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Daily Devotionals
The Poor Man's Morning and Evening Portions
Devotional: March 9th

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March 9—Morning—Ephesians 2:13

"But now in Christ Jesus, ye, who sometimes were afar off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ."—Ephesians 2:13.

Of all the vast alterations made upon our nature by grace, that which is from death to life seems to be the greatest. I do not think the change would be as great, if Jesus were to make a child of God, after his conversion, at once an archangel, as when, by his blessed Spirit he quickens the sinner, dead in trespasses and sins, and brings him into grace. My soul, contemplate the sweet thought this morning, that it may lead thee, with thy hymn of praise, to all precious Jesus! First then, my soul, think where you then stood, before this vast act of grace had quickened you. You stood on the very confines of hell—unawakened, unregenerate, uncalled, without God, and without Christ. Supposing the Lord had not saved you; supposing a sickness unto death had, by his command, taken you; supposing that any one cause had been commissioned to sign your death-warrant while in this state; where must have been your portion? And yet consider, my soul; how many nights and days did you live in this unconscious, unconcerned state? Oh! who, in this view of the thought, can look back without having the eye brimful of tears, and the heart bursting with love and thankfulness! Go on, my soul, and contemplate the subject in another point of view; and pause in the pleasing thought, "where you now stand." You are now, saith the apostle," made nigh by the blood of Christ." You that was an enemy to God by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh, through death, to present you holy, and unblamable, and unreprovable, in his sight. And now, my soul, if death should come, it is but the messenger to glory. Precious, blessed thought! And Oh, how much more precious, blessed Jesus, the Author of it! Advance, my soul, one step more in this sweet subject, and pleasingly consider, where you soon shall be. Paul answereth; "So shall we be ever with the Lord." "Ever with the Lord!" Who can write down the full amount of this blessedness? "Ever with the Lord!" Here we are, in Jesus, interested in all that belongs to Jesus; but there, we shall be also with Jesus. Here we see him but as through a glass darkly; but there, face to face. Here, even the views we have of him by faith, are but glimpses only—short and rare, compared to our desires; but there, we shall see him in reality, in substance, and unceasingly, the precious, glorious, God-man Christ Jesus. Here, our sins, though pardoned, yet dim our view, by reason of their effects; there, we shall for ever have lost them, and see, and know, even as we are known. And have these blessed changes taken place in my soul; and all by thee, thou gracious, precious, Holy One of Israel? Oh for grace to love thee, to live to thee, to be looking out for thee, dearest Jesus, that I may be counting every parting breath, every beating pulse, as one the less, to bring me nearer and nearer to Jesus, who is my everlasting home, and will ere long, be my never-ceasing portion and happiness in eternity.—Hallelujah!

March 9—Evening—John 9:7

"The pool of Siloam."—John 9:7.

It was a very gracious account given by the Holy Ghost, in the writings of his servants the prophets, that in the last days, meaning gospel days, "living waters should go forth of Jerusalem;" and saith the Lord, "it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth which moveth, whithersoever the river shall come, shall live;" Ezekiel 47:9. And in the day of Christ’s flesh, we find Jesus giving life wheresoever he came: and not unfrequently, as if to testify the sovereignty of his power, he communicated his blessing in this life-giving principle of himself, by means altogether, to outward view, unpromising. The clay applied to the eyes of one born blind, and the pool of Siloam, are both directly in point. It is just so, blessed Jesus, that I would have recourse to ordinances and means of grace, and when I attend, I would desire to pass over them to the enjoyment of thyself, and the gracious influences of thy Holy Spirit. Were the: pool of Siloam always thus attended, and the several maladies of thy people thus brought before thee, that while using the means, we had an eye to the end, how should we find the diseased that were sent, returning healed. The imagination can hardly conceive any thing more interesting, than to behold souls under their different distresses, thus coming to the pool of Siloam, and thus receiving Jesus in the use-of it. Am I faint? "He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might, he increaseth strength." Is another walking in darkness and having no light? Jesus saith, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness." Are our bones dried, like the bones in the valley, "and our hope lost: are we cut off for our parts?"(Ezekiel 37:11.) Behold, saith the Lord God, "I will open your graves, O my people, and cause you to come up out of your graves." And how doth the Lord accomplish it? He saith, "I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and he that liveth and believeth in me shall never die." Are they void of faith? Jesus is the Author and giver of faith. Are they backward to repentance? Jesus is exalted as a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins." Have they backslidden? Jesus saith, "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely." In short, at the pool of Siloam, neither the water nor the clay are the objects of faith, but he that sends to the pool: and while we lay our wants over against his fulness, and consider, in our need, the very suitability there is in that need for the display of Christ’s grace in the supply, this is the very way of following up the divine appointments. And as every poor sinner is made blessed in receiving from Jesus: so Jesus is made glorious in giving out of his fulness; and the gracious purpose of salvation is-answered in the comfort of the sinner, the glory of the Saviour, and the everlasting praise of Jehovah, in the wonders of redemption! My soul! let thine evening meditation be thus sweet in viewing the pool of Siloam!

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