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Daily Devotionals
Spiritual Treasury For The Children of God
Devotional: September 9th

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Morning Devotional

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.- John 7:24.

By acting contrary to this advice of our prophet, the children of God often distress their poor hearts. Perhaps in no one instance more than this. "My feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped," said the Psalmist. Why? What was the case? Alas! alas! he had been looking at the outward appearance of the wicked. How happy, gay, and joyful they seemed! So that corrupt nature and carnal reason had erected a tribunal in opposition to faith and truth. "Verily," says he, "I have cleansed my heart in vain," etc. But he was soon undeceived and brought to "judge righteous judgment," from the records of truth in the sanctuary of his God-Psalms 73. Professors of old had a severe check (Malachi 3.) for thus judging. "Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord: ye have said it is vain to serve God," etc. "You call the proud," that is, the self-righteous, but disobedient persons, whom I resist and abhor, "happy." Christian, beware of judging of men. Be cautious of determining of matters by appearances. They are very deceitful. Judge of no man’s state by appearances: evil actions we may condemn; good actions we should applaud. But to judge and determine the eternal state of any by appearances, we have no authority. It was a judicious speech of St. Austin, "If I see a wicked man die, shall I say he is gone to hell? I dare not. Shall I say he is gone to heaven? I cannot."

How awful were the falls of David and Peter! To what dreadful lengths of cruel persecutions against Christ, his truth, and members, did Paul run! Yet how did the rich grace of our God triumph in their repentance and salvation! Therefore, believer, even as to thine own eternal state, judge not from present sense and appearance, though all things seem against thee. Oppose not thy frames and feelings to God’s truth, love, grace, promises, and oath in Christ Jesus. And they all point-to whom? Even to sinners, lost and perishing sinners. Whatever else thou hast lost, a sense of sin is with thee. True, sayest thou, and a dreadful sense it is. I also know the same; I have a fellowship with thee in the same sorrowful truth. But still, "this is a faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation at all times, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." Is there a doubt in thine heart, a fear in thy mind, a sin upon thy conscience, but he is able to relieve and cleanse thee from? "Be not faithless, but believing," saith thy Lord,- John 20:27.

Not diff’rent food or diff’rent dress,

Compose the kingdom of our Lord;

But peace and joy and righteousness,

Faith and obedience to his word.

When weaker Christians we despise,

We do the gospel mighty wrong,

For God, the gracious and the wise,

Receives the feeble with the strong.

Evening Devotional

And he spake this parable unto certain who trusted in themselves that they were righteous. Luke 18:9.

Christ came into the world to save sinners from their sins into all holiness of heart and life. His gospel requires the strictest purity in walk and conversation. Those who have experienced its power, find their souls formed for this. But a self-righteous spirit is as odious to Christ, and as contrary to the genius of his gospel, as a profane swearer. Hence he spake this parable against such. See (1st.) who are here reproved. Every one who places his trust or confidence in any works of righteousness which he has done, or can do, to make himself righteous before God, or to justify himself, first or last, in whole or in part in God’s sight. Such are properly Pharisees, or self-righteous persons. Lord, keep our souls humble before thee, that we fall not into this cursed pride and dangerous delusion. But such say, we do not trust in what we can do of ourselves, but what we are enabled to do by the grace of God. So this self-righteous Pharisee said, “God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are.” Here lies the very essence of this delusion. For the holiest saint in Christ is yet a sinner in himself; and his nature is as wicked as other men’s are. The man, who does not see, and confess, as taught by Christ, Luke 17:10, (after all that he is by grace, and all that he has done by divine assistance) “Lord I am an unprofitable servant,” is blinded by self-righteousness-has never seen the purity and spirituality of the law of God-the abominable vileness of his own nature-the glory and perfection of Christ’s righteousness, and the necessity of his being found in it, and clothed with it, to be justified before God. Such have not been convinced of sin and of righteousness, by the Spirit of truth, the glorifier of Jesus. See (2d.) The evil of this spirit of self-righteousness. (1st.) Such are Antinomians. They are against and make void the law: though they do not fulfil it, nor can be made righteous by it, yet they trust in themselves that they are righteous contrary to it. For it condemns them as sinners. (2d.) They are enemies to justification by God’s grace through the righteousness of Christ. Like the Jews of old, they “have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, [that which the Son of God wrought out, which fulfilled the law of God, which he imputes to sinners, and by which he justifies sinners] and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to God’s righteousness.” (Romans 10:3.) Here is ignorance and unbelief; to which, (3d.) is joined pride. They are of a different spirit to the humble Jesus. He loves sinners. “They despise others.” See Isaiah 65:5.

“Not unto us, but thee alone,

Blest Lamb, be glory giv’n;

Here shall thy praises be begun,

And carried on in heav’n.”

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