and reproach, of health and weakness, all tried their
power upon him. He had temptations from without to disturb his
peace, and from within to mar his joy. David no sooner escaped
from one trial than he fell into another; no sooner emerged from
one season of despondency and alarm, than he was again brought
into the lowest depths, and all God's waves and billows rolled
over him. It is probably from this cause that David's psalms are
so universally the delight of experienced Christians. Whatever
our frame of mind, whether ecstasy or depression, David has
exactly described our emotions. He was an able master of the
human heart, because he had been tutored in the best of all
schools--the school of heart-felt, personal experience. As we
are instructed in the same school, as we grow matured in grace
and in years, we increasingly appreciate David's psalms, and
find them to be "green pastures." My soul, let David's
experience cheer and counsel thee this day.
* 08/21/AM
"He that watereth shall be watered also himself."
--Proverbs 11:25
We are here taught the great lesson, that to get, we must
give; that to accumulate, we must scatter; that to make
ourselves happy, we must make others happy; and that in order to
become spiritually vigorous, we must seek the spiritual good of
others. In watering others, we are ourselves watered. How? Our
efforts to be useful, _bring out our powers for usefulness_. We
have latent talents and dormant faculties, which are brought to
light by exercise. Our strength for labour is hidden even from
ourselves, until we venture forth to fight the Lord's battles,
or to climb the mountains of difficulty. We do not know what
tender sympathies we possess until we try to dry the widow's
tears, and soothe the orphan's grief. We often find in
attempting to teach others, that we _gain instruction for
ourselves_. Oh, what gracious lessons some of us have learned at
sick beds! We went to teach the Scriptures, we came away
blushing that we knew so little of them. In our converse with
poor saints, we are taught the way of God more perfectly for
ourselves and get a deeper insight into divine truth. So that
watering others _makes us humble_. We discover how much grace
there is where we had not looked for it; and how much the poor
saint may outstrip us in knowledge. Our own _comfort is also
increased_ by our working for others. We endeavour to cheer
them, and the consolation gladdens our own heart. Like the two
men in the snow; one chafed the other's limbs to keep him from
dying, and in so doing kept his own blood in circulation, and
saved his own life. The poor widow of Sarepta gave from her
scanty store a supply for the prophet's wants, and from that day
she never again knew what want was. Give then, and it shall be
given unto you, good measure, pressed down, and running over.
* 08/22/AM
"I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved,
that ye tell him, that I am sick of love."
--Song of Solomon 5:8
Such is the language of the believer panting after present
fellowship with Jesus, _he is sick for his Lord_. Gracious souls
are never perfectly at ease except they are in a state of
nearness to Christ; for when they are away from Him they lose
their peace. The nearer to Him, the nearer to the perfect calm
of heaven; the nearer to Him, the fuller the heart is, not only
of peace, but of life, and vigour, and joy, for these all depend
on constant intercourse with Jesus. What the sun is to the day,
what the moon is to the night, what the dew is to the flower,
such is Jesus Christ to us. What bread is to the hungry,
clothing to the naked, the shadow of a great rock to the
traveller in a weary land, such is Jesus Christ to us; and,
therefore, if we are not consciously one with Him, little marvel
if our spirit cries in the words of the Song, "I charge you, O
ye daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, tell Him that
I am sick of love." _This earnest longing after Jesus has a
blessing attending it_: "Blessed are they that do hunger and
thirst after righteousness"; and therefore, supremely blessed
are they who thirst after the Righteous One. Blessed is that
hunger, since it comes from God: if I may not have the
full-blown blessedness of being filled, I would seek the same
blessedness in its sweet bud-pining in emptiness and eagerness
till I am filled with Christ. If I may not feed on Jesus, it
shall be next door to heaven to hunger and thirst after Him.
