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Morning BY Morning DEVOTIONAL JOURNAL
Charles Spurgeon
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(1834–1892)
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the son and grandson of Christian ministers, took his family’s preaching legacy to the loftiest heights. More than one hundred years after his death, Charles H. Spurgeon is still one of the best-known preachers of all time.
Born June 19, 1834, in Kelvedon, Essex, England, Spurgeon became nineteenth-century England’s counterpart to America’s D. L. Moody. Despite his Christian heritage, Spurgeon was not converted until 1850; after he found Christ, however, he quickly began spreading the good news of the gospel to ever-increasing audiences.
Spurgeon never attended college, but he was well-read in important elds such as Puritan theology and Victorian literature. Just months after his salvation, he began preaching in Teversham, and the next year, accepted a call to pastor the Baptist chapel at Waterbeach. When that church grew rapidly, Spurgeon was invited to lead London’s New Park Street Chapel, and by age twenty-one, he had become London’s most popular preacher.
When Spurgeon’s preaching began attracting more people than the New Park Street building could hold, the new Metropolitan Tabernacle was built, and crowds of up to ten thousand people came to hear his messages.
Spurgeon’s sermons were published for a public that hungered for his words, and ultimately, his messages lled more than ve dozen volumes. He also published a number of other religious books, including this popular devotional, Morning by Morning.
Spurgeon’s strict adherence to the scriptures led him to break fellowship with certain groups that he felt were straying from true biblical teaching, including his own Baptist Union in 1887. Illness eventually slowed Spurgeon in the last ve years of his life. He preached his nal sermon on June 7, 1891, and died January 31, 1892. More than sixty thousand people viewed his casket in the Metropolitan Tabernacle.
JANUARY 1
ey did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
Joshua 5:12
Israel’s weary wanderings were all over, and the promised rest was attained. No more moving tents, ery serpents, erce Amalekites, and howling wildernesses: they came to the land which owed with milk and honey, and they ate the old corn of the land. Perhaps this year, beloved Christian reader, this may be thy case or mine. Joyful is the prospect, and if faith be in active exercise, it will yield unalloyed delight. To be with Jesus in the rest which remaineth for the people of God, is a cheering hope indeed, and to expect this glory so soon is a double bliss. Unbelief shudders at the Jordan which still rolls between us and the goodly land, but let us rest assured that we have already experienced more ills than death at its worst can cause us. Let us banish every fearful thought, and rejoice with exceeding great joy, in the prospect that this year we shall begin to be “forever with the Lord.”
A part of the host will this year tarry on earth, to do service for their Lord. If this should fall to our lot, there is no reason why the New Year’s text should not still be true. “We who have believed do enter into rest.” e Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance; He gives us “glory begun below.” In heaven they are secure, and so are we preserved in Christ Jesus; there they triumph over their enemies, and we have victories too. Celestial spirits enjoy communion with their Lord, and this is not denied to us; they rest in His love, and we have perfect peace in Him: they hymn His praise, and it is our privilege to bless Him too. We will this year gather celestial fruits on earthly ground, where faith and hope have made the desert like the garden of the Lord. Man did eat angels’ food of old, and why not now? O for grace to feed on Jesus, and so to eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan this year!
JANUARY 2
Continue in prayer. Colossians 4:2
It is interesting to remark how large a portion of Sacred Writ is occupied with the subject of prayer, either in furnishing examples, enforcing precepts, or pronouncing promises. We scarcely open the Bible before we read, “ en began men to call upon the name of the Lord”; and just as we are about to close the volume, the “Amen” of an earnest supplication meets our ear. Instances are plentiful. Here we nd a wrestling Jacob—there a Daniel who prayed three times a day—and a David who with all his heart called upon his God. On the mountain we see Elias; in the dungeon Paul and Silas. We have multitudes of commands, and a myriad of promises. What does this teach us, but the sacred importance and necessity of prayer? We may be certain that whatever God has made prominent in His Word, He intended to be conspicuous in our lives. If He has said much about prayer, it is because He knows we have much need of it. So deep are our necessities, that until we are in heaven we must not cease to pray. Dost thou want nothing? en, I fear thou dost not know thy poverty. Hast thou no mercy to ask of God? en, may the Lord’s mercy show thee thy misery! A prayerless soul is a Christless soul. Prayer is the lisping of the believing infant, the shout of the ghting believer, the requiem of the dying saint falling asleep in Jesus. It is the breath, the watchword, the comfort, the strength, the honour of a Christian. If thou be a child of God, thou wilt seek thy Father’s face, and live in thy Father’s love. Pray that this year thou mayst be holy, humble, zealous, and patient; have closer communion with Christ, and enter oftener into the banqueting-house of His love. Pray that thou mayst be an example and a blessing unto others, and that thou mayest live more to the glory of thy Master. e motto for this year must be, “Continue in prayer.”
