Bible Heaven/Bible Heaven.iso/online/topics27/t28600

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28600
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28601
 June 1                                                   Morning

 \\"The evening and the morning were the first day."\\
                                                    --Genesis 1:5

    Was it so even in the beginning? Did light and darkness
 divide the realm of time in the first day? Then little wonder is
 it if I have also changes in my circumstances from the sunshine
 of prosperity to the midnight of adversity. It will not always
 be the blaze of noon even in my soul concerns, I must expect at
 seasons to mourn the absence of my former joys, and seek my
 Beloved in the night. Nor am I alone in this, for all the Lord's
 beloved ones have had to sing the mingled song of judgment and
 of mercy, of trial and deliverance, of mourning and of delight.
 It is one of the arrangements of Divine providence that day and
 night shall not cease either in the spiritual or natural
 creation till we reach the land of which it is written, "there
 is no night there." What our heavenly Father ordains is wise and
 good.

    What, then, my soul, is it best for thee to do? Learn first
 \\to be content\\ with this divine order, and be willing, with
 Job, to receive evil from the hand of the Lord as well as good.
 Study next, to \\make the outgoings of the morning and the\\
 \\evening to rejoice\\. Praise the Lord for the sun of joy when
 it rises, and for the gloom of evening as it falls. There is
 beauty both in sunrise and sunset, sing of it, and glorify the
 Lord. Like the nightingale, pour forth thy notes at all hours.
 \\Believe that the night is as useful as the day\\. The dews of
 grace fall heavily in the night of sorrow. The stars of promise
 shine forth gloriously amid the darkness of grief. \\Continue\\
 \\thy service\\ under all changes. If in the day thy watchword
 be \\labour\\, at night exchange it for \\watch\\. Every hour
 has its duty, do thou continue in thy calling as the Lord's
 servant until he shall suddenly appear in his glory. My soul,
 thine evening of old age and death is drawing near, dread it
 not, for it is part of the day; and the Lord has said, "I will
 cover him all the day long."

 Evening Reading .......................................... 28701
 # Ezr 1:1 - 2:70 * Daily Bible Reading
28602
 June 2                                                   Morning

 \\"For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit\\
 \\against the flesh."\\
                                                 --Galatians 5:17

    In every believer's heart there is a constant struggle
 between the old nature and the new. The old nature is very
 active, and loses no opportunity of plying all the weapons of
 its deadly armoury against newborn grace; while on the other
 hand, the new nature is ever on the watch to resist and destroy
 its enemy. Grace within us will employ prayer, and faith, and
 hope, and love, to cast out the evil; it takes unto it the
 "whole armour of God," and wrestles earnestly. These two
 opposing natures will never cease to struggle so long as we are
 in this world. The battle of "Christian" with "Apollyon" lasted
 three hours, but the battle of Christian with himself lasted all
 the way from the Wicket Gate to the river Jordan. The enemy is
 so securely entrenched within us that he can never be driven out
 while we are in this body: but although we are closely beset,
 and often in sore conflict, we have an Almighty helper, even
 Jesus, the Captain of our salvation, who is ever with us, and
 who assures us that we shall eventually come off more than
 conquerors through him. With such assistance the new-born nature
 is more than a match for its foes. Are you fighting with the
 adversary to-day? Are Satan, the world, and the flesh, all
 against you? Be not discouraged nor dismayed. Fight on! For God
 himself is with you; \\Jehovah Nissi\\ is your banner, and
 \\Jehovah Rophi\\ is the healer of your wounds. Fear not, you
 shall overcome, for who can defeat Omnipotence? Fight on,
 "looking unto Jesus"; and though long and stern be the conflict,
 sweet will be the victory, and glorious the promised reward.

              "From strength to strength go on;
              Wrestle, and fight, and pray,
              Tread all the powers of darkness down,
              And win the well-fought day."

