the Fourth Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
The Poor Man's Morning and Evening Portions
April 24—Morning—Micah 2:13
The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the Lord on the head of them."—Micah 2:13.
Pause, my soul, over this precious scripture, and ask thine own heart who this Almighty Breaker can be, except the Lord Jesus Christ; for he, and he alone, answers to such a divine character. Was it not he which came up as the Breaker from everlasting; when, in the council of peace, the divine decree was broken open, and the Son of God stood forth the sinner’s Surety? Was it not he whom John saw by vision, who alone was found worthy in heaven to open the book, and loose the seals thereof? Was it not the same precious Holy One, who, when in the volume of the book it was found written of him, that he should fulfil the law of Jehovah for sinful man, cried out," Lo, I come? And was it not Jesus, even thy Jesus, my soul, that in the fulness of time came up as the Breaker, to break down the dreadful bar of separation which sin had made between God and man, and to open a new and living way for the sinner to God by his blood? And when he had broken down the fence sin had made in disobedience to the divine law, the accusations of Satan, the dominion of death and the grave, by sustaining the whole weight and burden of all in his own precious person; did he not, as the Almighty Breaker; burst asunder the bars of death, and prove himself thereby indeed to be this Almighty Breaker in such a palpable evidence, that it was impossible his holy soul could beholden by it? And hath he not broken through all intervening obstacles, ascended up on high, led captivity captive, entered into glory, and there ever liveth and appeareth in the presence of God for us? Is not Jesus then this Almighty Breaker? But, my soul, look yet further. It is said also, in this blessed scripture, that the Breaker is not only come up before them, (that is, his people,) but that "they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it; and their king shall pass before them, and the Lord on the head of them. "And so they are, if so be this Almighty Breaker hath broken down the strong holds of sin and Satan in which they lay bound; broken down the natural hatred and enmity of their own heart against God and his Christ in which they were born, and in which they lived, and must have died, but for his sovereign grace manifested in them and towards them; burst open the prison doors of Satan, and broke off his cursed chains, and brought them out! If these things are wrought and accomplished in the people, may they not be said, in his strength, to have broken up, and have passed through the gate of Satan’s dominions, and are gone oust by it into the glorious liberty of the sons of God? Is it so, my soul, in thy experience? Dost thou indeed know Jesus for thy Almighty Breaker, by such sweet and precious tokens of his love and power? Hath thy King passed thus before thee, and thy Lord on the head of thee? Oh then, be ever on the look out for all the renewed visits of his grace, in which he still acts as thine Almighty Breaker, in breaking down all the remaining obstacles which thy unbelief, and fears, and doubts, are continually raising up against thy own happiness, in his precious manifestations. Look up to him daily, hourly, minutely, if possible, that he may break down all the remains of indwelling corruption in thy nature, by which these fears and this unbelief gets hold fast in thy soul; and be often on the look out also for that glorious day of God, when this Almighty Breaker shall finally and fully come, and break through the clouds to judgment, to break down every remaining evil that keep thee now from the everlasting enjoyment of thy Lord. Hasten, blessed Jesus! come, my beloved, and, with a glory infinitely surpassing all conception, manifest thyself as the Almighty Breaker, in this full display of thy sovereignty and power. And then, as Samson (the type in this instance) carried with him the gates of his prison, so wilt thou break up and carry away all the gates of thy people’s graves, and take all thy redeemed home with thee to glory, that where thou art, there they shah be also. Hail, thou Almighty Breaker! Jesus omnipotent, reigneth!
April 24—Evening—Revelation 3:17
"Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked; I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see."—Revelation 3:17-18.
My soul! take a leisurely view of what the Redeemer hath here stated of the church of Laodicea, and gather from it thine evening improvement. What a melancholy representation hath Jesus given! It would have been bad enough to have been in this state, even had the church been seeking deliverance from it; but to fancy herself well when very ill, to have the spots of death upon her when she supposed herself recovered, what can be more awful? See to it, my soul, that this be not thy case; ponder over the several characters here drawn, and mark well, whether, through grace, thou hast happily been better taught? Dost thou fancy thyself "rich, and increased in goods, and having need of nothing? "Alas! thou knowest that thou art as poor as ever the circumstances of original sin and actual transgression could make a sinner; from thy first father, Adam, thou hast derived a nature which is virtually all sin, and that sin is continually breaking out, to manifest that all thine affections and thy desires cleave to the earth, and are altogether earthly. So that, so far from needing nothing, thou art insolvent before God, and in want of every thing. Hence thou knowest thy wretchedness and poverty by nature and by practice: for without a view of Christ, and void of an interest in him, thou art so wretched, as to be lost for ever; so blind, that thou wouldest not have had even a knowledge of thy miserable state; and so naked, that thou wouldest not have sought the covering of Jesus’s robe of salvation, to conceal thy shame, either in this world, or in that which is to come. And hath the Lord taught thee these precious truths? Art thou more and more sensible of the utterly lost state of every man by nature? And after all that thou hast attained in thy pursuit of the divine truths, hast thou arrived at the same conclusion as the apostle," that thou knowest nothing yet as thou oughtest to know? "Oh! then listen to the gracious advice of Jesus, and accept the counsel of that Wonderful Counsellor; buy of him all he recommends, for in him, and with him, are deposited all graces. "In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. He hath gold, yea," gold tried in the fire;" all grace, mercy, pardon, strength, faith, hope, love, holiness; yea, every thing that can make a poor sinner rich. And he hath white raiment to cover thee, even the spotless robe of his own righteousness, which will not only conceal the shame of thy nakedness, but when he hath washed thee from all thy pollutions in his blood, will make thee appear comely in his comeliness, that thou mayest appear before God and the Father justified and complete in his salvation. And he hath the eye-salve, for opening the eyes of the spiritually blind, which will effectually, under the anointing of the Holy Ghost, give thee to see thy nothingness, and the glory, fulness, and suitableness of Jesus! What sayest thou, my soul, to these things? Wilt thou not accept the counsel of thy Jesus? Yea, Lord, I do accept it, on my bended knees, with thanksgiving, love, and praise. And more especially, dear Lord, do I bless thee for thy bounty, that the purchase of these mercies from thee comes from thy free grace, not from my ability; Jesus never proposed to the poor to merit what he freely gives; nor to the insolvent, who have nothing to offer, to suspend his riches upon their merits. Thou, Lord, art too rich to need any thing from thy creatures; and the things proposed are too costly to be purchased; yea, Lord, thou hast thyself already bought them with a price no less dear than thine own most precious blood. Hence, therefore, thou wise, gracious, kind, and compassionate Lord, I pray for grace to accept thy counsel, and to buy of thee gold tried in the fire, and the white raiment of thy righteousness, and the anointings of thy blessed Spirit, for I need them all," without, money and without price."
