THE NIGHT WATCHES by John MacDuff

[airIam2worship]

THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD

"Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds." Psalm 36:5

It has been well said, that "the universe around is a parable of grace." "Just as the mountains surround and protect Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds and protects his people, both now and forever." But more stable than even these types of immutability in the kingdom of nature, is the word of a Covenant-keeping God in the kingdom of grace. These mountains (nature's best emblems of steadfastness) may depart, and the hills be removed, "but," says their almighty Maker, "my kindness shall not be taken from you!" We can look upwards to the stars of night, and see the "faithfulness" of God "established" in the material heavens- "They continue, to this day, according to your plans; for all are Your servants." But these are feeble types and symbols of brighter constellations in the spiritual firmament- the declarations of an unchanging God- "Your word is forever settled in heaven!"

What a gracious assurance amid our own unfaithfulness, "The Lord is faithful!"- that the unfaithfulness of the believer never alters, and can never alter– the faithfulness of God. My soul, anchor yourself on this rock of the Divine veracity. Take hold of that blessed parenthesis which has been, to many a tossed soul, as a polar star in its nights of darkness- "Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end." He loves them in life- loves them in death- loves them through death- loves them into glory!

Are you not at this hour a monument of God's faithfulness? Where would you have been, had not the magnet of His grace kept you, and drawn your fugitive affections towards Himself? From how many temptations has He rescued you- laying hold of you on the precipice, when about to plunge headlong down; employing, sometimes constraining grace, at other times, restraining grace- making this your brief history– "Kept by the power of God," and overruling all- ALL for His own glory, and your own good?

I love to think of Your faithfulness, O "Tried stone," "laid in Zion." You were tried by the Law- by Justice- by the fierce assaults and temptations of Satan- by the mockings and revilings and cruelties of wicked men; and yet You remain faithful! You have been tried in another sense by Prophets and Apostles; by Martyrs and Saints; by youthful sinners, and aged sinners, and dying sinners- and You have been found "faithful," by all and to all; and You are faithful still!

Reader, never suppose, amid the faithlessness of earth's trusted friends, that you are doomed to thread your way in loneliness and solitude. There is more than one 'Emmaus journey'. The "abiding" Friend is still here! He is always the same. "He faints not, neither is weary!" His faithfulness is a tried faithfulness. His word is a tried word. His friendship is a tried friendship. He is always better than His word. He pays 'with interest'!

"Oh! who could bear life's stormy doom,
Did not Your word of love
Come brightly bearing through the gloom
A peace-branch from above!
Then sorrow touched by You, grows bright,
With more than rapture's ray,
As darkness shows us worlds of light
We never saw by day!"

When I think that at this very moment the eye of that faithful Savior God is upon me– "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

http://www.gracegems.org/
Our literature is public domain—use it in any way you desire.
No monetary donations accepted. "Freely you
have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8

[airIam2worship]

        THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

        All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?" Daniel 4:35

        How blessed that elementary truth- "The Lord reigns!" To know that there is no chance or accident with God- that He decrees the fall of a sparrow- the destruction of an atom- the annihilation of a world!

        The Almighty is not like Baal, "asleep." "He that keeps Israel" can never for a moment "slumber." Man proposes; but God disposes. "You have done it," is the history of every event, past, present, and to come. His purposes none can change- His counsels none can resist.

        Believer, how cheering to know that all that befalls you, is thus ordered in the eternal purpose of a Covenant God! Every minute circumstance of your lot- appointing the bounds of your habitation- meting out every drop in the cup of life- arranging what by you is called its "vicissitudes"-decreeing all its trials; and at last, as the great Proprietor of life, revoking the lease of existence when its allotted term has expired!

        How it should keep the mind from its guilty proneness to brood and fret over second causes, were this grand but simple truth ever realized- that all that befalls us are integral parts in a stupendous plan of wisdom- that there is no crossing or thwarting the designs and dealings of God; none can say, "What are you doing?" All ought to say, "He does all things well."

        We dare not venture, with presumptuous gaze, to penetrate into "those secret things which belong unto the Lord our God." In all that is fitted, in the consideration of this august theme of the Divine Decrees, to impart encouragement and consolation, let us rejoice; in all that is mysterious and incomprehensible, let us with childlike reverence exclaim, "Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods! For who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who knows enough to be his counselor? And who could ever give him so much that he would have to pay it back? For everything comes from him; everything exists by his power and is intended for his glory. To him be glory evermore. Amen!"

        The contemplation of the Sovereignty of God, formed subject-matter of rejoicing to the Savior himself in His humiliation– " Even so, Father, for so it seems good in Your sight!" And what supplied material for comfort and joy to an Almighty Sufferer, may well dry the tears and soothe the pangs of His suffering people. Oh, how sinners may magnify their God by a calm submission to His will; by seeing no hand but One in their trials; in giving or taking: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.!" "Who knows not all in these, that the hand of the Lord has wrought this?"

        "Til Death the weary spirit free,
        My God has said, 'Tis good for thee,
        To walk in faith, end not by sight.
        Take it on trust a little while,
        Soon shall you read the mystery right,
        In the fall sunshine of His smile!"