JANUARY 3
I will. . .give thee for a covenant of the people.
Isaiah 49:8
Jesus Christ is Himself the sum and substance of the covenant, and as one of its gifts He is the property of every believer. Believer, canst thou estimate what thou hast gotten in Christ? “In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” Consider that word “God” and its in nity, and then meditate upon “perfect man” and all His beauty; for all that Christ, as God and man, ever had, or can have, is thine—out of pure free favour, passed over to thee to be thine entailed property forever. Our blessed Jesus, as God, is omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent. Will it not console you to know that all these great and glorious attributes are altogether yours? Has He power? at power is yours to support and strengthen you, to overcome your enemies, and to preserve you even to the end. Has He love? Well, there is not a drop of love in His heart which is not yours; you may dive into the immense ocean of His love, and you may say of it all, “It is mine.” Hath He justice? It may seem a stern attribute, but even that is yours, for He will by His justice see to it that all which is promised to you in the covenant of grace shall be most certainly secured to you. And all that He has as perfect man is yours. As a perfect man the Father’s delight was upon Him. He stood accepted by the Most High. O believer, God’s acceptance of Christ is thine acceptance; for knowest thou not that the love which the Father set on a perfect Christ, He sets on thee now? For all that Christ did is thine. at perfect righteousness which Jesus wrought out, when through His stainless life He kept the law and made it honourable, is thine, and is imputed to thee. Christ is in the covenant.
“My God, I am ine—what a comfort divine! What a blessing to know that the Saviour is mine! In the heavenly Lamb thrice happy I am, And my heart it doth dance at the sound of His name.”
JANUARY 4
Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 3:18
Grow in grace”—not in one grace only, but in all grace. Grow in that root-grace, faith. Believe the promises more rmly than you have done. Let faith increase in fulness, constancy, simplicity. Grow also in love. Ask that your love may become extended, more intense, more practical, in uencing every thought, word, and deed. Grow likewise in humility. Seek to lie very low, and know more of your own nothingness. As you grow downward in humility, seek also to grow upward—having nearer approaches to God in prayer and more intimate fellowship with Jesus. May God the Holy Spirit enable you to “grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour.” He who grows not in the knowledge of Jesus, refuses to be blessed. To know Him is “life eternal,” and to advance in the knowledge of Him is to increase in happiness. He who does not long to know more of Christ, knows nothing of Him yet. Whoever hath sipped this wine will thirst for more, for although Christ doth satisfy, yet it is such a satisfaction, that the appetite is not cloyed, but whetted. If you know the love of Jesus—as the hart panteth for the waterbrooks, so will you pant after deeper draughts of His love. If you do not desire to know Him better, then you love Him not, for love always cries, “Nearer, nearer.” Absence from Christ is hell; but the presence of Jesus is heaven. Rest not then content without an increasing acquaintance with Jesus. Seek to know more of Him in His divine nature, in His human relationship, in His nished work, in His death, in His resurrection, in His present glorious intercession, and in His future royal advent. Abide hard by the cross, and search the mystery of His wounds. An increase of love to Jesus, and a more perfect apprehension of His love to us, is one of the best tests of growth in grace.
