Chapter 5

July 6th.

Judas Iscariot . . . was a thief, and had the bag, and bore what was put therein. John xii. 4, 6.Freely ye have received, freely give. Matt. x. 8.

Judas Iscariot . . . was a thief, and had the bag, and bore what was put therein. John xii. 4, 6.

Freely ye have received, freely give. Matt. x. 8.

Ah, but if we should go thoroughly into this matter, should we not probably find that many of us are guilty, in some modified and yet sufficiently alarming sense, of treachery to the poor? Are we not, some of us, sent to them with benefactions which never reach them, and are only unconscious of guilt because so long accustomed to look upon the goods as bestowed on us, whereas the light of God's word would plainly reveal upon those goods the names of the poor and needy?—George Bowen.

July 7th.

Let every man take heed how he buildeth. 1 Cor. iii. 10.

Our business is not to build quickly, but to build upon a right foundation, and in a right spirit. Life is more than a mere competition as between man and man; it is not who can be done first, but who can work best; it is not who can rise highest in the shortest time, but who is working most patiently and lovingly in accordance with the designs of God.—Joseph Parker.

July 8th.

As thy days, so shall thy strength be. Deut. xxxiii. 25.

No day without its duty; no duty without strength to perform it.—Selected.

July 9th.

Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. Gen. xxviii. 16.

"Surely the Lord was in this place, and I knew it not." My soul, this is also thine experience! How often hast thou said in thy sorrow, "Verily thou art a God that hidest Thyself!" How often hast thou slept for very heaviness of heart, and desired not to wake again! And when thou didst wake again, lo, the darkness was all a dream! Thy vision of yesterday was a delusion. God had been with thee all the night with that radiance which has no need of the sun.

O my soul, it is not only after the future thou mustaspire; thou must aspire to see the glory of thy past. Thou must find the glory of that way by which thy God has led thee, and be able even of thy sorrow to say, "This was the gate of heaven!"—George Matheson.

July 10th.

My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me. John iv. 34.

The real secret of an unsatisfied life lies too often in an unsurrendered will.—J. Hudson Taylor.

July 11th.

Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue. 2 Pet. i. 5.

You will find it less easy to unroot faults than to choke them by gaining virtues. Do not think of your faults, still less of others' faults; in every person who comes near you look for what is good and strong; honor that; rejoice in it, and, as you can, try to imitate it; and your faults will drop off, like dead leaves, when their time comes.—John Ruskin.

July 12th.

Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Song of Sol. iv. 16.

Sometimes God sends severe blasts of trial upon His children to develop their graces. Just as torches burn most brightly when swung violently to and fro; just as the juniper plant smells sweetest when flung into the flames; so the richest qualities of a Christian often come out under the north wind of suffering and adversity. Bruised hearts often emit the fragrance that God loveth to smell. Almost every true believer's experience contains the record of trials which were sent for the purpose of shaking the spice tree.—Theodore Cuyler.

July 13th.

Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Song of Sol. iv. 16.

There are two winds mentioned in this beautiful prayer. God may send either or both, as seemeth Him good. He may send the north wind of conviction, to bring us to repentance, or He may send the south wind of love, to melt us into gratitude and holy joy. If we often require the sharp blasts of trial to develop our graces, do we not also need the warm south breezes of His mercy? Do we not need the new sense of Christ's presence in our hearts and the joys of the Holy Ghost? Do we not need to be melted, yes, to be overpowered by the love of Jesus?—Theodore Cuyler.

July 14th.

Behold the man! John xix. 5.

"Behold the man!" was Pilate's jeer. That is what all the ages have been doing since, and the vision has grown more and more glorious. As they have looked, the crown of thorns has become a crown of golden radiance, and the cast-off robe has glistened like the garments He wore on the night of the transfiguration. Martyrs have smiled in the flames at that vision. Sinners have turned at it to a new life. Little children have seen it, and have had awakened by it dim recollections of their heaven-home. Toward it the souls of men yearn ever.—Robert E. Speer.

July 15th.

He (John) saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. John i. 36, 37.