        Will it not further help to the breathing of the prayer, "Your will be done," when I think, in connection with the Sovereignty of God, of the grand end of His immutable decrees- it is, "His own glory." "Of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things." What more can I desire? "All things." -God's glory and my own good! "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

http://www.gracegems.org/
Our literature is public domain—use it in any way you desire.
No monetary donations accepted. "Freely you
have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8

[airIam2worship]

        THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD

        "His kingdom rules over all." Psalm 103:19

        Believer, try to see God in everything, and every thing in God! Lose your own will in His. Enter on no pursuit, engage in no plan, without Paul's prayer and condition, "The will of the Lord be done." How it would hallow prosperity, and sweeten adversity, thus, in all things, to follow, like Israel, the Guiding Pillar- at His bidding to pitch our tents; at His bidding to depart. Each providence has a voice, if we would only hear it. It is a fingerpost in the journey, pointing us to "the right way," that we may go to "the city of habitation."

        Often what a mysterious volume Providence is! Its every page full of dark hieroglyphics, to which earth can furnish no key. But faith falls back on the assurance that "the Judge of all the earth must do right." The Father of all His people cannot do wrong. To the common observer, the stars in the nightly heavens are all confused masses, pursuing devious and erratic courses. But to the astronomer, each has its allotted and prescribed pathway, and all are preserving inviolately, one universal law of harmony and order. It is faith's loftiest prerogative, patiently to wait until 'that day of disclosures', when page by page of the mysterious book will be unraveled, and when the believer himself will endorse every page with, "It is well!"

        Providences may even seem to be getting darker- merging like declining day into the shadows of twilight. But, contrary to nature, and to the Christian's expectations, "At evening time it shall be light!" The gathering cloud will then be seen to be fraught only with blessings, which will burst on the believer's head. My soul, be still, and know that He is God! "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." The mysterious "why" you have so long been waiting for, will soon be revealed. The long night-watch will soon terminate in the looked-for, longed-for morning.

        "My God! my Father! while I stray
        Far from my home on life's rough way,
        Oh teach me from my heart to say,
        Your will be done!
        Then when on earth I breathe no more
        The prayer often mixed with tears before.
        I'll sing, when on a happier shore,
        Your will be done!"

        Blessed Lord! my pilgrimage path is studded thick with Ebenezers testifying to Your faithfulness and mercy. I love to think of Your manifold gracious interpositions in the past-God sustaining me in trial- God supporting me in perplexity-God rescuing me when in temptation- God helping me when "vain was the help of man!" "When my foot slipped, Your mercy, O Lord, held me up!" And shall I not take all Your goodness previously manifested, as a pledge of faithfulness in the future? In full confidence that You are a "rich Provider," I shall take no anxious thought for the morrow, but repose in this covenant assurance of a covenant-keeping God– "I will never fail you nor forsake you." "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

http://www.gracegems.org/
Our literature is public domain—use it in any way you desire.
No monetary donations accepted. "Freely you
have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8

[airIam2worship]

THE WORD OF GOD

"Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path." Psalm 119:105

Man's word disappoints- God's word, never! "The Word of the Lord is tried." It has been tried by the sinner; he neglected it and perished. It has been tried by the saint; he has believed it and been saved. What a precious legacy of God to our world! The volume of NATURE, much as it teaches, is dumb on the question of a sinner's acceptance. The Scriptures alone can solve the enigma, "How is God to deal with the guilty?" That question unanswered– in peace we could not live, in peace we dared not die! But glad tidings, O precious messenger from God, have you brought to a doomed earth– "God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life!" Were there no more in the Divine communication than that one brief entry, the Bible would still be better to us than "millions in gold and silver."

The Word of God is a vast repository and emporium of heavenly wisdom- free to all- suited for all- intended for all- offered to all. The Word of God is an inexhaustible mine- the deeper you dig, the richer the ore. It has a word in season for rich and poor; for young and old; for the wandering; for the doubting; for the sorrowing; for the believing; for the dying; for the perishing!

Reader, sit at the feet of Jesus in His Word, and with the docility of a little child, say, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening!" Always approach it as if it met you with the living salutation, "I have a message from God for you." There are differences in every heart-chamber, but this key fits every door! Make it a faithful mirror, in which you see a reflection of yourself! The more faithfully it is held up, the more will the sense of your deficiency and defilement drive you to the atoning blood. In all your difficulties, make it "your counselor." In all your perplexities, make it your interpreter and guide. In all your sorrows, make it your fountain of consolation. In all your temptations, make it your ultimate court of appeal. When venturing on debatable ground, let this deter you- "What does the Scripture say?" When assailed, let this protect and defend you- "It is written!"

Precious at all times, it is especially precious in "the cloudy and dark day." We may do without our lamp in the day; but where are we, without it, in the midnight tempestuous sea? "I would have perished in my affliction," says a sinking cast-away, "but Your Word has quickened me."

"Oft as I lay me down to rest,
Oh may the reconciling Word
Sweetly compose my weary breast;
While on the bosom of my Lord
I sink in blissful dreams away,
And visions of eternal day!"

