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- 29251
- September 16 Morning
-
- \\"Partakers of the divine nature."\\
- --2 Peter 1:4
-
- To be a partaker of the divine nature is not, of course, to
- become God. That cannot be. The essence of Deity is not to be
- participated in by the creature. Between the creature and the
- Creator there must ever be a gulf fixed in respect of essence;
- but as the first man Adam was made in the image of God, so we,
- by the renewal of the Holy Spirit, are in a yet diviner sense
- made in the image of the Most High, and are partakers of the
- divine nature. We are, by grace, made like God. "God is love";
- we become love--"He that loveth is born of God." God is truth;
- we become true, and we love that which is true: God is good, and
- he makes us good by his grace, so that we become the pure in
- heart who shall see God. Moreover, we become partakers of the
- divine nature in even a higher sense than this--in fact, in as
- lofty a sense as can be conceived, short of our being absolutely
- divine. Do we not become members of the body of the divine
- person of Christ? Yes, the same blood which flows in the head
- flows in the hand: and the same life which quickens Christ
- quickens his people, for "Ye are dead, and your life is hid with
- Christ in God." Nay, as if this were not enough, we are married
- unto Christ. He hath betrothed us unto himself in righteousness
- and in faithfulness, and he who is joined unto the Lord is one
- spirit. Oh! marvellous mystery! we look into it, but who shall
- understand it? One with Jesus--so one with him that the branch
- is not more one with the vine than we are a part of the Lord,
- our Saviour, and our Redeemer! While we rejoice in this, let us
- remember that those who are made partakers of the divine nature
- will manifest their high and holy relationship in their
- intercourse with others, and make it evident by their daily walk
- and conversation that they have escaped the corruption that is
- in the world through lust. O for more divine holiness of life!
-
- Evening Reading .......................................... 29351
- # Da 5:1 - 6:28 * Daily Bible Reading
- 29252
- September 17 Morning
-
- \\"Bring him unto me."\\
- --Mark 9:19
-
- Despairingly the poor disappointed father turned away from
- the disciples to their Master. His son was in the worst possible
- condition, and all means had failed, but the miserable child was
- soon delivered from the evil one when the parent in faith obeyed
- the Lord Jesus' word, "Bring him unto me." Children are a
- precious gift from God, but much anxiety comes with them. They
- may be a great joy or a great bitterness to their parents; they
- may be filled with the Spirit of God, or possessed with the
- spirit of evil. In all cases, the Word of God gives us one
- receipt for the curing of all their ills, "Bring him unto me." O
- for more agonizing prayer on their behalf while they are yet
- babes! Sin is there, let our prayers begin to attack it. Our
- cries for our offspring should precede those cries which betoken
- their actual advent into a world of sin. In the days of their
- youth we shall see sad tokens of that dumb and deaf spirit which
- will neither pray aright, nor hear the voice of God in the soul,
- but Jesus still commands, "Bring them unto me." When they are
- grown up they may wallow in sin and foam with enmity against
- God; then when our hearts are breaking we should remember the
- great Physician's words, "Bring them unto me." Never must we
- cease to pray until they cease to breathe. No case is hopeless
- while Jesus lives.
-
- The Lord sometimes suffers his people to be driven into a
- corner that they may experimentally know how necessary he is to
- them. Ungodly children, when they show us our own powerlessness
- against the depravity of their hearts, drive us to flee to the
- strong for strength, and this is a great blessing to us.
- Whatever our morning's need may be, let it like a strong current
- bear us to the ocean of divine love. Jesus can soon remove our
- sorrow, he delights to comfort us. Let us hasten to him while he
- waits to meet us.
-
- Evening Reading .......................................... 29352
- # Da 7:1 - 9:27 * Daily Bible Reading
- 29253
- September 18 Morning
-
- \\"If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."\\
- --Galatians 5:25
-
- The two most important things in our holy religion are the
- \\life of faith\\ and the \\walk of faith\\. He who shall
- rightly understand these is not far from being a master in
- experimental theology, for they are vital points to a Christian.