JANUARY 5
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
Genesis 1:4
Light might well be good since it sprang from that at of goodness, “Let there be light.” We who enjoy it should be more grateful for it than we are, and see more of God in it and by it. Light physical is said by Solomon to be sweet, but gospel light is in nitely more precious, for it reveals eternal things, and ministers to our immortal natures. When the Holy Spirit gives us spiritual light, and opens our eyes to behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, we behold sin in its true colours, and ourselves in our real position; we see the Most Holy God as He reveals Himself, the plan of mercy as He propounds it, and the world to come as the Word describes it. Spiritual light has many beams and prismatic colours, but whether they be knowledge, joy, holiness, or life, all are divinely good. If the light received be thus good, what must the essential light be, and how glorious must be the place where He reveals Himself! O Lord, since light is so good, give us more of it, and more of yself, the true light. No sooner is there a good thing in the world, than a division is necessary. Light and darkness have no communion; God has divided them, let us not confound them. Sons of light must not have fellowship with deeds, doctrines, or deceits of darkness. e children of the day must be sober, honest, and bold in their Lord’s work, leaving the works of darkness to those who shall dwell in it forever. Our churches should by discipline divide the light from the darkness, and we should by our distinct separation from the world do the same. In judgment, in action, in hearing, in teaching, in association, we must discern between the precious and the vile, and maintain the great distinction which the Lord made upon the world’s rst day. O Lord Jesus, be ou our light throughout the whole of this day, for y light is the light of men.
JANUARY 6
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1 Peter 5:7
It is a happy way of soothing sorrow when we can feel—“He careth for me.” Christian! do not dishonour religion by always wearing a brow of care; come, cast your burden upon your Lord. You are staggering beneath a weight which your Father would not feel. What seems to you a crushing burden, would be to Him but as the small dust of the balance. Nothing is so sweet as to
“Lie passive in God’s hands, And know no will but His.”
O child of su ering, be thou patient; God has not passed thee over in His providence. He who is the feeder of sparrows, will also furnish you with what you need. Sit not down in despair; hope on, hope ever. Take up the arms of faith against a sea of trouble, and your opposition shall yet end your distresses. ere is One who careth for you. His eye is xed on you, His heart beats with pity for your woe, and His hand omnipotent shall yet bring you the needed help. e darkest cloud shall scatter itself in showers of mercy. e blackest gloom shall give place to the morning. He, if thou art one of His family, will bind up thy wounds, and heal thy broken heart. Doubt not His grace because of thy tribulation, but believe that He loveth thee as much in seasons of trouble as in times of happiness. What a serene and quiet life might you lead if you would leave providing to the God of providence! With a little oil in the cruse, and a handful of meal in the barrel, Elijah outlived the famine, and you will do the same. If God cares for you, why need you care too? Can you trust Him for your soul, and not for your body? He has never refused to bear your burdens, He has never fainted under their weight. Come, then, soul! Have done with fretful care, and leave all thy concerns in the hand of a gracious God.
JANUARY 7
For to me to live is Christ. Philippians 1:21
e believer did not always live to Christ. He began to do so when God the Holy Spirit convinced him of sin, and when by grace he was brought to see the dying Saviour making a propitiation for his guilt. From the moment of the new and celestial birth the man begins to live to Christ. Jesus is to believers the one pearl of great price, for whom we are willing to part with all that we have. He has so completely won our love, that it beats alone for Him; to His glory we would live, and in defence of His gospel we would die; He is the pattern of our life, and the model after which we would sculpture our character. Paul’s words mean more than most men think; they imply that the aim and end of his life was Christ—nay, his life itself was Jesus. In the words of an ancient saint, he did eat, and drink, and sleep eternal life. Jesus was his very breath, the soul of his soul, the heart of his heart, the life of his life. Can you say, as a professing Christian, that you live up to this idea? Can you honestly say that for you to live is Christ? Your business—are you doing it for Christ? Is it not done for self-aggrandisement and for family advantage? Do you ask, “Is that a mean reason?” For the Christian it is. He professes to live for Christ; how can he live for another object without committing a spiritual adultery? Many there are who carry out this principle in some measure; but who is there that dare say that he hath lived wholly for Christ as the apostle did? Yet, this alone is the true life of a Christian—its source, its sustenance, its fashion, its end, all gathered up in one word—Christ Jesus. Lord, accept me; I here present myself, praying to live only in ee and to ee. Let me be as the bullock which stands between the plough and the altar, to work or to be sacri ced; and let my motto be, “Ready for either.”
JANUARY
8
e iniquity of the holy things. . .