Be it mine to look forward to that blessed time, when the intervention of that Word, and all other means of grace, will terminate; for, in Heaven, "they need no candle." Meanwhile, pillowing my head on the Word of the eternal God, and with these glorious prospect s in view– "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

http://www.gracegems.org/
Our literature is public domain—use it in any way you desire.
No monetary donations accepted. "Freely you
have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8

[airIam2worship]

THE ORDINANCES OF GOD

"With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation." Isaiah 12:3

A wilderness is your place of sojourn. But Immanuel has provided wells in this 'Baca'- this valley of weeping; for the refreshment of His pilgrims! In merciful adaptation to their weakness and needs, He has furnished means and instrumentality to keep alive the flame that would otherwise languish and decay. These are the golden pipes which convey living water to the soul, fed by Christ Himself from the great cistern of His own grace.

Reader! Do you love the ordinances of God's appointment? Is the Sabbath to you a holy and welcome season? Do you gladly respond to the summons, "Go you up into the house of the Lord"? Have you felt that it is there, "He commands the blessing, even life for evermore"? Or, holier ground still; do you rejoice, as the solemn season comes round, to covenant afresh with your adorable Redeemer at His own Sacred Feast; to record anew your unalterable attachment to Him as your Lord and Master, and commemorate His dying, ever-living love? See that it is not be the reverse of all this. Do the hours of the Sabbath, once a delight, "day of all the week the best" -hang heavily upon you? Is prayer now less a privilege than it was? Is the closet less habitually frequented? Is the fire burning with a sicklier glow on the domestic altar? Have the services of the sanctuary become more matter for the head than for the heart? Be assured these are lamentable symptoms of declension- tokens of a backward and downward state. "You did run well- who hindered you?"

Return speedily to the deserted closet! crucify quickly the deadening sin. Have you not thought of it, over and over, at a communion season? Why allow it again to have dominion over you, robbing you of all your joy- extracting all relish from ordinances- impeding grace- grieving the Spirit? Lose no time in seeking restoration of lost filial nearness. "Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation."

The lost Bride, in the Canticles, found her Lord beside the "Shepherds' tents." You may sometimes have long to wait at the 'Gospel Bethesdas' (one of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years), without any visible blessing; but, be assured, the Angel of the Covenant will, in due time, come down, and show that He "is good to those who wait for Him- to the soul that seeks Him." Wait, then, on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart!

Seek to value ordinances, but do not overvalue them. Put not ordinances in the place of the God of ordinances. They are at best but the pole upon which to suspend the brazen serpent; the scaffolding by which to get up beside the Chief cornerstone. "Hold me up, and I shall be safe!" It is not "the altar of God," but "God Himself" who is "the exceeding joy" of His people. And thus, even if wasting health and pining sickness should deprive me of outward ordinances, I may look upwards to that God who, though He "loves the gates of Zion," does not forget "the dwellings of Jacob," and say– "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

http://www.gracegems.org/
Our literature is public domain—use it in any way you desire.
No monetary donations accepted. "Freely you
have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8

[airIam2worship]

THE SPIRIT OF GOD

"Don't take your Holy Spirit from me." Psalm 51:11

"But it is actually best for you that I go away, because if I don't, the Comforter won't come. If I do go away, he will come because I will send him to you." How momentous must be the agency of the Holy Spirit, when the adorable Redeemer represented the Church as being more than compensated for the blank of His own departure- the loss of His own presence- by the gift of this Divine Paraclete! "It is the Spirit who quickens." It is He who is the agent in the new birth– "Except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven." It is He who enables the sinner by faith to lay hold on Jesus, and embrace His salvation- "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit." It is He who carries on the progressive work of holiness- we are saved "through the sanctification of the Spirit." It is He who creates anew the lost image of the Godhead- impresses on the soul the lineaments of the Savior's character– "We are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, by the Lord the Spirit." It is He who illumines the Divine Record, acting like a telescope to the moral vision, disclosing in the firmament of inspiration "wondrous things" contained in the law, which the natural eye cannot see. It is He who unfolds the glories of the Redeemer's work- the beauties of His person- the completeness of His sacrifice- the riches of His grace- "He shall glorify Me; for He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you." More- the soul of the believer becomes itself a temple of the Holy Spirit.

Oh! with what holy jealousy would the child of God guard every avenue to temptation, if this amazing truth exercised its habitual and solemnizing power over him- "The Spirit of God dwells within me!" How would he avoid anything and everything by which he would be likely to "grieve" this blessed Agent, "whereby he is sealed until the day of redemption." "Behold!" He seems to say, "I make all things new." The initial operation is His- He broods over the face of the spiritual chaos, saying, "Let there be light." The closing and consummating grace is His- He conducts the soul through the swellings of Jordan, until it joins with the ransomed multitude before the throne, in ascribing to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit the glories of a completed salvation.