To be a Christian means to know the presence of a true personal Christ among us, and to follow.—Phillips Brooks.

July 16th.

Ye shall not eat of it. Gen. iii. 3.

The Sin of Paradise was eating the tree of knowledge before the tree of life. Life must ever be first. Knowing and not being, hearing and not doing, admiring and not possessing, all are light without life.—Selected.

July 17th.

Let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James i. 4.

Are you where God would have you be? If not, come out, and at once, for you certainly ought not to be there. If you are, then be afraid to complain of circumstances which God has ordained on purpose to work out in you the very image and likeness of His Son.—Mark Guy Pearse.

July 18th.

Sow beside all waters. Isa. xxxii. 20.

Never mind whereabouts your work is. Never mind whether it be visible or not. Never mind whether your name is associated with it. You may never see the issues of your toils. You are working for eternity. If you cannot see results here in the hot working day, the cool evening hours are drawing near, when you may rest from your labors and then they will follow you. So do your duty, and trust God to give the seed you sow "a body as it hath pleased Him,"—Alex. McLaren.

July 19th.

Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe. Psa. cxix. 117.

Do not spoil the chime of this morning's bells by ringing one half a peal! Do not say, "Hold thou me up," and stop there, or add, "But all the same I shall stumble and fall!" Finish the peal with God's own music, the bright words of faith that He puts into your mouth: "Hold thou me up,and I shall be safe!"—Frances Ridley Havergal.

July 20th.

Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy. Matt. viii. 6.

We, in this age of the church, are in the position of that sick servant at Capernaum. To the eye of sense we are separated from the Savior. We see Him not—wecan touch Him not—the hand cannot steal amid the crowd to catch His garment hem—we cannot hear His loved footsteps as of old on our threshold; but faith penetrates the invisible; the messenger—prayer—meets Him in the streets of the New Jerusalem; and faith and prayer together, the twin delegates from His church below, He has never yet sent empty away.—Macduff.

July 21st.

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling: for it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Phil. ii. 12, 13.

What a staggering weight of thought is excited by these words! Stay, my soul, and wonder that the Eternal God should stoop to work within thy narrow limits. Is it not a marvel indeed, that He, whom the heavens cannot contain, and in whose sight they are not clean, should trouble Himself to work on such material, so unpromising, and amidst circumstances so uncongenial?

How careful should we be to make Him welcome, and to throw no hindrance in His way! How eager to garner up all the least movements of His gracious operation, as the machinist conserves the force of his engine; and as the goldsmith, with miserly care, collects every flake of gold leaf! Surely we shall be sensible of thefearof holy reverence and thetremblingof eager anxiety; as we "work out," into daily act and life, all that God our Father is "working in."—F. B. Meyer.

July 22nd.

. . . Sinners of whom I am chief. . . . Now unto the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Tim. i. 15, 17.

Only those who have struck the deepest note of penitence can reach the highest note of praise.—A. J. Gordon.

July 23rd.

Blessed is the man . . . that keepeth the Sabbath. Isa. lvi. 2.

The Sabbath is the savings-bank of human life, into which we deposit one day in seven to be repaid in the autumn of life with compound interest.—Selected.

July 24th.

Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Psa. xix. 12.

The world wants men who are saved from secret faults. The world can put on an outside goodness and go very far in uprightness and morality, and it expects that a Christian shall go beyond it, and be free from secret faults. A little crack will spoil the ring of the coin. . . . The world expects, and rightly, that the Christian should be more gentle, and patient, and generous, than he who does not profess to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus. For the sake of those who take their notion of religion from our lives, we need to put up this prayer earnestly, "Cleanse thou me from secret faults."—Mark Guy Pearse.

July 25th.

Do thou that which is good. 2 Kings x. 5.

Keep as few good intentions hovering about as possible. They are like ghosts haunting a dwelling. The way to lay them is to find bodies for them. When they are embodied in substantial deeds they are no longer dangerous.—William Arnot.

July 26th.

Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 2 Pet. iii. 18.