- You will never find true faith unattended by true godliness; on
- the other hand, you will never discover a truly holy life which
- has not for its root a living faith upon the righteousness of
- Christ. Woe unto those who seek after the one without the
- other! There are some who cultivate faith and forget holiness;
- these may be very high in orthodoxy, but they shall be very deep
- in condemnation, for they hold the truth in unrighteousness; and
- there are others who have strained after holiness of life, but
- have denied the faith, like the Pharisees of old, of whom the
- Master said, they were "whitewashed sepulchres." We must have
- faith, for this is the foundation; we must have holiness of
- life, for this is the superstructure. Of what service is the
- mere foundation of a building to a man in the day of tempest?
- Can he hide himself therein? He wants a house to cover him, as
- well as a foundation for that house. Even so we need the
- superstructure of spiritual life if we would have comfort in the
- day of doubt. But seek not a holy life without faith, for that
- would be to erect a house which can afford no permanent shelter,
- because it has no foundation on a rock. Let faith and life be
- put together, and, like the two abutments of an arch, they will
- make our piety enduring. Like light and heat streaming from the
- same sun, they are alike full of blessing. Like the two pillars
- of the temple, they are for glory and for beauty. They are two
- streams from the fountain of grace; two lamps lit with holy
- fire; two olive trees watered by heavenly care. O Lord, give us
- this day life within, and it will reveal itself without to thy
- glory.
-
- Evening Reading .......................................... 29353
- # Da 10:1 - 12:13 * Daily Bible Reading
- 29254
- September 19 Morning
-
- \\"The liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free."\\
- --Galatians 5:1
-
- This "liberty" makes us free to heaven's charter--\\the\\
- \\Bible\\. Here is a choice passage, believer, "When thou
- passest through the rivers, I will be with thee." You are free
- to that. Here is another: "The mountains shall depart, and the
- hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee";
- you are free to that. You are a welcome guest at the table of
- the promises. Scripture is a never-failing treasury filled with
- boundless stores of grace. It is the bank of heaven; you may
- draw from it as much as you please, without let or hindrance.
- Come in faith and you are welcome to all \\covenant blessings\\.
- There is not a promise in the Word which shall be withheld. In
- the depths of tribulations let this freedom comfort you; amidst
- waves of distress let it cheer you; when sorrows surround thee
- let it be thy solace. This is thy Father's love-token; thou art
- free to it at all times. Thou art also \\free to the throne of\\
- \\grace\\. It is the believer's privilege to have access at all
- times to his heavenly Father. Whatever our desires, our
- difficulties, our wants, we are at liberty to spread all before
- him. It matters not how much we may have sinned, we may ask and
- expect pardon. It signifies nothing how poor we are, we may
- plead his promise that he will provide all things needful. We
- have permission to approach his throne at all times--in
- midnight's darkest hour, or in noontide's most burning heat.
- Exercise thy right, O believer, and live up to thy privilege.
- Thou art free to all that is treasured up \\in Christ\\--wisdom,
- righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. It matters not
- what thy need is, for there is fulness of supply in Christ, and
- it is there \\for thee\\. O what a "freedom" is thine! freedom
- from condemnation, freedom to the promises, freedom to the
- throne of grace, and at last freedom to enter heaven!