 Evening Reading .......................................... 28702
 # Ezr 3:1 - 5:17 * Daily Bible Reading
28603
 June 3                                                   Morning

 \\"These were potters, and those that dwelt among plants and\\
 \\hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work."\\
                                              --1 Chronicles 4:23

    Potters were not the very highest grade of workers, but "the
 king" needed potters, and therefore they were in royal service,
 although the material upon which they worked was nothing but
 clay. We, too, may be engaged in the most menial part of the
 Lord's work, but it is a great privilege to do anything for "the
 king"; and therefore we will abide in our calling, hoping that,
 "although we have lien among the pots, yet shall we be as the
 wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with
 yellow gold." The text tells us of those who \\dwelt among\\
 \\plants and hedges\\, having rough, rustic, hedging and
 ditching work to do. They may have desired to live in the city,
 amid its life, society, and refinement, but they kept their
 appointed places, for they also were doing the king's work. The
 place of our habitation is fixed, and we are not to remove from
 it out of whim and caprice, but seek to serve the Lord in it, by
 being a blessing to those among whom we reside. These potters
 and gardeners had \\royal company\\, for they dwelt "with the
 king" and although among hedges and plants, they dwelt with the
 king \\there\\. No lawful place, or gracious occupation, however
 mean, can debar us from communion with our divine Lord. In
 visiting hovels, swarming lodging-houses, workhouses, or jails,
 we may go \\with the king\\. In all works of faith we may count
 upon Jesus' fellowship. It is when we are in his work that we
 may reckon upon his smile. Ye unknown workers who are occupied
 for your Lord amid the dirt and wretchedness of the lowest of
 the low, be of good cheer, for jewels have been found upon
 dunghills ere now, earthen pots have been filled with heavenly
 treasure, and ill weeds have been transformed into precious
 flowers. Dwell ye with the King for his work, and when he writes
 his chronicles your name shall be recorded.

 Evening Reading .......................................... 28703
 # Ezr 6:1 - 7:28 * Daily Bible Reading
28604
 June 4                                                   Morning

 \\"The kindness and love of God our Saviour."\\
                                                      --Titus 3:4

    How sweet it is to behold the Saviour communing with his own
 beloved people! There can be nothing more delightful than, by
 the Divine Spirit, to be led into this fertile field of delight.
 Let the mind for an instant consider the history of the
 Redeemer's love, and a thousand enchanting acts of affection
 will suggest themselves, all of which have had for their design
 the weaving of the heart into Christ, and the intertwisting of
 the thoughts and emotions of the renewed soul with the mind of
 Jesus. When we meditate upon this amazing love, and behold the
 all-glorious Kinsman of the Church endowing her with all his
 ancient wealth, our souls may well faint for joy. Who is he that
 can endure such a weight of love? That partial sense of it
 which the Holy Spirit is sometimes pleased to afford, is more
 than the soul can contain; how transporting must be a complete
 view of it! When the soul shall have understanding to discern
 all the Saviour's gifts, wisdom wherewith to estimate them, and
 time in which to meditate upon them, such as the world to come
 will afford us, we shall then commune with Jesus in a nearer
 manner than at present. But who can imagine the sweetness of
 such fellowship? It must be one of the things which have not
 entered into the heart of man, but which God hath prepared for
 them that love him. Oh, to burst open the door of our Joseph's
 granaries, and see the plenty which he hath stored up for us!
 This will overwhelm us with love. By faith we see, as in a
 glass darkly, the reflected image of his unbounded treasures,
 but when we shall actually see the heavenly things themselves,
 with our own eyes, how deep will be the stream of fellowship in
 which our soul shall bathe itself! Till then our loudest sonnets
 shall be reserved for our loving benefactor, Jesus Christ our
 Lord, whose love to us is wonderful, passing the love of women.