Grace has its dawn as well as day; grace has its green blade, and afterwards its ripe corn in the ear; grace has its babes and its men in Christ. With God's work there, as with all His works, "in all places of His dominion," progress is both the prelude and the path to perfection. Therefore we are exhorted to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to go on to perfection, saying with Paul,"I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."—Guthrie.

July 27th.

Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived, and by it slew me. Rom. vii. 11.

Christian, beware how thou thinkest lightly of sin. Take heed lest thou fall by little and little. Sin, alittlething? Is it not a poison? Who knows its deadliness? Sin, a little thing? Do not the little foxes spoil the grapes? Doth not the tiny coral insect build a rock which wrecks a navy? Do not little strokes fell lofty oaks? Will not continual droppings wear away stones? Sin, a little thing? It girded the Redeemer's head with thorns, and pierced His heart! It madeHimsuffer anguish, bitterness and woe. Could you weigh the least sin in the scales of eternity, you would fly from it as from a serpent, and abhorthe least appearance of evil. Look upon all sin as that which crucified the Savior, and you will see it to be "exceeding sinful."—Spurgeon.

July 28th.

Your heavenly Father knoweth. Matt. vi. 32.

The Master judges by the result, but our Father judges by the effort. Failure does not always mean fault. He knows how much things cost, and weighs them where others only measure. Your Father! Think how great store His love sets by the poor beginnings of the little ones, clumsy and unmeaning as they may be to others. All this lies in this blessed relationship, and infinitely more. Do not fear to take it all as your own.—Mark Guy Pearse.

July 29th.

Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Col. iii. 3.

It is neither talent, nor power, nor gifts that do the work of God, but it is that which lies within the power of the humblest; it is the simple, earnest life hid with Christ in God.—F. W. Robertson.

July 30th.

The mother of Jesus saith unto Him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it. John ii. 3, 4, 5.

In asking for temporal blessings, true wisdom lies in putting the matter into the Lord's hand, and leaving it there. He knows our sorrows, and, if He sees it is good for us that the water should be turned into wine, He will do it. It is not for us to dictate: He sees what is best for us. When we ask for prosperity, perhaps the thing which we should have is trial. When we want to be relieved of a "thorn in the flesh," He knows what we should have is an apprehension of the fact that His grace is sufficient for us. So we are put into His school, and have to learn the lessons He has to teach us.—W. Hay Aitken.

July 31st.

Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 1 Cor x. 12.

Angels fell in heaven, Adam in paradise, Peter in Christ's presence.—Theophilus Polwheile.

AUGUST

August 1st.

Continue in prayer. Col. iv. 2.

The greatest and the best talent that God gives to any man or woman in this world is the talent of prayer. And the best usury that any man or woman bringsback to God when He comes to reckon with them at the end of this world is a life of prayer. And those servants best put their Lord's money to the exchangers who rise early and sit late, as long as they are in this world, ever finding out, and ever following after better and better methods of prayer, and ever forming more secret, more steadfast, and more spiritually fruitful habits of prayer, till they literally pray without ceasing, and till they continually strike out into new enterprises in prayer, and new achievements, and new enrichments.—Alex. Whyte.

August 2nd.

He entered into one of the ships . . . and . . . sat down. Luke v. iii.

When Jesus sits in the ship everything is in its right place. The cargo is in the hold,not in the heart. Cares and gains, fears and losses, yesterday's failure and today's success do not thrust themselves in between us and His presence. The heart cleaves toHim. "Goodness and mercy shallfollowme," sang the psalmist. Alas, when the goodness and mercy come before us, and our blessings shut Jesus from view! Here is the blessed order—the Lord ever first, I following Him, His goodness and mercy following me.—Mark Guy Pearse.

August 3rd.

Now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light. Eph. v. 8.

We do not realize the importance of the unconscious part of our life ministry. It goes on continually. In every greeting we give to another on the street, in every moment's conversation, in every letter we write, in every contact with other lives, there is a subtle influence that goes from us that often reaches further, and leaves a deep impression than the things themselves that we are doing at the time. It is not so much what wedoin this world as what weare, that tells in spiritual results and impressions.—J. R. Miller.

August 4th.

Created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Eph. ii. 10.