-
- Evening Reading .......................................... 29354
- # Ho 1:1 - 6:11 * Daily Bible Reading
- 29255
- September 20 Morning
-
- \\"The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon."\\
- --Judges 7:20
-
- Gideon ordered his men to do two things: covering up a torch
- in an earthen pitcher, he bade them, at an appointed signal,
- break the pitcher and let the light shine, and then sound with
- the trumpet, crying, "The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon! the
- sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!" This is precisely what all
- Christians must do. First, \\you must shine\\; break the pitcher
- which conceals your light; throw aside the bushel which has been
- hiding your candle, and shine. Let your light shine before men;
- let your good works be such, that when men look upon you, they
- shall know that you have been with Jesus. Then \\there must be\\
- \\the sound\\, the blowing of the trumpet. There must be active
- exertions for the ingathering of sinners by proclaiming Christ
- crucified. Take the gospel to them; carry it to their door; put
- it in their way; do not suffer them to escape it; blow the
- trumpet right against their ears. Remember that the true war-cry
- of the Church is Gideon's watchword, "\\The sword of the Lord\\,
- and of Gideon!" God must do it, it is his own work. But we are
- not to be idle; instrumentality is to be used--"The sword of the
- Lord, \\and of Gideon\\!" If we only cry, "The sword of the
- Lord!" we shall be guilty of an idle presumption; and if we
- shout, "The sword of Gideon!" alone, we shall manifest
- idolatrous reliance on an arm of flesh: we must blend the two in
- practical harmony, "The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!" We
- can do nothing of ourselves, but we can do everything by the
- help of our God; let us, therefore, in his name determine to go
- out personally and serve with our flaming torch of holy example,
- and with our trumpet tones of earnest declaration and testimony,
- and God shall be with us, and Midian shall be put to confusion,
- and the Lord of hosts shall reign for ever and ever.
-
- Evening Reading .......................................... 29355
- # Ho 7:1 - 14:9 * Daily Bible Reading
- 29256
- September 21 Morning
-
- \\"I will rejoice over them to do them good."\\
- --Jeremiah 32:41
-
- How heart-cheering to the believer is the delight which God
- has in his saints! We cannot see any reason in ourselves why the
- Lord should take pleasure in us; we cannot take delight in
- ourselves, for we often have to groan, being burdened; conscious
- of our sinfulness, and deploring our unfaithfulness; and we fear
- that God's people cannot take much delight in us, for they must
- perceive so much of our imperfections and our follies, that they
- may rather lament our infirmities than admire our graces. But we
- love to dwell upon this transcendent truth, this glorious
- mystery: that as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so
- does the Lord rejoice over us. We do not read anywhere that God
- delighteth in the cloud-capped mountains, or the sparkling
- stars, but we do read that he delighteth in the habitable parts
- of the earth, and that his delights are with the sons of men. We
- do not find it written that even angels give his soul delight;
- nor doth he say, concerning cherubim and seraphim, "Thou shalt
- be called Hephzibah, for the Lord delighteth in thee"; but he
- does say all that to poor fallen creatures like ourselves,
- debased and depraved by sin, but saved, exalted, and glorified
- by his grace. In what strong language he expresses his delight
- in his people! Who could have conceived of the eternal One as
- bursting forth into a song? Yet it is written, "He will rejoice
- over thee with joy, he will rest in his love, he will joy over
- thee with singing." As he looked upon the world he had made, he
- said, "It is very good"; but when he beheld those who are the
- purchase of Jesus' blood, his own chosen ones, it seemed as if
- the great heart of the Infinite could restrain itself no longer,
- but overflowed in divine exclamations of joy. Should not we
- utter our grateful response to such a marvellous declaration of
- his love, and sing, "I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in
- the God of my salvation?"
-
- Evening Reading .......................................... 29356
- # Joe 1:1 - 3:21 * Daily Bible Reading
- 29257
- September 22 Morning
-
- \\"Let Israel rejoice in him."\\
- --Psalm 149:2
-
- Be glad of heart, O believer, but take care that thy gladness
- has its spring \\in the Lord\\. Thou hast much cause for
- gladness in thy God, for thou canst sing with David, "God, my
- exceeding joy." Be glad that the Lord reigneth, that Jehovah is
- King! Rejoice that he sits upon the throne, and ruleth all
- things! Every attribute of God should become a fresh ray in the
- sunlight of our gladness. That he is wise should make us glad,
- knowing as we do our own foolishness. That he is \\mighty\\,
- should cause us to rejoice who tremble at our weakness. That he
- is everlasting, should always be a theme of joy when we know
- that we wither as the grass. That he is \\unchanging\\, should
- perpetually yield us a song, since \\we\\ change every hour.