There is a hallowedness about that hunger, since it sparkles
among the beatitudes of our Lord. But the blessing _involves a
promise_. Such hungry ones "_shall be filled_" with what they
are desiring. If Christ thus causes us to long after Himself, He
will certainly satisfy those longings; and when He does come to
us, as come He will, _oh, how sweet it will be_!
* 08/23/AM
"The voice of weeping shall be no more heard."
--Isaiah 65:19
The glorified weep no more, for _all outward a causes of
grief are gone_. There are no broken friendships, nor blighted
prospects in heaven. Poverty, famine, peril, persecution, and
slander, are unknown there. No pain distresses, no thought of
death or bereavement saddens. They weep no more, for _they are
perfectly sanctified_. No "evil heart of unbelief" prompts them
to depart from the living God; they are without fault before His
throne, and are fully conformed to His image. Well may they
cease to mourn who have ceased to sin. They weep no more,
because _all fear of change is past_. They know that they are
eternally secure. Sin is shut out, and they are shut in. They
dwell within a city which shall never be stormed; they bask in a
sun which shall never set; they drink of a river which shall
never dry; they pluck fruit from a tree which shall never
wither. Countless cycles may revolve, but eternity shall not be
exhausted, and while eternity endures, their immortality and
blessedness shall co-exist with it. They are for ever with the
Lord. They weep no more, because _every desire is fulfilled_.
They cannot wish for anything which they have not in possession.
Eye and ear, heart and hand, judgment, imagination, hope,
desire, will, all the faculties, are completely satisfied; and
imperfect as our present ideas are of the things which God hath
prepared for them that love him, yet we know enough, by the
revelation of the Spirit, that the saints above are supremely
blessed. The joy of Christ, which is an infinite fulness of
delight, is in them. They bathe themselves in the bottomless,
shoreless sea of infinite beatitude. That same joyful rest
remains for us. It may not be far distant. Ere long the weeping
willow shall be exchanged for the palm-branch of victory, and
sorrow's dewdrops will be transformed into the pearls of
everlasting bliss. "Wherefore comfort one another with these
words."
* 08/24/AM
"The breaker is come up before them."
--Micah 2:13
Inasmuch as Jesus has gone before us, things remain not as
they would have been had He never passed that way. He has
_conquered every foe_ that obstructed the way. Cheer up now thou
faint-hearted warrior. Not only has Christ travelled the road,
but He has slain thine enemies. Dost thou dread sin? He has
nailed it to His cross. Dost thou fear death? He has been the
death of Death. Art thou afraid of hell? He has barred it
against the advent of any of His children; they shall never see
the gulf of perdition. Whatever foes may be before the
Christian, they are all overcome. There are lions, but their
teeth are broken; there are serpents, but their fangs are
extracted; there are rivers, but they are bridged or fordable;
there are flames, but we wear that matchless garment which
renders us invulnerable to fire. The sword that has been forged
against us is already blunted; the instruments of war which the
enemy is preparing have already lost their point. God has taken
away in the person of Christ all the power that anything can
have to hurt us. Well then, the army may safely march on, and
you may go joyously along your journey, for all your enemies are
conquered beforehand. What shall you do but march on to take the
prey? They are beaten, they are vanquished; all you have to do
is to divide the spoil. You shall, it is true, often engage in
combat; but your fight shall be with a vanquished foe. His head
is broken; he may attempt to injure you, but his strength shall
not be sufficient for his malicious design. Your victory shall
be easy, and your treasure shall be beyond all count.
"Proclaim aloud the Saviour's fame,
Who bears _the Breaker's_ wond'rous name;
Sweet name; and it becomes him well,
Who breaks down earth, sin, death, and hell."
* 08/25/AM
"His fruit was sweet to my taste."
