Bible Heaven/Bible Heaven.iso/online/topics27/t28550

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28551
 May 16                                                   Evening

 \\"And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of\\
 \\ditches. For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind,\\
 \\neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled\\
 \\with water, that ye may drink, both ye and your cattle, and\\
 \\your beasts."\\
                                                --2 Kings 3:16,17

    The armies of the three kings were famishing for want of
 water: God was about to send it, and in these words the prophet
 announced the coming blessing. Here was\\ a case of human\\
 \\helplessness\\: not a drop of water could all the valiant men
 procure from the skies or find in the wells of earth. Thus often
 the people of the Lord are at their wits' end; they see the
 vanity of the creature, and learn experimentally where their
 help is to be found. Still the people were to make \\a believing\\
 \\preparation for the divine blessing\\; they were to dig the
 trenches in which the precious liquid would be held. The church
 must by her varied agencies, efforts, and prayers, make herself
 ready to be blessed; she must make the pools, and the Lord will
 fill them. This must be done in faith, in the full assurance
 that the blessing is about to descend. By-and-by there was \\a\\
 \\singular bestowal of the needed boon\\. Not as in Elijah's
 case did the shower pour from the clouds, but in a silent and
 mysterious manner the pools were filled. The Lord has his own
 sovereign modes of action: he is not tied to manner and time as
 we are, but doeth as he pleases among the sons of men. It is
 ours thankfully to receive from him, and not to dictate to him.
 We must also notice \\the remarkable abundance of the supply\\
 --there was enough for the need of all. And so it is in the
 gospel blessing; all the wants of the congregation and of the
 entire church shall be met by the divine power in answer to
 prayer; and above all this, victory shall be speedily given to
 the armies of the Lord.

    What am I doing for Jesus? What trenches am I digging? O
 Lord, make me ready to receive the blessing which thou art so
 willing to bestow.
28552
 May 17                                                   Evening

 \\"Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee."\\
                                                    --Isaiah 41:9

    If we have received the grace of God in our hearts, its
 practical effect has been to make us God's \\servants\\. We may
 be unfaithful servants, we certainly are unprofitable ones, but
 yet, blessed be his name, we\\ are\\ his servants, wearing his
 livery, feeding at his table, and obeying his commands. We were
 once the servants of sin, but he who made us free has now taken
 us into his family and taught us obedience to his will. We do
 not serve our Master perfectly, but we would if we could. As we
 hear God's voice saying unto us, "Thou art my servant," we can
 answer with David, "I am thy servant; thou hast loosed my
 bonds." But the Lord calls us not only his \\servants\\, but his
 \\chosen\\ ones--"I have chosen thee." We have not chosen him
 first, but he hath chosen us. If we be God's servants, we were
 not always so; to sovereign grace the change must be ascribed.
 The eye of sovereignty singled us out, and the voice of
 unchanging grace declared, "I have loved thee with an
 everlasting love." Long ere time began or space was created God
 had written upon his heart the names of his elect people, had
 predestinated them to be conformed unto the image of his Son,
 and ordained them heirs of all the fulness of his love, his
 grace, and his glory. What comfort is here! Has the Lord loved
 us so long, and will he yet cast us away? He knew how
 stiffnecked we should be, he understood that our hearts were
 evil, and yet he made the choice. Ah! our Saviour is no fickle
 lover. He doth not feel enchanted for awhile with some gleams of
 beauty from his church's eye, and then afterwards cast her off
 because of her unfaithfulness. Nay, he married her in old
 eternity; and it is written of Jehovah, "He hateth putting
 away." The eternal choice is a bond upon \\our\\ gratitude and
 upon \\his\\ faithfulness which neither can disown.