- That he is full of grace, that he is overflowing with it, and
- that this grace in covenant he has given to us; that it is ours
- to cleanse us, ours to keep us, ours to sanctify us, ours to
- perfect us, ours to bring us to glory--all this should tend to
- make us glad in him. This gladness in God is as a deep river; we
- have only as yet touched its brink, we know a little of its
- clear sweet, heavenly streams, but onward the depth is greater,
- and the current more impetuous in its joy. The Christian feels
- that he may delight himself not only in what God is, but also in
- all that God \\has done\\ in the past. The Psalms show us that
- God's people in olden times were wont to think much of God's
- actions, and to have a song concerning each of them. So let
- God's people now rehearse the deeds of the Lord! Let them tell
- of his mighty acts, and "sing unto the Lord, for he hath
- triumphed gloriously." Nor let them ever cease to sing, for as
- new mercies flow to them day by day, so should their gladness in
- the Lord's loving acts in providence and in grace show itself in
- continued thanksgiving. Be glad ye children of Zion and rejoice
- in the Lord your God.
-
- Evening Reading .......................................... 29357
- # Am 1:1 - 5:27 * Daily Bible Reading
- 29258
- September 23 Morning
-
- \\"Accepted in the beloved."\\
- --Ephesians 1:6
-
- What a state of privilege! It includes our \\justification\\
- before God, but the term acceptance" in the Greek means more
- than that. It signifies that we are the objects of \\divine\\
- \\complacence\\, nay, even of \\divine delight\\. How marvellous
- that we, worms, mortals, sinners, should be the objects of
- divine love! But it is only "\\in the beloved\\." Some
- Christians seem to be accepted in their own experience, at
- least, that is their apprehension. When their spirit is lively,
- and their hopes bright, they think God accepts them, for they
- feel so high, so heavenly-minded, so drawn above the earth! But
- when their souls cleave to the dust, they are the victims of the
- fear that they are no longer accepted. If they could but see
- that all their high joys do not exalt them, and all their low
- despondencies do not really depress them in their Father's
- sight, but that they stand accepted in One who never alters, in
- One who is always the beloved of God, always perfect, always
- without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, how much happier
- they would be, and how much more they would honour the Saviour!
- Rejoice then, believer, in this: thou art accepted "in the
- beloved." Thou lookest within, and thou sayest, "There is
- nothing acceptable \\here\\!" But look at Christ, and see if
- there is not everything acceptable \\there\\. Thy sins trouble
- thee; but God has cast thy sins behind his back, and thou art
- accepted in the Righteous One. Thou hast to fight with
- corruption, and to wrestle with temptation, but thou art already
- accepted in him who has overcome the powers of evil. The devil
- tempts thee; be of good cheer, he cannot destroy thee, for thou
- art accepted in him who has broken Satan's head. Know by full
- assurance thy glorious standing. Even glorified souls are not
- more accepted than thou art. They are only accepted in heaven
- "in the beloved," and thou art even now accepted in Christ after
- the same manner.
-
- Evening Reading .......................................... 29358
- # Am 6:1 - Ob 1:21 * Daily Bible Reading
- 29259
- September 24 Morning
-
- \\"For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers\\
- \\and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because\\
- \\we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is\\
- \\upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his\\
- \\wrath is against all them that forsake him."\\
- --Ezra 8:22
-
- A convoy on many accounts would have been desirable for the
- pilgrim band, but a holy shame-facedness would not allow Ezra to
- seek one. He feared lest the heathen king should think his
- professions of faith in God to be mere hypocrisy, or imagine
- that the God of Israel was not able to preserve his own
- worshippers. He could not bring his mind to lean on an arm of
- flesh in a matter so evidently of the Lord, and therefore the
- caravan set out with no visible protection, guarded by him who
- is the sword and shield of his people. It is to be feared that
- few believers feel this holy jealousy for God; even those who in
- a measure walk by faith, occasionally mar the lustre of their
- life by craving aid from man. It is a most blessed thing to have
- no props and no buttresses, but to stand upright on the Rock of
- Ages, upheld by the Lord alone. Would any believers seek state
- endowments for their Church, if they remembered that the Lord is
- dishonoured by their asking Caesar's aid? as if the Lord could
- not supply the needs of his own cause! Should we run so hastily
- to friends and relations for assistance, if we remembered that
- the Lord is magnified by our implicit reliance upon his solitary
- arm? My soul, wait thou only upon God. "But," says one, "are not
- means to be used?" Assuredly they are; but our fault seldom lies
- in their neglect: far more frequently it springs out of
- foolishly believing in them instead of believing in God. Few run
- too far in neglecting the creature's arm; but very many sin
- greatly in making too much of it. Learn, dear reader, to glorify
- the Lord by leaving means untried, if by using them thou wouldst
- dishonour the name of the Lord.