Exodus 28:38
What a veil is lifted up by these words, and what a disclosure is made! It will be humbling and pro table for us to pause awhile and see this sad sight. e iniquities of our public worship, its hypocrisy, formality, lukewarmness, irreverence, wandering of heart, and forgetfulness of God, what a full measure have we there! Our work for the Lord, its emulation, sel shness, carelessness, slackness, unbelief, what a mass of de lement is there! Our private devotions, their laxity, coldness, neglect, sleepiness, and vanity, what a mountain of dead earth is there! If we looked more carefully we should nd this iniquity to be far greater than appears at rst sight. Dr. Payson, writing to his brother, says, “My parish, as well as my heart, very much resembles the garden of the sluggard; and what is worse, I nd that very many of my desires for the melioration of both, proceed either from pride or vanity or indolence. I look at the weeds which overspread my garden, and breathe out an earnest wish that they were eradicated. But why? What prompts the wish? It may be that I may walk out and say to myself, ‘In what ne order is my garden kept!’ is is pride. Or, it may be that my neighbours may look over the wall and say, ‘How nely your garden ourishes!’ is is vanity. Or I may wish for the destruction of the weeds, because I am weary of pulling them up. is is indolence.” So that even our desires after holiness may be polluted by ill motives. Under the greenest sods worms hide themselves; we need not look long to discover them. How cheering is the thought, that when the High Priest bore the iniquity of the holy things, he wore upon his brow the words, “Holiness to the Lord”; and even so while Jesus bears our sin, He presents before His Father’s face not our unholiness, but His own holiness. O for grace to view our great High Priest by the eye of faith!
JANUARY
9
I. . .will be their God. Jeremiah 31:33
Christian! here is all thou canst require. To make thee happy thou wantest something that shall satisfy thee; and is not this enough? If thou canst pour this promise into thy cup, wilt thou not say, with David, “My cup runneth over; I have more than heart can wish”? When this is ful lled, “I am thy God,” art thou not possessor of all things? Desire is insatiable as death, but He who lleth all in all can ll it. e capacity of our wishes who can measure? But the immeasurable wealth of God can more than over ow it. I ask thee if thou art not complete when God is thine? Dost thou want anything but God? Is not His all-su ciency enough to satisfy thee if all else should fail? But thou wantest more than quiet satisfaction; thou desirest rapturous delight. Come, soul, here is music t for heaven in this thy portion, for God is the Maker of heaven. Not all the music blown from sweet instruments, or drawn from living strings, can yield such melody as this sweet promise, “I will be their God.” Here is a deep sea of bliss, a shoreless ocean of delight; come, bathe thy spirit in it; swim an age, and thou shalt nd no shore; dive throughout eternity, and thou shalt nd no bottom. “I will be their God.” If this do not make thine eyes sparkle, and thy heart beat high with bliss, then assuredly thy soul is not in a healthy state. But thou wantest more than present delights—thou cravest something concerning which thou mayest exercise hope; and what more canst thou hope for than the ful lment of this great promise, “I will be their God”? is is the masterpiece of all the promises; its enjoyment makes a heaven below, and will make a heaven above. Dwell in the light of thy Lord, and let thy soul be always ravished with His love. Get out the marrow and fatness which this portion yields thee. Live up to thy privileges, and rejoice with unspeakable joy.
JANUARY
10
ere is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.
2 Timothy 4:8
Doubting one! thou hast often said, “I fear I shall never enter heaven.” Fear not! all the people of God shall enter there. I love the quaint saying of a dying man, who exclaimed, “I have no fear of going home; I have sent all before me; God’s nger is on the latch of my door, and I am ready for Him to enter.” “But,” said one, “are you not afraid lest you should miss your inheritance?” “Nay,” said he, “nay; there is one crown in heaven which the angel Gabriel could not wear; it will t no head but mine. ere is one throne in heaven which Paul the apostle could not ll; it was made for me, and I shall have it.” O Christian, what a joyous thought! y portion is secure; “there remaineth a rest.” “But cannot I forfeit it?” No, it is entailed. If I be a child of God I shall not lose it. It is mine as securely as if I were there. Come with me, believer, and let us sit upon the top of Nebo, and view the goodly land, even Canaan. Seest thou that little river of death glistening in the sunlight, and across it dost thou see the pinnacles of the eternal city? Dost thou mark the pleasant country, and all its joyous inhabitants? Know, then, that if thou couldst y across thou wouldst see written upon one of its many mansions, “ is remaineth for such a one; preserved for him only. He shall be caught up to dwell forever with God.” Poor doubting one, see the fair inheritance; it is thine. If thou believest in the Lord Jesus, if thou hast repented of sin, if thou hast been renewed in heart, thou art one of the Lord’s people, and there is a place reserved for thee, a crown laid up for thee, a harp specially provided for thee. No one else shall have thy portion; it is reserved in heaven for thee, and thou shalt have it ere long, for there shall be no vacant thrones in glory when all the chosen are gathered in.