28553
 May 18                                                   Evening

 \\"Afterward."\\
                                                  --Hebrews 12:11

    How happy are tried Christians, \\afterwards\\. No calm more
 deep than that which succeeds a storm. Who has not rejoiced in
 clear shinings after rain? Victorious banquets are for
 well-exercised soldiers. After killing the lion we eat the
 honey; after climbing the Hill Difficulty, we sit down in the
 arbour to rest; after traversing the Valley of Humiliation,
 after fighting with Apollyon, the shining one appears, with the
 healing branch from the tree of life. Our sorrows, like the
 passing keels of the vessels upon the sea, leave a silver line
 of holy light behind them "afterwards." It is peace, sweet, deep
 peace, which follows the horrible turmoil which once reigned in
 our tormented, guilty souls. See, then, the happy estate of a
 Christian! He has his best things last, and he therefore in this
 world receives his worst things first. But even his worst things
 are "afterward" good things, harsh ploughings yielding joyful
 harvests. Even now he grows rich by his losses, he rises by his
 falls, he lives by dying, and becomes full by being emptied; if,
 then, his grievous afflictions yield him so much peaceable fruit
 in this life, what shall be the full vintage of joy "afterwards"
 in heaven? If his dark nights are as bright as the world's days,
 what shall his days be? If even his starlight is more splendid
 than the sun, what must his sunlight be? If he can sing in a
 dungeon, how sweetly will he sing in heaven! If he can praise
 the Lord in the fires, how will he extol him before the eternal
 throne! If evil be good to him \\now\\, what will the
 overflowing goodness of God be to him \\then\\? Oh, blessed
 "afterward!" Who would not be a Christian? Who would not bear
 the present cross for the crown which cometh afterwards? But
 herein is work for patience, for the rest is not for to-day, nor
 the triumph for the present, but "afterward." Wait, O soul, and
 let patience have her perfect work.

28554
 May 19                                                   Evening

 \\"And he requested for himself that he might die."\\
                                                   --1 Kings 19:4

    It was a remarkable thing that the man who was never to die,
 for whom God had ordained an infinitely better lot, the man who
 should be carried to heaven in a chariot of fire, and be
 translated, that he should not see death--should thus pray, "Let
 me die, I am no better than my fathers." We have here a
 memorable proof that God does not always answer prayer in kind,
 though he always does in effect. He gave Elias something better
 than that which he asked for, and thus really heard and answered
 him. Strange was it that the lion-hearted Elijah should be so
 depressed by Jezebel's threat as to ask to die, and blessedly
 kind was it on the part of our heavenly Father that he did not
 take his desponding servant at his word. There is a limit to the
 doctrine of the prayer of faith. We are not to expect that God
 will give us everything we choose to ask for. We know that we
 sometimes ask, and do not receive, because we ask amiss. If we
 ask for that which is not promised--if we run counter to the
 spirit which the Lord would have us cultivate--if we ask
 contrary to his will, or to the decrees of his providence--if we
 ask merely for the gratification of our own ease, and without an
 eye to his glory, we must not expect that we shall receive. Yet,
 when we ask in faith, nothing doubting, if we receive not the
 precise thing asked for, we shall receive an equivalent, and
 more than an equivalent, for it. As one remarks, "If the Lord
 does not pay in silver, he will in gold; and if he does not pay
 in gold, he will in diamonds." If he does not give you precisely
 what you ask for, he will give you that which is tantamount to
 it, and that which you will greatly rejoice to receive in lieu
 thereof. Be then, dear reader, much in prayer, and make this
 evening a season of earnest intercession, but take heed what you
 ask.

28555
 May 20                                                   Evening

 \\"I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love."\\
                                                     --Hosea 11:4

    Our heavenly Father often draws us with the cords of love;
 but ah! how backward we are to run towards him! How slowly do we
 respond to his gentle impulses! \\He draws us to exercise a more\\
 \\simple faith in him\\; but we have not yet attained to
 Abraham's confidence; we do not leave our worldly cares with
 God, but, like Martha, we cumber ourselves with much serving.
 Our meagre faith brings leanness into our souls; we do not open
 our mouths wide, though God has promised to fill them. Does he
 not this evening draw us to trust him? Can we not hear him say,
 "Come, my child, and trust me. The veil is rent; enter into my
 presence, and approach boldly to the throne of my grace. I am
 worthy of thy fullest confidence, cast thy cares on me. Shake
 thyself from the dust of thy cares, and put on thy beautiful
 garments of joy." But, alas! though called with tones of love to
 the blessed exercise of this comforting grace, we will not come.
 At another time \\he draws us to closer communion with\\
 \\himself\\. We have been sitting on the doorstep of God's
 house, and he bids us advance into the banqueting hall and sup
 with him, but we decline the honour. There are secret rooms not
 yet opened to us; Jesus invites us to enter them, but we hold
 back. Shame on our cold hearts! We are but poor lovers of our
 sweet Lord Jesus, not fit to be his servants, much less to be
 his brides, and yet he hath exalted us to be bone of his bone
 and flesh of his flesh, married to him by a glorious
 marriage-covenant. Herein is love! But it is love which \\takes\\
 \\no denial\\. If we obey not the gentle drawings of his love,
 he will send affliction to drive us into closer intimacy with
 himself. Have us nearer he will. What foolish children we are to
 refuse those bands of love, and so bring upon our backs that
 scourge of small cords, which Jesus knows how to use!