 Evening Reading .......................................... 28704
 # Ezr 8:1 - 9:15 * Daily Bible Reading
28605
 June 5                                                   Morning

 \\"The Lord shut him in."\\
                                                   --Genesis 7:16

    Noah was shut in away from all the world by the hand of
 divine love. The door of electing purpose interposes between us
 and the world which lieth in the wicked one. We are not of the
 world even as our Lord Jesus was not of the world. Into the sin,
 the gaiety, the pursuits of the multitude we cannot enter; we
 cannot play in the streets of Vanity Fair with the children of
 darkness, for our heavenly Father has shut us in. Noah was shut
 in \\with his God\\. "\\Come\\ thou into the ark," was the Lord's
 invitation, by which he clearly showed that he himself intended
 to dwell in the ark with his servant and his family. Thus all
 the chosen dwell in God and God in them. Happy people to be
 enclosed in the same circle which contains God in the Trinity of
 his persons, Father, Son, and Spirit. Let us never be
 inattentive to that gracious call, "Come, my people, enter thou
 into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee, and hide
 thyself as it were for a little moment until the indignation be
 overpast." Noah was so shut in that \\no evil could reach him\\.
 Floods did but lift him heavenward, and winds did but waft him
 on his way. Outside of the ark all was ruin, but inside all was
 rest and peace. Without Christ we perish, but in Christ Jesus
 there is perfect safety. Noah was so shut in that \\he could not\\
 \\even desire to come out\\, and those who are in Christ Jesus
 are in him for ever. They shall go no more out for ever, for
 eternal faithfulness has shut them in, and infernal malice
 cannot drag them out. The Prince of the house of David shutteth
 and no man openeth; and when once in the last days as Master of
 the house he shall rise up and shut the door, it will be in vain
 for mere professors to knock, and cry Lord, Lord open unto us,
 for that same door which shuts in the wise virgins will shut out
 the foolish for ever. Lord, shut me in by thy grace.

 Evening Reading .......................................... 28705
 # Ezr 10:1 - 10:44 * Daily Bible Reading
28606
 June 6                                                   Morning

 \\"Behold, I am vile."\\
                                                       --Job 40:4

    One cheering word, poor lost sinner, for thee! You think you
 must not come to God because you are vile. Now, there is not a
 saint living on earth but has been made to feel that he is vile.
 If Job, and Isaiah, and Paul were all obliged to say "I am
 vile," oh, poor sinner, wilt thou be ashamed to join in the same
 confession? If divine grace does not eradicate all sin from the
 believer, how dost thou hope to do it thyself? and if God loves
 his people while they are yet vile, dost thou think thy vileness
 will prevent his loving thee? Believe on Jesus, thou outcast of
 the world's society! Jesus calls \\thee\\, and such as thou art.

             "Not the righteous, not the righteous;
             Sinners, Jesus came to call."

 Even now say, "Thou hast died for sinners; I am a sinner, Lord
 Jesus, sprinkle thy blood on me;" if thou wilt confess thy sin
 thou shalt find pardon. If, now, with all thy heart, thou wilt
 say, "I am vile, wash me," thou shalt be washed now. If the Holy
 Spirit shall enable thee from thy heart to cry

            "Just as I am, without one plea
             But that thy blood was shed for me,
             And that thou bidd'st me come to thee,
             O Lamb of God, I come!"

 thou shalt rise from reading this morning's portion with all thy
 sins pardoned; and though thou didst wake this morning with
 every sin that man hath ever committed on thy head, thou shalt
 rest to-night accepted in the Beloved; though once degraded with
 the rags of sin, thou shalt be adorned with a robe of
 righteousness, and appear white as the angels are. For "now,"
 mark it, "\\Now\\ is the accepted time." If thou "believest on
 him who justifieth the ungodly thou art saved." Oh! may the Holy
 Spirit give thee saving faith in him who receives the vilest.

