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Daily Devotionals
Spiritual Treasury For The Children of God
Devotional: July 11th

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Morning Devotional

We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.- Romans 8:28.

A poor sensible sinner would naturally be ready to make one exception here, and say, "How can sin, which I know and feel to be the very worst of all evils, work for any good?" But the Holy Ghost hath not excepted even this. Will any one say, Then let us do evil that good may come? St. Paul makes a terrible application to such, "Whose damnation is just,"- Romans 3:8. Therefore such cannot be the language of a believer’s heart, for his salvation is sure, "he that believes shall be saved." Such, and only such, most assuredly know that all things work together for good. They love God, and this love inspires them with hatred to sin. But yet they are sinners, both by original sin and actual transgression; nevertheless, through the all-wise overruling power of a gracious covenant God, even the worst of evils, sin, shall work for his glory and their good. Is the art of a chemist able to extract the most salutary medicine from noxious and poisonous ingredients? and cannot the infinitely wise Jehovah, who at the beginning spoke chaos and confusion into beauty, and order and darkness into light, make evil to work for good? He hath done it. He will do it. Canst thou think of that world of sin and evil which was produced by the fall of man? Dost thou not know the still greater good which it has been made to work for man by Jesus Christ? If man had not sinned the glorious attributes of Jehovah had not been so eminently displayed. As this is true of a world of sin in general, so also of every sin in particular. Sin is natural to man. To make it work for good is the supernatural power of God. Sin should never have entered into the world, nor should it continue in God’s people, was it not to magnify his grace and advance the glory of his name. Judas delivers Christ to death for gain: the Jews for envy: Pilate for fear. The devil provokes each through enmity. God makes all work for the spiritual good and eternal salvation of his people. Peter’s fall shall be made to work for his humility and self-diffidence, and to strengthen his brethren.

’Sin,’ saith St. Austin, ’first wrought sorrow, and now godly sorrow works repentance unto salvation, not to be repented of, to the death of sin; so the daughter destroys the mother.’ "O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out."- Romans 11:33.

Sin for my good does work and win;

Yet ’tis not good for me to sin.

My pleasure issues from my pain;

My losses still increase my gain.

For all my sins my heart is sad,

Since God’s dishonor’d; yet I’m glad,

Tho’ once I was a slave to sin,

Since God doth thereby glory win.

Evening Devotional

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord: my soul shall be joyful in my God: for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation; he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness. Isaiah 61:10.

It would be surprising to see a malefactor going to execution, singing and rejoicing all the way. But, if, when he came to the fatal place, he should produce the king’s free pardon, with royal promises of being admitted to his presence and appearing at court, in the richest robe of the king’s providing, our wonder would cease. We should own that he really had abundant cause for joy. Come, my fellow-condemned malefactors, though sin has stripped you of your innocent dress of righteous clothing; though you are under the sentence of death, yet behold, here is a pardon for you, the best robe to put upon you, and a sure promise of admission into the king’s presence. Read it and rejoice. “Grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life.” (Romans 5:21.) The God of righteousness clothes us naked sinners with the garments of salvation, and adorns us with the robe of righteousness, which our heavenly Bridegroom wrought out for us. This is the blessing of being married to Christ by faith.

This is the joy of faith. This causes joy of soul, and great rejoicing in the Lord our righteousness. When all sense of comfort and feelings of joy, in nature are dead, yet, in Jesus our covenant-head, we have a never-failing source of comfort, and an inexhaustible spring of joy. Faith leaves nature behind, with all its sins and miseries. It looks neither to works, nor worthiness, in self; but considers what Christ is to the soul, and what the soul is in him, righteous, perfect, and everlastingly righteous. O! then joy, great joy, springs up. See the claim of faith, “My God.” Though faith does not cause the Lord to become our God, nor adopt us into his family; yet it claims that peculiar and precious interest in him, which the word of his grace reveals. The Father draws us by his Spirit, to his Son for righteousness. The Spirit bears witness that we are righteous in his Son. Then faith makes the claim, boasts of it, and glories in it. Then Jesus has our hearts and our hopes. Our affections are placed on him: our hopes centre in him. Then we find our God in Christ. We call him my God: Abba, Father. We are at peace with, and joyful in him. We proclaim our joy in our God. What! clothed with the garments of salvation, which we wrought not! covered with the robe of righteousness, which we spun not, and not be joyful! O believers, be ashamed of your unbelief. It damps your joy: it withholds the glory of your heart.

Rejoice, my soul, in Jesus,

And walk before him all thy days:

When naked, poor, and destitute,

He fed and cloth’d thee with rich suit.

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