28556
 May 21                                                   Evening

 \\"There is corn in Egypt."\\
                                                   --Genesis 42:2

    Famine pinched all the nations, and it seemed inevitable that
 Jacob and his family should suffer great want; but the God of
 providence, who never forgets the objects of electing love, had
 stored a granary for his people by giving the Egyptians warning
 of the scarcity, and leading them to treasure up the grain of
 the years of plenty. Little did Jacob expect deliverance from
 Egypt, but there was the corn in store for him. Believer, though
 all things are apparently against thee, rest assured that God
 has made a reservation on thy behalf; in the roll of thy griefs
 there is a saving clause. Somehow he will deliver thee, and
 somewhere he will provide for thee. The quarter from which thy
 rescue shall arise may be a very unexpected one, but help will
 assuredly come in thine extremity, and thou shalt magnify the
 name of the Lord. If men do not feed thee, ravens shall; and if
 earth yield not wheat, heaven shall drop with manna. Therefore
 be of good courage, and rest quietly in the Lord. God can make
 the sun rise in the west if he pleases, and make the source of
 distress the channel of delight. The corn in Egypt was all in
 the hands of the beloved Joseph; he opened or closed the
 granaries at will. And so the riches of providence are all in
 the absolute power of our Lord Jesus, who will dispense them
 liberally to his people. Joseph was abundantly ready to succour
 his own family; and Jesus is unceasing in his faithful care for
 his brethren. Our business is to go after the help which is
 provided for us: we must not sit still in despondency, but
 bestir ourselves. Prayer will bear us soon into the presence of
 our royal Brother: once before his throne we have only to ask
 and have: his stores are not exhausted; there is corn still: his
 heart is not hard, he will give the corn to us. Lord, forgive
 our unbelief, and this evening constrain us to draw largely from
 thy fulness and receive grace for grace.

28557
 May 22                                                   Evening

 \\"Behold, thou art fair, my Beloved."\\
                                           --Song of Solomon 1:16

    From every point our Well-beloved is most fair. Our various
 experiences are meant by our heavenly Father to furnish fresh
 standpoints from which we may view the loveliness of Jesus; how
 amiable are our trials when they carry us aloft where we may
 gain clearer views of Jesus than ordinary life could afford us!
 We have seen him from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir
 and Hermon, and he has shone upon us as the sun in his strength;
 but we have seen him also "from the lions' dens, from the
 mountains of the leopards," and he has lost none of his
 loveliness. From the languishing of a sick bed, from the borders
 of the grave, have we turned our eyes to our soul's spouse, and
 he has never been otherwise than "all fair." Many of his saints
 have looked upon him from the gloom of dungeons, and from the
 red flames of the stake, yet have they never uttered an ill word
 of him, but have died extolling his surpassing charms. Oh, noble
 and pleasant employment to be for ever gazing at our sweet Lord
 Jesus! Is it not unspeakably delightful to view the Saviour in
 all his offices, and to perceive him matchless in each?--to
 shift the kaleidoscope, as it were, and to find fresh
 combinations of peerless graces? In the manger and in eternity,
 on the cross and on his throne, in the garden and in his
 kingdom, among thieves or in the midst of cherubim, he is
 everywhere "altogether lovely." Examine carefully every little
 act of his life, and every trait of his character, and he is as
 lovely in the minute as in the majestic. Judge him as you will,
 you cannot censure; weigh him as you please, and he will not be
 found wanting. Eternity shall not discover the shadow of a spot
 in our Beloved, but rather, as ages revolve, his hidden glories
 shall shine forth with yet more inconceivable splendour, and his
 unutterable loveliness shall more and more ravish all celestial
 minds.

