the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
The Poor Man's Morning and Evening Portions
December 2—Morning—John 6:45
"It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me."—John 6:45.
Mark, my soul, these precious words of thy Jesus. It was one of the old testament promises, that all God’s children should be taught of him. And as this condescension of God, in teaching, implied the Father, so the blessed consequence and effect of it should be, that every one thus taught proved his being a child, and inclined his heart to come to God in Christ as a Father. My soul, art thou come? Art thou looking to, leaning upon, trusting in, walking with, and seeking for Jesus? Is he the Lord thy righteousness, thine only righteousness, thine only hope, thine only confidence? Dost thou, like the apostle, count all things else but dung and dross to win Christ, and to be found in him? Courage then, my soul! These are blessed tokens of thine adoption character. None but God the Father, by his Holy Spirit, could have taught thee these things. None but He, that revealed his Son in the heart of the apostle, could have been thy teacher. Thou hast both heard and learned of the Father, and in proof thereof thou art come to Christ for life and salvation. Fold up then this precious scripture in thy bosom for thy daily use, and examine thine interest in Christ continually, by a mark so sure and infallible. And remember what the Lord Jesus hath said, as a collateral testimony to the same blessed truth: "All that the Father giveth me (saith Jesus) shall come to me: and him that cometh I will in no wise cast out."
December 2—Evening—Song of Solomon 5:2
"I sleep, but my heart waketh."—Song of Solomon 5:2.
My soul, behold the church fallen into a sleepy state, after having been at the banquet of her Lord; and view in her the resemblance of thyself. How often art thou in this cold and lifeless situation; and instead of seeking increasing communion and fellowship with Jesus, falling asleep, as one insensible to past enjoyments and present need! It is not indeed the sleep of death; for, through the sovereignty of almighty grace, thou hast been quickened to a new and spiritual life in Christ Jesus; and thine heart waketh to the knowledge of thy Lord. But how unsuitable and unbecoming is it, for one who hath tasted that the Lord is gracious, to be indifferent to the farther enjoyment of him! Time was, when, if thou didst miss Jesus in the ordinance, or hadst not a visit from thy Lord for a short space, thou wert on the wing of love, going forth in every way, and in every direction, in the inquiry, "Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?" And canst thou, my soul, be contented to live in this sleepy frame, and without the visits of thy Lord? Look up to Jesus, he is near at hand, and waiting to be gracious! Listen to his voice, in his word, in his ordinances, in all the means of his grace; hasten to the awakening ministry of some one of his faithful servants. These methods the Lord will bless. Jesus will come again: he will do by thee, as he did by the church, "He will put in his hand by the hole of the door, until that thy bowels are moved for him." Precious Lord Jesus! keep from me all sleepy lifeless frames! Give me day by day, to be pressing after some renewed tokens of thy love; and let each mercy quicken my poor soul to desire farther manifestations that in greater degrees, and more frequent enjoyment of thee, I may, like, thy servant the apostle, "forget those things which are behind, and, reaching forth unto those which are before, press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus?" Amen.
