the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
The Poor Man's Morning and Evening Portions
November 6—Morning—John 16:27
"For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God."—John 16:27.
See, my soul, how thy Jesus hath endeared to thee the Father in the assurance of his love. And wilt thou not feel thine whole affections going forth in continual love after him? Was it not thy Father which, from everlasting, gave thee Jesus as thy Saviour, and gave thee to Jesus that he might redeem thee? Was it not from the same precious source that Jesus came as a Saviour, and a great one, to redeem thee and other great sinners? Is it not thy Father that hath adopted thee into his family in Jesus, and given thee the Spirit of adoption, whereby thou criest, Abba, Father? And doth he not accept thee in Jesus, bless thee in Jesus, nourish thee with the body and blood of Jesus, clothe thee with the righteousness of Jesus, and give thee all temporal, spiritual, and, by and by, will give thee all eternal blessings in Christ Jesus! Nay, even his chastisements have nothing in them of wrathful punishment, but fatherly love and mercy in Jesus. Oh my soul, pause, and behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon thee, that thou shouldest be called a child of God. And wilt thou not then from henceforth and for ever say unto him in Jesus,—"My Father, thou art the guide of my youth; for thou hast commanded me so to call thee." Jeremiah 3:19.
November 6—Evening—Isaiah 27:2-3
"In that day, sing ye unto her, a vineyard of red wine. I the Lord do keep it, I will water it every moment; lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day."—Isaiah 27:2-3.
And in what day, but the gospel day, could this song be sung with greater justness? Christ’s church is indeed .a vineyard, hedged in, and fenced round, from the world’s wilderness; so that all within it may well sing this song in Judah, when God hath made it like a strong city, and appointed "salvation for walls and bulwarks." Yea, God himself hath sung to his well beloved Son, this song of his beloved, touching his vineyard. But what is the red wine of the vineyard? Red wine of Judaea, was of the choicest grapes; and surely the blood of Christ is the choicest of all blessings to the sinner’s view. Now, my soul, mark the sweetness of Jesus’s promise; it is he who engageth to keep it; yea, to have his eye upon it night and day, lest any hurt it; yea, not only to keep it, but water it, and that every moment: so that he is both a fence and a refreshing, a covert from the storm and as rivers of water in a dry place; and; like some rich luxuriant tree in a sultry land, not only forms a shade to shelter the poor sun-burnt traveller from the heat, but also affords fruit to slake his thirst, and to feed him; so that while he is strengthened in his journey, in resting under its branches from his fatigue, he may find occasion also to bless God, both for protection and support. And art thou, blessed Jesus, all this, and infinitely more, to thy people? Art thou the tree of life in the paradise of God? Dost thou keep thy church, thy vineyard, night and day, that none shall hurt it; yea, and water it every moment, and every individual soul of thine, of the plants of thy Father’s planting? Help me, then, thou blessed, gracious Lord! Help me to feel all that confidence which is suited to an entire dependence upon thee! Sit down, my soul, under "the shadow of thy Lord, with great delight, and his fruit will be sweet to thy taste."