JANUARY
11
ese have no root.
Luke 8:13
My soul, examine thyself this morning by the light of this text. ou hast received the word with joy; thy feelings have been stirred and a lively impression has been made; but, remember, that to receive the word in the ear is one thing, and to receive Jesus into thy very soul is quite another; super cial feeling is often joined to inward hardness of heart, and a lively impression of the word is not always a lasting one. In the parable, the seed in one case fell upon ground having a rocky bottom, covered over with a thin layer of earth; when the seed began to take root, its downward growth was hindered by the hard stone, and therefore it spent its strength in pushing its green shoot aloft as high as it could, but having no inward moisture derived from root nourishment, it withered away. Is this my case? Have I been making a fair show in the esh without having a corresponding inner life? Good growth takes place upwards and downwards at the same time. Am I rooted in sincere delity and love to Jesus? If my heart remains unsoftened and unfertilized by grace, the good seed may germinate for a season, but it must ultimately wither, for it cannot ourish on a rocky, unbroken, unsancti ed heart. Let me dread a godliness as rapid in growth and as wanting in endurance as Jonah’s gourd; let me count the cost of being a follower of Jesus; above all let me feel the energy of His Holy Spirit, and then I shall possess an abiding and enduring seed in my soul. If my mind remains as obdurate as it was by nature, the sun of trial will scorch, and my hard heart will help to cast the heat more terribly upon the ill-covered seed, and my religion will soon die, and my despair will be terrible; therefore, O heavenly Sower, plough me rst, and then cast the truth into me, and let me yield ee a bounteous harvest.
JANUARY 12
Ye are Christ’s.
1 Corinthians 3:23
“Ye are Christ’s.” You are His by donation, for the Father gave you to the Son; His by His bloody purchase, for He counted down the price for your redemption; His by dedication, for you have consecrated yourself to Him; His by relation, for you are named by His name, and made one of His brethren and joint-heirs. Labour practically to show the world that you are the servant, the friend, the bride of Jesus. When tempted to sin, reply, “I cannot do this great wickedness, for I am Christ’s.” Immortal principles forbid the friend of Christ to sin. When wealth is before you to be won by sin, say that you are Christ’s, and touch it not. Are you exposed to di culties and dangers? Stand fast in the evil day, remembering that you are Christ’s. Are you placed where others are sitting down idly, doing nothing? Rise to the work with all your powers; and when the sweat stands upon your brow, and you are tempted to loiter, cry, “No, I cannot stop, for I am Christ’s. If I were not purchased by blood, I might be like Issachar, crouching between two burdens; but I am Christ’s, and cannot loiter.” When the siren song of pleasure would tempt you from the path of right, reply, “ y music cannot charm me; I am Christ’s.” When the cause of God invites thee, give thyself to it; when the poor require thee, give thy goods and thyself away, for thou art Christ’s. Never belie thy profession. Be thou ever one of those whose manners are Christian, whose speech is like the Nazarene, whose conduct and conversation are so redolent of heaven, that all who see you may know that you are the Saviour’s, recognizing in you His features of love and His countenance of holiness. “I am a Roman!” was of old a reason for integrity; far more, then, let it be your argument for holiness, “I am Christ’s!”
JANUARY
13
Jehoshaphat made ships of arshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber.
