Bible Heaven/Bible Heaven.iso/online/topics27/t27600

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27601
 January 1                                                Morning

 \\"They 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, fiery serpents, fierce
 Amalekites, and howling wildernesses: they came to the land
 which flowed 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 "for ever 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." The Holy Spirit is the
 earnest of our inheritance; he gives us "glory begun below." In
 heaven they are secure, and so are we preserve 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!

 Evening Reading .......................................... 27701
 # Ge 1:1 - 3:24 * Daily Bible Reading
27602
 January 2                                                Morning

 \\"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, "Then 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 find 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 myriads 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? Then, I fear thou dost not know
 thy poverty. Hast thou no mercy to ask of God? Then, 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 fighting 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 mayst live more to the glory of thy Master. The motto
 for this year must be, "Continue in prayer."

 Evening Reading .......................................... 27702
 # Ge 4:1 - 6:22 * Daily Bible Reading
27603
 January 3                                                Morning

 \\"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 infinity, 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?
 That 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. That 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 thine--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."

 Evening Reading .......................................... 27703
 # Ge 7:1 - 9:29 * Daily Bible Reading
27604
 January 4                                                Morning

 \\"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
 firmly 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, influencing
 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 water-brooks, 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 finished 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.

 Evening Reading .......................................... 27704
 # Ge 10:1 - 12:20 * Daily Bible Reading
27605
 January 5                                                Morning

 \\"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 fiat 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 infinitely 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 thyself, 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. The 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 for ever. 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 first
 day. O Lord Jesus, be thou our light throughout the whole of
 this day, for thy light is the light of men.

 Evening Reading .......................................... 27705
 # Ge 13:1 - 15:21 * Daily Bible Reading
27606
 January 6                                                Morning

 \\"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 suffering, 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.
 \\There is\\ One who careth for you. His eye is fixed on you,
 his heart beats with pity for your woe, and his hand omnipotent
 shall yet bring you the needed help. The darkest cloud shall
 scatter itself in showers of mercy. The 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.

 Evening Reading .......................................... 27706
 # Ge 16:1 - 18:33 * Daily Bible Reading
27607
 January 7                                                Morning

 \\"For me to live is Christ."\\
                                               --Philippians 1:21

    The 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-
 aggrandizement 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 thee and to thee. Let me be as the
 bullock which stands between the plough and the altar, to work
 or to be sacrificed; and let my motto be, "Ready for either."

 Evening Reading .......................................... 27707
 # Ge 19:1 - 21:34 * Daily Bible Reading
27608
 January 8                                                Morning

 \\"The 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 profitable for us to
 pause awhile and see this sad sight. The 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, selfishness, carelessness, slackness, unbelief, what
 a mass of defilement 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 find this iniquity to be far greater than appears at
 first 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 find 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 fine order is my garden
 kept!' This is \\pride\\. Or, it may be that my neighbours may
 look over the wall and say, 'How finely your garden flourishes!'
 This is \\vanity\\. Or I may wish for the destruction of the
 weeds, because I am weary of pulling them up. This 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!

 Evening Reading .......................................... 27708
 # Ge 22:1 - 24:67 * Daily Bible Reading
27609
 January 9                                                Morning

 \\"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 fulfilled, \\"I am thy God"\\, art
 thou not possessor of all things? Desire is insatiable as death,
 but he who filleth all in all can fill it. The capacity of our
 wishes who can measure? but the immeasurable wealth of God can
 more than overflow it. I ask thee if thou art not complete when
 God is thine? Dost thou want anything but God? Is not his
 all-sufficiency 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 fit 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 find no shore; dive throughout eternity, and thou shalt
 find 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 fulfilment of this great promise, "I will be their God"?
 This 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.

 Evening Reading .......................................... 27709
 # Ge 25:1 - 27:46 * Daily Bible Reading
27610
 January 10                                               Morning

 \\"There 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
 finger 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 fit no
 head but mine. There is one throne in heaven which Paul the
 apostle could not fill; it was made for me, and I shall have
 it." O Christian, what a joyous thought! thy 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 fly across
 thou wouldst see written upon one of its many mansions, "This
 remaineth for such a one; preserved for him only. He shall be
 caught up to dwell for ever 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.

 Evening Reading .......................................... 27710
 # Ge 28:1 - 30:43 * Daily Bible Reading
27611
 January 11                                               Morning

 \\"These have no root."\\
                                                      --Luke 8:13

    My soul, examine thyself this morning by the light of this
 text. Thou 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;
 superficial 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 flesh
 without having a corresponding inner life? Good growth takes
 place upwards and downwards at the same time. Am I rooted in
 sincere fidelity 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 flourish on a rocky, unbroken, unsanctified 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
 the 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 first, and then cast the truth into
 me, and let me yield thee a bounteous harvest.

 Evening Reading .......................................... 27711
 # Ge 31:1 - 33:20 * Daily Bible Reading
27612
 January 12                                               Morning

 \\"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 difficulties 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,
 "Thy music cannot charm me; I am Christ's." When the cause of
 God invites 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!"

 Evening Reading .......................................... 27712
 # Ge 34:1 - 36:43 * Daily Bible Reading
27613
 January 13                                               Morning

 \\"Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold:\\
 \\but they went not; for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber"\\
                                                  --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 to-day, in the remembrance of
 this text, to bless the Lord for ships broken at Ezion-geber, 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.

    The secret cause of Jehoshaphat's loss is well worthy of
 notice, for it is the root of very much of the suffering of the
 Lord's people; it was his alliance with a sinful family, his
 fellowship with sinners. In 2 Ch. 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." This was
 a fatherly chastisement, which appears to have been blest to
 him; for in the verse which succeeds our morning's text we find
 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, undefiled, and separate from sinners; for
 if it be not so with us, we may expect to hear it often said,
 \\"The Lord hath broken thy works."\\

 Evening Reading .......................................... 27713
 # Ge 37:1 - 39:23 * Daily Bible Reading
27614
 January 14                                               Morning

 \\"Mighty to save."\\
                                                    --Isaiah 63:1

    By the words "to save" we understand the whole of the great
 work of salvation, from the first holy desire onward to complete
 sanctification. The words are \\multum in parro\\: 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. The life of a believer is a series of miracles
 wrought by "the Mighty God." The 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 first 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 one? 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 sufficient 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!

 Evening Reading .......................................... 27714
 # Ge 40:1 - 42:38 * Daily Bible Reading
27615
 January 15                                               Morning

 \\"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 thou 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, "This 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 thou 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, 'Thou 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.
 Think 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. The sun is not weary
 of shining, nor the fountain of flowing. It is God's nature to
 keep his promises; therefore go at once to the throne with "Do
 as thou hast said."

 Evening Reading .......................................... 27715
 # Ge 43:1 - 45:28 * Daily Bible Reading
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