 Evening Reading .......................................... 28706
 # Ne 1:1 - 3:32 * Daily Bible Reading
28607
 June 7                                                   Morning

 \\"Ye that love the Lord hate evil."\\
                                                    --Psalm 97:10

    Thou hast good reason to "hate evil," for only consider what
 harm it has already wrought thee. Oh, what a world of mischief
 sin has brought into thy heart! Sin blinded thee so that thou
 couldst not see the beauty of the Saviour; it made thee deaf so
 that thou couldst not hear the Redeemer's tender invitations.
 Sin turned thy feet into the way of death, and poured poison
 into the very fountain of thy being; it tainted thy heart, and
 made it "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked."
 Oh, what a creature thou wast when evil had done its utmost with
 thee, before divine grace interposed! Thou wast an heir of wrath
 even as others; thou didst "run with the multitude to do evil."
 Such were all of us; but Paul reminds us, "but ye are washed,
 but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the
 Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." We have good reason,
 indeed, for hating evil when we look back and trace its deadly
 workings. Such mischief did evil do us, that our souls would
 have been lost had not omnipotent love interfered to redeem us.
 Even now it is an active enemy, ever watching to do us hurt, and
 to drag us to perdition. Therefore "hate evil," O Christians,
 unless you desire trouble. If you would strew your path with
 thorns, and plant nettles in your death-pillow, then neglect to
 "hate evil:" but if you would live a happy life, and die a
 peaceful death, then walk in all the ways of holiness, hating
 evil, even unto the end. If you truly love your Saviour, and
 would honour him, then "hate evil." We know of no cure for the
 love of evil in a Christian like abundant intercourse with the
 Lord Jesus. Dwell much with him, and it is impossible for you to
 be at peace with sin.

                "Order my footsteps by thy Word,
                And make my heart sincere;
                Let sin have no dominion, Lord,
                But keep my conscience clear."

 Evening Reading .......................................... 28707
 # Ne 4:1 - 6:19 * Daily Bible Reading
28608
 June 8                                                   Morning

 \\"There fell down many slain, because the war was of God."\\
                                              --1 Chronicles 5:22

    Warrior, fighting under the banner of the Lord Jesus, observe
 this verse with holy joy, for as it was in the days of old so is
 it now, if the war be of God the victory is sure. The sons of
 Reuben, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh could
 barely muster five and forty thousand fighting men, and yet in
 their war with the Hagarites, they slew "men, an hundred
 thousand," "for they cried to God in the battle, and he was
 entreated of them, because they put their trust in him." The
 Lord saveth not by many nor by few; it is ours to go forth in
 Jehovah's name if we be but a handful of men, for the Lord of
 Hosts is with us for our Captain. They did not neglect buckler,
 and sword, and bow, neither did they place their trust in these
 weapons; we must use all fitting means, but our confidence must
 rest in the Lord alone, for he is the sword and the shield of
 his people. The great reason of their extraordinary success lay
 in the fact that "the war was of God." Beloved, in fighting with
 sin without and within, with error doctrinal or practical, with
 spiritual wickedness in high places or low places, with devils
 and the devil's allies, you are waging Jehovah's war, and unless
 he himself can be worsted, you need not fear defeat. Quail not
 before superior numbers, shrink not from difficulties or
 impossibilities, flinch not at wounds or death, smite with the
 two-edged sword of the Spirit, and the slain shall lie in heaps.
 The battle is the Lord's and he will deliver his enemies into
 our hands. With steadfast foot, strong hand, dauntless heart,
 and flaming zeal, rush to the conflict, and the hosts of evil
 shall fly like chaff before the gale.

                "Stand up! stand up for Jesus!
                The strife will not be long;
                This day the noise of battle,
                The next the victor's song:"

                "To him that overcometh,
                A crown of life shall be;
                He with the King of glory
                Shall reign eternally."

 Evening Reading .......................................... 28708
 # Ne 7:1 - 8:18 * Daily Bible Reading
28609
 June 9                                                   Morning

 \\"The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are\\
 \\glad."\\
                                                    --Psalm 126:3