Take not, then, O God! your Holy Spirit from me. In vain are the Word, ordinances, sacraments, sermons, prayers, without Him. All are in themselves passive instruments; His is the omnipotent arm which wields and vanquishes. Our adorable Redeemer- the great High Priest- was Himself anointed with the Holy Spirit. That anointing oil, poured upon the Church's living Head, runs down to the skirts of His garment, anointing, as it flows, all His members. And those that are lowest and humblest- nearest the skirts- receive the most. Reader, if this be your position- at the feet of Jesus- the blessed influences of the Holy Spirit, streaming down upon you in copious effusion, sanctifying you more and more, and making you more fit for glory- then you may well say, night after night, until the day-spring of that glory burst upon you– "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

http://www.gracegems.org/
Our literature is public domain—use it in any way you desire.
No monetary donations accepted. "Freely you
have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8

[airIam2worship]

THE PROMISES OF GOD

"For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in him." 2 Cor. 1:20

God has made a Will, or Testament, in behalf of His people! It is signed and sealed. It cannot be altered- nothing can divest us of our inheritance. The bequest is His own "exceeding great and precious promises." What a heritage! All that the sinner requires- all that the sinner's God can give. In this testamentary deed there are no contingencies- no peradventures. The testator commences it with the sure guarantee for its every jot and tittle being fulfilled, "Verily, verily, I say unto you!" He endorses every promise, and every page, with a "Yes, and Amen." "God, willing more abundantly to show to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath." But, who provided such a rich Promise Treasury? What is the source, where is the fountain-head, from which these streams of mercy flow to the Church? "In HIM." Believer! from Jesus every promise is derived- in Jesus every promise centers. Pardon, peace, adoption, consolation, eternal life- all "in Him." In Him you are "chosen," "called," "justified," "sanctified," and "glorified." You have in possession all the blessings of present grace; you have in reserve all the happiness of coming glory. And "He is faithful that promised."

Your friend may deceive you- the world has deceived you- He never will! Myriads in glory, are there to tell how not one thing has failed of all that the Lord their God has spoken. Rely on this faithfulness. He gave His Son for you. After the greater blessing, surely, for subordinate ones, you may trust Him. And where do these promises beam most brightly? Like the stars, it is in the night! In the midnight of trial- when the sun of earthly prosperity has set- when deep is calling to deep, and wave to wave; when tempted, bereaved, beaten down with "a great fight of afflictions," the spiritual firmament with its galaxy of Promises is brightest and clearest!

"Oh! who could bear life's stormy doom,
Did not Your Word of Love
Come brightly bearing through the gloom
A palm branch from above?
Then sorrow touched by You grows bright,
With more than rapture's ray;
As darkness shows us worlds of light
We never saw by day!"

But do not be deceived; the night of sorrow cannot 'in itself' give you the comfort of the Divine Promises. It may be night, and yet the stars invisible. It is only "in Him" these promises can be discerned in their luster. Reader! if you are "out of Christ," these stars of Gospel promise shine in vain to you; they have, to the unspiritual eye, no beauty or brightness. In the midnight battle of Barak, "the stars in their course fought against Sisera." They shone on Israel, but denied their light to the enemies of God. The guiding pillar, so lustrous to the chosen people, was a column of portentous gloom to Pharaoh's host. But "in Him," as "heirs of God," you are inheritors of "all the promises." All the promises! Oh! with such a pillow whereon to rest your aching head, you may well resume your nightly song– "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

http://www.gracegems.org/
Our literature is public domain—use it in any way you desire.
No monetary donations accepted. "Freely you
have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8

[airIam2worship]

THE WARNINGS OF GOD

"I show this unfailing love to many thousands by forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. Even so I will by no means clear the guilty." Exodus 34:7

"He is faithful who promised." Do we bear sufficiently in mind another truth of equal fidelity- "He is faithful that threatened?" Ponder that solemn word, "He will by no means clear!" Remember when that word was spoken it was in connection with a sublime apocalypse of God's majesty. It was as "the glory of the Lord" was passing before Moses. Was not this intended to show, that there is an awful and inseparable connection between the Divine glory and the impossibility of God's clearing the guilty? It was at a time, moreover, when the benignity of God was intended to be more specially manifested. It was when He was declared to be "the Lord, the Lord God, merciful, gracious, long-suffering, abundant in goodness." Then it was, we listen to the awful note of warning, that "clear the guilty," He will not, and cannot.

His law requires- the honor of His throne requires; demands- that the guilty be "not cleared." Reader! are you still clinging to the dream of final mercy? Do you believe in the first part of the Divine proclamation at Sinai, and persist in presumptuous and fatal skepticism with regard to the last? -that boundless in His resources, and infinite in His love, God will, by some means, "clear the guilty?" Do not be deceived. See that you do not incur the woe of him who "strives with his Maker." The Lord, who "is not slack concerning His promises," can be as little slack concerning His threatenings.

Time blunts the wrath of man; and chastens and subdues the turbulence of his passions; but there is no blind impulse- no vacillation in Him with whom "a thousand years are as one day." "God's threatenings," says a writer, "are God's doings!" The law has not one breathing of mercy for you. There is not one cleft in all Mount Sinai where you can escape the vengeance of the storm. Unless you flee without delay to him who has "cleared the guilty" by Himself, the Guiltless One, becoming the guilt-bearer; be assured that through eternity "you will by no means be cleared."

