A MONTHLY READING OF

INSIGHTS FROM RENOWNED CHRISTIANS

APRIL

Day 1

SITTING AT THE FEET OF JESUS

Robert Hawker

"Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. " (Luke 8:35)

Look at this man, my soul, and see whether you can find any resemblance to yourself. Before he heard the voice of Jesus, he was under the possession of the evil spirit. It is said of him that he wore no clothes. He dwelt in no house but abode among the tombs. He was cutting himself with stones. No man could tame him, neither fetters nor chains bind him. Poor miserable creature!

And yet, my soul, was not this a true picture of your state, and indeed, of every man's state by nature? Had not Satan full possession of your heart and affections before you became savingly acquainted with the Lord Jesus Christ? Did not Satan lead you in the pursuit and gratification of your lusts and pleasure at his will? You might truly be said to wear no clothes, you were so far from having on the garment of Jesus' righteousness. In those days of your unregenerate life, you were living in the shame of your nakedness and in the filth of your nature. You did not dwell in the house of God, nor even delight to go in. And, just as this poor creature lived among the dead, so you lived with creatures like yourself, dead in trespasses and sins. And as this miserable man was wounding himself with stones, so were you; for your daily commission of sin was giving wounds to your soul, infinitely more alarming than the wounds he gave his body. And could no chains or fetters be found strong enough to bind him? So neither did all the solemn commands and threatening judgments of God's holy law act with the least restraint upon your ungoverned passions.

Pause, my soul, over the portrait and acknowledge how accurate and striking the similarity. Then ask yourself, are you now sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in your right mind? Like this poor man, have you heard the voice of Jesus and felt the power of his grace in your heart? If one like the Son of God has set you free, brought you to his fold, opened your ear to discipline and your heart to grace, then you are free indeed.

What do you say, my soul, to these things? Is there this change, this blessed change, from dead works to serving the living and true God? Oh, then will not the language of your heart be like Jesus and his church of old? "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." (Isa 61:10)

puritansermons.com/pmp/pmp0503A.htm

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Day 2

"PILATE MARVELED THAT HE WAS ALREADY DEAD"

Robert Hawker

Precious Jesus! Had the unjust judge but known your soul's travail and agonies, instead of wondering at the speediness of your death, all his astonishment would have been that nature, so oppressed and so suffering, could have held out so long. For what would have crushed in a moment all creation, Jesus endured on the cross for so many hours! In point of suffering, on the cross he wrought out a whole eternity due to sin; and in point of efficacy, he "forever perfected them that are sanctified." Jesus therefore accomplished more in that memorable day than all the creatures of God could have done forever. Wonderful were the works which God dispatched in creation, but the wonders of redemption far exceed them.

The six hours which Jesus hung upon the cross wrought out a more stupendous display of almighty power and grace than the six days God was pleased to appoint to himself in making the world. But, indeed, Pilate need not have marveled at the quickness of Christ's death had this unjust judge but reflected on the previous sufferings of the Redeemer. They who have spent sweet hours in tracing Jesus' footsteps through the painful preludes to his death, and especially in the concluding scenes, have been able to mark many a sorrowful time which bore hard upon his body also. If you were to trace back the solemn subject, you would find enough to excite your astonishment that Jesus lived so long on the cross rather than that he died not before.

Christ's agony evidently began four days before the Passover. The evangelist Luke tells us that he spent the whole night in prayer and the whole day in preaching to the people in the temple. Matthew tells us that before a single assault was made upon Christ in the garden, he said, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death." And the beloved apostle relates that four days before his crucifixion, Jesus said, "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this cause came I unto this hour!" And if to these agonies of soul, before the tremendous season of Gethsemane and Golgotha arrived, be added the exercises of the Redeemer in body, all must have contributed to wear out and exhaust his strength and hasten on the pains of death. When we call to mind how the Lamb of God was driven to and fro, hurried from one place to another, from Annas to Caiaphas and from the judgment hall to Calvary, we cannot be surprised at his fainting under the burden of the cross. Many a mile of weariness did he walk before nine o'clock in the morning of the day of his crucifixion. And many a bodily fainting must he have felt from the thorny crown, the soldiers' scourging, and their buffetings and smitings with the palms of their hands.

Unfeeling Pilate! Your marveling will be now, and to all eternity, of another kind. As for me, I will take my stand at the foot of the cross and marvel that He who might have commanded twelve legions of angels to his rescue, should in love to his church and people give "his soul an offering for sin," and die, "the just for the unjust, to bring us unto God!"

puritansermons.com/pmp/pmp0408p.htm

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Day 3

RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE WORLD

Martin Luther

"And he entered into a boat and crossed over and came into his own city. And behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus, seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven. And behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemes. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For which is easier to say, Thy sins are forgiven; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath authority on earth to forgive sins (then saith he to the sick of the palsy), Arise, and take up thy bed, and go unto thy house. And he arose, and departed to his house. But when the multitudes saw it, they were afraid, and glorified God, who had given such authority unto men." (Matthew 9:1-8)

The theme of this Gospel is the great and important article of faith called "the forgiveness of sins", which, when rightly understood, makes an honest Christian and gives eternal life. Therefore, it is necessary in the Christian Church to teach this article diligently and unceasingly, so that we may learn to understand it clearly and distinctly. For this is the one great and difficult art of a Christian where he will have enough to learn as long as he lives.

But that we may rightly understand this, we must thoroughly know how to distinguish two powers or kinds of piety; one is here upon earth, which God has also ordained and has included under the second table of the ten commandments. This is called the righteousness of the world or of man, and serves to the end that we may live together on earth and enjoy the gifts God has given us. For it is his wish that our present life be kept under proper restraint and passed in peace, quietude, and harmony, each one attending to his own affairs and not interfering with the business, property, or person of another. For this reason God has also added a special blessing, "Which if a man do, he shall live in them" (Lev.18:5), that is, whosoever upon earth is honest in the sight of all men shall enjoy life; it shall be well with him, and he shall live long.

But if on the other hand man is unwilling to do this, God has ordained that the sword, the gallows, the rack, fire, water, and the like be used with which to restrain and check those who will not be pious. Where such punishment is not administered, and the whole country becomes so utterly bad and perverted that the officers of the law can no longer restrain, God sends pestilence, famine, war, or other terrible plagues, in order to subvert the land and destroy the wicked, as has happened to the Jews, the Greeks, the Romans, and others. From this we may learn his will, namely, that such piety be exercised and maintained, and know that he will provide what is necessary; but if such piety is not practiced, he will in turn take away and destroy everything.

ondoctrine.com/2lut0701.htm

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Day 4

THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

J. Gresham Machen

Some nineteen hundred years ago in an obscure corner of the Roman Empire, there lived one who, to a casual observer, might have seemed to be an unremarkable man up to the age of about thirty years. He lived an obscure life in the midst of a humble family. Then He began a remarkable course of ethical and religious teaching, accompanied by a ministry of healing. At first He was very popular. Great crowds followed Him gladly, and the intellectual men of His people were interested in what He had to say. But His teaching presented revolutionary features, and He did not satisfy the political expectations of the populace. And so, before long, after some three years, He fell a victim to the jealousy of the leaders of His people and the cowardice of the Roman governor. He died the death of the criminals of those days, on the cross. At His death, the disciples whom He had gathered about Him were utterly discouraged. In Him had centered all their loftiest hopes. And now that He was taken from them by a shameful death, their hopes were shattered. They fled from Him in cowardly fear in the hour of His need, and an observer would have said that never was a movement more hopelessly dead. These followers of Jesus had evidently been far inferior to Him in spiritual discernment and in courage. They had not been able, even when He was with them, to understand the lofty teachings of their leader. How, then, could they understand Him when He was gone? The movement depended, one might have said, too much on one extraordinary man, and when He was taken away, then surely the movement was dead.

But then the astonishing thing happened. The plain fact, which no one doubts, is that those same weak, discouraged men who had just fled in the hour of their Master's need, and who were altogether hopeless on account of His death, suddenly began in Jerusalem, a very few days or weeks after their Master's death, what is certainly the most remarkable spiritual movement that the world has ever seen. At first, the movement thus begun remained within the limits of the Jewish people. But soon it broke the bands of Judaism and began to be planted in all the great cities of the Roman world. Within three hundred years, the Empire itself had been conquered by the Christian faith. But this movement was begun in those few decisive days after the death of Jesus. What was it which caused the striking change in those weak, discouraged disciples, which made them the spiritual conquerors of the world?

The New Testament answer to this question is perfectly plain. According to the New Testament, the disciples believed in the resurrection of Jesus because Jesus really, after His death, came out of the tomb, appeared to them, and held extended intercourse with them, so that their belief in the resurrection was simply based on fact.

If you take the shortest Gospel--the Gospel according to Mark--you will find, first, that Mark gives an account of the burial, which is of great importance. Modern historians cannot deny that Jesus was buried, because it is attested by the universally accepted source of information, I Corinthians 15. Mark is here confirmed by the Jerusalem tradition as preserved by Paul. But the account of the burial in Mark is followed by the account of the empty tomb, and the two things are indissolubly connected. If one is historical, it is difficult to reject the other. Modern naturalistic historians are in a divided condition about this matter of the empty tomb. Some admit that the tomb was empty. Others deny that it ever was. Some say that the tomb was never investigated at all until it was too late, and that then the account of the empty tomb grew up as a legend in the Church. But other historians are clear-sighted enough to see that you cannot get rid of the empty tomb in any such fashion.

But if the tomb was empty, why was it empty? The New Testament says that it was empty because the body of Jesus had been raised out of it. But if this be not the case, then why was the tomb empty? Some say that the enemies of Jesus took the body away. If so, they have done the greatest possible service to the resurrection faith which they so much hated. Others have said that the disciples stole the body away to make the people believe that Jesus was risen. But no one holds that view now. Others have said that Joseph of Arimathea changed the place of burial. That is difficult to understand, because if such were the case, why should Joseph of Arimathea have kept silent when the resurrection faith arose? Other explanations, no doubt, have been proposed. But it cannot be said that these hypotheses have altogether satisfied even those historians who have proposed them. The empty tomb has never been successfully explained away.

So the witness of the whole New Testament has not been put out of the way. It alone explains the origin of the Church, and the change of the disciples from weak men into the spiritual conquerors of the world.

And if He be living, we come to Him today. And thus finally we add to the direct historical evidence our own Christian experience. If He be a living Saviour, we come to Him for salvation today, and we add to the evidence from the New Testament documents an immediacy of conviction which delivers us from fear. The Christian man should indeed never say, as men often say, "Because of my experience of Christ in my soul I am independent of the basic facts of Christianity; I am independent of the question whether Jesus rose from the grave or not." But Christian experience, though it cannot make us Christians whether Jesus rose or not, still can add to the direct historical evidence a confirming witness that, as a matter of fact, Christ did really rise from the dead on the third day, according to the Scriptures. The "witness of the Spirit" is not, as it is often quite falsely represented today, independent of the Bible. On the contrary, it is a witness by the Holy Spirit, who is the author of the Bible, to the fact that the Bible is true.

ondoctrine.com/2jgm0002.htm

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Day 5

THE CHARM OF JERUSALEM

Alfred Edersheim

In every age, the memory of Jerusalem has stirred the deepest feelings. Jews, Christians, and Mohammedans turn to it with reverent affection. It almost seems as if in some sense each could call it his 'happy home,' the 'name ever dear' to him. For our holiest thoughts of the past and our happiest hopes for the future connect themselves with 'the city of our God.' We know from many passages of the Old Testament, but especially from the book of Psalms, with what ardent longing the exiles from Palestine looked toward it; and during the long centuries of dispersion and cruel persecution, up to this day, the same aspirations have breathed in almost every service of the synagogue, and in none more earnestly than in that of the paschal night, which to us is forever associated with the death of our Savior. It is this one grand presence there of 'the Desire of all nations' which has forever cast a hallowed light round Jerusalem and the Temple and given fulfillment to the prophecy, 'Many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem" (Isaiah 2:3). His feet have trod the busy streets of Jerusalem and the shady recesses of the Mount of Olives. His figure has 'filled with glory' the Temple and its services. His person has given meaning to the land and the people, and the decease which He accomplished at Jerusalem has been for the life of all nations. These facts can never be past but are eternally present, not only to our faith but also to our hope, for He 'shall so come in like manner' as the men of Galilee had on Mount Olivet seen Him go into heaven.

But our memories of Jerusalem stretch far back beyond these scenes. In the distance of a remote antiquity, we read of Melchizedek, the typical priest-king of Salem who went out to meet Abraham, the ancestor of the Hebrew race, and blessed him. A little later this same Abraham was coming up from Hebron on his mournful journey to offer up his only son. A few miles south of the city, the road by which he traveled climbs the top of a high promontory that juts into the deep Kedron valley. From this spot, through the cleft of the mountains which the Kedron has made for its course, one object rose up straight before him. It was Moriah, the mount on which the sacrifice of Isaac was to be offered. Here Solomon afterward built the Temple, for it was over Mount Moriah that David had seen the hand of the destroying angel stayed, probably just above where afterward the smoke of countless sacrifices rose day by day. On the opposite hill of Zion, separated only by a ravine from Moriah, stood the city and the palace of David, and close by the site of the Temple, the tower of David. After that period an ever-shifting historical panorama passes before our view, unchanged only in this: that amidst all the varying events, Jerusalem remains the one center of interest and attraction until we come to that Presence which has made it, even in its desolateness, 'Hephzibah,' 'sought out,' 'a city not forsaken' (Isaiah 62:4).