--Song of Solomon 2:3
Faith, in the Scripture, is spoken of under the emblem of all
the senses. It is _sight_: "Look unto me and be ye saved." It is
_hearing_: "Hear, and your soul shall live." Faith is
_smelling_: "All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and
cassia"; "thy name is as ointment poured forth." Faith is
spiritual _touch_. By this faith the woman came behind and
touched the hem of Christ's garment, and by this we handle the
things of the good word of life. Faith is equally the spirit's
taste. "How sweet are Thy words to my taste! yea, sweeter than
honey to my lips." "Except a man eat my flesh," saith Christ,
"and drink my blood, there is no life in him."
This "_taste_" is faith _in one of its highest operations_.
One of the first performances of faith is _hearing_. We hear the
voice of God, not with the outward ear alone, but with the
inward ear; we hear it as God's Word, and we believe it to be
so; that is the "hearing" of faith. Then our mind _looketh_ upon
the truth as it is presented to us; that is to say, we
understand it, we perceive its meaning; that is the "seeing" of
faith. Next we discover its preciousness; we begin to admire it,
and find how fragrant it is; that is faith in its "_smell_."
Then we appropriate the mercies which are prepared for us in
Christ; that is faith in its "_touch_." Hence follow the
enjoyments, peace, delight, communion; which are faith in its
"taste." Any one of these acts of faith is saving. To hear
Christ's voice as the sure voice of God in the soul will save
us; but that which gives true enjoyment is the aspect of faith
wherein Christ, by holy taste, is received into us, and made, by
inward and spiritual apprehension of His sweetness and
preciousness, to be the food of our souls. It is then we sit
"under His shadow with great delight," and find His fruit sweet
to our taste.
* 08/26/AM
"He hath commanded His covenant for ever."
--Psalms 111:9
The Lord's people delight in the covenant itself. It is an
unfailing source of consolation to them so often as the Holy
Spirit leads them into its banqueting house and waves its banner
of love. They delight to contemplate _the antiquity_ of that
covenant, remembering that before the day-star knew its place,
or planets ran their round, the interests of the saints were
made secure in Christ Jesus. It is peculiarly pleasing to them
to remember _the sureness_ of the covenant, while meditating
upon "the sure mercies of David." They delight to celebrate it
as "signed, and sealed, and ratified, in all things ordered
well." It often makes their hearts dilate with joy to think of
its _immutability_, as a covenant which neither time nor
eternity, life nor death, shall ever be able to violate--a
covenant as old as eternity and as everlasting as the Rock of
ages. They rejoice also to feast upon _the fulness_ of this
covenant, for they see in it all things provided for them. God
is their portion, Christ their companion, the Spirit their
Comforter, earth their lodge, and heaven their home. They see in
it an inheritance reserved and entailed to every soul possessing
an interest in its ancient and eternal deed of gift. Their eyes
sparkled when they saw it as a treasure-trove in the Bible; but
oh! how their souls were gladdened when they saw in the last
will and testament of their divine kinsman, that it was
bequeathed to them! More especially it is the pleasure of God's
people to contemplate _the graciousness_ of this covenant. They
see that the law was made void because it was a covenant of
works and depended upon merit, but this they perceive to be
enduring because grace is the basis, grace the condition, grace
the strain, grace the bulwark, grace the foundation, grace the
topstone. The covenant is a treasury of wealth, a granary of
food, a fountain of life, a store-house of salvation, a charter
of peace, and a haven of joy.
* 08/27/AM
"How long will it be ere they believe me?"