Let us ask Him to work in us towillthose good works, so that ourwill, without being impaired in its free operation, may be permeated and moulded by His will, just as light suffuses the atmosphere without displacing it. And let us also expect that He will infuse into us sufficient strength that we may be able todoHis will unto all pleasing. Thus, day by day, our life will be a manifestation of those holy volitions and lovely deeds which shall attest the indwelling and inworking of God. And men shall see our good works, and glorify our Father which is in heaven.—F. B. Meyer.

August 5th.

Go in this thy might . . . have not I sent thee? Judges vi. 14.

God never leaves His child to fail when in the path of obedience.—Theodore Cuyler.

August 6th.

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Col. iii. 2.Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. Eccles. ix. 10.

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Col. iii. 2.

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. Eccles. ix. 10.

If we are to live separate from the world, how, since men only do well what they do with a will, are we, with affections fixed on things above, to perform aright the secular, ordinary duties of life? If our hearts are engrossed with heavenly things, how are we to obey this other, and equally divine, commandment, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might"?

The two are perfectly consistent. Man standing between the celestial and terrestrial worlds is related to both; and resembling neither a flower, which, springing from the dust and returning to it, belongs altogether to the earth, nor a star which, shining far remote from its lower sphere, belongs altogether to the heavens, our hearts may be fitly likened to the rainbow that, risinginto heaven but resting on earth, is connected both with the clods of the valley and the clouds of the sky.—Guthrie.

August 7th.

Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus. Heb. xii. 1, 2.

Think, as you sit here, of anything that you are doing that is wrong, of any habit of your life, of your self-indulgence, or of that great, pervasive habit of your life which makes you a creature of the present instead of the eternities, a creature of the material earth instead of the glorious skies. Ask yourself of any habit that belongs to your own personal life, and bring it face to face with Jesus Christ.—Phillips Brooks.

August 8th.

They took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. Acts iv. 13.

If I think of the world, I get the impress of the world; if I think of my trials and sorrows, I get the impress of my trials and sorrows; if I think of my failures, I get the impress of my failures; if I think of Christ, I get the impress of Christ.—Selected.

August 9th.

Ye call me Teacher, and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. John xiii. 13. (R. V. margin).

How wonderful a Teacher we have! Sometimes we seek Him in the house, but He is not there. We go forth seeking Him and find Him perhaps in the wilderness or on a mountain praying, or leading some poor blind man by the hand, or eating with publicans or sinners, or asleep in a storm or conversing with a Samaritan woman, or surrounded by wrathful men, or bearing a cross. It is not merely His words that instruct. His place, His occupation, His companions, His environment, His garment, His silence, His submission—allteem with instruction. And they that learn of Him are made like unto Him.—George Bowen.

August 10th.

The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 1 John iv. 14.

It is a sweet thought that Jesus Christ did not come forth without His Father's permission, authority, consent, and assistance. He was sent of the Father that He might be the Savior of men. . . . Didst thou ever consider the depth of love in the heart of Jehovah, when God the Father equipped His Son for the great enterprise of mercy? If not, be this thy day's meditation. TheFathersent Him! Contemplate that subject. Think how Jesus works what theFatherwills. In the wounds of the dying Savior see the love of the great I AM. Let every thought of Jesus be also connected with the eternal, ever-blessed God.—Spurgeon.

August 11th.

They that wait upon the Lord shall change their strength. Isa. xl. 31. (R. V.)

Lord, what a change within us one short hourSpent in Thy presence will prevail to make!What heavy burdens from our bosoms take!What parched grounds refresh as with a shower!We kneel—and all around us seems to lower.We rise—and all the distant and the nearStand forth in sunny outline, brave and clear.We kneel—how weak: we rise—how full of power.Why, therefore, should we do ourselves this wrongOr others—that we are not always strong;That we are ever overborne with care;That we should ever weak or heartless be,Anxious or troubled, while withusis prayer,And joy and strength and courage are withThee?—Archbishop Trench.

August 12th.

As for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do. Deut. xviii. 14.