The Temple, Its Ministry and Services

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Day 6

THE MARKS OF SAVING FAITH

Jonathan Dickinson

A true and saving faith involves a realizing and sensible impression of the truth of the Gospel, whereas a dead faith is but a mere speculative belief of it. Faith is by the apostle described as "the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen." It is that which brings eternal things into a near view and presents them to the soul as realities. Hence the true believer, when he is wearied of all his false refuges, emptied of all hope in himself, and brought to see and feel the danger and misery of his state by nature, is then brought in earnest to look to Jesus as the only refuge and safety for his soul. He then sees the incomparable excellency of a precious Savior, breathes with ardent desire after Him, turns to Him as the only fountain of hope, and "rejoices in Christ Jesus, having no confidence in the flesh." The blessed Savior and His glorious salvation is now the subject of his serious, frequent, and delightful contemplation. An interest in Christ is valued by him above all the world, and he is now in earnest to obtain and preserve good evidence that his hope in Christ is well founded. Now the favor of God and the concerns of the eternal world appear of greater importance than everything else. He now mourns under a sense of his former sins, groans under the burden of remaining corruption and imperfection, and with earnest diligence follows after holiness. In a word, he has such an impression of these invisible realities, that whatever temptations, desertions, or prevailing corruptions he may wrestle with, nothing can so banish the great concern from his mind as to make him slothful and indifferent about it. Nothing can quiet him short of having his heart and affections engaged in the things of God, and his appetites and passions under the governing influence of "the law of the Spirit of life."

A true faith realizes the great truths of the Gospel by a lively and feeling discovery of them. It is an abiding principle of divine life from which flow rivers of living water. A saving faith cordially embraces the terms of the Gospel, while a dead faith is but a cold assent to its truth. Accordingly, a true faith is described in the Gospel as receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. "To as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God" (John 1:12). Our blessed Redeemer is freely offering Himself and His saving benefits to poor perishing sinners. Our compliance with and acceptance of the Gospel are the terms of our interest in Him. They, therefore, and they only, who heartily acquiesce in the glorious method of a sinner's recovery from ruin by Jesus Christ, and heartily accept an offered Savior in all His offices and benefits, are the true believers in Jesus Christ.

A dead faith never brings the soul to consent to the terms of the Gospel without some exception and reserve. The unsound believer may imagine that he accepts the Lord Jesus as his Savior, but what is the foundation and encouraging motive of his imaginary compliance with the gospel offer? Upon an impartial inquiry, it will always be found to be something in himself: his good affections, duties, moralities, reformations, promises, or purposes. He endeavors by these to recommend himself to God, and on account of these he hopes to find acceptance through Christ. He does not submit to the righteousness of Christ, for he is still endeavoring to procure acceptance with God by some good qualifications of his own, or by some duties which he performs, or some progress which he makes or designs to make in his religious course.

There is nothing more apparent than the distinction between these two sorts of believers. The one comes to Christ destitute of all hope and help in himself, but sees enough in Christ to answer all his wants; the other is full in himself. The one looks to Christ to be his light; the other leans to his own understanding. The one makes mention of Christ’s righteousness and that only; the other hopes for an interest in Christ and his salvation on account of his own attainments.

If you heartily approve of and delight in the gospel way of salvation by Christ alone, that you can cheerfully venture your soul and your eternal interests upon it as the sure and only foundation of hope and safety; you have then true faith. And in this case, He that has bestowed so much grace upon you will carry on His own work in your soul and will at last present you faultless before His throne, with exceeding joy.

lgmarshall.org/Reformed/dickinson_marksfaith.html

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Day 7

THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN

George Whitefield

"Two men went up to the temple to pray (and never two men of more opposite character), the one a Pharisee and the other a Publican." The Pharisees were the strictest sect among the Jews. "I was of the strictest sect, of the Pharisees," says Paul. They not only prayed often, but they made long prayers that they might appear extraordinarily devout.

As for the Publicans, it was not so with them. It seems they were sometimes Jews, or at least proselytes of the gate, but generally I am apt to think they were Gentiles, for they were gatherers of the Roman taxes. They were so universally infamous that our Lord himself tells his disciples, "the excommunicated man should be to them as a heathen man, or a Publican."

But however they disagreed in other things, they agreed in this: that public worship is a duty incumbent upon all, for they both came up to the temple. And what did they go there for? "To pray." I fear one of them forgot his errand. I have often been at a loss as what to call the Pharisee's address; it certainly does not deserve the name of a prayer. He may rather be said to come to the temple to boast, for I do not find one word of confession of his original guilt, not one single petition for pardon of his past actual sins or for grace to help and assist him for the time to come. He only brings to God, as it were, a reckoning of his performances and does that which no flesh can justly do, that is, glory in his presence. "He stood, and prayed thus with himself; God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this Publican." Here is some appearance of devotion, but it is only in appearance. To thank God that we are not as wicked in our practices as other men are, is certainly meet, right, and our bound duty: for whatever degrees of goodness there may be in us, more than in others, it is owing to God's restraining, preventing, and assisting grace. Had this been the Pharisee's thoughts, it would have been an excellent introduction to his prayer. But he was a free-willer as well as self-righteous (for he that is one must be the other) and thought that by his own power and strength he had kept himself from these vices.

Let us now take a view of the Publican. "And the Publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner." Perhaps he was standing in the outward court of the temple, conscious to himself that he was not worthy to approach the Holy of holies; so conscious and so weighed down with a sense of his own unworthiness that he would not so much as lift up his eyes unto heaven, which he knew was God's throne. I think I see him standing afar off, pensive, oppressed, and even overwhelmed with sorrow. Sometimes he attempts to look up; but then, he thinks, the heavens are unclean in God's sight and the very angels are charged with folly; how then shall such a wretch as I dare to lift up my guilty head! And to show that his heart was full of holy self-resentment and that he sorrowed after a godly sort, he smote upon his breast. The word in the original implies that he struck hard upon his breast; he will lay the blame upon none but his own wicked heart. Out of the abundance of his heart, I doubt not, with many tears, he as last cries out, "God be merciful to me a sinner." Not, God be merciful to yonder proud Pharisee. Not, God be merciful to me a saint. Not, God be merciful to such or such a one. But, God be merciful to me, even to me a sinner, a sinner by birth, a sinner in thought, word, and deed; a sinner as to my person, a sinner as to all my performances; a sinner in whom is no health, in whom dwells no good thing; a sinner, poor, miserable, blind and naked, from the crown of the head to the sole of the feet, full of wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores; a self-accused, self-condemned sinner.

This man came up to the temple to pray, and he prayed indeed. And a broken and contrite heart God will not despise. "I tell you," says our Lord, I who lay in the bosom of the Father from all eternity; I who am God, and therefore know all things; I who can neither deceive, nor be deceived, whose judgment is according to right; I tell you, whatever you may think of it, or think of me for telling you so, "this man," this Publican, this despised, sinful, but broken-hearted man, "went down to his house justified (acquitted, and looked upon as righteous in the sight of God) rather than the other." That the Pharisee was not justified is certain, for "God resists the proud." That the Publican was at this time actually justified we have great reason to infer from the latter part of the text: "For everyone that exalts himself shall be abased, and he that humbles himself shall be exalted."

The parable of the Publican and Pharisee is a glass wherein we may see the different disposition of all mankind, for all mankind may be divided into two general classes. Either they trust wholly or partly in themselves that they are righteous; then they are Pharisees. Or they have no confidence in the flesh and are self-condemned sinners; then they come under the character of the Publican just now described.

Hear this, all you who justify yourselves. Tremble, and behold your doom! a dreadful doom, more dreadful than words can express or thoughts conceive! If you refuse to humble yourselves, after hearing this parable, I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day that God shall visit you with all his storms and pour all the vials of his wrath upon your rebellious heads. You exalted yourselves here, and God shall abase you hereafter. "Be not deceived, God is not mocked." He sees your hearts, he knows all things. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God. Pull down every self-righteous thought and every proud imagination that now exalts itself against the perfect, personal, imputed righteousness of the dear Lord Jesus. "For he (and he alone) that humbles himself shall be exalted."

Are there no poor sinners among you? What, are you all Pharisees? Surely you cannot bear the thought of returning home unjustified, can you? What if a fit of apoplexy should seize you and your souls be hurried away before the awful Judge of the quick and dead? What will you do without Christ's righteousness? If you go out of the world unjustified, you must remain so for ever. Oh that you would humble yourselves! Then would the Lord exalt you.

Greater love can no man show than to lay down his life for a friend. But Christ laid down his life for his enemies, even for you, if you are enabled to humble yourselves, as the Publican did.

ondoctrine.com/2whi1801.htm

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Day 8

FORGETTING CHRIST

Charles Spurgeon

"For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'Take eat; this is my body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of me.'" (I Corinthians 11:23,24)

It appears that Christians may forget Christ! There would be no need for this loving exhortation if there were not a fearful possibility that our memories might prove treacherous. Nor is this an empty notion. It is, sadly, too well confirmed in our experience; not as a possibility, but as a lamentable fact.

It appears almost impossible that those who have been redeemed by the blood of the dying Lamb, and loved with an everlasting love by the eternal Son of God, could forget that gracious Savior. But if startling to the ear, sadly, it is too apparent to the eye to allow us to deny the crime. Forget Him who never forgot us! Forget Him who poured His blood out for our sins! Forget Him who loved us even to death! Can it be possible?

Yes, it is not only possible, but conscience confesses that is is too sadly a fault with all of us that we treat Him as a stranger, like an overnight guest. Instead of Him being a permanent resident in our memories, we treat Him as a visitor. The cross—where one would expect that memory would linger--is desecrated by the feet of forgetfulness. Doesn't your conscience say that this is true? Don't you find yourselves forgetful of Jesus? Some other love steals away your heart, and you are unmindful of Him upon whom your affection ought to be set. Some earthly business engrosses your attention, when you ought to be fixed steadily upon the cross. It is the incessant turmoil of the world, the constant attraction of earthly things, that takes the soul away from Christ. While memory works to preserve a poisonous weed, it allows the rose of Sharon to wither.

Let us charge ourselves to tie a heavenly forget-me-not around our hearts for Jesus our Beloved, and whatever else we let slip, let us hold tight to Him.

Morning and Evening

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Day 9

ONE IN CHRIST

J. C. Ryle

"Sanctify them by your truth . . . for their sakes, I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word; that they all may be one, as you, Father, are in me, and I in you; that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me . . . Father, I desire that they also whom you gave me may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which you have given me; for you loved me before the foundation of the world . . . I have declared to them your name, and will declare it, that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them." (John 17:17-26)

These wonderful verses form a fitting conclusion of the most wonderful prayer that was ever prayed on earth--the last Lord's prayer after the first Lord's Supper. They contain three most important petitions which our Lord offered up in behalf of his disciples. On these three petitions let us fix our attention. Passing by all other things in the passage, let us look steadily at these three points.

We should mark, first, how Jesus prays that his people may be sanctified. "Sanctify them," he says, "through Thy truth: Thy word is truth." We need not doubt that, in this place at any rate, the word "sanctify" means "make holy." It is a prayer that the Father would make his people more holy, more spiritual, more pure, more saintly in thought and word and deed, in life and character. Grace had done something for the disciples already--called, converted, renewed, and changed them. The great Head of the Church prays that the work of grace may be carried higher and further, and that his people may be more thoroughly sanctified and made holy in body, soul, and spirit--in fact more like himself.

Surely we need not say much to show the matchless wisdom of this prayer. More holiness is the very thing to be desired for all servants of Christ. Holy living is the great proof of the reality of Christianity. Men may refuse to see the truth of our arguments, but they cannot evade the evidence of a godly life. Such a life adorns religion and makes it beautiful, and sometimes wins those who are not "won by the Word," (I Pet. 3:1). Holy living trains Christians for heaven. The nearer we live to God while we live, the more ready shall we be to dwell forever in his presence when we die. Our entrance into heaven will be entirely by grace, and not of works; but heaven itself would be no heaven to us if we entered it with an unsanctified character. Our hearts must be in tune for heaven if we are to enjoy it. There must be a moral "meetness for the inheritance of the saints in light," as well as a title. Christ's blood alone can give us a title to enter the inheritance. Sanctification must give us a capacity to enjoy it.

Thomas Manton has aptly said, "If an earthly King lie but one night in a house, what care there is taken that nothing be offensive to him, and that all be neat, and sweet, and clean! How much more careful ought we to be to keep our hearts clean, to perform service acceptable to him, to be in the exercise of faith, love, and other graces, that we may entertain, as we ought, our heavenly King who comes to take up his continual abode in our hearts."