My soul! are you yet in this state of perilous estrangement? still launched on the cheerless ocean of uncertainty; leaving everything to a dying hour; the time to which nothing should be left, but to die! Ponder these living words of unchanging truth- "Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not escape unpunished." The golden chain of grace stretches from heaven to earth, but it can go no further- "Seek the Lord while He may be found." There is solemn warning in that one word. It tells you, there is a day coming, when the Lord will be sought, but will not be found.

"Time's sun is fast setting- its twilight is nigh–
Its evening is falling in cloud over the sky;
Its shadows are stretching in ominous gloom;
Its midnight approaches- the midnight of doom!
Then haste, sinner, haste, there is mercy for thee,
And wrath is preparing- flee, lingerer, flee!"

Reader! cast yourself this night at His footstool; implore His mercy. Rise not from your bended knees, until, with His propitiated smile gladdening you, and the hope of His heaven cheering you, you may (it may be for the first time in your life) lie down with a quiet conscience and a pardoned soul on your nightly couch, exclaiming– "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

http://www.gracegems.org/
Our literature is public domain—use it in any way you desire.
No monetary donations accepted. "Freely you
have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8

[airIam2worship]

        THE CHASTISEMENTS OF GOD

        "For the Lord chastens (disciplines) those he loves, and he punishes those he accepts as his children." Hebrews 12:6

        Chastisement- the family badge- the family pledge- the family privilege– "To you it is given to suffer." "Troubles," says a good man, "are in God's catalogue of mercies." "Afflictions," says another, "are God's hired laborers to break the clods and plow the land." Reader, is the hand of your God heavy upon you? Has He been breaking your cisterns, withering your gourds, poisoning your sweetest fountains of earthly bliss? Are the world's bright spots outnumbered by the dreary ones? Has one tear been following another in quick succession? You may have to tell, perhaps, of a varied experience of trials. Every tender point touched- sickness, bereavement, poverty- perhaps all of these.

        Be still. If you are a child of God, there is no exemption from the "household discipline." The rod is a Father's; the voice that speaks may be rough, but the hand that smites is gentle. The furnace may be seven times heated, but the Refiner is seated by. His object is not to consume, but to purify. Do not misinterpret His dealings; there is mercy on the wings of "the rough wind." Our choicest fountains are fed from dark lowering clouds. All, be assured, will yet bear the stamp of love. Sense cannot discern yet "the bright light in the clouds." Aged Jacob exclaimed at first, "All these things are against me;" but at last he had a calmer and a more just verdict, "His spirit revived!"

        "At evening time it was light." The saint on earth can say, regarding his trials, in faith and in trust, "I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are right." The saint in glory can go a step farther, "I see, O Lord, that they are so!" His losses will then be shown to be his riches. Believer! on a calm retrospect of your heaviest afflictions- say, were they unneeded? Was this what Augustine calls, "the severe mercy of God's discipline"- was it too severe? Less would not have done. Like Jonah, you never would have awoke but for the storm. He may have led you to a Zarephath, (a place of furnaces,) but it is to show you there, "one like unto the Son of God!" When was God ever so near to you, or you to your God, as in the furnace-fires.

        When was the presence and love and sympathy of Jesus so precious? When "the Beloved" comes down from the Mountain of Myrrh and the Hill of Frankincense to His Garden on earth. He can get no fragrance from some plants but by bruising them. The spices in the Temple of old were crushed. The gold of its candlestick was beaten gold! It was when the Marah-fountain of your heart was bitter with sin, that He cast in some cross, some trial, and "the waters were made sweet!"

        My soul, be still! You have, in affliction, one means of glorifying God, which even angels have not, in their sorrowless world- patience under the rod- submission to your Heavenly Father's will! Pray not to have your affliction removed, but for grace to bear up under it, so that you may glorify God even "in the fires." Remember that though "weeping endures for a night, joy comes in the morning," close your tearful eyes, saying– "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

http://www.gracegems.org/
Our literature is public domain—use it in any way you desire.
No monetary donations accepted. "Freely you
have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8

[airIam2worship]

THE INVITATIONS OF GOD

"All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away." John 6:37

Never! How broad is the door of welcome! "God," says a holy writer, "is like one on his knees, with tears in His eyes, and extreme fervor in His soul, beseeching the sinner to be saved." He met the prodigal son half-way. Before the ungrateful wanderer could stammer forth, through penitential tears, the confession of his sins, the arms of mercy were around him. The prodigal thought of no more than the menial's place; the Father had in readiness the best robe and the fatted calf! "There is no such argument," says Reynolds, "for our turning to God, as His turning to us." He has the first word in the overtures of mercy. He refuses none- He welcomes all- the poor- the wretched- the blind- the naked- the burdened- the heavy laden- the hardened sinner- the aged sinner- the daring sinner- the dying sinner- ALL are invited to come! "Come now, and let us reason together!"

The most parched tongue that laps the streams from the smitten Rock has everlasting life. "When we forgive, it costs us an effort; when God forgives, it is His delight." From the battlements of heaven He is calling after us: "Turn, turn, Why will you die?" He seems to wonder if sinners have pleasure in their own death. He declares, "I have none." Reader! have you yet closed with the Gospel's free invitations? Have you gone, just as you are- with all the raggedness of nature's garments- standing in your own nothingness- feeling that you are insolvent- that, you have "nothing to pay," already a bankrupt, and the debt always increasing? Have you taken hold of that blessed assurance, "He is able to save unto the uttermost"? Are you resting your eternal all on Him who has done all and suffered all for you; leaving you, "without money and without price," a free, full, unconditional offer of a great salvation?