What a stepping-stone! We give thanks, often witha tearful, doubtful voice, for our spiritual merciespositive;but what an almost infinite field there is for merciesnegative!We cannot even imagine all that God has suffered usnotto do,notto be.—Frances Ridley Havergal.

August 13th.

Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and He healed their sick. . . . And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come He was there alone. Matt. xiv. 14, 23.

Do we, like Him, combine the two great elements of human character? Are ourpublicduties, the cares, and business, and engrossments of the world, finely tempered and hallowed by asecretwalk with God? If the world were to follow us from its busy thoroughfares, would it trace us to our family altars and our closet devotions?

Action and meditation are the two great components of Christian life, and the perfection of the religious character is to find the two in unison and harmony.—Macduff.

August 14th.

Leaving you an example, that ye should follow His steps. 1 Pet. ii. 21. (R. V.)

I have long since ceased to pray, "Lord Jesus, have compassion on a lost world!" I remember the day and the hour when I seemed to hear the Lord rebuking me for making such a prayer. He seemed to say to me, "I have had compassion upon a lost world, and now it is for you to have compassion."—A. J. Gordon.

August 15th.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Ex. xx. 3.

If you find yourself beginning to love any pleasure better than your prayers, any book better than your Bible, any house better than God's, any table betterthan the Lord's, any person better than your Savior, any one better than your soul, a present indulgence better than the hope of heaven—take alarm!—Guthrie.

August 16th.

Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. 1 Cor. xi. 1.

When in the Mexican war the troops were wavering, a general rose in his stirrups and dashed into the enemy's line, shouting, "Men, follow!" They, seeing his courage and disposition, dashed on after him, and gained the victory.

What men want to rally them for God is an example to lead them. All your commands to others to advance amount to nothing so long as you stay behind. To effect them aright, you need to start for heaven yourself, looking back only to give the stirring cry of "Men, follow!"—T. DeWitt Talmage.

August 17th.

Serving the Lord with all humility of mind. Acts xx. 19.

There is a legend of an artist who long sought for a piece of sandalwood, out of which to carve a Madonna. He was about to give up in despair, leaving the vision of his life unrealized, when in a dream he was bidden to carve his Madonna from a block of oak wood, which was destined for the fire. He obeyed, and produced a masterpiece from a log of common fire-wood.

Many of us lose great opportunities in life by waiting to find sandalwood for our carvings, when they really lie hidden in the common logs that we burn.—Orison Swett Marden.

August 18th.

My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. 2 Cor. xii. 9.

God's way of answering His people's prayers is not by removing the pressure, but by increasing their strength to bear it. The pressure is often the fence betweenthe narrow way of life and the broad road to ruin; and if our Heavenly Father were to remove it, it might be at the sacrifice of heaven. Oh, if God had removed that thorny fence in answer, often to earnest prayers, how many of us would now be castaways! How the song of many a saint now in glory would be hushed! How many a harp would be unstrung! How many a place in the mansions of the redeemed would be unfilled! If God answered all the prayers we put up to heaven, we should need no other scourge. Blessed it is that we have One who is too loving to grant what we too often so rashly ask.—F. Whitfield.

August 19th.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me. John xv. 4.

From moment to moment, and from hour to hour, the inner nature of man is to be continuously sustained with the life of God. Only as I am constantly receiving His fulness into my emptiness am I really living in the true, full, deep sense of the word, that life of eternity, which is my privilege now, and will be my glory hereafter.—W. Hay Aitken.

August 20th.

By faith Noah . . . prepared an ark to the saving of his house. Heb. xi. 7.

What a humble, what a modest sphere for the exercise of faith! One would have said that the purpose was quite disproportionate to the work. The ark was a great undertaking, but what was it undertaken for? To save his own family. Is so narrow a sphere worthy to be the object of faith? Is so commonplace a scene as the life of the family circle fit to be a temple for the service of God? . . . My soul, when thou hast finished thy prayers and ended thy meditations, do not say that thou hast left the house of God. God's house shall to thee be everywhere, and thine own house shall be a partof it. Thou shalt feel that all the duties of this place are consecrated; that it is none other than the house of God and one of the gates to heaven. Thou shalt feel that every one of its duties is an act of high communion. Therefore be it thine to make thy houseHishouse. Be it thine to consecrate each word and look and deed in the social life of home. Be it thine to build thine ark of refuge for the wants of common day; verily, thy labor of love shall be called an act of faith.—George Matheson.