Who, in the face of such facts as these, need wonder that increased sanctification should be the first thing that Jesus asks for his people? Who that is really taught of God can fail to know that holiness is happiness, and that those who walk with God most closely, are always those who walk with him most comfortably? Let no man deceive us with vain words in this matter. He who despises holiness and neglects good works, under the vain pretense of giving honor to justification by faith, shows plainly that he has not the mind of Christ.

We should mark, secondly, in these verses, how Jesus prays for the unity and oneness of his people. "That they all may be one--that they may be one in us--that they may be one even as we are one--and "that so the world may believe and know that Thou hast sent me"--these are leading petitions in our Lord's prayer to his Father.

We can ask no stronger proof of the value of unity among Christians, and the sinfulness of divisions, than the great prominence which our Master assigns to the subject in this passage. How painfully true it is that in every age divisions have been the scandal of religion and the weakness of the Church of Christ! How often Christians have wasted their strength in contending against their brethren instead of contending against sin and the devil! How repeatedly they have given occasion to the world to say, "When you have settled your own internal differences, we will believe!" All this, we need not doubt, the Lord Jesus foresaw with prophetic eye. It was the foresight of it which made him pray so earnestly that believers might be "one."

The unity which our Lord prays about here is that true, substantial, spiritual, internal, heart unity which undoubtedly exists among all true members of Christ of every church and denomination. It is the unity which results from one Holy Ghost having made the members of Christ what they are. It is this unity which makes them feel more of one mind with one another than with mere professors of their own party. It is this unity which shakes the world, and obliges it to confess the truth of Christianity. For the continued maintenance of this unity, and an increase of it, our Lord seems to me in this prayer specially to pray. And we need not wonder. The divisions of mere worldly professors are of little moment. The divisions of real true believers are the greatest possible injury to the cause of the Gospel. They waste precious time and strength, and supply the world with reasons for unbelief. If all believers at this moment were of one mind, and would work together, they might soon turn the world upside down. No wonder the Lord prayed for unity.

Let the recollection of this part of Christ's prayer abide in our minds, and exercise a constant influence on our behavior as Christians. Let no man think lightly, as some men seem to do, of schism, or count it a small thing to multiply sects, parties, and denominations. These very things, we may depend, only help the devil and damage the cause of Christ. "If it be possible, as much as lies in us, let us live peaceably with all men." Let us bear much, concede much, and put up with much, before we plunge into secessions and separations. They are movements in which there is often much false fire. Let rabid zealots who delight in sect-making and party-forming rail at us and denounce us if they please. We need not mind them. So long as we have Christ and a good conscience, let us patiently hold on our way, follow the things that make for peace, and strive to promote unity. It was not for nothing that our Lord prayed so fervently that his people might be "one."

We should mark, finally, in these verses, how Jesus prays that his people may at last be with him and behold his glory. "I will," he says, "that those whom Thou hast given me be with me where I am: that they may behold my glory."

This is a singularly beautiful and touching conclusion to our Lord's remarkable prayer. We may well believe that it was meant to cheer and comfort those who heard it, and to strengthen them for the parting scene which was fast drawing near. But for all who read it even now, this part of his prayer is full of sweet and unspeakable comfort.

We do not see Christ now. We read of him, hear of him, believe in him, and rest our souls in his finished work. But even the best of us, at our best, walk by faith and not by sight, and our poor halting faith often makes us walk very feebly in the way to heaven. There shall be an end of all this state of things one day. We shall at length see Christ as he is, and know as we have been known. We shall behold him face to face, and not through a glass darkly. We shall actually be in his presence and company, and go out no more. If faith has been pleasant, much more will sight be; and if hope has been sweet, much more will certainty be. No wonder that when St. Paul has written, "We shall ever be with the Lord," he adds, "Comfort one another with these words."

We know little of heaven now. Our thoughts are all confounded when we try to form an idea of a future state in which pardoned sinners shall be perfectly happy. "It does not yet appear what we shall be." But we may rest ourselves on the blessed thought, that after death we shall be "with Christ." Whether before the resurrection in paradise, or after the resurrection in final glory, the prospect is still the same. True Christians shall be "with Christ." We need no more information. Where that blessed Person is who was born for us, died for us, and rose again, there can be no lack of anything. David might well say, "In Thy presence is fullness of joy, and at Thy right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Let us leave this wonderful prayer with a solemn recollection of the three great petitions which it contains. Let holiness and unity by the way, and Christ's company in the end, be subjects never long out of our thoughts or distant from our minds. Happy is that Christian who cares for nothing so much as to be holy and loving like his Master, while he lives, and a companion of his Master when he dies.

Ryle's Expository Thoughts on the Gospels

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Day 10

BANDS OF LOVE

Charles Spurgeon

“Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come that he should depart from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” (John 13:1)

The saints were from the beginning joined to Christ by bands of everlasting love. Before he took on himself their nature or brought them into a conscious enjoyment of himself, his heart was set upon their persons, and his soul delighted in them. Long before the worlds were made, his prescient eye beheld his chosen and viewed them with delight. Strong were the indissoluble bands of love which then united Jesus to the souls whom he determined to redeem. Not bars of brass or triple steel could have been more real and effectual bonds. True love, of all things in the universe, has the greatest cementing force and will bear the greatest strain and endure the heaviest pressure. Who shall tell what trials the Savior's love has borne and how well it has sustained them? Never union more true than this. As the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David--so that he loved David as his own soul--so was our glorious Lord united and joined to us by the ties of fervent, faithful love. Love has a most potent power in effecting and sustaining union, but never does it display its force so well as when we see it bringing the Maker into oneness with the creature, the divine into alliance with the human. This, then, is to be regarded as the dayspring of union--the love of Christ Jesus the Lord embracing in its folds the whole of the elected family.

The foresight of the fall led the Divine mind to provide for the catastrophe in which the elect would have perished, had not their ruin been prevented by gracious interposition. As in Adam every heir of flesh and blood has a personal interest, because he is the covenant head and representative of the race as considered under the law of works, so under the law of grace every redeemed soul is one with the Lord from heaven, since he is the Second Adam, the Sponsor and Substitute of the elect in the new covenant of love.

The apostle Paul declares that Levi was in the loins of Abraham when Melchizedek met him. It is a certain truth that the believer was in the loins of Jesus Christ, the Mediator, when in old eternity the covenant settlements of grace were decreed, ratified, and made sure for ever. Thus, whatever Christ has done, he has done for the whole body of his Church. We were crucified in him and buried with him, and to make it still more wonderful, we are risen with him and have even ascended with him to the seats on high. It is thus that the Church has fulfilled the law and is "accepted in the beloved." It is thus that she is regarded with complacency by the just Jehovah, for he views her in Jesus and does not look upon her as separate from her covenant head.

As the anointed Redeemer of Israel, Christ Jesus has nothing distinct from his Church, but all that he has he holds for her. Adam's righteousness was ours as long as he maintained it, and his sin was ours the moment that he committed it. In the same manner, all that the Second Adam is or does is ours as well as his, seeing that he is our representative. Here is the foundation of the covenant of grace. This gracious system of representation and substitution is the very groundwork of the gospel of our salvation and is to be received with strong faith and rapturous joy. In every place the saints are perfectly one with Jesus.

spurgeon.org/s_and_t/bol1865.htm

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Day 11

THE GREAT SEPARATION

Horatious Bonar

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand but the goats on the left." (Matthew 25:31, 33)

The name that Christ takes here is the Son of man. This is always his name in connection with judgment. It is as Son of man that He is judge of all. We are to be judged by a man like ourselves. It is before a human judge that we shall stand and plead. God takes no advantage of us.

The Son of man shall come and will not tarry! These heavens shall open and He shall appear. He shall come in his glory--not in weakness, poverty, and shame--not as a babe, carpenter, or a bearer of the sin and curse. He shall come with all his holy angels.

It is not a momentary appearance. He comes as the lightning flash, but does not, like it, depart. He takes his seat on a throne--the throne of glory. It is a great work He comes to do, a work not done in a moment. He took his seat when He went up to the Father and has been thus sitting for ages, for the work was great and long. So when He comes again He "sits," for the work is great and long; it will be thorough, searching, sifting.

Who shall gather is not here said. In other places angels are mentioned. But the gathering shall be a gathering of men, not devils. It is a gathering of nations--all nations; a universal gathering. It is a gathering "before Him," before his throne, before his face. No hiding, no escaping, no resisting, no refusing! However reluctant, they shall be gathered. He shall see it fully done. Mountains, rocks, seas, cells, cannot hide men on that awful day.

They come as one great multitude, but soon they are divided into two classes--only two: one good and one evil; sheep and goats. Christ Himself divides them. How He does it we know not. But He shall do it completely, effectually, without one mistake. The separation shall be perfect and final. The sheep are set on the right hand, the place of honor, power, acquittal, favor; the goats on the left, for shame and condemnation.

He gives the reasons for what He does. These are all summed up in one great reason: What they did or did not do for Him. The righteous are told that what they did for his brethren they did for Him; the wicked, that what they did not do for his brethren they did not do for Him. Thus the one class is made to feel how truly all their works are accepted. The other is left without excuse, not able to say, You were not here for us to do anything for you. "Ah, but my brethren were here. You did it not to them."

The sentencing is from the Judge's own lips. Angels may gather them, but He must sentence them for He is Lord and Judge of all. First, He turns to the right and speaks to the sheep. “Come, have done with all your wanderings and tribulations. Come, end your pilgrimage, blessed of my Father. Inherit the kingdom.”

Secondly, He turns to the left and speaks to the goats. “Depart, come not near me nor my kingdom. I once said, Come to me, but you would not. I now say, Depart into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Why? Simply because you did me no service! Not that you were drunkards, thieves, liars, or Sabbath-breakers; but because you did nothing for me! These go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.

These are the two great masses. They are mixed now; they shall be separated soon. The day of sifting is at hand.

theoldtimegospel.org/master/master_99.html

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Day 12

THE CONSOLATION OF CHRIST

Robert Smith Candlish

"Lord, if thou had been here, my brother had not died."
John 11:21

"It is better," says the wise man, "to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to his heart."

The sisters, both of them, greet Jesus with the same pathetic salutation. They had sat and watched together beside their brother's bed of sickness. They had joined together in sending unto Jesus, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom thou loves is sick." In their distress they both thought of the same remedy and applied to the same physician. It was a joint petition that they sent, and they did not doubt that it would prevail. Together they waited anxiously for his coming. They reckoned upon the very earliest moment when he could arrive, and as they looked on their brother and saw him sinking every hour and wasting away, ah! they thought, soon their benefactor might appear, and all might yet be well. But moments and hours rolled on, and no Saviour came. Wearisome days and nights were appointed to them. Often did they look out and listen. Often did they fancy they heard the expected sound and the well-known accents of kindness. But still he came not. The last ray of expectation is extinguished; the dreaded hour is come. It is over; Lazarus is dead.

And now four days are past and gone since he has been laid in the silent tomb. The first violence of grief is giving place to the more calm but far more bitter pain of a desolate and dreary sadness, the prolonged sense of bereavement which recollection brings along with it, and which everything around serves to aggravate and embitter. The house of mourning, after the usual temporary excitement, is still, when suddenly they are told that Jesus is at hand. He is home at last, but he is home too late.

"Lord, if thou had been here, my brother had not died." It is the voice of nature that speaks in these words--the voice of our common nature mingling its vain regrets with the resignation of sincere and simple faith. Ah, is it not thus that the heart speaks under every trying dispensation? Which of you ever met with any affliction or lost any dear friend without cherishing some such delusion: If such or such a measure had been adopted--if such or such an accident had not happened--if it had not been for this unaccountable oversight or that unforeseen and unavoidable mischance, so grievous a calamity would not have befallen me.

This is altogether a sad delusion proceeding upon a very limited view of the power and the providence of God your Saviour! How did these sisters know that if Jesus had been there their brother would not have died? How could they tell whether he might not have ends to serve which would have required that, even though he had been there, he should yet have permitted him to die? And were they not aware that, though he was not there, yet, if he had so chosen and so ordered it, their brother would not have died? Had they not heard of his being able at the distance of many a long mile to effect an immediate and complete cure? Did they not believe that he had but to speak, and it would be done; he had but to say the word, and, however far off he was, his friend and their brother would be healed? Ah! they had forgotten who it was to whom they made this most touching and pathetic appeal; that he was one who, though not outwardly present, could have restored their brother if it had been consistent with his wise and holy will. And who, even if he had been present, might yet have seen fit, for the best ends, to permit him to die.

And are not these the very truths concerning him which you in your distress are tempted to forget, when you dwell so much on secondary circumstances and causes instead of at once and immediately recognizing his will as supreme? You are overtaken by misfortune; you are overwhelmed in the depths of sorrow; you ascribe your suffering to what seems to be its direct occasion (whether it be your own neglect of some precaution which you might have taken had you thought of it in time, or the fault of others with whose skill or diligence your dearest hopes were inseparably connected). You think that if you had but suspected what was about to happen, or if the help which you now see had been within your reach, or if you had been warned in time or had taken the warning or had been able to employ the most effectual means of escape, you might not now have been left disconsolate to mourn.