Say not that your sins are too many- the crimson dye too deep. It is because you are a great sinner, and have great sins, that you need a great Savior. "Of whom I am the chief," is a golden postscript to "the faithful saying." Do not dishonor God by casting doubts on His ability or willingness. If your sins are heinous, you will be all the more amazing monument of grace. You may be the weakest and unworthiest of vessels; but, remember, there was a niche in the Temple for both the great and for the small- for "vessels of cups," as well as for "vessels of flagons." Yes, and the smallest vessel glorifies Christ.

Arise! then, call upon your God. We cannot say, with the king of Nineveh, "Who can tell if God will turn?" He is turning now- importunately pleading and declaring, on His own immutable word, that He will "never cast out." "Though you have lived among the pots, you shall be as the wings of a dove, covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold!" Close, without delay, with these precious invitations, that so, looking up to a reconciled God and Father in heaven, you may even this night say– "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

http://www.gracegems.org/
Our literature is public domain—use it in any way you desire.
No monetary donations accepted. "Freely you
have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8

[airIam2worship]

THE CONSOLATIONS OF GOD

"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God." Isaiah 40:1

God's people are prone to be discouraged because of the difficulty of the way. In the bitterness of their spirits, they are often apt to say, with desponding Zion, "The Lord has forsaken me;" or with the faithless prophet, "It is better for me to die than to live."

But the Christian has his consolations too, and they are "strong consolations." The "still small voice" mingles with the hurricane and the storm. The bush burns with fire, but the great God is in the bush, and therefore it is indestructible! "The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock; and may the God of my salvation be exalted." Earthly consolations may help to dry one tear, but another tear is ready to flow. God dries all tears. There is no need in the aching voids of the heart that He cannot supply.

Is it mercy to pardon? I can look up to the throne of the Most High, and see Holiness and Righteousness, Justice and Truth, all bending, in exulting harmony, over my ruined soul, exclaiming, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners!" Is it grace to help? I can look up to that same throne, and behold, seated thereon, a Great High Priest; no, a mighty Prince, having power with God, and prevailing-prayer without ceasing ascending from His lips in behalf of His people. When Satan seeks "to sift" them, His upholding power protects them in heaven. When temptation assails them in their earthly conflicts, the true Moses on the Mount, with hands that never "grow heavy," makes them "more than conquerors." When trial threatens to prostrate them, He identifies Himself with the sufferers- He points to His own sorrows, to show them how light the heaviest of earth's sorrows are. Even over the gloomy portals of the grave He can write, "Blessed are the dead!" He alone felt Death's substance. His people only see "the shadow." He makes it a Valley of Achor, through which "the two spies, Faith and Hope," fetch back Eshcol-pledges of the true Land of Promise!

Reader, are you now weary, or desponding? Is some cross heavy on you- some trial oppressing you- some thorn in the flesh sorely lacerating you? Be still! He will make his grace sufficient. If He has allured you into the wilderness, it is that He may speak comfortably unto you. He has an antidote for every bosom- a balm for every wound- a comfort for every pang- a solace for every tear. "When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul."

"Tis my happiness below
Not to live without the cross,
Out the Savior's power to know,
Sanctifying, every loss.
"Trials must and will befall;
But with humble faith to see
Love inscribed upon them all.
This in happiness so me!
"Trial make the promise sweet,
Trials give new life to prayer.
Trials bring me to His feet,
Lay me low, and keep me there!"

"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

http://www.gracegems.org/
Our literature is public domain—use it in any way you desire.
No monetary donations accepted. "Freely you
have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8

[airIam2worship]

THE PATHS OF GOD

"All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto those who keep his covenant and obey his decrees." Psalm 25:10

"All the paths." It is no small effort of faith to say so, when blessings are blown upon, and schemes crossed, and fellow-pilgrims, (it may be beloved spouses in our spiritual joys) are mysteriously removed, to say, "All- ALL is mercy! All- ALL is well!"

But they are "the paths of the Lord" -His choosing; and, be assured, He will "lead His people by a right way." It may not be the way of their own selecting. It may be the very last they would have chosen. But when He leads His sheep, "He goes before them." The Shepherd portions off our pasture-ground. He guides the footsteps of the flock. He will lead them by no rougher way than He sees needful. Does a father give his child his own way? If he did, it would be his ruin. Will God surrender us to our own truant wills, which are often bent on nothing so much as wandering farthest from Him? He knows us better! He loves us better!

Believer, it is the loftiest triumph and prerogative of faith to have no way- no path of your own- but with childlike simplicity and reliance to say, "Teach me Your paths." "Undertake for me!" Lead me however and wherever You please. Let it be through the darkest, loneliest, thorniest way- only let it bring me nearer Yourself.