August 21st.

We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Eph. ii. 10.

No man is born into the world whose work is not born with him. There is always work, and tools to work withal, for those who will.—J. B. Lowell.

August 22nd.

He . . . began to wash the disciples' feet. John xiii. 5.

We forget that Jesus Christ is the same to-day, when He is sitting on the throne, as He was yesterday, when He trod the pathway of our world. And in this forgetfulness how much we miss! What He was, that He is. What He said, that He says. The Gospels are simply specimens of the life that He is ever living; they are leaves torn out of the diary of His unchangeable Being. To-day He is engaged in washing the feet of His disciples, soiled with their wilderness journeyings. Yes, that charming incident is having its fulfilment in thee, my friend, if only thou dost not refuse the lowly loving offices of Him whom we call Master and Lord, but who still girds Himself and comes forth to serve. And we must have this incessant cleansing if we would keep right. It is not enough to look back to a certain hour when we first knelt at the feet of the Son of God for pardon; and heard Him say, "Thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven." We need daily, hourly cleansing—from daily, hourly sin.—F. B. Meyer.

August 23rd.

I am the Lord, I change not. Mal. iii. 6.

Our hope is not hung upon such untwisted thread as "I imagine so," or "it is likely"; but the cable, the strong rope of our fastened anchor, is the oath and promise of Him who is eternal verity. Our salvation is fastened with God's own hand and Christ's own strength to the strong stake of God's unchanging nature.—William Rutherford.

August 24th.

I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. Ezek. xxxiv. 26.

What is thyseasonthis morning? Is it the season of drought? Then that is the season for showers. Is it a season of great heaviness and black clouds? Then that is the season for showers. "As thy days so shall thy strength be." "I will give theeshowersof blessing." The word is in the plural. All kinds of blessings God will send. All God's blessings go together, like links in a golden chain. If He gives converting grace, He will also give comforting grace. He will send "showers of blessings." Look up to-day, O parched plant, and open thy leaves and flowers for a heavenly watering.—Spurgeon.

August 25th.

Nevertheless, at thy word. Luke v. 5.

Oh, what a blessed formula for us! This path of mine is dark, mysterious, perplexing;nevertheless, at Thy wordI will go forward. This trial of mine is cutting, sore for flesh and blood to bear. It is hard to breathe through a broken heart, Thy will be done. But,nevertheless, at Thy wordI will say, Even so, Father! This besetting habit, or infirmity, or sin of mine, is difficult to crucify. It has become part of myself—a second nature; to be severed from it would be like the cuttingoff of a right hand, or the plucking out of a right eye;nevertheless, at Thy wordI will lay aside every weight; this idol I will utterly abolish. This righteousness of mine it is hard to ignore; all these virtues, and amiabilities, and natural graces, it is hard to believe that they dare not in any way be mixed up in the matter of my salvation; and that I am to receive all from first to last as the gift of God, through Jesus Christ my Lord.Nevertheless, at Thy wordI will count all but loss for the excellency of His knowledge.—Macduff.

August 26th.

If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him. 2 Tim. ii. 12.

The photographer must have a negative, as he calls it, in order to furnish you with a picture. Now, the earthly cross is the negative from which the heavenly crown is to be made; the suffering and sorrow of the present time determining the glory, honor and immortality of the life to come.—A. J. Gordon.

August 27th.

The word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. 1 Pet. i. 23.

The Word abideth. The Jew hated it—but it lived on, while the veil was torn away from the shrine which the Shekinah had forsaken, and while Jerusalem itself was destroyed. The Greek derided it—but it has seen his philosophy effete and his Acropolis in ruins. The Romans threw it into the flames—but it rose from its ashes, and swooped down upon the falling eagle. The reasoner cast it into the furnace, which his own negligence had heated "seven times hotter than its wont"—but it came out without the smell of fire. The formalist fastened serpents around it to poison it—but it shook them off and felt no harm. The infidel cast it overboard in a tempest of sophistry and sarcasm—but it rode gallantly upon the crest of the proud waters. And it is living still—yet heard in the loudest swelling of the storm—it has been speaking all the while—it is speaking now!—Punshon.

