the Fourth Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
The Poor Man's Morning and Evening Portions
June 18—Morning—Isaiah 49:7
"To him whom man despiseth; to him whom the nation abhorreth."—Isaiah 49:7.
My soul, let thy longing eyes be directed to him this day whom man despiseth, and whom God honoureth, and to whom he hath given a name above every name. Pause, in the contemplation of the wonderful mystery. Was Jesus indeed despised, and by the very creature he came to redeem? Did angels hail his wonderful incarnation, and man despise, hate, and abhor him? "Be astonished, O ye heavens; and wonder, O earth!" But, my soul, go further in the contemplation of this mysterious subject. What man, what individual man, was it that could thus requite the unparalleled love of Jesus? Alas, not an individual only, but a whole nation; nay, the whole nature, both Jew and Gentile abhorred him; for while in a state of unrenewed nature, to the one he is a stumbling-block, and to the other his cross is foolishness. Ah, is it so, my soul? Why then it follows, that thou, even thou, my soul, wert once in the same state of hatred, and wert by nature, as well as others, a child of wrath, despising this wisdom of God in Christ for the salvation of sinners. And art thou then, my soul, recovered by almighty sovereign grace from this deadly hatred of nature, and dost thou look this day with love, with joy, with rapture, and unspeakable delight to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth? Is Jesus indeed lovely, the altogether lovely to thy view? Is he precious, nay, infinitely more precious than the golden wedge of Ophir? Yes, thou Holy One of God, thou art the all in all to my soul. Witness for me, O ye saints that are now around his throne, that I have none in heaven or in earth that I desire besides him. My whole soul desires to know him, to follow hard after him, to trust in him, to cleave to him, to hang upon him, and to accept and receive him, and to make use of him as the wisdom of God, and the power of God, for salvation to my soul, as he is to every one that believeth. Oh ye sons of men, who are still in the unrenewed hatred of your heart, in your hatred against the precious Christ of God, what will ye do when he whom ye now despise shall come to your everlasting shame? Well might the apostle echo the words of the prophet, for from age to age the astonishing truth remaineth! "Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish; for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you."
June 18—Evening—1 Peter 1:2
"Elect, according to fore-knowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience, and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ."—1 Peter 1:2.
Of all blessings, surely this is the highest, and the best, which holds forth to a poor sinner the assurance of redemption, as the united result of the love, grace, and mercy of all the persons in the Godhead. My soul, pause over the glorious truth, and sweetly mark the testimony of each cooperating and acting together in the great work of salvation. Behold thy God and Father setting apart, from all eternity, the chosen vessels of mercy, foreknowing and fore-appointing every event, in his own counsel, purpose, and will. What a blessed thought, in the mind of the redeemed, is this, to live upon, to cherish, and keep alive in the soul, from day to day, to call up the unceasing fruits of adoration, love, duty, and praise, in grace here, and in glory to all eternity. Go on, my soul, to the contemplation of the second chapter in his holy volume of grace and mercy; and mark what the apostle hath here said of "the sanctification of the Spirit." So that the blessed hand of the Holy Ghost is as much engaged in this beneficent act of redemption, in the existence of every individual, as the foreknowledge and appointment of God the Father, or of the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Yea, all the glory of redemption, in the grace provided by the Father, and the merits of the Son’s blood and righteousness, depend, for the personal enjoyment of it, in the case of each believer, upon the Holy Ghost’s revelation of it in the soul. Oh! it is blessed to see, to feel, to know, and to enjoy those gracious communications of God’s Christ in the soul, which God the Holy Ghost awakens, and excites, and brings home to the mind. And no less, as the meritorious cause of all, (the third chapter in this wonderful volume) do thou contemplate, my soul, the two united branches of thy redemption; the obedience, and atonement in the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. How comprehensive, yet how full and satisfactory! It is Jesus, as God’s righteous servant, who, by his perfect obedience hath justified his people. And it is the death of the cross which hath fully atoned for their transgression; "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin." Behold then, my soul, in these three glorious chapters of redemption how all the great charter of grace is summed up and contained. Take it with thee as thine evening portion; let it lie down with thee, and arise with thee; and carry it about with thee, for thine unceasing meditation during the whole of thy day of grace, until grace is swallowed up in eternal glory!