"Oh, tell me, O life and delight of my soul,
Where the flock of Your pasture are feeding;
I seek Your protection, I need Your control;
I would go where my Shepherd is leading.
"Oh, tell me the place where Your flock are at rest,
Where the noontide will find them reposing!
The tempest now rages, my soul is distrust,
And the pathway of peace I am losing."

Would that we could keep our eye not so much on the path, as on the bright wicket-gate, which terminates it. When standing at that luminous portal, we shall trace, with adoring wonder, the way in which our God has led us; discerning the "need- be" of every teardrop- and to the question, "Is it well?" to which often on earth we gave an evasive answer, ready with an unhesitating, "It is well!" What a light will then be flashed on these three often mysterious words, "God is love!" Then, at last, shall we be able to add the joyful comment- "We have known and believed the love which God has to us."

Meanwhile, Reader! if you are treading a path of sorrow, consider, as an encouragement, that your Lord and Master trod the same before you. Behold, as He toils on His blood-stained journey, how submission to the Divine will forms the secret of His support. "Even so, Father!" "Not my will, but Yours be done!" The True David was strengthened with what sustained His typical ancestor in a dark and trying hour: "O Lord, you are My God!" Believer, if it is your God in covenant who is leading you, what more can you require? "His ways are truth and judgment." He will guide you, while you live, by His counsel, and afterward receive you into glory. My God! if such be the design of your dealings and discipline– "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

http://www.gracegems.org/
Our literature is public domain—use it in any way you desire.
No monetary donations accepted. "Freely you
have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8

[airIam2worship]

        THE SECRET OF GOD

        "The secret of the Lord is with those who fear him; and he will show them his covenant." Psalm 25:14

        Believer, your God has some mighty secret to confide to you! What is this, which, (a mystery to the world,) is to be conveyed in whispers into the ears of His people! "He will show them His Covenant!" Listen, this night, to this blessed "secret." You have pondered it often before. But its wonders never diminish by repetition.

        The Author of it is God- the Eternal Father. He framed its articles before the foundation of the world. It is an inverted order of truth that would represent the atonement as the cause of God's love. God's love was rather the originating cause of the atonement. "God so loved the world." How runs the Covenant-Charter? "Everything belongs to you.... the whole world and life and death; the present and the future. Everything belongs to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God."

        The initiative- the first overture of covenant-mercy was with Him. It was the insulted Sovereign who first dreamed of mercy towards the rebels; the injured Father who first thought of His ungrateful children. Wondrous secret- that from all eternity, the Heart of God was all Love to us!

        Think of the Surety of the Covenant. It was the adorable Son of the Father. He voluntarily accepted the Covenant stipulations: "Lo, I come! I delight to do Your will, O my God!" He ceased not, until, all the terms being fulfilled, He could claim His stipulated reward: "I have glorified You on the earth, I have finished the work which You gave Me to do." And still He lives, and reigns, and intercedes, under the blessed title of "Mediator of the Everlasting Covenant!"

        Think of the Almighty Dispenser of the blessings of the Covenant. It is the Spirit of all Grace- the third person in the ever-blessed, co-equal Trinity.

        Think of the Heirs of the Covenant. They are all who, by simple faith, are willing to appropriate its inestimable blessings.

        Think of the Security of the Covenant. There is nothing but contingency in other things. But all is certainty in the Covenant- "I will be unto you a God, and you shall be to me a people." Unfailing! it has the rock of Christ's Deity to rest upon; and a Triune God pledged to make good all its provisions- "My covenant will I not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of my mouth!"

        Think of the Perpetuity of the Covenant: "I will betroth you unto me forever!"

        Think of the rich Inheritance of the Covenant. Oh! here is the mighty secret of unfathomable love: "If children, then Heirs- Heirs of God." "Heirs of God!" All within the compass of Omnipotence to bestow! "God," says Beveridge, "thus speaks. "I AM that I AM!" He puts His hand to a blank check, that His people may write under it what they please, that is for their good.

        My soul! are you an heir of God? Can you look upwards to the throne of that Great "I am," and say, "my God?" Happier words- a more glorious assurance- cannot thrill on an archangel's tongue! With such a Portion as this, surely I am independent of all others. Let that amazing "secret" form the last thought of this day; and, as the Almighty is even now whispering it in my ears, I may close my eyes, repeating– "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

http://www.gracegems.org/
Our literature is public domain—use it in any way you desire.
No monetary donations accepted. "Freely you
have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8

[airIam2worship]

THE NAME OF GOD

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." Proverbs 18:10

Strong indeed! "We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts." Every ATTRIBUTE of Godhead is such a tower. Every perfection such a rampart- all combined
to insure the believer's everlasting security. Reader, "Go, inspect the city of Jerusalem. Walk around and count the many towers. Take note of the fortified walls, and tour all the citadels, that you may describe them to future generations. For that is what God is like. He is our God forever and ever, and he will be our guide until we die." Psalm 48:12-14.

Mark the strong Tower of OMNIPOTENCE. It proclaims that Almightiness is on your side- that there is One with you and for you, boundless in His resources, greater far than all that can be against you!

Mark the strong Tower of UNCHANGEABLENESS. All earthly fabrics are tottering and crumbling around you. The dearest of all your earthly refuges has written on it the doom of the dust. But, sheltered here, you can gaze unawed on all the fitful changes of life, and exult in an unchanging God!

