Morning and Evening

Charles H. Spurgeon
September 30, 2010

Morning Reading

Sing forth the honour of His name, make His praise glorious.

—Psalm 66:2

It is not left to our own option whether we shall praise God or not. Praise is God's most righteous due, and every Christian, as the recipient of His grace, is bound to praise God from day to day. It is true we have no authoritative rubric for daily praise; we have no commandment prescribing certain hours of song and thanksgiving: but the law written upon the heart teaches us that it is right to praise God; and the unwritten mandate comes to us with as much force as if it had been recorded on the tables of stone, or handed to us from the top of thundering Sinai. Yes, it is the Christian's duty to praise God. It is not only a pleasurable exercise, but it is the absolute obligation of his life. Think not ye who are always mourning, that ye are guiltless in this respect, or imagine that ye can discharge your duty to your God without songs of praise. You are bound by the bonds of His love to bless His name so long as you live, and His praise should continually be in your mouth, for you are blessed, in order that you may bless Him; "this people have I formed for myself, they shall show forth my praise"; and if you do not praise God, you are not bringing forth the fruit which He, as the Divine Husbandman, has a right to expect at your hands. Let not your harp then hang upon the willows, but take it down, and strive, with a grateful heart, to bring forth its loudest music. Arise and chant His praise. With every morning's dawn, lift up your notes of thanksgiving, and let every setting sun be followed with your song. Girdle the earth with your praises; surround it with an atmosphere of melody, and God Himself will hearken from heaven and accept your music.

"E'en so I love Thee, and will love,
And in Thy praise will sing,
Because Thou art my loving God,
And my redeeming King."

Evening Reading

A living dog is better than a dead lion.

—Ecclesiastes 9:4

Life is a precious thing, and in its humblest form it is superior to death. This truth is eminently certain in spiritual things. It is better to be the least in the kingdom of heaven than the greatest out of it. The lowest degree of grace is superior to the noblest development of unregenerate nature. Where the Holy Ghost implants divine life in the soul, there is a precious deposit which none of the refinements of education can equal. The thief on the cross excels Caesar on his throne; Lazarus among the dogs is better than Cicero among the senators; and the most unlettered Christian is in the sight of God superior to Plato. Life is the badge of nobility in the realm of spiritual things, and men without it are only coarser or finer specimens of the same lifeless material, needing to be quickened, for they are dead in trespasses and sins..

A living, loving, gospel sermon, however unlearned in matter and uncouth in style, is better than the finest discourse devoid of unction and power. A living dog keeps better watch than a dead lion, and is of more service to his master; and so the poorest spiritual preacher is infinitely to be preferred to the exquisite orator who has no wisdom but that of words, no energy but that of sound. The like holds good of our prayers and other religious exercises; if we are quickened in them by the Holy Spirit, they are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, though we may think them to be worthless things; while our grand performances in which our hearts were absent, like dead lions, are mere carrion in the sight of the living God. O for living groans, living sighs, living despondencies, rather than lifeless songs and dead calms. Better anything than death. The snarlings of the dog of hell will at least keep us awake, but dead faith and dead profession, what greater curses can a man have? Quicken us, quicken us, O Lord!

The Lord hears the righteous

Daily Promises
Blue Letter Bible
September 30, 2010

The LORD [is] far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous. (Proverbs 15:29)

Rejoice, O believer, for you are always given the privilege of speaking directly to the ear of the Father of heaven though the gift of His Son! He will hear your cry at every hour. Your every need is His own concern. Turn to Him with your every fear, your every trouble, and every prayer of thanks!

Humility and the Fear of the Lord

Day By Day By Grace
Bob Hoekstra
September 30, 2010

By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches and honor and life…with the humble is wisdom…The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. (Proverbs 22:4; 11:2; and 9:10)

Many of our previous meditations have clearly demonstrated that walking in humility is the pathway for living by the grace of God. "God…gives grace to the humble" (1 Peter 5:5). In our present verses, we see that humility and the fear of the Lord are related.

Humility and the fear of the Lord result in the same blessings. "By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches and honor and life." The closing trio ("riches and honor and life") are an Old Testament description of a life that is fully blessed by God. The New Testament counterpart would be fullness of spiritual life. "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). Humility and the fear of the Lord also result in wisdom. "With the humble is wisdom… The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom."