28558
 May 23                                                   Evening

 \\"Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money."\\
                                                   --Isaiah 43:24

    Worshippers at the temple were wont to bring presents of
 sweet perfumes to be burned upon the altar of God: but Israel,
 in the time of her backsliding, became ungenerous, and made but
 few votive offerings to her Lord: this was an evidence of
 coldness of heart towards God and his house. Reader, does this
 never occur with you? Might not the complaint of the text be
 occasionally, if not frequently, brought against you? Those who
 are poor in pocket, if rich in faith, will be accepted none the
 less because their gifts are small; but, poor reader, do you
 give in fair proportion to the Lord, or is the widow's mite kept
 back from the sacred treasury? The rich believer should be
 thankful for the talent entrusted to him, but should not forget
 his large responsibility, for where much is given much will be
 required; but, rich reader, are you mindful of your obligations,
 and rendering to the Lord according to the benefit received?
 Jesus gave his blood for us, what shall we give to him? We are
 his, and all that we have, for he has purchased us unto himself
 --can we act as if we were our own? O for more consecration! and
 to this end, O for more love! Blessed Jesus, how good it is of
 thee to accept our sweet cane bought with money! nothing is too
 costly as a tribute to thine unrivalled love, and yet thou dost
 receive with favour the smallest sincere token of affection!
 Thou dost receive our poor forget-me-nots and love-tokens as
 though they were intrinsically precious, though indeed they are
 but as the bunch of wild flowers which the child brings to its
 mother. Never may we grow niggardly towards thee, and from this
 hour never may we hear thee complain of us again for withholding
 the gifts of our love. We will give thee the first fruits of our
 increase, and pay thee tithes of all, and then we will confess
 "of thine own have we given thee."
28559
 May 24                                                   Evening

 \\"Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of\\
 \\Christ."\\
                                               --Philippians 1:27

    The word "conversation" does not merely mean our talk and
 converse with one another, but the whole course of our life and
 behaviour in the world. The Greek word signifies the actions and
 the privileges of citizenship: and thus we are commanded to let
 our actions, as citizens of the New Jerusalem, be such as
 becometh the gospel of Christ. What sort of conversation is
 this? In the first place, \\the gospel is very simple\\. So
 Christians should be simple and plain in their habits. There
 should be about our manner, our speech, our dress, our whole
 behaviour, that simplicity which is the very soul of beauty. The
 gospel is \\pre-eminently true\\, it is gold without dross; and
 the Christian's life will be lustreless and valueless without
 the jewel of truth. The gospel is a very \\fearless gospel\\, it
 boldly proclaims the truth, whether men like it or not: we must
 be equally faithful and unflinching. But the gospel is also
 \\very gentle\\. Mark this spirit in its Founder: "a bruised
 reed he will not break." Some professors are sharper than a
 thorn-hedge; such men are not like Jesus. Let us seek to win
 others by the gentleness of our words and acts. The gospel is
 \\very loving\\. It is the message of the God of love to a lost
 and fallen race. Christ's last command to his disciples was,
 "Love one another." O for more real, hearty union and love to
 all the saints; for more tender compassion towards the souls of
 the worst and vilest of men! We must not forget that the gospel
 of Christ is \\holy\\. It never excuses sin: it pardons it, but
 only through an atonement. If our life is to resemble the
 gospel, we must shun, not merely the grosser vices, but
 everything that would hinder our perfect conformity to Christ.
 For his sake, for our own sakes, and for the sakes of others, we
 must strive day by day to let our conversation be more in
 accordance with his gospel.