--Numbers 14:11
_Strive with all diligence to keep out that monster
unbelief_. It so dishonours Christ, that He will withdraw His
visible presence if we insult Him by indulging it. It is true it
is a weed, the seeds of which we an never entirely extract from
the soil, but we must aim at its root with zeal and
perseverance. Among hateful things it is the most to be
abhorred. Its injurious nature is so venomous that he that
exerciseth it and he upon whom it is exercised are both hurt
thereby. In thy case, O believer! it is most wicked, for the
mercies of thy Lord in the past, increase thy guilt in doubting
Him now. When thou dost distrust the Lord Jesus, He may well cry
out, "Behold I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that
is full of sheaves." This is crowning His head with thorns of
the sharpest kind. It is very cruel for a well-beloved wife to
mistrust a kind and faithful husband. The sin is needless,
foolish, and unwarranted. Jesus has never given the slightest
ground for suspicion, and it is hard to be doubted by those to
whom our conduct is uniformly affectionate and true. Jesus is
the Son of the Highest, and has unbounded wealth; it is shameful
to doubt Omnipotence and distrust all-sufficiency. The cattle on
a thousand hills will suffice for our most hungry feeding, and
the granaries of heaven are not likely to be emptied by our
eating. If Christ were only a cistern, we might soon exhaust His
fulness, but who can drain a fountain? Myriads of spirits have
drawn their supplies from Him, and not one of them has murmured
at the scantiness of His resources. Away, then, with this lying
traitor unbelief, for his only errand is to cut the bonds of
communion and make us mourn an absent Saviour. Bunyan tells us
that unbelief has "as many lives as a cat:" if so, let us kill
one life now, and continue the work till the whole nine are
gone. Down with thee, thou traitor, my heart abhors thee.
* 08/28/AM
"Oil for the light."
--Exodus 25:6
My soul, how much thou needest this, for thy lamp will not
long continue to burn without it. Thy snuff will smoke and
become an offence if light be gone, and gone it will be if oil
be absent. Thou hast no oil well springing up in thy human
nature, and therefore thou must go to them that sell and buy for
thyself, or like the foolish virgins, thou wilt have to cry, "My
lamp is gone out." Even the consecrated lamps could not give
light without oil; though they shone in the tabernacle they
needed to be fed, though no rough winds blew upon them they
required to be trimmed, and thy need is equally as great. Under
the most happy circumstances thou canst not give light for
another hour unless fresh oil of grace be given thee.
It was not every oil that might be used in the Lord's
service; neither the petroleum which exudes so plentifully from
the earth, nor the produce of fishes, nor that extracted from
nuts would be accepted; one oil only was selected, and that the
best olive oil. Pretended grace from natural goodness, fancied
grace from priestly hands, or imaginary grace from outward
ceremonies will never serve the true saint of God; he knows that
the Lord would not be pleased with rivers of such oil. He goes
to the olive-press of Gethsemane, and draws his supplies from
Him who was crushed therein. The oil of gospel grace is pure and
free from lees and dregs, and hence the light which is fed
thereon is clear and bright. Our churches are the Saviour's
golden candelabra, and if they are to be lights in this dark
world, they must have much holy oil. Let us pray for ourselves,
our ministers, and our churches, that they may never lack oil
for the light. Truth, holiness, joy, knowledge, love, these are
all beams of the sacred light, but we cannot give them forth
unless in private we receive oil from God the Holy Ghost.
* 08/29/AM
"Have mercy upon me, O God."
--Psalm 51:1
When Dr. Carey was suffering from a dangerous illness, the
enquiry was made, "If this sickness should prove fatal, what
passage would you select as the text for your funeral sermon?"
He replied, "Oh, I feel that such a poor sinful creature is
unworthy to have anything said about him; but if a funeral
sermon must be preached, let it be from the words, 'Have mercy
upon me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness; according unto
the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.'"
In the same spirit of humility he directed in his will that the
following inscription and nothing more should be cut on his
gravestone:--
WILLIAM CAREY, BORN AUGUST 17th, 1761:
DIED - -
"A wretched, poor, and helpless worm
On Thy kind arms I fall."
Only on the footing of free grace can the most experienced and
most honoured of the saints approach their God. The best of men
are conscious above all others that they are men at the best.
Empty boats float high, but heavily laden vessels are low in the
water; mere professors can boast, but true children of God cry
for mercy upon their unprofitableness. We have need that the
Lord should have mercy upon our good works, our prayers, our
preachings, our alms-givings, and our holiest things. The blood
was not only sprinkled upon the doorposts of Israel's dwelling
houses, but upon the sanctuary, the mercy-seat, and the altar,
because as sin intrudes into our holiest things, the blood of
Jesus is needed to purify them from defilement. If mercy be
needed to be exercised towards our duties, what shall be said of
our sins? How sweet the remembrance that inexhaustible mercy is
waiting to be gracious to us, to restore our backslidings, and
make our broken bones rejoice!