Dear brethren, this idea, however natural, is the very folly of unbelief; the dream of a soul forgetting that the Lord reigns. What it comes to is that you conceive of God as limited by events which he himself ordains--as the slave of his own laws. You think that if such or such an obstacle had not intervened, this calamity would not have happened. But, notwithstanding that obstacle, might he not, if he had seen fit, have found means to avert the calamity? And are you sure that even if that obstacle had been removed, he might not have seen fit still to suffer the calamity to befall you? Oh, look beyond second causes to Him who is the first cause of all things. Believe and be sure that the circumstances which you regret as the occasion of your misfortune are but the appointed means of bringing about what he determines.

newble.co.uk/candlish/sermon2.html

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Day 13

JESUS ONLY

Charles Spurgeon

We cannot too often or too plainly tell the seeking soul that his only hope for salvation lies in the Lord Jesus Christ. It lies in him completely, only, and alone. To save both from the guilt and the power of sin, Jesus is all sufficient. His name is called Jesus, because he shall save his people from their sins. The Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins; he is exalted on high to give repentance and forgiveness of sins. It pleased God from of old to devise a method of salvation which should be all contained in his only-begotten Son. If another way of deliverance had been possible, the cup of bitterness would have passed from him. It stands to reason that the darling of Heaven would not have died to save us if we could have been rescued at less expense. Infinite grace provided the great sacrifice; infinite love submitted to death for our sakes. How can we dream that there can be another way than the way which God has provided at such cost, and set forth in Holy Scripture so simply and so urgently?

To suppose that the Lord Jesus has only half saved men, and that there is needed some work or feeling of their own to finish his work, is wicked. What is there of ours that could be added to his blood and righteousness? "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6). Can these be patched on to the costly fabric of his divine righteousness? Rags and fine white linen! Our dross and his pure gold! It is an insult to the Savior to dream of such a thing. We have sinned enough, without adding this to all our other offenses.

It is most glorifying to our Lord Jesus Christ that we should hope for every good thing from him alone. This is to treat him as he deserves to be treated; for as he is God, and beside him there is none else, we are bound to look unto him and be saved. This is to treat him as he loves to be treated, for he bids all those who labor and are heavy laden to come to him, and he will give them rest. To imagine that he cannot save to the uttermost is to limit the Holy One of Israel and put a slur upon his power; or else to slander the loving heart of the Friend of sinners and cast a doubt upon his love. In either case, we should commit a cruel and wanton sin against the tenderest points of his honor, which are his ability and willingness to save all that come unto God by him.

The child in danger of the fire just clings to the fireman and trusts to him alone. She raises no question about the strength of his limbs to carry her, or the zeal of his heart to rescue her. The heat is terrible, the smoke is blinding, but she clings; and her deliverer quickly bears her to safety. In the same childlike confidence, cling to Jesus who can and will bear you out of danger from the flames of sin.

The nature of the Lord Jesus should inspire us with the fullest confidence. As he is God, he is almighty to save. As he is man, he is filled with all fullness to bless. The ladder is long enough to reach from Jacob prostrate on the earth to Jehovah reigning in Heaven. To bring another ladder would be to suppose that he failed to bridge the distance, and this would be grievously to dishonor him. Remember that he--he himself--is the Way; and to suppose that we must, in some manner, add to the divine road is to be arrogant enough to think of adding to him. Away with such a notion! Loathe it as you would blasphemy, for in essence it is the worst of blasphemy against the Lord of love.

To come to Jesus with a price in our hand would be insufferable pride, even if we had any price that we could bring. What does he need of us? What could we bring if he did need it? Would he sell the priceless blessings of his redemption? That which he wrought out in his heart’s blood, would he barter it with us for our tears and vows or for ceremonial observances and feelings and works? He is not reduced to make a market of himself: He will give freely as is suitable to his royal love. But he that offers a price to him knows not with whom he is dealing, nor how grievously he vexes his free Spirit. Empty-handed sinners may have what they will; all that they can possibly need is in Jesus, and he gives it for the asking. But we must believe that he is all in all, and we must not dare to breathe a word about completing what he has finished, or fitting ourselves for what he gives to us as undeserving sinners.

The reason why we may hope for forgiveness of sin and life eternal by faith in the Lord Jesus is that God has so appointed it. He has pledged himself in the gospel to save all who truly trust in the Lord Jesus, and he will never run back from his promise. He is so well pleased with his only begotten Son, that he takes pleasure in all who lay hold upon him as their one and only hope. The great God himself has taken hold on him who has taken hold on his Son. He works salvation for all who look to the once-slain Redeemer. For the honor of His Son, he will not suffer the man who trusts in Him to be ashamed. "He who believes on the Son has everlasting life" (John 3:36).

christianbeliefs.org/books/wicketgate/wicketgate-jesusonly.html

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Day 14

THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED

Arthur W. Pink

"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in His field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." (Matt. 13:31,32)

Now there are few passages of Scripture which have suffered more at the hands of commentators than the third and fourth parables of Matthew 13. They have been made to mean the very opposite of what the Lord Jesus taught. The popular and current explanation of these parables is that they were meant to announce the glorious success of the Gospel. Thus, that of the mustard seed is regarded as portraying the rapid extension of Christianity and the expansion of the Church of Christ. Beginning insignificantly and obscurely, its proportions have increased immensely until ultimately it shall cover the earth. Let us first show how untenable and impossible this interpretation is.

First, it must be steadily borne in mind that these seven parables form part of one connected and complete discourse whose teaching must necessarily be consistent and harmonious throughout. Therefore, it is obvious that this third one cannot conflict with the teaching of the first two. In the first parable, instead of drawing a picture of a field in which the good Seed took root and flourished in every part of it, our Lord pointed out that most of its soil was unfavorable, and that only a fractional proportion bore an increase. Moreover, instead of promising that the good-ground section of the field would yield greater and greater returns, he announced that there would be a decreasing harvest--"some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." In the second parable, our Lord revealed the field as over-sown with "tares," and declared that these should continue until the harvest time, which he defined as "the end of the age." This fixes beyond all doubt the evil consequences of the Enemy's work, and positively forbids the expectation of a world won to Christ during this present dispensation. Christ plainly warned us that the evil effects of the Devil's labors at the beginning of the age would never be repaired. The crop as a whole is spoiled!

Second, the figure here selected should at once expose the fallacy of the popular interpretation. Surely our Lord would never have taken a mustard seed, which afterwards became a "tree" ever rooting itself deeper in the earth, to portray that people whose calling, hope, citizenship, and destiny is heavenly. Again and again He affirmed that His people were "not of the world." A great tree with its towering branches speaks of prominence and loftiness. But lowliness and suffering are the present portion of the New Testament saints. That which is represented by this "tree" is not a people who are "strangers and pilgrims" down here, but a system whose roots lie deeply in the earth, and which aims at greatness and expansion in the world.

Third, what Christ here describes is a monstrosity. He tells us that when this mustard seed is grown, it is the "greatest among herbs, and becomes a tree". "Herbs" are an entirely different specie from trees. They live only long enough for the development of flowers and seeds. But this "herb" became a "tree;" it developed into something entirely foreign to its very nature and constitution. How strange that sober men should have deemed this unnatural growth, this abnormal production, a fitting symbol of the saints of God in their corporate form!

Some tell us that the soil of Palestine is a most congenial one for the growth of mustard, and that it is quite common for it to develop into goodly-sized shrubs. But cannot the very ones who advance this as an objection to the premillennial interpretation of this parable see that it forms an argument against what they contend for? Clearly the "field" throughout Matthew 13 is the world. Is "the world" a favorable place for the growth of that kingdom which Christ solemnly and expressly said was "not of this world"? Is this world, where the flesh and the Devil unite in opposing all that concerns Christ and His interests, a congenial soil for Christianity? Either the world must cease to be what it is--"the enemy of God"--or the Seed must change its character before the one will be favorable to the other. And this is just what our parable does teach: the "herb" becomes a "tree."

Fourth, the "birds" lodging in the branches of the tree argue altogether against the current interpretation. If Scripture be compared with Scripture, it will be found that these "birds" symbolize Satan and his agents. Don't be turned aside by the fact that the "dove," and in some passages the "eagle," represent that which is good. That which we must now attempt to define is the actual word "birds," or better, "fowls"--as the Greek word is rendered in verse 4. In Genesis 15:11 we are told that the "fowls came down upon the carcasses" (the bodies of the sacrifices) and that "Abram drove them away." Here, beyond doubt, they prefigure the efforts of Satan to render null and void the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. Again, in Deuteronomy 28, where we have the curses which were to come upon Israel for their disobedience, we are told, "And thy carcass shall be meat unto all fowls of the air". The last time the term occurs in Scripture is in Revelation 18:2, where we are told that fallen Babylon becomes the "habitation of demons, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird."

But we do not have to go outside of Matthew 13 itself to discover what Christ referred to under the figure of these "birds." The Greek word in verse 32 is precisely the same as that which is rendered "fowls" in verse 4, which are explained in verse 19 as "the wicked." How, then, can this great "tree" represent the true Church of Christ, while its branches afford shelter for the Devil and his emissaries?

Coming now to the positive side, if we let Scripture interpret Scripture, the great "tree" is easily identified. In Daniel 4:10-12 we read, "I saw, and behold a tree was in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the ends of all the earth: The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heavens dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it." Who cannot fail to see that we have in this vision of Nebuchadnezzar the key to our parable? In Daniel 4:20-22 we have the inspired interpretation of the vision: "The tree that thou saw, which grew, and was strong...it is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong. For thy greatness is grown, and reaches unto heaven, and thy dominion to the ends of the earth." Thus, the "tree" was a figure of a mighty earthly kingdom or empire.

In Ezekiel 31 we have the same figure used: "Behold the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of a high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs. The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field. Therefore, his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters when he shot forth. All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations". Thus a "tree," whose wide-spreading branches afforded lodgment for birds, was a familiar Old Testament figure for a mighty kingdom which gave shelter to the nations. So it is in our parable. The "tree" symbolizes earthly greatness, worldly prominence, giving shelter to the nations.

The history of Christendom clearly confirms this. At the beginning, those who bore the name of Christ were but a despised handful. There were few among the Lord's "little flock" of outstanding genius or social prominence. Yet it was an object of intense hatred to Satan. Against Christianity he vented the full force of his fiendish malignity. He stirred up men in authority and moved emperors to issue cruel edicts. Property was confiscated, Christians captured, imprisoned, fined, tortured, and killed. But the more it was persecuted, the more Christianity flourished.

Finding that force of no avail, Satan changed his tactics. Ceasing to attack from without, he now worked from within. In the first parable the assault was from without--the fowls of the air catching away the Seed. In the second parable his activities were from within--he sowed his tares among the wheat. In the third parable we are shown the effects of this. Satan now moved worldly men to seek membership in the churches of God. These soon caused the Truth to be watered down, discipline to be relaxed, that which repelled the world to be kept in the background, and what would appeal to the carnal mind to be made prominent. Soon Christianity ceased to be hated by the unregenerate: the gulf between the world and the "Church" was bridged.

Persecution ceased, and the professed cause of the despised and rejected Savior became popular. The distinctive truths of Christianity were abandoned, the Gospel was adulterated, the pilgrim character of professing saints ceased. By the fourth century the heads of the Roman Empire perceived that it was a power for moral good in the governing of men, and so espoused it. In the days of Constantine, the so-called Church and the State united and became a vast political-religious system. Under these changed circumstances professing Christianity soon became great in the earth. Caves and caverns as places of worship gave place to costly church-houses and ornate cathedrals. The ritual was celebrated with a corresponding pomp. Multitudes applied for baptism. More and more the leaders sought after temporal power, and more and more were their longings gratified. In consequence, worldly-minded men were the ones who sought after and secured the highest offices. Hence we find the "birds," the agents of Satan, lodging in the branches of the "tree;" they secured the positions of power and directed the activities of Christendom.

Thus we may discern in the first three parables of Matthew 13 a striking and sad forecast of the development of evil. In the first, the Devil caught away part of the good Seed. In the second, he is seen engaged in the work of imitation. Here, in the third, we are shown a corrupted Christianity affording him shelter.

ondoctrine.com/2pin0003.htm

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Day 15

PHARAOH HARDENED HIS HEART

Alfred Edersheim

It would appear that Moses' first charge to Pharaoh was only for leave "to go three days' journey into the wilderness," whereas it was intended that Israel should forever leave the land of Egypt. At the outset, we observe the more-than-dutiful manner in which Israel was directed to act towards Pharaoh. Absolutely speaking, Pharaoh had no right to detain the people in Egypt. Their fathers had avowedly come not to settle, but temporarily "to sojourn," and on that understanding had been received. And now they were not only wrongfully oppressed but unrighteously detained. But still, the people were not to steal away secretly nor attempt to raise the standard of rebellion. On the contrary, they were to apply to Pharaoh for permission to undertake even so harmless an expedition as a three days' pilgrimage into the wilderness to sacrifice unto God--a request all the more reasonable since Israel's sacrifices would, from a religious point of view, have been "an abomination" to the Egyptians and might have led to disturbances.