1 Kings 22:48
Solomon’s ships had returned in safety, but Jehoshaphat’s vessels never reached the land of gold. Providence prospers one, and frustrates the desires of another, in the same business and at the same spot, yet the Great Ruler is as good and wise at one time as another. May we have grace today, in the remembrance of this text, to bless the Lord for ships broken at Eziongeber, as well as for vessels freighted with temporal blessings; let us not envy the more successful, nor murmur at our losses as though we were singularly and specially tried. Like Jehoshaphat, we may be precious in the Lord’s sight, although our schemes end in disappointment. e secret cause of Jehoshaphat’s loss is well worthy of notice, for it is the root of very much of the su ering of the Lord’s people; it was his alliance with a sinful family, his fellowship with sinners. In 2 Chronicles 20:37, we are told that the Lord sent a prophet to declare, “Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the Lord hath broken thy works.” is was a fatherly chastisement, which appears to have been blessed to him; for in the verse which succeeds our morning’s text we nd Him refusing to allow His servants to sail in the same vessels with those of the wicked king. Would to God that Jehoshaphat’s experience might be a warning to the rest of the Lord’s people, to avoid being unequally yoked together with unbelievers! A life of misery is usually the lot of those who are united in marriage, or in any other way of their own choosing, with the men of the world. O for such love to Jesus that, like Him, we may be holy, harmless, unde led, and separate from sinners; for if it be not so with us, we may expect to hear it often said, “ e Lord hath broken thy works.”
JANUARY 14
Mighty to save.
Isaiah 63:1
By the words “to save” we understand the whole of the great work of salvation, from the rst holy desire onward to complete sancti cation. e words are multum in parvo: indeed, here is all mercy in one word. Christ is not only “mighty to save” those who repent, but He is able to make men repent. He will carry those to heaven who believe; but He is, moreover, mighty to give men new hearts and to work faith in them. He is mighty to make the man who hates holiness love it, and to constrain the despiser of His name to bend the knee before Him. Nay, this is not all the meaning, for the divine power is equally seen in the after-work. e life of a believer is a series of miracles wrought by “the Mighty God.” e bush burns, but is not consumed. He is mighty to keep His people holy after He has made them so, and to preserve them in His fear and love until He consummates their spiritual existence in heaven. Christ’s might doth not lie in making a believer and then leaving Him to shift for himself; but He who begins the good work carries it on; He who imparts the rst germ of life in the dead soul, prolongs the divine existence, and strengthens it until it bursts asunder every bond of sin, and the soul leaps from earth, perfected in glory. Believer, here is encouragement. Art thou praying for some beloved ones? Oh, give not up thy prayers, for Christ is “mighty to save.” You are powerless to reclaim the rebel, but your Lord is Almighty. Lay hold on that mighty arm, and rouse it to put forth its strength. Does your own case trouble you? Fear not, for His strength is su cient for you. Whether to begin with others, or to carry on the work in you, Jesus is “mighty to save”; the best proof of which lies in the fact that He has saved you. What a thousand mercies that you have not found Him mighty to destroy!
Do as thou hast said.
2 Samuel 7:25
God’s promises were never meant to be thrown aside as waste paper; He intended that they should be used. God’s gold is not miser’s money, but is minted to be traded with. Nothing pleases our Lord better than to see His promises put in circulation; He loves to see His children bring them up to Him, and say, “Lord, do as ou hast said.” We glorify God when we plead His promises. Do you think that God will be any the poorer for giving you the riches He has promised? Do you dream that He will be any the less holy for giving holiness to you? Do you imagine He will be any the less pure for washing you from your sins? He has said “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Faith lays hold upon the promise of pardon, and it does not delay, saying, “ is is a precious promise; I wonder if it be true?” but it goes straight to the throne with it, and pleads, “Lord, here is the promise. ‘Do as ou hast said.’ ” Our Lord replies, “Be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” When a Christian grasps a promise, if he does not take it to God, he dishonours Him; but when he hastens to the throne of grace, and cries, “Lord, I have nothing to recommend me but this, ‘ ou hast said it;’ ” then his desire shall be granted. Our heavenly Banker delights to cash His own notes. Never let the promise rust. Draw the word of promise out of its scabbard, and use it with holy violence. ink not that God will be troubled by your importunately reminding Him of His promises. He loves to hear the loud outcries of needy souls. It is His delight to bestow favours. He is more ready to hear than you are to ask. e sun is not weary of shining, nor the fountain of owing. It is God’s nature to keep His promises; therefore go at once to the throne with “Do as ou hast said.”