* 08/30/AM
"Wait on the Lord."
--Psalm 27:14
It may seem an easy thing to wait, but it is one of the
postures which a Christian soldier learns not without years of
teaching. Marching and quick-marching are much easier to God's
warriors than standing still. There are hours of perplexity when
the most willing spirit, anxiously desirous to serve the Lord,
knows not what part to take. Then what shall it do? Vex itself
by despair? Fly back in cowardice, turn to the right hand in
fear, or rush forward in presumption? No, but simply wait. _Wait
in prayer_, however. Call upon God, and spread the case before
Him; tell Him your difficulty, and plead His promise of aid. In
dilemmas between one duty and another, it is sweet to be humble
as a child, and _wait with simplicity of soul_ upon the Lord. It
is sure to be well with us when we feel and know our own folly,
and are heartily willing to be guided by the will of God. But
_wait in faith_. Express your unstaggering confidence in Him;
for unfaithful, untrusting waiting, is but an insult to the
Lord. Believe that if He keep you tarrying even till midnight,
yet He will come at the right time; the vision shall come and
shall not tarry. _Wait in quiet patience_, not rebelling because
you are under the affliction, but blessing your God for it.
Never murmur against the second cause, as the children of Israel
did against Moses; never wish you could go back to the world
again, but accept the case as it is, and put it as it stands,
simply and with your whole heart, without any self-will, into
the hand of your covenant God, saying, "Now, Lord, not my will,
but Thine be done. I know not what to do; I am brought to
extremities, but I will wait until Thou shalt cleave the floods,
or drive back my foes. I will wait, if Thou keep me many a day,
for my heart is fixed upon Thee alone, O God, and my spirit
waiteth for Thee in the full conviction that Thou wilt yet be my
joy and my salvation, my refuge and my strong tower."
* 08/31/AM
"On mine arm shall they trust."
--Isaiah 51:5
In seasons of severe trial, the Christian has nothing on
earth that he can trust to, and is therefore compelled to cast
himself on his God alone. When his vessel is on its beam-ends,
and no human deliverance can avail, he must simply and entirely
trust himself to the providence and care of God. Happy storm
that wrecks a man on such a rock as this! O blessed hurricane
that drives the soul to God and God alone! There is no getting
at our God sometimes because of the multitude of our friends;
but when a man is so poor, so friendless, so helpless that he
has nowhere else to turn, he flies into his Father's arms, and
is blessedly clasped therein! When he is burdened with troubles
so pressing and so peculiar, that he cannot tell them to any but
his God, he may be thankful for them; for he will learn more of
his Lord then than at any other time. Oh, tempest-tossed
believer, it is a happy trouble that drives thee to thy Father!
Now that thou hast only thy God to trust to, see that thou
puttest thy full confidence in Him. Dishonour not thy Lord and
Master by unworthy doubts and fears; but be strong in faith,
giving glory to God. Show the world that thy God is worth ten
thousand worlds to thee. Show rich men how rich thou art in thy
poverty when the Lord God is thy helper. Show the strong man how
strong thou art in thy weakness when underneath thee are the
everlasting arms. Now is the time for feats of faith and valiant
exploits. Be strong and very courageous, and the Lord thy God
shall certainly, as surely as He built the heavens and the
earth, glorify Himself in thy weakness, and magnify his might in
the midst of thy distress. The grandeur of the arch of heaven
would be spoiled if the sky were supported by a single visible
column, and your faith would lose its glory if it rested on
anything discernible by the carnal eye. May the Holy Spirit give
you to rest in Jesus this closing day of the month.
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