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Bowen's Daily Meditations
Devotional: April 20th

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"He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." Psalms 55:22.

Some one may say: " He will never allow the righteous to fall away; but what right have I to regard myself as righteous? Of what avail is this promise to me?

Well, it is of none, if thou art not righteous. In that case, the wrath of God abideth on thee; there are no promises for thee. But are there no promises for such as hunger and thirst after righteousness? Yes, for they are righteous. The Publican went down to his house, justified rather than the Pharisee. To look unto the righteousness of Christ, is the righteousness of sinful man. The measure in which a man renounces the notion of his own righteousness, is generally the measure according to which God estimates him as righteous. Our text corresponds with the words: " My sheep shall never perish, neither shall any be able to pluck them out of my hand."

Others say: " We make no pretensions to piety, but we are righteous, and none the less so that we have the boldness to declare ourselves what we are."

Let us see. You daily receive at your board a poor creature who, without your bounty, would be a miserable beggar, tottering to an obscure grave. You spread for him an excellent banquet, and that as often as he has appetite. Yet he never takes the slightest notice of you, never joins in any laudations of your name, turns the subject of conversation when you are mentioned. You have authorized him to go daily to your treasurer, and receive whatever he needs for his daily expenses, and even for his prospective expenditure; yet he never admits that he is indebted to you for the money, and is just as ready to bestow it on your enemies as on your friends. He lives in your house; sleeps upon your couch; receives raiment from your wardrobe; is made glad by your wine; regaled by the perfume of your flowers; entertained by your music; conveyed in your carriages; instructed by your teachers; aided by your wisdom; and upheld by your strength. Yet never is he found rendering you any due respect, or troubling himself to know what is your will. In a thousand things he violates your commands. But in his transactions with his fellow-servants, he is particular not to defraud them. Should he indeed learn from thee what his duties to them are, he would discover that he comes exceedingly short even in these. But be it so. He is very careful to conduct himself in such a manner towards them as to be regarded as an honest man. Ten thousand mercies from thee leave him as indifferent to thy will and pleasure as ever he was; yet the least benefit from his fellow awakens in him gratitude and a desire to requite the favor. ― Shall such a man be counted righteous? Does not the moral sense that reveals itself in his communications with his fellow-men, serve only the more signally to condemn him? He, and such as he, are unrighteous; and the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

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