The same excess of regard for Pharaoh prompted that, at the first, only a moderate demand should be made upon him. On the part of God, it was infinite condescension to Pharaoh's weakness not to insist from the first upon the immediate and entire dismissal of Israel. Less could not have been asked than was demanded of Pharaoh, nor could obedience have been made more easy. Only could the most tyrannical determination to crush the rights and convictions of the people and the most daring defiance of Jehovah have prompted him to refuse such a request, and that in face of all the signs and wonders by which the mission of Moses was accredited. Thus Pharaoh's submission was to be tried, at the first, where it was easiest to render it, and where disobedience would be "without excuse."

There might have been some plea for Pharaoh to refuse at once to wholly let those go who had so long been his bondsmen. But there could be absolutely none for resisting a demand so moderate and supported by such authority. Assuredly, such a man was ripe for the judgment of hardening, just as, on the other hand, if he had yielded obedience to the divine will at the first, he would surely have been prepared to receive a further revelation of God's will and grace to submit to it. It is in such a manner that God always, in his mercy, deals with man. "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." The demands of God are intended to try what is in us. It was so in the case of Adam's obedience and of Abraham's sacrifice, and now again in the case of Pharaoh, where divine forbearance went to the utmost verge of condescension. The same principle of government appears in the New Testament and explains how the Lord often first told of "earthly things," so that unbelief in regard to them might convince men of their unfitness to hear of "heavenly things." The young ruler who believed himself desirous of inheriting eternal life, and the scribe who professed himself ready to follow Christ, had each only a test of "earthly things" proposed. And yet each failed in it. The lesson is one which may find its application in our own case--for only "then shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord."

Bible History Old Testament

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Day 16

ACHAN'S CONFESSION AND PUNISHMENT

John Calvin

"And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto him and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me." (Joshua 7:19)

There was a special reason why Joshua exhorted Achan to give God the glory: by denying or equivocating, Achan might have impaired the credit of the decision. The matter had already been determined by lot. Joshua, therefore, simply orders him to subscribe to the divine sentence and not aggravate the crime by vain denials. Joshua calls him son, declaring that he felt like a father toward him whom he had already doomed to death. By this example, judges are taught that while they punish crimes, they ought so to temper their severity as not to lay aside the feelings of humanity, and, on the other hand, that they ought to be merciful without being reckless and remiss.

Since Achan was now struck with astonishment, he details the whole matter. Overcome with terror, he openly divulges what he would willingly have concealed. He not only acknowledges the deed, but by renouncing all defense and throwing aside all pretext, he condemns himself in regard to its atrocity. I have sinned, he says. This he would not have said had he not been conscious of sacrilege. Hence it appears that he did not pretend mistake or lack of thought.

"And Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had; and they brought them unto the valley of Achor....And all Israel stoned him with stones and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones." Achan is led without the camp for two reasons: first, that it might not be tainted and polluted by the execution, and secondly, that no defilement might remain among the people.

If anyone is disturbed and offended by the severity of the punishment, he must always be brought back to this point: though our reason dissent from the judgments of God, we must check our presumption by the curb of a pious modesty and soberness, and not disapprove whatever does not please us. It seems harsh, nay, barbarous and inhuman that young children without fault should be hurried off to cruel execution, to be stoned and burned. Here God publicly inflicts punishment on children for the sake of their parents, contrary to what he declares by Ezekiel. How it is that he destroys no one who is innocent and visits the sins of fathers upon children, I briefly explained when speaking of the common destruction of the city of Jericho and the promiscuous slaughter of all ages. If we consider how much more deeply divine knowledge penetrates than human intellect can possibly do, we will rather acquiesce in his decree than hurry ourselves to a precipice by giving way to presumption and extravagant pride. It was certainly not owing to reckless hatred that the sons of Achan were pitilessly slain. Not only were they the creatures of God's hand, but circumcision (the infallible symbol of adoption) was engraven on their flesh. Yet, he adjudges them to death. What here remains for us but to acknowledge our weakness and submit to his incomprehensible counsel. It may be that death proved to them a medicine; but if they were reprobate, then condemnation could not be premature.

It may be added, that the life which God has given he may take away as often as pleases him. A wild beast seizes an infant and tears it to pieces; a serpent destroys another by its venomous bite; one falls into the water, another into the fire; some are not even permitted to open their eyes on the light. It is certain that none of all these deaths happens except by the will of God. But who will presume to call his procedure in this respect into question? Were any man so insane as to do so, what would it avail? We must hold, indeed, that none perish by his command but those whom he had doomed to death.

Calvin's Commentary

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Day 17

THE COURT OF THE WOMEN

Alfred Edersheim

The Court of the Women obtained its name, not from its appropriation to the exclusive use of women, but because they were not allowed to proceed farther, except for sacrificial purposes. Indeed, this was probably the common place for worship, the females occupying, according to Jewish tradition, only a raised gallery along three sides of the court. This court covered a space upwards of 200 square feet. All around ran a simple colonnade, and within it against the wall were placed the thirteen chests, or 'trumpets,' for charitable contributions. These chests were narrow at the mouth and wide at the bottom, shaped like trumpets, and thus their name.

The specific objects of these trumpets were carefully marked on them. Nine were for the receipt of what was legally due by worshipers; the other four for strictly voluntary gifts. Trumpets 1 and 2 were appropriated to the half-shekel Temple tribute of the current and past years. Into Trumpet 3, those women who had to bring turtledoves for a burnt offering and a sin offering dropped their equivalent in money. This money was daily taken out and a corresponding number of turtledoves offered. This not only saved the labor of so many separate sacrifices, but spared the modesty of those who might not wish to have the occasion or the circumstances of their offering publicly known. Into this trumpet Mary the mother of Jesus must have dropped the value of her offering, when the aged Simeon took the infant Savior 'in his arms and blessed God.' Trumpet 4 similarly received the value of the offerings of young pigeons. Into Trumpet 5 contributions for the wood used in the Temple were deposited, into Trumpet 6 those for the incense, and into Trumpet 7 those for the golden vessels. If a man had put aside a certain sum for a sin offering and any money was left over after its purchase, it was cast into Trumpet 8. Similarly, Trumpets 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 were destined for what was left over from trespass offerings, offerings of birds, the offering of the Nazarite, of the cleansed leper, and voluntary offerings.

In all probability, this space where the thirteen Trumpets were placed was the 'treasury' where Jesus taught on that memorable Feast of Tabernacles. We can also understand, from the peculiar and known destination of each of these thirteen 'trumpets,' how the Lord could distinguish the contributions of the rich who cast in 'of their abundance' from that of the poor widow who of her penury had given 'all the living' that she had. But there was also a special treasury chamber into which, at certain times, they carried the contents of the thirteen chests. There was also 'a chamber of the silent,' where devout persons secretly deposited money which was afterward secretly employed for educating children of the pious poor.

It is probably an ironical allusion to the form and name of these treasure-chests that the Lord, making use of the word 'trumpet,' describes the conduct of those who, in their almsgiving, sought glory from men as 'sounding a trumpet' before them (Matt. 6:2); that is, carrying before them, as it were, in full display, one of these trumpet-shaped alms boxes (literally called in the Talmud 'trumpets'), and sounding it.

The Temple, Its Ministry and Services

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Day 18

"BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT,
FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN"
Matthew 5:3

Matthew Henry

This poverty in spirit is put first among the Christian graces. The philosophers did not reckon humility among their moral virtues, but Christ puts it first. Self-denial is the first lesson to be learned in his school, and poverty of spirit entitled to the first beatitude. The foundation of all other graces is laid in humility. Those who would build high must begin low, and it is an excellent preparation for the entrance of gospel grace into the soul. It prepares the soil to receive the seed.

The poor in spirit are happy. Yet there is a poor-spiritedness that is so far from making men blessed that it is a sin and a snare: It is cowardice and base fear, a willing subjection to the lusts of men. But the poverty of spirit of which Jesus speaks is a gracious disposition of soul by which we are emptied of self in order to be filled with Jesus Christ.

To be poor in spirit is to be contentedly poor, willing to be empty of worldly wealth if God orders that to be our lot. Many are poor in the world but high in spirit--poor and proud--murmuring and complaining and blaming their lot. But we must accommodate ourselves to our poverty, acknowledging the wisdom of God in appointing us to it. We must patiently bear the inconveniences of it, being thankful for what we have and making the best of that which is. To be poor in spirit is to bear losses and disappointments that may befall us in the most prosperous state. It is not, in pride or pretense, to make ourselves poor by throwing away what God has given us. But if we be rich in the world, we must be poor in spirit, that is, we must condescend to the poor and sympathize with them. We must expect and prepare for poverty, and not inordinately fear or shun it, but must bid it welcome, especially when it comes upon us for keeping a good conscience. Job was poor in spirit when he blessed God in taking away as well as in giving.

To be poor in spirit is to be humble and lowly in our own eyes. It is to be as little children in our opinion of ourselves, weak, foolish and insignificant. It is to look with a holy contempt upon ourselves, to value others and undervalue ourselves in comparison to them. It is to acknowledge that God is great and we are mean; that he is holy and we are sinful; that he is all and we are nothing, less than nothing, worse than nothing. It is to come off from all confidence in our own righteousness and strength that we may depend only upon the merit of Christ for our justification.

"For theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The kingdom of glory is prepared for them. Those who humble themselves and comply with God when he humbles them shall be thus exalted.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew

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Day 19

SELF DENIAL

Richard Baxter

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)

You hear ministers tell you of the odiousness, danger and sad effects of sin. But of all the sins that you ever heard of, there is scarce any more odious and dangerous than selfishness; and yet I doubt there are many that are much troubled at it, nor sensible of its malignity. My principal request, therefore, is that if you would prove yourselves Christians indeed and be saved from sin and the damnation which follows it, take heed of this deadly sin of selfishness. Be sure you are possessed with true self-denial.

For your help herein, I shall tell you how the least measure of true self-denial may be known. It is thus: Wherever the interest of carnal self is stronger and more predominant habitually than the interest of God, of Christ, and of everlasting life, there is no true self-denial or saving grace; but where God's interest is strongest, there self-denial is sincere. If you further ask me how this may be known, it is briefly as follows.

What is it that you live for? What is that good which your mind is principally set to obtain? And what is that end which you principally design and endeavor to obtain, and which you set your heart on, and lay out your hopes upon? Is it the pleasing and glorifying of God, and the everlasting fruition of Him? Or is it the pleasing of your fleshly mind in the fruition of any inferior thing? Know this, and you may know whether self or God have the greatest interest in you. For that is your God which you love most, and please best, and would do most for.

Which do you set most by? The means of your salvation and the glory of God, or the means of providing for self and flesh? Do you set more by Christ and holiness (which are the way to God), or by riches, honor, and pleasures (which gratify the flesh)? Know this, and you may know whether you have true self-denial.

If you are truly self-denying, you are ordinarily ruled by God, His Word and Spirit, and not by the carnal self. Which is the rule and master of your life? Whose word and will is it ordinarily that prevails? When God draws, and self draws, which do you follow in the tenor of your life?

If you have true self-denial, the drift of your life is carried on in a successful opposition to your carnal self, so that you not only refuse to be ruled by it and love it as your god, but you fight against it and tread it down as your enemy.

If you have true self-denial, there is nothing in this world so dear to you but that, on deliberation, you would leave it for God. He that has anything which he loves so much that he cannot spare it for God, is a selfish and unsanctified wretch. And, therefore, God still puts men to the trial of their sincerity, that is, to part with that which is dearest to the flesh. Abraham must be tried by parting with his only son. And Christ makes it His standing rule, "He who forsakes not all that he has, cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:33).

Yet it is true that flesh and blood may make much resistance in a gracious heart, and many a striving thought there may be; but yet on deliberation, self-denial will prevail, and there is nothing so dear to a gracious soul which he cannot spare at the will of God and the hope of everlasting life. If with Peter we would flinch in a temptation, we should return with Peter in weeping bitterly.

Search now and try your heart by these evidences whether you are possessed of this necessary grace of self-denial. Oh, make not light of the matter! For I must tell you that self is the most treacherous enemy and the most insinuating deceiver in the world. It will be within you when you are not aware of it and will conquer you when you perceive not yourself much troubled with it. And of all other vices, it is both the hardest to find out and the hardest to cure. Be sure, therefore, in the first place, that you have self-denial; and then be sure you use it and live in the practice of it.

theoldtimegospel.org/continued/pen_self.html

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Day 20

CHASTENING

Arthur W. Pink

“My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD,
nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by him.”
Hebrews 12:5

It is of first importance that we learn to draw a sharp distinction between Divine punishment and Divine chastisement: important for maintaining the honor and glory of God, and for the peace of mind of the Christian. The distinction is very simple, yet is it often lost sight of. God’s people can never by any possibility be punished for their sins, for God has already punished them at the Cross. The Lord Jesus, our Blessed Substitute, suffered the full penalty of all our guilt, hence it is written, "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). Neither the justice nor the love of God will permit Him to again exact payment of what Christ discharged to the full. The difference between punishment and chastisement lies not in the nature of the sufferings of the afflicted. It is most important to bear this in mind. There is a threefold distinction between the two.