    Some Christians are sadly prone to \\look\\ on the \\dark\\
 side of everything, and to dwell more upon what they have gone
 through than upon what God has done for them. Ask for their
 impression of the Christian life, and they will describe their
 continual conflicts, their deep afflictions, their sad
 adversities, and the sinfulness of their hearts, yet with
 scarcely any allusion to the mercy and help which God has
 vouchsafed them. But a Christian whose soul is in a \\healthy\\
 state, will come forward joyously, and say, "I will speak, not
 about myself, but to the honour of my God. He hath brought me up
 out of an horrible pit, and out of the miry clay, and set my
 feet upon a rock, and established my goings: and he hath put a
 new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God. The Lord hath
 done great things for me, whereof I am glad." Such an abstract
 of experience as this is the very best that any child of God can
 present. It is true that we endure trials, but it is just as
 true that we are delivered out of them. It is true that we have
 our corruptions, and mournfully do we know this, but it is quite
 as true that we have an all-sufficient Saviour, who overcomes
 these corruptions, and delivers us from their dominion. In
 looking back, it would be wrong to deny that we have been in the
 Slough of Despond, and have crept along the Valley of
 Humiliation, but it would be equally wicked to forget that we
 have been \\through\\ them safely and profitably; we have not
 remained in them, thanks to our Almighty Helper and Leader, who
 has brought us "out into a wealthy place." The deeper our
 troubles, the louder our thanks to God, who has led us through
 all, and preserved us until now. Our griefs cannot mar the
 melody of our praise, we reckon them to be the bass part of our
 life's song, "He hath done great things for us, whereof we are
 glad."

 Evening Reading .......................................... 28709
 # Ne 9:1 - 10:39 * Daily Bible Reading
28610
 June 10                                                  Morning

 \\"We live unto the Lord."\\
                                                    --Romans 14:8

    If God had willed it, each of us might have entered heaven at
 the moment of conversion. It was not absolutely necessary for
 our preparation for immortality that we should tarry here. It is
 possible for a man to be taken to heaven, and to be found meet
 to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light,
 though he has but just believed in Jesus. It is true that our
 sanctification is a long and continued process, and we shall not
 be perfected till we lay aside our bodies and enter within the
 veil; but nevertheless, had the Lord so willed it, he might have
 changed us from imperfection to perfection, and have taken us to
 heaven at once. Why then are we here? Would God keep his
 children out of paradise a single moment longer than was
 necessary? Why is the army of the living God still on the
 battle-field when one charge might give them the victory? Why
 are his children still wandering hither and thither through a
 maze, when a solitary word from his lips would bring them into
 the centre of their hopes in heaven? The answer is--they are
 here that they may "\\live unto the Lord\\," and may bring
 others to know his love. We remain on earth as sowers to scatter
 good seed; as ploughmen to break up the fallow ground; as
 heralds publishing salvation. We are here as the "salt of the
 earth," to be a blessing to the world. We are here to glorify
 Christ in our daily life. We are here as workers for him, and as
 "workers together with him." Let us see that our life answereth
 its end. Let us live earnest, useful, holy lives, to "the
 praise of the glory of his grace." Meanwhile we long to be with
 him, and daily sing--

               "My heart is with him on his throne,
               And ill can brook delay;
               Each moment listening for the voice,
               `Rise up, and come away.'"

 Evening Reading .......................................... 28710
 # Ne 11:1 - 12:47 * Daily Bible Reading
28611
 June 11                                                  Morning

 \\"We love him because he first loved us."\\
                                                    --1 John 4:19

    There is no light in the planet but that which proceedeth
 from the sun; and there is no true love to Jesus in the heart
 but that which cometh from the Lord Jesus himself. From this
 overflowing fountain of the infinite love of God, all our love
 to God must spring. This must ever be a great and certain truth,
 that we love him for no other reason than because he first loved
 us. Our love to him is \\the fair offspring\\ of his love to us.
 Cold admiration, when studying the works of God, anyone may
 have, but the warmth of love can only be kindled in the heart by
 God's Spirit. How great the wonder that such as we should ever
 have been brought to love Jesus at all! How marvellous that when
 we had rebelled against him, he should, by a display of such
 amazing love, seek to draw us back. No! never should we have had
 a grain of love towards God unless it had been sown in us by the
 sweet seed of his love to us. Love, then, has for its parent the
 love of God shed abroad in the heart: but after it is thus
 divinely born, it must \\be divinely nourished\\. Love is an
 exotic; it is not a plant which will flourish naturally in human
 soil, it must be watered from above. Love to Jesus is a flower
 of a delicate nature, and if it received no nourishment but that
 which could be drawn from the rock of our hearts it would soon
 wither. As love comes from heaven, so it must feed on heavenly
 bread. It cannot exist in the wilderness unless it be fed by
 manna from on high. Love must feed on love. The very soul and
 life of our love to God is his love to us.