28560
 May 25                                                   Evening

 \\"And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem ...\\
 \\and they told what things were done in the way, and how he was\\
 \\known of them."\\
                                                  --Luke 24:33,35

    When the two disciples had reached Emmaus, and were
 refreshing themselves at the evening meal, the mysterious
 stranger who had so enchanted them upon the road, took bread and
 brake it, made himself known to them, and then vanished out of
 their sight. They had constrained him to abide with them,
 because the day was far spent; but now, although it was much
 later, their love was a lamp to their feet, yea, wings also;
 they forgot the darkness, their weariness was all gone, and
 forthwith they journeyed back the threescore furlongs to tell
 the gladsome news of a risen Lord, who had appeared to them by
 the way. They reached the Christians in Jerusalem, and were
 received by a burst of joyful news before they could tell their
 own tale. These early Christians were all on fire to speak of
 Christ's resurrection, and to proclaim what they knew of the
 Lord; they made common property of their experiences. This
 evening let their example impress us deeply. We too must bear
 our witness concerning Jesus. John's account of the sepulchre
 needed to be supplemented by Peter; and Mary could speak of
 something further still; combined, we have a full testimony from
 which nothing can be spared. We have each of us peculiar gifts
 and special manifestations; but the one object God has in view
 is the perfecting of the whole body of Christ. We must,
 therefore, bring our spiritual possessions and lay them at the
 apostle's feet, and make distribution unto all of what God has
 given to us. Keep back no part of the precious truth, but speak
 what you know, and testify what you have seen. Let not the toil
 or darkness, or possible unbelief of your friends, weigh one
 moment in the scale. Up, and be marching to the place of duty,
 and there tell what great things God has shown to your soul.

28561
 May 26                                                   Evening

 \\"Continue in the faith."\\
                                                     --Acts 14:22

    Perseverance is the badge of true saints. The Christian life
 is not a \\beginning\\ only in the ways of God, but also a
 \\continuance\\ in the same as long as life lasts. It is with a
 Christian as it was with the great Napoleon: he said, "Conquest
 has made me what I am, and conquest must maintain me." So, under
 God, dear brother in the Lord, conquest has made you what you
 are, and conquest must sustain you. Your motto must be,
 "Excelsior." He only is a true conqueror, and shall be crowned
 at the last, who continueth till war's trumpet is blown no more.
 Perseverance is, therefore, the target of all our spiritual
 enemies. The \\world\\ does not object to your being a Christian
 for a time, if she can but tempt you to cease your pilgrimage,
 and settle down to buy and sell with her in Vanity Fair. The
 \\flesh\\ will seek to ensnare you, and to prevent your pressing
 on to glory. "It is weary work being a pilgrim; come, give it
 up. Am I always to be mortified? Am I never to be indulged? Give
 me at least a furlough from this constant warfare." \\Satan\\
 will make many a fierce attack on your perseverance; it will be
 the mark for all his arrows. He will strive to hinder you \\in\\
 \\service\\: he will insinuate that you are doing no good; and
 that you want rest. He will endeavour to make you weary of
 \\suffering\\, he will whisper, "Curse God, and die." Or he will
 attack your \\steadfastness\\: "What is the good of being so
 zealous? Be quiet like the rest; sleep as do others, and let
 your lamp go out as the other virgins do." Or he will assail
 your \\doctrinal sentiments\\: "Why do you hold to these
 denominational creeds? Sensible men are getting more liberal;
 they are removing the old landmarks: fall in with the times."
 Wear your shield, Christian, therefore, close upon your armour,
 and cry mightily unto God, that by his Spirit you may endure to
 the end.

28562
 May 27                                                   Evening

 \\"What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a\\
 \\dead dog as I am?"\\
                                                   --2 Samuel 9:8