JANUARY
16
I will help thee, saith the L ORD . Isaiah 41:14
is morning let us hear the Lord Jesus speak to each one of us: “I will help thee.” “It is but a small thing for Me, thy God, to help thee. Consider what I have done already. What! not help thee? Why, I bought thee with My blood. What! not help thee? I have died for thee; and if I have done the greater, will I not do the less? Help thee! It is the least thing I will ever do for thee; I have done more, and will do more. Before the world began I chose thee. I made the covenant for thee. I laid aside My glory and became a man for thee; I gave up My life for thee; and if I did all this, I will surely help thee now. In helping thee, I am giving thee what I have bought for thee already. If thou hadst need of a thousand times as much help, I would give it thee; thou requirest little compared with what I am ready to give. ’Tis much for thee to need, but it is nothing for me to bestow. ‘Help thee?’ Fear not! If there were an ant at the door of thy granary asking for help, it would not ruin thee to give him a handful of thy wheat; and thou art nothing but a tiny insect at the door of my all-su ciency. ‘I will help thee.’ ”
O my soul, is not this enough? Dost thou need more strength than the omnipotence of the United Trinity? Dost thou want more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than displays itself in the Son, or more power than is manifest in the in uences of the Spirit? Bring hither thine empty pitcher! Surely this well will ll it. Haste, gather up thy wants, and bring them here—thine emptiness, thy woes, thy needs. Behold, this river of God is full for thy supply; what canst thou desire beside? Go forth, my soul, in this thy might. e Eternal God is thine helper!
“Fear not, I am with thee. O, be not dismay’d! I, I am thy God, and will still give thee aid.”
JANUARY
17
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion.
Revelation 14:1
e apostle John was privileged to look within the gates of heaven, and in describing what he saw, he begins by saying, “I looked, and, lo, a Lamb!” is teaches us that the chief object of contemplation in the heavenly state is “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world.” Nothing else attracted the apostle’s attention so much as the person of that Divine Being, who hath redeemed us by His blood. He is the theme of the songs of all glori ed spirits and holy angels. Christian, here is joy for thee; thou hast looked, and thou hast seen the Lamb. rough thy tears thine eyes have seen the Lamb of God taking away thy sins. Rejoice, then. In a little while, when thine eyes shall have been wiped from tears, thou wilt see the same Lamb exalted on His throne. It is the joy of thy heart to hold daily fellowship with Jesus; thou shalt have the same joy to a higher degree in heaven; thou shalt enjoy the constant vision of His presence; thou shalt dwell with Him forever. “I looked, and, lo, a Lamb!” Why, that Lamb is heaven itself; for as good Rutherford says, “Heaven and Christ are the same thing”; to be with Christ is to be in heaven, and to be in heaven is to be with Christ. at prisoner of the Lord very sweetly writes in one of his glowing letters—“O my Lord Christ, if I could be in heaven without ee, it would be a hell; and if I could be in hell, and have ee still, it would be a heaven to me, for ou art all the heaven I want.” It is true, is it not, Christian? Does not thy soul say so?
“Not all the harps above Can make a heavenly place, If God His residence remove, Or but conceal His face.”
All thou needest to make thee blessed, supremely blessed, is “to be with Christ.”
JANUARY 18
ere remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Hebrews 4:9
How di erent will be the state of the believer in heaven from what it is here! Here he is born to toil and su er weariness, but in the land of the immortal, fatigue is never known. Anxious to serve his Master, he nds his strength unequal to his zeal: his constant cry is, “Help me to serve ee, O my God.” If he be thoroughly active, he will have much labour; not too much for his will, but more than enough for his power, so that he will cry out, “I am not wearied of the labour, but I am wearied in it.” Ah! Christian, the hot day of weariness lasts not forever; the sun is nearing the horizon; it shall rise again with a brighter day than thou hast ever seen upon a land where they serve God day and night, and yet rest from their labours. Here, rest is but partial; there, it is perfect. Here, the Christian is always unsettled; he feels that he has not yet attained. ere, all are at rest; they have attained the summit of the mountain; they have ascended to the bosom of their God. Higher they cannot go. Ah, toil-worn labourer, only think when thou shalt rest forever! Canst thou conceive it? It is a rest eternal; a rest that “remaineth.” Here, my best joys bear “mortal” on their brow; my fair owers fade; my dainty cups are drained to dregs; my sweetest birds fall before Death’s arrows; my most pleasant days are shadowed into nights; and the ood-tides of my bliss subside into ebbs of sorrow; but there, everything is immortal; the harp abides unrusted, the crown unwithered, the eye undimmed, the voice unfaltering, the heart unwavering, and the immortal being is wholly absorbed in in nite delight. Happy day! happy day! when mortality shall be swallowed up of life, and the Eternal Sabbath shall begin.