           "I love thee, Lord, but with no love of mine,
           For I have none to give;
           I love thee, Lord; but all the love is thine,
           For by thy love I live.
           I am as nothing, and rejoice to be
           Emptied, and lost, and swallowed up in thee."

 Evening Reading .......................................... 28711
 # Ne 13:1 - 13:31 * Daily Bible Reading
28612
 June 12                                                  Morning

 \\"Thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting."\\
                                                    --Daniel 5:27

    It is well frequently to weigh ourselves in the scale of
 God's Word. You will find it a holy exercise to read some psalm
 of David, and, as you meditate upon each verse, to ask yourself,
 "Can I say this? Have I felt as David felt? Has my heart ever
 been broken on account of sin, as his was when he penned his
 penitential psalms? Has my soul been full of true confidence in
 the hour of difficulty as his was when he sang of God's mercies
 in the cave of Adullam, or in the holds of Engedi? Do I take the
 cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord?" Then turn
 to the life of Christ, and as you read, ask yourselves how far
 you are conformed to his likeness. Endeavour to discover whether
 you have the meekness, the humility, the lovely spirit which he
 constantly inculcated and displayed. Take, then, the epistles,
 and see whether you can go with the apostle in what he said of
 his experience. Have you ever cried out as he did--"O wretched
 man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this
 death?" Have you ever felt his self-abasement? Have you seemed
 to yourself the chief of sinners, and less than the least of all
 saints? Have you known anything of his devotion? Could you join
 with him and say, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is
 gain"? If we thus read God's Word as a test of our spiritual
 condition, we shall have good reason to stop many a time and
 say, "Lord, I feel I have never yet been here, O bring me here!
 give me true penitence, such as this I read of. Give me real
 faith; give me warmer zeal; inflame me with more fervent love;
 grant me the grace of meekness; make me more like Jesus. Let me
 no longer be `found wanting,' when weighed in the balances of
 the sanctuary, lest I be found wanting in the scales of
 judgment." "Judge yourselves that ye be not judged."

 Evening Reading .......................................... 28712
 # Es 1:1 - 3:15 * Daily Bible Reading
28613
 June 13                                                  Morning

 \\"Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."\\
                                               --Revelation 22:17

    Jesus says, "take freely." He wants no payment or
 preparation. He seeks no recommendation from our virtuous
 emotions. If you have no good feelings, if you be but willing,
 you are invited; therefore come! You have no belief and no
 repentance,--come to him, and he will give them to you. Come
 just as you are, and take "Freely," without money and without
 price. He gives himself to needy ones. The drinking fountains at
 the corners of our streets are valuable institutions; and we can
 hardly imagine any one so foolish as to feel for his purse, when
 he stands before one of them, and to cry, "I cannot drink
 because I have not five pounds in my pocket." However poor the
 man is, there is the fountain, and just as he is he may drink of
 it. Thirsty passengers, as they go by, whether they are dressed
 in fustian or in broadcloth, do not look for any warrant for
 drinking; its being there is their warrant for taking its water
 freely. The liberality of some good friends has put the
 refreshing crystal there and we take it, and ask no questions.
 Perhaps the only persons who need go thirsty through the street
 where there is a drinking fountain, are the fine ladies and
 gentlemen who are in their carriages. They are very thirsty, but
 cannot think of being so vulgar as to get out to drink. It would
 demean them, they think, to drink at a common drinking fountain:
 so they ride by with parched lips. Oh, how many there are who
 are rich in their own good works and cannot therefore come to
 Christ! "I will not be saved," they say, "in the same way as the
 harlot or the swearer." What! go to heaven in the same way as a
 chimney sweep. Is there no pathway to glory but the path which
 led the thief there? I will not be saved that way. Such proud
 boasters must remain without the living water; but, "WHOSOEVER
 WILL, LET HIM \\TAKE THE WATER OF LIFE FREELY\\."