    If Mephibosheth was thus humbled by David's kindness, what
 shall\\ we\\ be in the presence of our gracious Lord? The more grace
 we have, the less we shall think of ourselves, for grace, like
 light, reveals our impurity. Eminent saints have scarcely known
 to what to compare themselves, their sense of unworthiness has
 been so clear and keen. "I am," says holy Rutherford, "a dry and
 withered branch, a piece of dead carcass, dry bones, and not
 able to step over a straw." In another place he writes, "Except
 as to open outbreakings, I want nothing of what Judas and Cain
 had." The meanest objects in nature appear to the humbled mind
 to have a preference above itself, because they have never
 contracted sin: a dog may be greedy, fierce, or filthy, but it
 has no conscience to violate, no Holy Spirit to resist. A dog
 may be a worthless animal, and yet by a little kindness it is
 soon won to love its master, and is faithful unto death; but we
 forget the goodness of the Lord, and follow not at his call.
 The term "dead dog" is the most expressive of all terms of
 contempt, but it is none too strong to express the self-
 abhorrence of instructed believers. They do not affect mock
 modesty, they mean what they say, they have weighed themselves
 in the balances of the sanctuary, and found out the vanity of
 their nature. At best, we are but clay, animated dust, mere
 walking hillocks; but viewed as sinners, we are monsters indeed.
 Let it be published in heaven as a wonder, that the Lord Jesus
 should set his heart's love upon such as we are. Dust and ashes
 though we be, we must and will "magnify the exceeding greatness
 of his grace." Could not his heart find rest in heaven? Must he
 needs come to these tents of Kedar for a spouse, and choose a
 bride upon whom the sun had looked? O heavens and earth, break
 forth into a song, and give all glory to our sweet Lord Jesus.

28563
 May 28                                                   Evening

 \\"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope."\\
                                              --Lamentations 3:21

    Memory is frequently the bond slave of despondency. Dispairing
 minds call to remembrance every dark foreboding in the past, and
 dilate upon every gloomy feature in the present; thus memory,
 clothed in sackcloth, presents to the mind a cup of mingled gall
 and wormwood. There is, however, no necessity for this. Wisdom
 can readily transform memory into an angel of comfort. That same
 recollection which in its left hand brings so many gloomy omens,
 may be trained to bear in its right a wealth of hopeful signs.
 She need not wear a crown of iron, she may encircle her brow
 with a fillet of gold, all spangled with stars. Thus it was in
 Jeremiah's experience: in the previous verse memory had brought
 him to deep humiliation of soul: "My soul hath them still in
 remembrance, and is humbled in me;" and now this same memory
 restored him to life and comfort. "This I recall to my mind,
 therefore have I hope." Like a two-edged sword, his memory first
 killed his pride with one edge, and then slew his despair with
 the other. As a general principle, if we would exercise our
 memories more wisely, we might, in our very darkest distress,
 strike a match which would instantaneously kindle the lamp of
 comfort. There is no need for God to create a new thing upon the
 earth in order to restore believers to joy; if they would
 prayerfully rake the ashes of the past, they would find light
 for the present; and if they would turn to the book of truth and
 the throne of grace, their candle would soon shine as aforetime.
 Be it ours to remember the lovingkindness of the Lord, and to
 rehearse his deeds of grace. Let us open the volume of
 recollection which is so richly illuminated with memorials of
 mercy, and we shall soon be happy. Thus memory may be, as
 Coleridge calls it, "the bosom-spring of joy," and when the
 Divine Comforter bends it to his service, it may be chief among
 earthly comforters.
28564
 May 29                                                   Evening

 \\"Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and\\
 \\buildeth this city Jericho."\\
                                                    --Joshua 6:26

    Since he was cursed who rebuilt Jericho, much more the man
 who labours to restore Popery among us. In our fathers' days the
 gigantic walls of Popery fell by the power of their faith, the
 perseverance of their efforts, and the blast of their gospel
 trumpets; and now there are some who would rebuild that accursed
 system upon its old foundation. O Lord, be pleased to thwart
 their unrighteous endeavours, and pull down every stone which
 they build. It should be a serious business with us to be
 thoroughly purged of every error which may have a tendency to
 foster the spirit of Popery, and when we have made a clean sweep
 at home we should seek in every way to oppose its all too rapid
 spread abroad in the church and in the world. This last can be
 done in secret by fervent prayer, and in public by decided
 testimony. We must warn with judicious boldness those who are
 inclined towards the errors of Rome; we must instruct the young
 in gospel truth, and tell them of the black doings of Popery in
 the olden times. We must aid in spreading the light more
 thoroughly through the land, for priests, like owls, hate
 daylight. Are we doing all we can for Jesus and the gospel? If
 not, our negligence plays into the hands of the priestcraft.
 What are we doing to spread the Bible, which is the Pope's bane
 and poison? Are we casting abroad good, sound gospel writings?
 Luther once said, "The devil hates goose quills" and, doubtless,
 he has good reason, for ready writers, by the Holy Spirit's
 blessing, have done his kingdom much damage. If the thousands
 who will read this short word this night will do all they can to
 hinder the rebuilding of this accursed Jericho, the Lord's glory
 shall speed among the sons of men. Reader, what can you do? What
 will you do?
28565
 May 30                                                   Evening