Mark the strong Tower of WISDOM. When dealings are dark, and chastisements mysterious, do you know what it is to retire within this fortress, and to be reminded that all, all that befalls you, is the planning of unerring rectitude and faithfulness?- to see inscribed on the chamber-walls, "The only Wise God!"

Mark the strong Tower of LOVE. When the hurricane has been fierce, your heart breaking with new trials, the past dark, the future a dreary waste, no lull in the storm, no light in the clouds– oh! is it no comfort to you to retire into this most hallowed of bulwarks, and read the living motto emblazoned on its every turret- "God is love!" My soul! are you safe in this impregnable fortress? Have you entered within the gate? Remember, it is not to be "near" the city, but "in" it. Not to know about Christ, but to "win Him, and be found in Him." One footstep outside the walls, and the Avenger of blood can cut you down! "Turn, then, to the stronghold!" as a "prisoner of hope!"

Once, these were colossal walls to 'exclude'. Now, they are unassailable barriers to 'protect'- a citadel where His saints are "kept" by the power of God. Every portal is open; and the God of Mercy issues the gracious proclamation- "Come, my people, enter into your chambers!" How safe! how happy here! "If there be tossing and doubting, it is the heaving of a ship at anchor- not the dashing on the rocks." (Evans)

IN GOD! "There is, in this," says Jonathan Edwards, speaking of the same blessed truth, "secured to me, as it were, a calm, sweet aspect, or appearance, of glory in almost everything." We can hear, amid the surges of life, a voice high above the storm, the Name of the Lord- "It is I!"

"It is I," remarks Bishop Hall, "were as much as an hundred names. It is I! I, your Lord and Master. I, the Commander of winds and waters. I, the Sovereign Lord of Heaven and Earth. I, the God of Spirits. Let Heaven be but as one Scroll, and let it be written all over with titles- they cannot express more than- It is I! Oh, sweet and seasonable word of a gracious Savior!- able to calm all tempests- able to revive all hearts- say but so to my soul, and I am safe!" "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

http://www.gracegems.org/
Our literature is public domain—use it in any way you desire.
No monetary donations accepted. "Freely you
have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8

[airIam2worship]

THE FAVOR OF GOD

"In Your favor is life" Psalm 30:5

How anxious are we to stand well with our fellow-men, and secure their favor! Are we equally so to stand well with God? The favor of man, what is it? A passing breath, which a moment may alienate, a look forfeit, and which, at best, a few brief years will forever terminate. But the favor of God- how ennobling, constant, and enduring! In possession of that favor, we are independent alike of what the world gives and withholds. With it, we are rich, whatever else we lack. Without it, we are poor, though we have the wealth of worlds beside. Bereft of Him, we can truly say with aged Jacob, "I am bereaved." Nothing can compensate for His loss, but He can compensate for the loss of everything!

"You are, O God, the life and light
Of all this wondrous world we see;
Its glow by day, its smile by night,
Are but reflections caught from Thee!
Where'er we turn, Your glories shine,
And all things fair and bright are Thine."

Reader! are you living a stranger to this favor, under the cheerless sense of alienation from God? Sin uncancelled- peace unpurchased- all uncertainty about the question of your eternity? Who need ask, living thus, if you are satisfied, or happy? Satisfied? Impossible! Nothing can satisfy your infinite capacities but the infinite God. Nothing can fill up the aching voids of your immortal being, but Him "who only has immortality." Happy? Impossible, also! There can be no happiness with sin unforgiven- the conscience unappeased- imperishable interests hanging overhead unsettled and unadjusted- death, and judgment, and eternity, all unprovided for. Living at this "dying rate," peace must be a stranger to your bosom!

Seek to make up your peace with God. Covet His life-giving favor. What a blessed fountain of unsullied joy has that soul which can look up to Heaven and say, "God is mine!" That word- that thought- wipes away every tear-drop, "My Father!" What though the perishable streams be dried, if you are driven to learn the truth, "All my springs are in You." He may empty your cistern, but the Fountainhead remains. Job was the sorest of sufferers, but he could bear patiently to be bereft of all, save One- "Oh that I knew where I might find Him!"

"Go," said Chrysostom, exulting in this favor of the King of kings, when an earthly princess tried to shake his spirit- "Go, tell her that I fear nothing but sin." Blessed state of conscious security!

"If You are mine, eternal God!
Let fraud or malice, storm or flood,
Bear all besides away;
The soul's best treasure lies too deep
For spoiler's arm, or fortune's sweep
Or time's more sure decay!
"Death, that all 'lower bliss' destroys,
Robs not the spirit of its joys;
And if his stroke can sever
The fleshly seal, 'tis but to bring
The living waters from their spring,
And bid them gush forever."

The same mighty consolation which supported Jesus in His season of humiliation, forms the solace and rejoicing of His true people- "Because He is on my right hand, I shall not be moved." Blessed Jesus! Oh encompass me this night with Your favor are with a shield, and then– "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

http://www.gracegems.org/
Our literature is public domain—use it in any way you desire.
No monetary donations accepted. "Freely you
have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8