First, the character in which God acts. In the former God acts as Judge, in the latter as Father. Sentence of punishment is the act of a judge, a penal sentence passed on those charged with guilt. Punishment can never fall upon the child of God in this judicial sense because his guilt was all transferred to Christ: "Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree" (1 Pet. 2:24). But while the believer’s sins cannot be punished, while the Christian cannot be condemned (Rom. 8:3), yet he may be chastised. The Christian occupies an entirely different position from the non-Christian: he is a member of the Family of God. The relationship which now exists between him and God is that of parent and child; and as a son he must be disciplined for wrongdoing. Folly is bound up in the hearts of all God’s children, and the rod is necessary to rebuke, to subdue, to humble.

The second distinction between Divine punishment and Divine chastisement lies in the recipients of each. The objects of the former are His enemies. The subjects of the latter are His children. As the Judge of all the earth, God will yet take vengeance on all His foes. As the Father of His family, God maintains discipline over all His children. The one is judicial, the other parental.

A third distinction is seen in the design of each: the one is retributive, the other remedial. The one flows from His anger, the other from His love. Divine punishment is never sent for the good of sinners, but for the honoring of God’s law and the vindicating of His government. But Divine chastisement is sent for the well-being of His children: "We have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness" (Heb. 12:9-10).

The above distinction should at once rebuke the thoughts which are so generally entertained among Christians. When the believer is smarting under the rod, let him not say, God is now punishing me for my sins. That can never be. That is most dishonoring to the blood of Christ. God is correcting you in love, not smiting in wrath. Nor should the Christian regard the chastening of the Lord as a sort of necessary evil to which he must bow as submissively as possible. No, it proceeds from God’s goodness and faithfulness, and is one of the greatest blessings for which we have to thank Him. Chastisement evidences our Divine sonship. The father of a family does not concern himself with those on the outside, but those within he guides and disciplines to make them conform to his will. Chastisement is designed for our good, to promote our highest interests. Look beyond the rod to the All-wise hand that wields it!

Much chastisement comes by the rod in the hand of the Father, correcting His erring child. But it is a serious mistake to confine our thoughts to this one aspect of the subject. Chastisement is by no means always the scourging of His refractive sons. Some of the saintliest of God’s people, some of the most obedient of His children, have been and are the greatest sufferers. Oftentimes God’s chastenings, instead of being retributive, are corrective. They are sent to empty us of self-sufficiency and self-righteousness. They are given to discover hidden transgressions and to teach us the plague of our own hearts. Or again, chastisements are sent to strengthen our faith, to raise us to higher levels of experience, to bring us into a condition of usefulness. Still again, Divine chastisement is sent as a preventative: to keep down pride and to save us from being unduly elated over success in God’s service. Let us consider, briefly, four entirely different examples.

David. In his case the rod was laid upon him for grievous sins, for open wickedness. His fall was occasioned by self-confidence and self-righteousness. If the reader will diligently compare the two Songs of David recorded in 2 Samuel 22 and 23 (the one written near the beginning of his life, the other near the end), he will be struck by the great difference of spirit manifested by the writer in each. Read 2 Samuel 22:22-25 and you will not be surprised that God suffered him to have such a fall. Then turn to chapter 23 and mark the blessed change. At the beginning of v. 5 there is a heart-broken confession of failure. In verses 10-12 there is a God-glorifying confession, attributing victory unto the Lord. The severe scourging of David was not in vain.

Job. He probably tasted of every kind of suffering which falls to man’s lot: family bereavements, loss of property, grievous bodily afflictions which came fast, one on top of another. But God’s end in it all was that Job should benefit therefrom and be a greater partaker of His holiness. There was not a little of self-satisfaction and self-righteousness in Job at the beginning. But at the end, when He was brought face to face with the thrice Holy One, he "abhorred himself". In David’s case the chastisement was retributive, in Job’s corrective.

Abraham. In him we see an illustration of an entirely different aspect of chastening. Most of the trials to which he was subjected were neither because of open sins nor for the correction of inward faults. Rather were they sent for the development of spiritual graces. Abraham was sorely tried in various ways, but it was in order that faith might be strengthened and that patience might have its perfect work in him. Abraham was weaned from the things of this world, that he might enjoy closer fellowship with Jehovah and become the "friend" of God.

Paul. "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure" (2 Cor. 12:7). This "thorn" was sent not because of failure and sin, but as a preventative against pride. Note the "lest" both at the beginning and end of the verse. The result of this "thorn" was that the beloved apostle was made more conscious of his weakness. Thus, chastisement has for one of its main objects the breaking down of self-sufficiency, the bringing us to the end of ourselves.

Now in view of these widely different aspects of chastening (retributive, corrective, educative, and preventative), how incompetent are we to diagnose, and how great is the folly of pronouncing a judgment concerning others! Let us not conclude when we see a fellow-Christian under the rod of God that he is necessarily being taken to task for his sins.

pbministries.org/books/pink/Comfort/com_07.htm

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Day 21

A PRAYING SAVIOR

J. C. Ryle

"Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, he went out and departed to a solitary place; and there he prayed. Simon and those who were with him searched for him. When they found him, they said, to him, 'Everyone is looking for you.' But he said to them, 'Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.' And he was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons." (Mark 1:35-39)

Every fact in our Lord's life on earth, and every word which fell from his lips, ought to be deeply interesting to a true Christian. We see a fact and a saying in the passage we have just read which deserve close attention.

We see, for one thing, an example of our Lord Jesus Christ's habits about private prayer. We are told, that "in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed." We shall find the same thing often recorded of our Lord in the Gospel history. When he was baptized, we are told that he was "praying." When he was transfigured, we are told that "as he prayed, the fashion of his face was altered." Before he chose the twelve apostles, we are told that "He continued all night in prayer to God." When all men spoke well of him and would fain have made him a King, we are told that "He went up into a mountain apart to pray." When tempted in the garden of Gethsemane, he said, "Sit ye here, while I shall pray." In short, our Lord prayed always, and did not faint. Sinless as he was, he set us an example of diligent communion with his Father. His Godhead did not render him independent of the use of all means as a man. His very perfection was a perfection kept up through the exercise of prayer.

We ought to see in all this the immense importance of private devotion. If he who was "holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners," thus prayed continually, how much more ought we who are compassed with infirmity? If he found it needful to offer up supplications with strong crying and tears, how much more needful is it for us, who in many things offend daily?

What shall we say to those who never pray at all, in the face of such a passage as this? There are many such, it may be feared, in the list of baptized people--many who rise up in the morning without prayer, and without prayer lie down at night--many who never speak one word to God. Are they Christians? It is impossible to say so. A praying Master, like Jesus, can have no prayerless servants. The Spirit of adoption will always make a man call upon God. To be prayerless is to be Christless, Godless, and in the high road to destruction. What shall we say to those who pray, yet give but little time to their prayers? We are obliged to say that they show at present very little of the mind of Christ. Asking little, they must expect to have little. Seeking little, they cannot be surprised if they possess little. It will always be found that when prayers are few, grace, strength, peace, and hope are small.

We shall do well to watch our habits of prayer with a holy watchfulness. Here is the pulse of our Christianity. Here is the true test of our state before God. Here true religion begins in the soul, when it does begin. Here it decays and goes backward, when a man backslides from God. Let us walk in the steps of our blessed Master in this respect as well as in every other. Like him, let us be diligent in our private devotion. Let us know what it is to "depart into solitary places and pray."

We see, for another thing, in this passage, a remarkable saying of our Lord as to the purpose for which he came into the world. We find him saying, "Let us go into the next town, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth."

The meaning of these words is plain and unmistakeable. Our Lord declares that he came on earth to be a preacher and a teacher. He came to fulfill the prophetical office, to be the "prophet greater than Moses," who had been so long foretold. He left the glory which he had from all eternity with the Father to do the work of an evangelist. He came down to earth to show to man the way of peace, to proclaim deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind. One principal part of his work on earth was to go up and down and publish glad tidings, to offer healing to the broken-hearted, light to them that sat in darkness, and pardon to the chief of sinners.

We ought to observe here what infinite honor the Lord Jesus puts on the office of the preacher. It is an office which the eternal Son of God himself undertook. He might have spent his earthly ministry in instituting and keeping up ceremonies, like Aaron. He might have ruled and reigned as a king, like David. But he chose a different calling. Until the time when he died as a sacrifice for our sins, his daily, and almost hourly work was to preach.

Let us never be moved by those who cry down the preacher's office, and tell us that sacraments and other ordinances are of more importance than sermons. Let us give to every part of God's public worship its proper place and honor, but let us beware of placing any part of it above preaching. By preaching, the Church of Christ was first gathered together and founded, and by preaching, it has ever been maintained in health and prosperity. By preaching, sinners are awakened. By preaching, inquirers are led on. By preaching, saints are built up. By preaching, Christianity is being carried to the heathen world.

There are many now who sneer at missionaries, and mock at those who go out into the highways of our own land to preach to crowds in the open air. But such persons would do well to pause and consider calmly what they are doing. The very work which they ridicule is the work which turned the world upside down, and cast heathenism to the ground. Above all, it is the very work which Christ himself undertook. The King of kings and Lord of lords himself was once a preacher. For three long years he went to and fro proclaiming the Gospel. Sometimes we see him in a house, sometimes on the mountain side, sometimes in a Jewish synagogue, sometimes in a boat on the sea. But the great work he took up was always one and the same. He came always preaching and teaching.

Let us leave this passage with a solemn resolution never to "despise prophesying." The minister we hear may not be highly gifted. The sermons that we listen to may be weak and poor. But after all, preaching is God's grand ordinance for converting and saving souls. The faithful preacher of the Gospel is handling the very weapon which the Son of God was not ashamed to employ.

Ryles's Expository Thoughts on the Gospels

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Day 22

A CARING SHEPHERD

Charles Spurgeon

"And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth." (Micah 5:4)

Christ's reign in his church is that of a shepherd-king. He has supremacy, but it is the superiority of a wise and tender shepherd over his needy and loving flock. He commands and receives obedience, but it is the willing obedience of the well-cared-for sheep, rendered joyfully to their beloved shepherd, whose voice they know so well. He rules by the force of love and the energy of goodness.

His reign is practical in its character. It is said, "He shall stand and shepherd." The great Head of the church is actively engaged in providing for his people. He does not sit down upon the throne in empty state or hold a scepter without wielding it in government. No; he stands and shepherds. The expression "shepherd" in the original is like an analogous one in the Greek that means to do everything expected of a shepherd: to guide, to watch, to preserve, to restore, to tend, as well as to feed.

His reign is continual in its duration. It is said, "He shall stand and shepherd; not "He shall feed now and then and leave his position"; not "He shall one day grant a revival and then next day leave his church to barrenness." His eyes never slumber, and his hands never rest. His heart never ceases to beat with love, and his shoulders are never weary of carrying his people's burdens.

His reign is effectually powerful in its actions. "He shall...shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD." Wherever Christ is, there is God; and whatever Christ does is the act of the Most High. It is a joyful truth to consider that he who stands today representing the interests of his people is very God of very God, to whom every knee shall bow. We are happy to belong to such a shepherd, whose humanity communes with us and whose divinity protects us. Let us worship and bow down before him as the people of his pasture.

Morning and Evening

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Day 23

ELECTION

Augustus Toplady

We have, indeed, some who deny that there is any such thing as election at all. They are startled at the very word, as if it were a specter just come from the shades and never seen before. I shall waste no time on these men. They are out of the pale to which my allotted plan confines me at present.

My business now is with those who endeavor to save appearances by admitting the word, while in reality they anathematize election. These profess to hold an election, but then it is a conditional one and founded, as they suppose, on some good quality or qualities foreseen in the objects of it. Thus they anchor the purposes of God on the precarious will of apostate men, making that which is temporal the cause of that which was eternal. "The Deity," say persons of this cast, "foreknowing how you and I would behave, and foreseeing our improvements and our faithfulness and what a proper use we should make of our free-will, ordained us and all such good sort of people to everlasting life."

Nothing can be more contrary to sound doctrine, and even to sound reason, than this. It proceeds on a supposition that man is first with God in the business of salvation, and that the resolutions of God's will are absolutely dependent on the will of his creatures. That he has, in short, created a set of sovereign beings, and that his own purpose and conduct are shaped and regulated according to the prior self-determinations of independent man.

Quite opposite is the decision of inspiration. The apostle terms God's choice of his people an election of grace, or a gratuitous election, and observes that if it be of grace, then it is not of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it be of works, then it is not of grace; otherwise, work is no longer work. Conditional grace is a most palpable contradiction in terms. Grace is grace only as long as it is absolute and free. You might, with far greater ease, bring the two poles together than effect a coalition between grace and works in the affair of election.

Unless we take absolute election into account, we must either suppose that God saves no man whatever or that those he saves are saved at random and without design. But his goodness forbids the first and his wisdom excludes the latter. That scheme of doctrine must necessarily be untrue which represents the Deity as observing no regular order, no determinate plan, in an affair of such consequence as the everlasting salvation of his people. Surely he, who numbers the very hairs of his people's heads, does not consign their souls and their eternal interests to precarious hazard! The blessings of grace and glory are too valuable and important to he shuffled and dealt out by the hand of chance. Besides, if one thing comes to pass either without or contrary to the will of God, another thing, nay, all things, may come to pass in the same manner. Then we can say goodby to providence entirely.