-
- Evening Reading .......................................... 29359
- # Jon 1:1 - 4:11 * Daily Bible Reading
- 29260
- September 25 Morning
-
- \\"Just, and the justifier of him which believeth."\\
- --Romans 3:26
-
- Being justified by faith, we have peace with God. Conscience
- accuses no longer. Judgment now decides for the sinner instead
- of against him. Memory looks back upon past sins, with deep
- sorrow for the sin, but yet with no dread of any penalty to
- come; for Christ has paid the debt of his people to the last jot
- and tittle, and received the divine receipt; and unless God can
- be so unjust as to demand double payment for one debt, no soul
- for whom Jesus died as a substitute can ever be cast into hell.
- It seems to be one of the very principles of our enlightened
- nature to believe that God is just; we feel that it must be so,
- and this gives us our terror at first; but is it not marvellous
- that this very same belief that God is just, becomes afterwards
- the pillar of our confidence and peace! If God be just, I, a
- sinner, alone and without a substitute, must be punished; but
- Jesus stands in my stead and is punished for me; and now, if God
- be just, I, a sinner, standing in Christ, can never be punished.
- God must change his nature before one soul, for whom Jesus was a
- substitute, can ever by any possibility suffer the lash of the
- law. Therefore, Jesus having taken the place of the believer--
- having rendered a full equivalent to divine wrath for all that
- his people ought to have suffered as the result of sin, the
- believer can shout with glorious triumph, "Who shall lay
- anything to the charge of God's elect?" Not God, for he hath
- justified; not Christ, for he hath died, "yea rather hath risen
- again." My hope lives not because I am not a sinner, but because
- I am a sinner for whom Christ died; my trust is not that I am
- holy, but that being unholy, \\he\\ is my righteousness. My
- faith rests not upon what I am, or shall be, or feel, or know,
- but in what Christ is, in what he has done, and in what he is
- now doing for me. On the lion of justice the fair maid of hope
- rides like a queen.
-
- Evening Reading .......................................... 29360
- # Mic 1:1 - 7:20 * Daily Bible Reading
- 29261
- September 26 Morning
-
- \\"The myrtle trees that were in the bottom."\\
- --Zechariah 1:8
-
- The vision in this chapter describes the condition of Israel
- in Zechariah's day; but being interpreted in its aspect towards
- us, it describes the Church of God as we find it now in the
- world. The Church is compared to a myrtle grove flourishing in a
- valley. It is \\hidden\\, unobserved, secreted; courting no
- honour and attracting no observation from the careless gazer.
- The Church, like her head, has a glory, but it is concealed from
- carnal eyes, for the time of her breaking forth in all her
- splendour is not yet come. The idea of \\tranquil security\\ is
- also suggested to us: for the myrtle grove in the valley is
- still and calm, while the storm sweeps over the mountain
- summits. Tempests spend their force upon the craggy peaks of the
- Alps, but down yonder where flows the stream which maketh glad
- the city of our God, the myrtles flourish by the still waters,
- all unshaken by the impetuous wind. How great is the inward
- tranquility of God's Church! Even when opposed and persecuted,
- she has a peace which the world gives not, and which, therefore,
- it cannot take away: the peace of God which passeth all
- understanding keeps the hearts and minds of God's people. Does
- not the metaphor forcibly picture the peaceful, \\perpetual\\
- \\growth\\ of the saints? The myrtle sheds not her leaves, she
- is always green; and the Church in her worst time still hath a
- blessed verdure of grace about her; nay, she has sometimes
- exhibited \\most\\ verdure when her winter has been sharpest.