 \\"That henceforth we should not serve sin."\\
                                                     --Romans 6:6

    Christian, what hast thou to do with sin? \\Hath it not cost\\
 \\thee enough already\\? Burnt child, wilt thou play with the
 fire? What! when thou hast already been between the jaws of the
 lion, wilt thou step a second time into his den? Hast thou not
 had enough of the old serpent? Did he not poison all thy veins
 once, and wilt thou play upon the hole of the asp, and put thy
 hand upon the cockatrice's den a second time? Oh, be not so mad!
 so foolish! Did sin ever yield thee real pleasure? Didst thou
 find solid satisfaction in it? If so, go back to thine old
 drudgery, and wear the chain again, if it delight thee. But
 inasmuch as sin did never give thee what it promised to bestow,
 but deluded thee with lies, be not a second time snared by the
 old fowler-- be free, and let the remembrance of thy ancient
 bondage forbid thee to enter the net again! \\It is contrary to\\
 \\the designs of eternal love\\, which all have an eye to thy
 purity and holiness; therefore run not counter to the purposes
 of thy Lord. Another thought should restrain thee from sin.
 \\Christians can never sin cheaply\\; they pay a heavy price for
 iniquity. Transgression destroys peace of mind, obscures
 fellowship with Jesus, hinders prayer, brings darkness over the
 soul; therefore be not the serf and bondman of sin. There is yet
 a higher argument: each time you "serve sin" you have
 "\\Crucified the Lord afresh, and put him to an open shame\\."
 Can you bear that thought? Oh! if you have fallen into any
 special sin during this day, it may be my Master has sent this
 admonition this evening, to bring you back before you have
 backslidden very far. Turn thee to Jesus anew; he has not
 forgotten his love to thee; his grace is still the same. With
 weeping and repentance, come thou to his footstool, and thou
 shalt be once more received into his heart; thou shalt be set
 upon a rock again, and thy goings shall be established.

28566
 May 31                                                   Evening

 \\"Who healeth all thy diseases."\\
                                                    --Psalm 103:3

    Humbling as is the statement, yet the fact is certain, that
 we are all more or less suffering under the disease of sin. What
 a comfort to know that we have a great Physician who is both
 able and willing to heal us! Let us think of him awhile
 to-night. His cures are very \\speedy\\--there is life in a look
 at him; his cures are \\radical\\--he strikes at the centre of
 the disease; and hence, his cures are sure and certain. He never
 fails, and \\the disease never returns\\. There is no relapse
 where Christ heals; no fear that his patients should be merely
 patched up for a season, he makes new men of them: a new heart
 also does he give them, and a right spirit does he put with
 them. He is well skilled in \\all\\ diseases. Physicians
 generally have some \\speciality\\. Although they may know a
 little about almost all our pains and ills, there is usually one
 disease which they have studied above all others; but Jesus
 Christ is thoroughly acquainted with the whole of human nature.
 He is as much at home with one sinner as with another, and never
 yet did he meet with an out-of-the-way case that was difficult
 to him. He has had extraordinary complications of strange
 diseases to deal with, but he has known exactly with one glance
 of his eye how to treat the patient. He is the only universal
 doctor; and the medicine he gives is the only true catholicon,
 healing in every instance. Whatever our spiritual malady may be,
 we should apply at once to this Divine Physician. There is no
 brokenness of heart which Jesus cannot bind up. "His blood
 cleanseth from all sin." We have but to think of the myriads who
 have been delivered from all sorts of diseases through the power
 and virtue of his touch, and we shall joyfully put ourselves in
 his hands. We trust him, and sin dies; we love him, and grace
 lives; we wait for him and grace is strengthened; we see him as
 he is, and grace is perfected for ever.

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