August 28th.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts. Col. iii. 15.

Years ago one of our fleets was terribly shattered by a violent gale—but it was found that some of the ships were unaffected by its violence. They were in what mariners call "the eye of the storm." While all around was desolation, they were safe. So it is with him who has the peace of God in his heart.—Pilkington.

August 29th.

Ye serve the Lord Christ. Col. iii. 24.

Our business as Christians is to serve the Lord in every business of life.—Mark Guy Pearse.

August 30th.

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. 1 John ii. 15.

If you will go to the banks of a little stream, and watch the flies that come to bathe in it, you will notice that, while they plunge theirbodiesinto the water, they keep theirwingshigh out of the water; and, after swimming about a little while, they fly away with their wings unwet through the sunny air. Now, that is the lesson for us. Here we are immersed in the cares and business of the world; but let us keep the wings of our soul, our faith and our love, out of the world, that, with these unclogged, we may be ready to take our flight to heaven.—J. Inglis.

August 31st.

I would have you without carefulness. 1 Cor. vii. 32.

Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear. Rather look to them with full hope that, as they arise, God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. He has kept you hitherto—do you but hold fast to His dear hand, and He will lead you safelythrough all things; and when you cannot stand, He will bear you in His arms. Do not look forward to what may happen to-morrow. The same everlasting Father who cares for you to-day will take care of you to-morrow, and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.—Francis de Sales.

September

September 1st.

Thus saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them. Ezek. xxxvi. 37.

Prayer is the forerunner of mercy. Turn to sacred history and you will find that scarcely ever did a great mercy come to this world unheralded by supplication. Prayer is always the preface to blessing. It goes before the blessingas the blessing's shadow. When the sunlight of God's mercies rises upon our necessities it casts the shadow of prayer far down upon the plain. Or, to use another illustration, when God piles up a hill of mercies He Himself shines behind them, and He casts on our spirits the shadow of prayer so that we may rest certain, if we are much in prayer, our pleadings are the shadows of mercy. Prayer is thus connected with the blessing to show us the value of it.—Spurgeon.

September 2nd.

Let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. Gal. vi. 9.

The hours of this present life are the ages in embryo of the life to come.—A. J. Gordon.

September 3rd.

My presence shall go with thee. Ex. xxxiii. 14.

We should never leave our prayer closets in the morning without having concentrated our thoughts deeply and intensely on the fact of the actual presence of God there with us, encompassing us, and filling the room as literally as it fills heaven itself. It may not lead to any distinct results at first, but, as we make repeated efforts to realize the presence of God, it will become increasingly real to us. And, as the habit grows upon us, when alone in a room, or when treading the sward of some natural woodland temple, or when pacing the stony street—in the silence of night, or amid the teeming crowds of daylight—we shall often find ourselves whispering the words, "Thou art near; thou art here, O Lord."—F. B. Meyer.

September 4th.

To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness. Dan. ix. 9.

As a spring lock closes itself, but cannot be unlocked without a key, so we ourselves may run into sin, but cannot return without the key of God's grace.—Cawdray.

September 5th.

It is high time to awake out of sleep. Rom. xiii. 11.

I have heard of a painter who loved to work by the morning light. He said that the colors were better understood by the light of the early day, and so he was wont to be in his studio waiting for the rising of the sun. Then every moment it grew lighter, and he found he could accomplish things which he could not reach if he waited till the day had advanced.

Is there not work waiting for us—work that no one else can do—work, too, that the Master has promised to help us perform? Shall He come and find that we still sleep? Or shall the Son of Righteousness, when He appears, find us waiting, as that painter waited, looking and longing for the first gleam of day? Surely those of us who thus wait on the Lord shall renew ourstrength, and, eagle-like, rise to greet the Sun.—Thomas Champness.

Back to Index Next