- She has prospered most when her adversities have been most
- severe. Hence the text \\hints at victory\\. The myrtle is the
- emblem of peace, and a significant token of \\triumph\\. The
- brows of conquerors were bound with myrtle and with laurel; and
- is not the Church ever victorious? Is not every Christian more
- than a conqueror through him that loved him? Living in peace, do
- not the saints fall asleep in the arms of victory?
-
- Evening Reading .......................................... 29361
- # Na 1:1 - Hab 3:19 * Daily Bible Reading
- 29262
- September 27 Morning
-
- \\"Happy art thou, O Israel; who is like unto thee, O people\\
- \\saved by the Lord!"\\
- --Deuteronomy 33:29
-
- He who affirms that Christianity makes men miserable, is
- himself an utter stranger to it. It were strange indeed, if it
- made us wretched, for see \\to what a position it exalts us\\!
- It makes us sons of God. Suppose you that God will give all the
- happiness to his enemies, and reserve all the mourning for his
- own family? Shall his foes have mirth and joy, and shall his
- home-born children inherit sorrow and wretchedness? Shall the
- sinner, who has no part in Christ, call himself rich in
- happiness, and shall we go mourning as if we were penniless
- beggars? No, we will rejoice in the Lord always, and glory in
- our inheritance, for we "have not received the spirit of bondage
- again to fear; but we have received the spirit of adoption,
- whereby we cry, Abba, Father." The rod of chastisement must rest
- upon us in our measure, but it worketh for us the comfortable
- fruits of righteousness; and therefore by the aid of the divine
- Comforter, we, the "people saved of the Lord," will joy in the
- God of our salvation. We are married unto Christ; and shall our
- great Bridegroom permit his spouse to linger in constant grief?
- Our hearts are knit unto him: we are his members, and though for
- awhile we may suffer as our Head once suffered, yet we are even
- now blessed with heavenly blessings in him. We have the earnest
- of our inheritance in the comforts of the Spirit, which are
- neither few nor small. Inheritors of joy for ever, we have
- foretastes of our portion. There are streaks of the light of joy
- to herald our eternal sunrising. Our riches are beyond the sea;
- our city with firm foundations lies on the other side the river;
- gleams of glory from the spirit-world cheer our hearts, and urge
- us onward. Truly is it said of us, "Happy art thou, O Israel;
- who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord?"
-
- Evening Reading .......................................... 29362
- # Zep 1:1 - Hag 2:23 * Daily Bible Reading
- 29263
- September 28 Morning
-
- \\"The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of\\
- \\men."\\
- --Psalm 33:13
-
- Perhaps no figure of speech represents God in a more gracious
- light than when he is spoken of as stooping from his throne, and
- coming down from heaven to attend to the wants and to behold the
- woes of mankind. We love him, who, when Sodom and Gomorrah were
- full of iniquity, would not destroy those cities until he had
- made a personal visitation of them. We cannot help pouring out
- our heart in affection for our Lord who inclines his ear from
- the highest glory, and puts it to the lip of the dying sinner,
- whose failing heart longs after reconciliation. How can we but
- love him when we know that he numbers the very hairs of our
- heads, marks our path, and orders our ways? Specially is this
- great truth brought near to our heart, when we recollect how
- attentive he is, not merely to the temporal interests of his
- creatures, but to their spiritual concerns. Though leagues of
- distance lie between the finite creature and the infinite
- Creator, yet there are links uniting both. When a tear is wept
- by thee, think not that God doth not behold; for, "Like as a
- father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear
- him." Thy sigh is able to move the heart of Jehovah; thy whisper
- can incline his ear unto thee; thy prayer can stay his hand; thy
- faith can move his arm. Think not that God sits on high taking
- no account of thee. Remember that however poor and needy thou
- art, yet the Lord thinketh upon thee. For the eyes of the Lord
- run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself
- strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him.
-
- Oh! then repeat the truth that never tires;
- No God is like the God my soul desires;
- He at whose voice heaven trembles, even he,
- Great as he is, knows how to stoop to me.