When Lysander, the Spartan, paid a visit to king Cyrus (at Corinth, if I'm not mistaken), he was particularly struck with the elegance and order, the variety and magnificence, of Cyrus's gardens. Cyrus, no less charmed with the taste and judgment of his guest, told him with visible emotions of pleasure, "These lovely walks, with all their beauty of disposition and vastness of extent, were planned by myself; and almost every tree, shrub and flower, which you behold, was planted by my own hand." Now take a view of the church, which is at once the house and garden of the living God; that church which the Father loved, for which the Son became a man of sorrows, and upon which the Holy Spirit descends from heaven in all his plenitude of converting power to cultivate and build anew. When we survey this living paradise and this mystic edifice of which such glorious things are spoken and on which such glorious privileges are conferred, we must acknowledge that it was Thy sovereign hand, O uncreated love, who drew the plan of this spiritual Eden! Thy hand, Almighty power, set every living tree, every true believer in the courts of the Lord's house. Thy converted people are all righteous, they shall inherit the land forever, even the branches of thy planting, the work of thy hands, that thou mayest be glorified.

ondoctrine.com/2top0501.htm

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Day 24

"BLESSED ARE THE MEEK,
FOR THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH"
Matthew 5:5

Matthew Henry

The meek are happy. They are those who quietly submit themselves to God, to his word, and to his rod. They follow his directions and comply with his designs, and are gentle toward all men (Tit. 3:2). The meek can bear provocation without being inflamed by it; they are either silent or return a soft answer. They can show their displeasure when there is occasion for it without being transported into any indecencies. They can be cool when others are hot, and in their patience keep possession of their own souls when they can scarcely keep possession of anything else. They are the meek who are rarely and hardly provoked but quickly and easily pacified; who would rather forgive twenty injuries than revenge one, having the rule of their own spirits.

These meek ones are here represented as happy, even in this world. They are like the blessed God himself who is Lord of his anger and in whom fury is not. They are blessed for they have the most comfortable, undisturbed enjoyment of themselves, their friends, their God. They are fit for any relation, any condition, and company; fit to live and fit to die.

They shall inherit the earth. It is quoted from Psalm 37:11, and it is almost the only express temporal promise in all the New Testament. Not that they shall always have much of the earth, much less that they shall be put off with that only; but this branch of godliness has, in a special manner, the promise of the life that now is. Meekness, however ridiculed and run down, has a real tendency to promote our health, wealth, comfort, and safety, even in this world. The meek and quiet are observed to live the most easy lives, compared with the froward and turbulent. Some read it, They shall inherit the land of Canaan, a type of heaven. So that all the blessedness of heaven above and all the blessings of earth beneath are the portion of the meek.

Matthew Henry's Commentary

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Day 25

"THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS
AND DESPERATELY WICKED"
Jeremiah 17:9

David Black

True and faithful is the testimony of God. Men may amuse themselves and their fellow creatures with empty, high sounding descriptions of the dignity of human nature and the all-sufficient powers of man, but every humble, truly enlightened mind, will see and acknowledge the justness of the declaration in the text, that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.

This is a truth which, like many others in the word of God, can only be learned from experience. As long as we assent to it merely because it is contained in the Scriptures, we are strangers to its nature and cannot understand what it means. But, as in water face answers to face, so does the heart of man to man. Human nature in different ages and in different circumstances is still the same. When, by means of the word, the secrets of our own hearts are made manifest, when we come to perceive the exact correspondence between the declarations of Scripture and what passes within us, we are obliged to confess that God is in it of a truth. None but He, who searches the hearts and tries the thoughts of men, could know so perfectly the inward workings of our minds and those numberless evils which are hidden from the view of all our fellow creatures.

I purpose at present to speak only of the deceitfulness of the heart, a subject sufficiently extensive not merely for one, but for many discourses, and which, after all that can be said on it, must remain in a great measure unexhausted; for who can know it? The deceit that lodges in the heart is so complicated and of such variety that it is impossible to trace it in all its windings.

The deceitfulness of the heart is evident from men's general ignorance of their own character. There is not anything in the history of mankind more surprising, or at first view more unaccountable, than the self-partiality which prevails in the world. One would imagine that it should not be so difficult to arrive at the knowledge of our real character. We have constant access to our own hearts and are more deeply interested in it than the acquisition of any other knowledge. But we see, in fact, that of all knowledge, this is the rarest and most uncommon. Nor is it difficult to account for this fact, since the heart is deceitful above all things. Self-love casts a veil over the understanding; the judgment is warped by various circumstances; and hence it is, that many seem to be almost entire strangers to their own character. They think, reason, and judge quite differently in anything relating to themselves than they do from cases in which they have no personal interest. Accordingly, we often hear people exposing follies in others for which they themselves are noted, and talking with great severity against particular vices in others of which, if all the world is not mistaken, they themselves are notoriously guilty. It is astounding to what a pitch this self-ignorance and self-partiality may be carried! How frequently do we see men not only altogether blind to their own character, but insensible to everything that can be said to convince them of their mistake. In vain do you offer to them instruction or reproof, for they never once imagine that they are the people for whose benefit these counsels and admonitions are chiefly intended. If we trace this self-ignorance to its source, we shall find that it is in general owing not only to that partiality and fondness which we all have for ourselves, but to the prevalence of some particular passion or interest which perverts the judgment.

The deceitfulness of the heart appears from a man's general disposition on all occasions to justify his own conduct. Our first parents discovered this disposition immediately upon their eating the fruit of the forbidden tree. When the Lord appeared to Adam and charged him with his guilt, he attempted to justify himself by saying, "The woman You gave to be with me, she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate." And in like manner the woman replied, "It was the serpent! He deceived me, and I ate." Something also of this disposition is common to all their sinful posterity.

We are all extremely partial to ourselves and apt to view our own conduct in a different light from that in which we are accustomed to regard the conduct of our fellow creatures. When we observe improper conduct in others, the impropriety strikes us at once. Sin appears to us in its true and genuine colors, and we are ready to judge and condemn, perhaps with too much severity. But in our own case, the action is seen through a deceitful medium. The judgment is perverted by self-love, and a thousand expedients are employed, if not to vindicate, at least to apologize for our conduct. We even learn to call our favorite vices by softer names. Intemperance is only the desire of good fellowship; lewdness is gallantry or the love of pleasure; pride, a just sense of our own dignity; and covetousness, or the love of money, a prudent regard to our worldly interest. Strange infatuation to think that by changing the names of vices it is possible to change their nature, and that what is base and detestable in others should be excusable only in ourselves!

The deceitfulness of the heart appears from the difficulty that men have in acknowledging their faults, even when conscious that they have done wrong. How few can bear to be told their faults! This is the sure and ready way to make most men your enemies, even though you administer the reproof in the gentlest and most prudent manner. Instead of reflecting on their own conduct, which might convince them of the justice of what is laid to their charge, many, in these cases, set themselves immediately to discover the faults in their faithful reprovers, or in those who, they suspect, may have informed them. Turning attention away entirely from themselves, they are only concerned to find equal, if not greater, blemishes in others.

Since the ways in which men deceive themselves are so various, can we be too jealous over our own hearts? 'He who trusts to his own heart', says the wise man, 'is a fool!' And the reason is obvious, because the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Let us therefore, brethren, accustom ourselves to self-examination. Instead of indulging a censorious disposition and looking abroad to discover the faults of our neighbors, let us descend into our own hearts and observe its plagues. Let us attend not merely to our outward actions, but to the principles and motives from which these actions proceed. Let us consider our conduct, not in the light in which self-love and self-partiality would present it to our minds, but in the light in which any impartial spectator would view it, in the light in which God's word teaches us to consider it, and in the light in which it will be judged of at last when God shall bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of all hearts.

We are all more or less liable to self-deceit; and those who think they have the least of it, are in general most of all under its dominion. Let us therefore distrust our own judgment, and, sensible of our own ignorance and liableness to mistake, let us pray to God for his divine teaching, saying with Elihu in the book of Job, “That which I see not, teach me”; and with the Psalmist, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

theoldtimegospel.org/sermons/deceit.html

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Day 26

UNIVERSAL EQUALITY

J. C. Ryle

"There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate." Luke 16:19,20.

Observe how different are the conditions which God allots to different men. The Lord Jesus begins this passage by telling us of a rich man and a beggar. He says not a word in praise either of poverty or of riches. He describes the circumstances of a wealthy man and the circumstances of a poor man. He neither condemns the temporal position of one nor praises that of the other.

We must be careful that we do not draw lessons from this account which it was never meant to teach. The rich are not always bad and do not always go to Hell. The poor are not always good and do not always go to Heaven. We must not rush into the extreme of supposing that it is sinful to be rich. We must not run away with the idea that there is anything wicked in the difference of condition here described, and that God intended all men to be equal. There is nothing in our Lord's words to warrant any such conclusion. He simply describes things as they are often seen in the world, and as we must expect to see them.

Universal equality is a very high-sounding expression. Many in every age have disturbed society by stirring up the poor against the rich, and by preaching the popular doctrine that all men are equal. But so long as the world is under the present order of things, this universal equality cannot be attained. Some are wise and some are foolish; some strong and some weak; some healthy and some diseased; some lazy and some diligent. So long as children reap the fruit of their parents' misconduct--so long as sun and rain, heat and cold, wind and waves, drought and blight, storms and tempests are beyond man's control--there will be some rich and some poor. Take all the property in the world by force and today divide it equally among the inhabitants. Give every man over twenty an equal portion. Let all share and share alike and begin the world over again. Where would you be at the end of fifty years? You would find things as unequal as before. Some would have worked and some would have been idle; some would have been always careless and some always planning; some would have sold and others would have bought; some would have wasted and others would have saved. And the end would be that some would be rich and others poor.

Do not listen to those vain and foolish talkers who say that all men were meant to be equal. The cause of all the suffering you see around you is sin. Beware of expecting a millennium to be brought about by any method of government, any system of education, any political party. Rather, labor with all your might to do good to all men. Make every reasonable endeavor to increase knowledge, promote morality, and improve the temporal condition of the poor. But never, never forget that you live in a fallen world, that sin is all around you, and that the Devil is abroad. You can be very sure that the rich man and Lazarus are emblems of two classes which will always be in the world until the Lord comes.

christianbeliefs.org/articles/equality.htm

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Day 27

"BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL,
FOR THEY SHALL OBTAIN MERCY"
Matthew 5:7

Matthew Henry

The merciful are happy. This, like the rest, is a paradox; for the merciful are not taken to be the wisest, nor are likely to be the richest. Yet Christ pronounces them blessed. Those are the merciful who are piously and charitably inclined to pity, help, and succor persons in misery. A man may be truly merciful who has not wherewithal to be bountiful or liberal, and then God accepts the willing mind. We must not only bear our own afflictions patiently, but we must, by Christian sympathy, partake of the afflictions of our brethren. Pity must be shown and bowels of mercy put on, and being put on, we must put forth ourselves in contributing all we can for the assistance of those who are in misery. We must have compassion on the souls of others and help them; pity the ignorant and instruct them, the careless and warn them, those who are in a state of sin and snatch them as brands out of the burning. We must have compassion on those who are melancholy and in sorrow and comfort them; on those whom we have advantage against and not be rigorous and severe with them; on those who are in want and supply them. Nay, a good man is merciful to his beast.

Now, as to the merciful, they are blessed. It is said in the Old Testament, "Blessed is he that considers the poor," Ps. 41:1. Herein they resemble God whose goodness is his glory. In being merciful as he is merciful, we are, in our measure, perfect as he is perfect. It is an evidence of love to God. It will be a satisfaction to ourselves to be in any way instrumental for the benefit of others. One of the purest and most refined delights in this world is that of doing good.

They shall obtain mercy; mercy with men when they need it. We know not how soon we may stand in need of kindness, and therefore we should be kind. But especially shall we obtain mercy with God, for with the merciful he will show himself merciful. The most merciful and charitable cannot pretend to merit, but must fly to mercy. The merciful shall find with God sparing mercy, supplying mercy, sustaining mercy, and mercy in that day. Nay, they shall inherit the kingdom prepared for them; whereas they shall have judgment without mercy who have shown no mercy.

Matthew Henry's Commentary

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Day 28

THE DESTRUCTION OF HARDENED SINNERS

Asahel Nettleton

"He who is often reproved and hardens his neck shall suddenly be destroyed,
and that without remedy."
Proverbs 29:1

A stronger indication of a mind unreconciled to God can hardly be conceived than an unwillingness to receive reproof. The humble Christian is always thankful for admonition administered in the spirit of meekness and prompted by a sincere desire for the welfare of the offender, while the haughty sinner, whose way is always right in his own eyes, indignantly rejects it. Hence, the reasonable precaution of our Saviour addressed to his disciples: "Give not that which is holy unto dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you." It is not the best policy to reprove offenders of every description and on all occasions. Prudence and judgment ought ever to be exercised in the discharge of this duty. Otherwise, the well-meant endeavors of the man who undertakes the unwelcome task of a censor will meet with a sad recompense.

