the Third Week after Easter
Daily Devotionals
The Poor Man's Morning and Evening Portions
May 30—Morning—Titus 3:5-6
"Renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour."—Titus 3:5-6.
Precious office of the Spirit! Condescend, great God, to grant it me this morning. Oh, renew my soul with all thy sweet revivals, after a night of sleep, as thou renewest the face of the earth. Oh send forth, I beseech thee, Lord, all thy graces, as suited to my necessities, and the Redeemer’s glory, and let it be most abundantly shed abroad, through all the faculties of my soul, through Jesus Christ my Saviour. Pause, my soul, over the blessed prospect, and having now pleaded in Jesus’s name for the mercy, act faith upon thy God in his promises. Is not every morning a renewing of the Holy Ghost? Is it not said concerning the productions of the earth, that God "sendeth forth his Spirit, and they are created, and thou renewest the face of the earth?" See what an evidence the earth gives in this lovely season, in the fruits, and plants, and verdure all around. And are the saints of Jesus of a less sweet-smelling savour, when perfumed as they are with the everlasting odour of Jesus’s never-failing righteousness? Do the fields, when renewed by the sun of the morning, look gay, and lovely, and after the dew or the refreshing shower, give out their odour, perfuming the air with their fragrancy; and shall not the saints of God, when the Sun of righteousness ariseth upon them, with healing in his wings, send forth all the blessed effects of that presence which revives the grace Jesus hath planted, and calls forth into exercise the faith he hath given? Shall not the showers of his love, when he comes down in them as rain upon the mown grass, and the dews of the Holy Ghost’s renewings, revive all the languishing frames of the soul, and cause even the desert to blossom abundantly, and to rejoice with joy and singing? Yes, yes, thou blessed Lord? methinks I feel thy sweet and gracious renewings. My very heart is refreshed in the thought. Under thy influence I will look up and wait the coming of Jesus. He is near. He comes. I hear him say, "Rise up, my beloved, and come away: for lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land."
May 30—Evening—John 11:3-4
"Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord! behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby."—John 11:3-4.
My soul! ponder these words. It may be said now, as it was then, Lord, behold he whom thou lovest, yea, many our Lord Jesus loveth, are at this present hour sick! Who shall calculate the number? Who shall mark down the tears of the sorrowful of the Lord’s people? But Jesus knows them all; yea, appoints all; and he it is, of whom it is said, "he putteth their tears into his bottle: are not these things noted in thy book?" These words suggest another sweet thought. The sorrowful sisters, in their message to the Lord Jesus, did not tell him that one whom they loved was sick, but one whom Jesus loved. There could be no doubt of their love to their brother: but their application to Jesus was on account of his love. My soul! do not overlook this. It is the most blessed and the most powerful of all arguments in prayer, when we come to a throne of grace for those that are near and dear to us, when we can and do tell the Lord, that they for whom we seek his mercy are the objects of his love. The observation of our Lord, on receiving the message, is most delightful. Sit down, this evening, and ponder it well. It is what ma), with safety be applied to every case, and every exercise of the Lord’s people, in all their eventful pilgrimage through life, whether in one trial or another. This sickness, this sorrow, this temptation, be it what it may, "is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." Now, my soul, bring it to the proof. Every rod of Jesus hath a voice, and speaks as well as corrects; and when at any time he exerciseth it, this is the invariable language: "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten." And when the voice is heard, and the soul is thereby brought to listen to the Redeemer, then the close of the dispensation proves that it is not indeed unto death, but for the divine glory. So that let the exercise be what it may, we then see Jesus in it. His wisdom sent it; his love is in it; and his strength will carry the believer through it; yea, so much of the Lord’s presence will accompany every step we take during the dark hour, that, dark as things are around, there will be constant daylight in the soul. And so truly blessed are those dispensations, which, in their first view, carry a frowning aspect with them, that, when the sable covering is thus taken off by the hand of faith, on hearing Jesus’s voice under all, they have been found to be tenfold more productive of the Redeemer’s glory and the soul’s happiness, than in the smoother providences, where such exercises have not been given. My soul! what saith thine own experience to this statement? Doth the Redeemer lay crosses in thy way? Are they marked with his inscription," Bring them unto me? Art thou visited with sickness, and doth Jesus perform the part of the tenderest nurse, and sit up by thee? Dost thou hear his well known voice, saying," As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you?" Surely, then, thou wilt fully subscribe to the sweet words of Jesus, in his answer to the sorrowful sisters. Every exercise and every trial of the Lord’s people, which he sweetens and sanctifies, "is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." For if it teach creature weakness, and Creator strength; if the believer is made sensible of his helplessness, and of Jesus’s all-sufficiency; if renewed feelings add one testimony more, that there is nothing but sickness, sin, and sorrow, in us, and therefore in Jesus alone all our resources of health, and righteousness, and joy are found: these improvements will always give glory to God, and magnify the riches of his grace, that "the Son of God may be glorified thereby."