-
- Evening Reading .......................................... 29363
- # Zec 1:1 - 7:14 * Daily Bible Reading
- 29264
- September 29 Morning
-
- \\"Behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall\\
- \\pronounce him clean that hath the plague."\\
- --Leviticus 13:13
-
- Strange enough this regulation appears, yet there was wisdom
- in it, for the throwing out of the disease proved that the
- constitution was sound. This morning it may be well for us to
- see the typical teaching of so singular a rule. We, too, are
- lepers, and may read the law of the leper as applicable to
- ourselves. When a man sees himself to be altogether lost and
- ruined, covered all over with the defilement of sin, and no part
- free from pollution; when he disclaims all righteousness of his
- own, and pleads guilty before the Lord, then is he clean through
- the blood of Jesus, and the grace of God. Hidden, unfelt,
- unconfessed iniquity is the true leprosy, but when sin is seen
- and felt it has received its death blow, and the Lord looks with
- eyes of mercy upon the soul afflicted with it. Nothing is more
- deadly than self-righteousness, or more hopeful than contrition.
- We must confess that we are "nothing else but sin," for no
- confession short of this will be the whole truth, and if the
- Holy Spirit be at work with us, convincing us of sin, there will
- be no difficulty about making such an acknowledgment--it will
- spring spontaneously from our lips. What comfort does the text
- afford to those under a deep sense of sin! Sin mourned and
- confessed, however black and foul, shall never shut a man out
- from the Lord Jesus. Whosoever cometh unto him, he will in no
- wise cast out. Though dishonest as the thief, though unchaste as
- the woman who was a sinner, though fierce as Saul of Tarsus,
- though cruel as Manasseh, though rebellious as the prodigal, the
- great heart of love will look upon the man who feels himself to
- have no soundness in him, and will pronounce him clean, when he
- trusts in Jesus crucified. Come to him, then, poor heavy-laden
- sinner,
-
- Come needy, come guilty, come loathsome and bare;
- You can't come too filthy--come just as you are.
-
- Evening Reading .......................................... 29364
- # Zec 8:1 - 14:21 * Daily Bible Reading
- 29265
- September 30 Morning
-
- \\"Sing forth the honour of his name, make his praise\\
- \\glorious."\\
- --Psalm 66:2
-
- It is not left to our own option whether we shall praise God
- or not. Praise is God's most righteous due, and every Christian,
- as the recipient of his grace, is bound to praise God from day
- to day. It is true we have no authoritative rubric for daily
- praise; we have no commandment prescribing certain hours of song
- and thanksgiving: but the law written upon the heart teaches us
- that it is right to praise God; and the unwritten mandate comes
- to us with as much force as if it had been recorded on the
- tables of stone, or handed to us from the top of thundering
- Sinai. Yes, it is the Christian's \\duty\\ to praise God. It is
- not only a pleasurable exercise, but it is the absolute
- obligation of his life. Think not ye who are always mourning,
- that ye are guiltless in this respect, or imagine that ye can
- discharge your duty to your God without songs of praise. You
- are bound by the bonds of his love to bless his name so long as
- you live, and his praise should continually be in your mouth,
- for you are blessed, in order that you may bless him; "this
- people have I formed for myself, they shall show forth my
- praise"; and if you do not praise God, you are not bringing
- forth the fruit which he, as the Divine Husbandman, has a right
- to expect at your hands. Let not your harp then hang upon the
- willows, but take it down, and strive, with a grateful heart, to
- bring forth its loudest music. Arise and chant his praise. With
- every morning's dawn, lift up your notes of thanksgiving, and
- let every setting sun be followed with your song. Girdle the
- earth with your praises; surround it with an atmosphere of
- melody, and God himself will hearken from heaven and accept your
- music.
-
- "E'en so I love thee, and will love,
- And in thy praise will sing,
- Because thou art my loving God,
- And my redeeming King."
-
- Evening Reading .......................................... 29365
- # Mal 1:1 - 4:6 * Daily Bible Reading
- 29266
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