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

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April 9—Morning—Luke 23:34

"Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."—Luke 23:34.

My soul, art thou still taking thy stand at the foot of the cross? Art thou still looking up to Jesus? If so, listen now to his voice. There were seven expressions of Jesus, which were his last words, which he uttered on the cross. The last words of dying friends are particularly regarded: how much more the last words of the best of all friends; even the dying friend of poor lost perishing sinners. Those which I have chosen for the portion of the day were the first; and they contain the strong cry of Jesus to his Father for forgiveness to his murderers. And what endears those expressions yet more to the heart are, that they are not only the first upon the cross, but they are wholly, not for himself, but the people. During the whole painful process of suffering, when they scourged him, crowned him with thorns, smote him with their hands, and mocked him, we hear no voice of complaint. "He was led as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth." Precious, meek Lamb of God! But now, when lifted up on the cross, Jesus broke silence, and cried out, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Pause, my soul. Look again at the cross. Was not Jesus now entered upon his high priest’s office? Was not the cross as the altar from whence the sacrifice was offered? Was not Jesus himself the sacrifice? And was not Jesus the sacrificer? Might not the pale, the dying, whitened visage of Jesus be compared to the white ephod of the high priest; the streaming blood, flowing over his sacred body from the several wounds, as the incense of his censer; and the dying sweat of his holy frame, like the smoke ascending with the sweetest savour before God? As the arms of Jesus, when he thus prayed, were stretched forth on the cross, so the high priest spread forth his hands, when burning the incense for sacrifice, in pleading for the people. Hail, thou glorious high priest! in this the humblest moment, and the most powerful of thine intercessions. Surely every wound of thine, every look, every feature, every groan, pleaded with open mouth this gracious intercession for forgiveness of sinners. Lord, was I not included in the prayer? Was not the eye of Jesus upon me in the moment of this all-prevailing advocacy? Oh ye of every description and character, that still sit unconcerned and unmoved at this cry of the Son of God, "is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?" Think, my poor unawakened brother, how justly that voice might have been heard for all the enemies of Jesus—"Depart from me, ye cursed;" when the tender language of Jesus was, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And think, moreover, that the same gracious voice is still heard in heaven, and of the same blessed force and efficacy as ever; for while our sins are calling for judgment, the blood of Jesus calls louder for mercy. Dear Lord, let this first cry of thine upon the cross, be the first and last of all my thoughts, under every exercise and temptation of sin and Satan—"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

April 9—Evening—Isaiah 53:11

"He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied."—Isaiah 53:11.

Is not this covenant promise of thy faithful God and Father peculiarly suited, my soul, for thine evening meditation, after the subject of the morning, in contemplating the first cry of Jesus upon the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do?" And was not the cry answered in the case of the Jerusalem sinners at the day of Pentecost, soon after, when, under the apostle Peter’s sermon, they were pricked to the heart, and cried out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Acts 2:23; Acts 2:37. Ponder over the solemn expression, the travail of the Redeemer’s soul. Did Jesus really sustain in soul somewhat like those throes of nature with which a woman is exercised in her hour of extremity? Did he travail in birth for his redeemed?—Pause, my soul, and very solemnly consider the subject. If the eighteenth Psalm be supposed to contain prophetical allusions to Christ, we may therein discover somewhat which will be helpful in this study: "The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me;" Psalms 18:5. We have similar expressions, Psalms 116:3. As therefore these strong terms are very highly descriptive of suffering, and of a peculiar kind, it may be well to inquire farther, whether there be any ground to make application of them in reference to this subject? Now it is worthy remark, that the curses pronounced by God at the fall, upon Adam and his wife, became distinct acts of suffering; and it should seem, that he, who, in after ages, was to take away sin and the curse from both, must do it by suffering for both, in order to deliver them from it. My soul, review them: "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow, and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children : and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return to the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return;" Genesis 3:16-19. Now, that Jesus, in his own sacred person, literally and truly bore every title of this sentence as it referred to Adam, none, who have read the history of the blessed Jesus in the gospels, can for a moment question. So much in sorrow did Jesus eat his bread, that he, and he alone, by way of emphasis, must be peculiarly called, "The man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief." And he it was that was crowned with thorns, by way of eminency in affliction, and sweat a bloody sweat; and he said himself, "Thou hast brought me into the dust of death," Psalms 22:15. But unless we can trace a similarity of Jesus bearing in his own sacred person somewhat in reference to the woman also, how shall we see the curse removed, and the sentence done away? Hence, if the travail of soul spoken of by the Lord, through the prophet, be intended to allude to the Lord Jesus bringing forth his sons to glory (and wherefore it should not, cannot be shewn), then have we a most gracious and beautiful representation folded up in this scripture; and the promise connected with it is equally delightful. And may we not interpret that scripture of another prophet by this illustration: "Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces, are turned into paleness? Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it; it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble: but he shall be saved out of it;" Jeremiah 30:6-7. Precious Jesus! thou art indeed the man, the God-man, that didst travail for thy children; and while all faces are turned into paleness by reason of sin, thou, our glorious Jacob, our Israel, Jehovah’s servant, in the day, the great day of thy soul travail, shalt be saved out of it, and shalt see of the travail of thy soul, and be satisfied. Yea, Lord, thou wilt remember no more thine anguish, for joy that the dew of thy birth is as incalculable as the drops of the morning. Hail! Almighty Lord! the trophies of thy redemption shall correspond to the greatness of thy name: "men shall be blessed in thee, and all nations shall call thee blessed." Amen.

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