Few, when faithfully reminded of their offenses, will evince the placid temper of the pious David who--doubtless in allusion to the plain and pointed reproof administered to him by the prophet Nathan--exclaimed, "Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me, it shall be an excellent oil." Most persons, on the contrary, when closely pressed as he was and to whose consciences their crimes are set home with a clearness which cannot be mistaken ("Thou art the man”), will give free vent to their rage and will not scruple to accost their reprover in the libertine language ascribed to the wicked by the Psalmist, "With our tongues will we prevail; our lips are our own; who is Lord over us?" The spirit which is discerned in the disdainful carriage of individuals of this sort when reminded of their faults is a striking comment on the just maxims of the wise man: "He that reproves a scorner gets to himself shame: and he that rebukes a wicked man gets himself a blot. Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee; rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee." Such is the difference which marks the demeanor of the righteous and the wicked when reminded of their faults.

From the passage selected it is proposed to contemplate, first, the care which God has taken for the reproof of offenders--it is often administered. Second, the effect of this reproof--he hardens his neck. Third, the consequences of an incorrigible disposition--sudden and remediless destruction.

The care which God has taken for the reproof of offenders. God has made it the duty of his people to deal faithfully with each other. "Exhort one another daily, lest any be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." Further, God has provided for the reproof of offenders by making it a duty of parents toward their children. To attend to the spiritual concerns of children and to restrain their wickedness is the most important part of a parent's duty. What a load of guilt will rest upon the head of that ungodly child who has despised all the warnings, entreaties, tears and prayers of a pious father or an affectionate mother.

God also reproves sinners by his providences. He sends his judgments abroad in the earth that the inhabitants may learn righteousness. By the pains we feel we are admonished that we are sinners and warned to flee from the wrath to come.

God reproves us by his Word. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, and for reproof." The invitations, commands, threatenings and warnings in the Bible are so many admonitions to sinners.

God reproves sinners by his ministers. Hear the injunction of Paul to Timothy: "I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season, out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching." But woe to those ministers who do not feel the weight of this charge, and woe to those wincing hearers who, having itching ears, heap to themselves teachers that prophecy smooth things and say peace, peace to the wicked when God has declared that there is no peace for them.

God sometimes reproves one sinner by the conviction and conversion of another. Here is one who has been your intimate friend and companion. Your views and feelings and pursuits and objects of delight, and I may add, your sins too, have been the same. Only yesterday he thought, spoke, and acted in all respects like yourself. But today he is alarmed at his awful condition and trembles in view of a judgment to come. He finds himself a sinner with a soul to be saved or lost forever. This, my friends, is loud preaching to some of you. When you see or hear of a hardened sinner alarmed at his awful condition, it carries with it this solemn admonition--see the end to which you are coming. Though you may think to hold out, yet you cannot endure long. You too must repent or perish.

The effect of this reproof. He hardens his neck. Allusion is made to the bullock which has repeatedly felt the galling yoke. At length his neck becomes hardened and he can bear it without feeling or flinching. The sinner never hears a galling reproof without producing some effect. If his heart be not subdued and changed, he becomes at length more hardened. The child which is often corrected, but not subdued, becomes more hardened.

The sinner, under the afflictive hand of divine providence, is always made better or worse. If sickness, pain and the death of friends do not wean him from the world and drive him to God, they harden his heart. This is the effect of all the judgments of heaven, of all the calamities and miseries of human life. This is strikingly illustrated in the case of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

It is wholly impossible that a person should be frequently and faithfully admonished for his crimes and yet experience no alteration in his own condition. On the contrary, his rancorous pride will be augmented and his conscience become seared as with a hot iron. The sinner may acquire the faculty of silencing the remonstrances of his conscience, and with a stoical apathy proudly boast that he is superior to the thunders of Sinai. He may resist the mild accents of mercy and do despite to the spirit of grace. He may spurn the offers of a bleeding Saviour. But the day comes that shall burn as an oven. Then his stiff neck and his stout heart will not exempt him from the terrors that shall fill the soul of every guilty culprit who shall stand at the judgment seat of Christ.

The consequences of an incorrigible disposition: sudden and remediless destruction. He shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. His destruction is eternal. It is sudden. Thus was it with the inhabitants of the old world. They were often reproved by the preaching of Noah and by the strivings of the Spirit, but they hardened their necks and heeded neither. They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away. Ah! me thinks it is enough to curdle the blood in our veins to think how suddenly the most stupid and hardened sinner in this house may lose his soul. He may, and doubtless will, sleep on until he is awakened by the voice of God: "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee."

There is no remedy. The sinner who continues to harden his neck under reproof cannot be saved. What shall be done to prevent the loss of his soul? The answer is nothing. He is marching forward to eternity and to the pit of destruction with a proud heart and with a stiff neck, and nothing can stop him in his mad career. Such a sinner must go to destruction and by no means can prevent it. When warned to break off his sins and to flee from the wrath to come, the hardened sinner says he is not to be frightened to heaven. Thus it was with the inhabitants of Sodom. The preacher applied the most powerful means, the only remedy to prevent their destruction. "Up, get you out of this place: for the Lord will destroy you." But they were not to be frightened. He seemed as one that mocked. They would not be alarmed. And so there was no remedy. What could the preacher do more? Nothing.

Sinner! If you cannot be alarmed, you cannot be saved. If you do not believe that you are under the sentence of death from God's holy law, then you do not feel your need of pardon and "You will not come to Christ that you might have life." He that believes not is condemned already, and the wrath of God abides on him.

Our subject is full of alarm to the aged sinner. How long have you lived without God in the world? How many warnings have you heard and lost? I now appeal to your own experience. Do you not find that the longer you live the harder are your hearts? Can you not bear testimony to the truth of our text? Oh, where are you now? Once you enjoyed a season of youth, but alas, it is over and gone forever. Why stand you here all the day idle? Your day of salvation is almost gone.

Today then, if you will hear his voice, harden not your heart.

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Day 29

ANXIETY FORBIDDEN

Arthur W. Pink

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?" (Matthew 6:25)

It will be seen from the title of our chapter that another subject of practical importance is presented to our notice in the verse we have now reached. It is a subject which immediately concerns each one of us, for in varying degrees all are guilty of the very thing which is here forbidden, namely, worrying over material things and yielding to anxiety about future supplies.

This is something which is highly dishonoring to God, a sin which we need to make conscience of, confessing it with shame and seeking grace to avoid any further repetitions thereof. The very fact that such anxiety is here forbidden not only exhibits once more the exalted standard of piety which is set before us in the Holy Scriptures, but also evidences their uniqueness, their Divine Authorship; for there is no other book or religion in the world which condemns inordinate solicitude over the temporal necessities of life. Proof of this assertion appears in the fact that the natural man is quite unaware that anxiety about food and clothing is a sin.

Not only is such anxiety wrong, but it is a sin of great gravity. It is not simply a constitutional infirmity which we may excuse, a mere trifle we need not be concerned about, but rather is it a foul iniquity from which we should seek cleansing. To be fearful about the supply of future needs, to be worried that we may yet be left to suffer the lack of temporal necessities, is to be guilty of wicked unbelief. It calls into question the goodness and care of our Creator. It manifests a lack of faith in His wise and gracious providence. And if we be Christians, it betrays doubt of our Father’s love. And surely these are evils of the deepest dye. Moreover, such disquietude and distraction of mind is, in reality, the workings of covetousness, the lusting after things we have not, which is a sin of great magnitude. Oh, that the Spirit may convict us of this wickedness and subdue this iniquity.

There is a solicitude about temporal things which is a duty, varying according to a man’s station in the world. God requires him to be diligent in business and prudent in its management. He is obligated to provide for himself and family so far as health and industry will permit. He is required to live within his income, so that he may owe no man anything. He is to guard against any of God’s bounty being wasted or squandered in prodigality. It is his business to look ahead and seek to provide for those demands which may be made upon him in the future--by additions to his family, by illness, by old age. He should, so far as is consistent with piety and charity, endeavor to make provision for those dependent upon him, so that if he should die first, those left behind will not become a burden upon others. It is not faith but presumption which would lead to carelessness therein; fanaticism and not spirituality which inculcates the neglect of all proper means.

Yet it should be pointed out that there is real danger lest the above-mentioned duties be extended beyond due bounds. None ought to be so occupied with the consideration of providing for the future that he be unfitted for the discharge of present obligations or the enjoyment of present privileges. None ought to attend to such duties in a way that is distrustful of Divine providence. None ought to be weighed down with anxiety over them. The following rules must regulate us therein.

First, attention to the needs of the body must be subordinated to our seeking after the welfare of our souls, for temporal affairs must never crowd out spiritual and eternal concerns.

Second, in diligently walking in our earthly calling, we must strictly see to it that we deal uprightly and honestly with our fellows, seeking to acquire only those things which are needful and right.

Third, we must leave the issue or success of all our labors and endeavors to God. Ours is to use the means to the best of our ability and opportunity; his is to bless and prosper according as he deems best.

Let it be clearly understood then that when Christ gave commandment, "Take no thought for your life," he was very far from forbidding us to look ahead and make provision against a future livelihood. Foresight and foreboding are two very different things. That which our Lord here prohibits is not the making of careful preparation for what is likely to come, but the constant occupation of the mind and distraction of the heart over what will never come. It is not the foresight of the storm and the taking in of sail while there is yet time which he reprehends; but that after we have taken in the sail, we continue to gaze at the horizon with such fear and unbelief that we are weakened thereby and disqualified for the discharge of far more important duties. To be tormented by anxious thoughts about the future is unworthy of our manhood, let alone of our Divine sonship, and is most dishonoring to our Creator.

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Day 30

GOD'S WORKMANSHIP

John Calvin

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard." (Psalm 19:1-3)

David celebrates the glory of God as manifested in his works. He makes mention only of the heavens, but under this part of creation--which is the noblest and the excellency of which is more conspicuous--he doubtless includes the whole fabric of the world. There is certainly nothing so obscure or contemptible, even in the smallest corners of the earth, in which some marks of the power and wisdom of God may not be seen. But as a more distinct image of him is engraven on the heavens, David has particularly selected them for contemplation, that their splendor might lead us to contemplate all parts of the world. When a man, from beholding and contemplating the heavens, has been brought to acknowledge God, he will learn also to reflect upon and to admire his wisdom and power as displayed on the face of the earth, not only in general, but even in the minutest plants.

In the first verse, the Psalmist repeats one thing twice, according to his usual manner. He introduces the heavens as witnesses and preachers of the glory of God. He attributes to the silent creation a quality which, strictly speaking, does not belong to it, in order the more severely to upbraid men for their ingratitude if they should pass over so clear a testimony with unheeding ears. This manner of speaking more powerfully moves and affects us than if he had said, The heavens show or manifest the glory of God. It is indeed a great thing that in the splendor of the heavens there is presented to our view a lively image of God. But since the living voice has a greater effect in exciting our attention, or at least teaches us more surely and with greater profit than simple beholding, we ought to mark the force of the figure which David uses when he says that the heavens by their preaching declare the glory of God.

The repetition which he makes in the second clause is merely an explanation of the first. David shows how it is that the heavens proclaim to us the glory of God, namely, by openly bearing testimony that they have not been put together by chance, but were wonderfully created by the supreme Architect. When we behold the heavens, we cannot but be elevated by the contemplation of them to Him, who is their great Creator. The beautiful arrangement and wonderful variety which distinguish the courses and station of the heavenly bodies, together with the beauty and splendor which are manifest in them, cannot but furnish us with an evident proof of his providence. Scripture, indeed, makes known to us the time and manner of the creation, but the heavens themselves proclaim loudly and distinctly that they have been fashioned by his hands. This of itself abundantly suffices to bear testimony to men of his glory. As soon as we acknowledge God to be the supreme Architect, who has erected the beauteous fabric of the universe, our minds must necessarily be ravished with wonder at his infinite goodness, wisdom, and power.

Philosophers, who have more penetration into these matters than others, understand how the stars are arranged in such beautiful order, that notwithstanding their immense number there is no confusion. But to the ignorant and unlettered, the continual succession of days is a more undoubted proof of the providence of God. From the alternations of days and nights, David teaches that the course and revolutions of the sun, moon, and stars are regulated by the marvelous wisdom of God. If, indeed, we were as attentive as we ought to be, even one day would suffice to bear testimony to us of the glory of God, and even one night would be sufficient to perform to us the same office. But when we see the sun and the moon performing their daily revolutions--that the variation of their length is arranged according to a law so uniform as invariably to recur at the same points of time in every successive year--we have in this a much brighter testimony to the glory of God.

David, therefore, with the highest reason, declares that although God should not speak a single word to men, yet the orderly and useful succession of days and nights eloquently proclaims the glory of God. There is now left to men no pretext for ignorance. Since the days and nights perform toward us so well and so carefully the office of teachers, we may acquire (if we are duly attentive) a sufficient amount of knowledge under their tuition.

Calvin's Commentaries

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