 Evening Reading .......................................... 28713
 # Es 4:1 - 7:10 * Daily Bible Reading
28614
 June 14                                                  Morning

 \\"Delight thyself also in the Lord."\\
                                                     --Psalm 37:4

    The teaching of these words must seem very surprising to
 those who are strangers to vital godliness, but to the sincere
 believer it is only the inculcation of a recognized truth. The
 life of the believer is here described as a \\delight\\ in God,
 and we are thus certified of the great fact that true religion
 overflows with happiness and joy. Ungodly persons and mere
 professors never look upon religion as a joyful thing; to them
 it is service, duty, or necessity, but never pleasure or
 delight. If they attend to religion at all, it is either that
 they may gain thereby, or else because they dare not do
 otherwise. The thought of \\delight\\ in religion is so strange
 to most men, that no two words in their language stand further
 apart than "holiness" and "delight." But believers who know
 Christ, understand that delight and faith are so blessedly
 united, that the gates of hell cannot prevail to separate them.
 They who love God with all their hearts, find that his ways are
 ways of pleasantness, and all his paths are peace. Such joys,
 such brimful delights, such overflowing blessednesses, do the
 saints discover in their Lord, that so far from serving him from
 custom, they would follow him though all the world cast out his
 name as evil. We fear not God because of any compulsion; our
 faith is no fetter, our profession is no bondage, we are not
 dragged to holiness, nor driven to duty. No, our piety is our
 pleasure, our hope is our happiness, our duty is our delight.

    Delight and true religion are as allied as root and flower;
 as indivisible as truth and certainty; they are, in fact, two
 precious jewels glittering side by side in a setting of gold.

                   "'Tis when we taste thy love,
                   Our joys divinely grow,
                   Unspeakable like those above,
                   And heaven begins below."

 Evening Reading .......................................... 28714
 # Es 8:1 - 10:3 * Daily Bible Reading
28615
 June 15                                                  Morning

 \\"And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that\\
 \\hear will laugh with me."\\
                                                   --Genesis 21:6

    It was far above the power of nature, and even contrary to
 its laws, that the aged Sarah should be honoured with a son; and
 even so it is beyond all ordinary rules that I, a poor,
 helpless, undone sinner, should find grace to bear about in my
 soul the indwelling Spirit of the Lord Jesus. I, who once
 despaired, as well I might, for my nature was as dry, and
 withered, and barren, and accursed as a howling wilderness, even
 I have been made to bring forth fruit unto holiness. Well may my
 mouth be filled with joyous laughter, because of the singular,
 surprising grace which I have received of the Lord, for I have
 found Jesus, the promised seed, and he is mine for ever. This
 day will I lift up psalms of triumph unto the Lord who has
 remembered my low estate, for "my heart rejoiceth in the Lord;
 mine horn is exalted in the Lord; my mouth is enlarged over mine
 enemies, because I rejoice in thy salvation."

    I would have all those that hear of my great deliverance from
 hell, and my most blessed visitation from on high, laugh for joy
 with me. I would surprise my family with my abundant peace; I
 would delight my friends with my ever-increasing happiness; I
 would edify the Church with my grateful confessions; and even
 impress the world with the cheerfulness of my daily
 conversation. Bunyan tells us that Mercy laughed in her sleep,
 and no wonder when she dreamed of Jesus; my joy shall not stop
 short of hers while my Beloved is the theme of my daily
 thoughts. The Lord Jesus is a deep sea of joy: my soul shall
 dive therein, shall be swallowed up in the delights of his
 society. Sarah looked on her Isaac, and laughed with excess of
 rapture, and all her friends laughed with her; and thou, my
 soul, look on thy Jesus, and bid heaven and earth unite in thy
 joy unspeakable.

 Evening Reading .......................................... 28715
 # Job 1:1 - 4:21 * Daily Bible Reading
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