JANUARY 19
I sought him, but I found him not.
Song of Solomon 3:1
Tell me where you lost the company of Christ, and I will tell you the most likely place to nd Him. Have you lost Christ in the closet by restraining prayer? en it is there you must seek and nd Him. Did you lose Christ by sin? You will nd Christ in no other way but by the giving up of the sin, and seeking by the Holy Spirit to mortify the member in which the lust doth dwell. Did you lose Christ by neglecting the scriptures? You must nd Christ in the scriptures. It is a true proverb, “Look for a thing where you dropped it; it is there.” So look for Christ where you lost Him, for He has not gone away. But it is hard work to go back for Christ. Bunyan tells us, the pilgrim found the piece of the road back to the Arbour of Ease, where he lost his roll, the hardest he had ever travelled. Twenty miles onward is easier than to go one mile back for the lost evidence.
Take care, then, when you nd your Master, to cling close to Him. But how is it you have lost Him? One would have thought you would never have parted with such a precious Friend, whose presence is so sweet, whose words are so comforting, and whose company is so dear to you! How is it that you did not watch Him every moment for fear of losing sight of Him? Yet, since you have let Him go, what a mercy that you are seeking Him, even though you mournfully groan, “O that I knew where I might nd Him!” Go on seeking, for it is dangerous to be without thy Lord. Without Christ you are like a sheep without its shepherd; like a tree without water at its roots; like a sere leaf in the tempest—not bound to the tree of life. With thine whole heart seek Him, and He will be found of thee: only give thyself thoroughly up to the search, and verily, thou shalt yet discover Him to thy joy and gladness.
JANUARY
20
Abel was a keeper of sheep. Genesis 4:2
As a shepherd Abel sancti ed his work to the glory of God, and o ered a sacri ce of blood upon his altar, and the Lord had respect unto Abel and his o ering. is early type of our Lord is exceedingly clear and distinct. Like the rst streak of light which tinges the east at sunrise, it does not reveal everything, but it clearly manifests the great fact that the sun is coming. As we see Abel, a shepherd and yet a priest, o ering a sacri ce of sweet smell unto God, we discern our Lord, who brings before His Father a sacri ce to which Jehovah ever hath respect. Abel was hated by his brother—hated without a cause; and even so was the Saviour: the natural and carnal man hated the accepted man in whom the Spirit of grace was found, and rested not until His blood had been shed. Abel fell, and sprinkled his altar and sacri ce with his own blood, and therein sets forth the Lord Jesus slain by the enmity of man while serving as a priest before the Lord. “ e Good Shepherd layeth down His life for the sheep.” Let us weep over Him as we view Him slain by the hatred of mankind, staining the horns of His altar with His own blood. Abel’s blood speaketh. “ e Lord said unto Cain, ‘ e voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto Me from the ground.’ ” e blood of Jesus hath a mighty tongue, and the import of its prevailing cry is not vengeance, but mercy. It is precious beyond all preciousness to stand at the altar of our Good Shepherd; to see Him bleeding there as the slaughtered priest, and then to hear His blood speaking peace to all His ock, peace in our conscience, peace between Jew and Gentile, peace between man and His o ended Maker, peace all down the ages of eternity for blood-washed men. Abel is the rst shepherd in order of time, but our hearts shall ever place Jesus rst in order of excellence. ou great Keeper of the sheep, we the people of y pasture bless ee with our whole hearts when we see ee slain for us.