Humility is the candid acknowledgment of our absolute need for the Lord to work thoroughly in our lives day by day. The fear of the Lord is respect and reverence toward our great God. It is not a fear involving terror or apprehension. Rather, it is based upon profound admiration and dependent devotion.

Those who humbly fear the Lord (by placing their admiration and devotion in Him) also embrace His perspectives and values. They develop a hatred for the things that He hates. "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate" (Proverbs 8:13). Correspondingly, those who have respect and reverence for the Lord develop a love for all that He loves. The Lord loves for His people to walk in righteousness and justice. "The LORD loves the righteous…the LORD loves justice" (Psalm 146:8 and 37:28 ). The Lord loves Israel, His chosen nation. "The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples" (Deuteronomy 7:7). The Lord loves His church, the children of God. "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!" (1 John 3:1). The Lord loves the world, those who need to know Him. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

Lord God Almighty, I humbly bow before You, acknowledging my absolute need for You to work thoroughly in my life day by day. I want to walk in the fear of the Lord, placing my admiration and devotion in You. I want to hate all that You hate and love all that You love, in Jesus' name, Amen.

Is it nothing to you?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The death of our Lord Jesus Christ is the most wonderful, astounding, magnificent event in the history of the universe! Nothing that is, has been, or shall hereafter be--can be compared to it. Yet, as He was suffering the wrath of God, bearing the sins of His people, dying as the voluntary Substitute for guilty, hell-deserving, hell-bent sinners, such as we are--we hear the Son of God expressing the most woeful, unexplainable lamentation imaginable. He cried, "Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see. Is any suffering like My suffering that was inflicted on Me, that the Lord brought on Me in the day of His fierce anger?" Lamentations 1:12

When I hear those words falling from the lips of the Son of God, as He hangs upon the cursed tree, I simply cannot avoid asking a question. Of whom does the bleeding Lamb of God speak these words? To whom is the death of Christ meaningless and insignificant?

Nothing in all the universe is more wonderful and magnificent in the eyes of God the Father--than the death of His dear Son!
The angels of heaven ever look into the mystery and wonder of redemption by the blood of Christ with astonishment!
Faithful gospel preachers are so overwhelmed with the wonders of redemption and the glory of the Redeemer--that they never cease to study, glory in, and preach the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Redeemed sinners on the earth cherish nothing, delight in nothing, marvel at nothing--like the death of our Lord Jesus Christ for them!
The ransomed in glory appear to think of nothing and speak of nothing--except the dying love of the Lamb in the midst of the throne! (Revelation 5:9-12).

Yet, there are some to whom our darling Savior speaks as it were, with astonishment, to whom His death is meaningless, insignificant, nothing! Who are these people to whom the sin-atoning death of Christ is nothing?

Our Lord is here addressing Himself to everyone who 'passes by' Him--passes by His death as the sinners' Substitute in unbelief. O unbelieving, Christless soul--it is you to whom the Son of God speaks!

O cold, calculating, heartless, preacher, you who pass by the crucified Christ--and take to your lips the meaningless, insignificant trifles of politics, social corruptions, moralisms, denominationalism, historical religion, creeds, and debates about nothing--it is you to whom the Master speaks!

Christ crucified is mundane, meaningless and insignificant--only to unregenerate, unbelieving souls!

It is my heart's prayer that you will hear these words echoing in your soul--until the death of our Lord Jesus Christ is made to be the most important thing in all the world to you. I pray that we may become totally consumed with the crucified Christ, that our hearts, our lives--every fiber of our souls may be constantly dominated by the death of Christ as our sin-atoning Savior. Let us meditate upon and study the great, sin-atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, until it consumes our every thought!

Morning and Evening

Charles H. Spurgeon
September 29, 2010

Morning Reading

Behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague.

—Leviticus 13:13

Strange enough this regulation appears, yet there was wisdom in it, for the throwing out of the disease proved that the constitution was sound. This morning it may be well for us to see the typical teaching of so singular a rule. We, too, are lepers, and may read the law of leper as applicable to ourselves. When a man sees himself to be altogether lost and ruined, covered all over with the defilement of sin, and no part free from pollution; when he disclaims all righteousness of his own, and pleads guilty before the Lord, then is he clean through the blood of Jesus, and the grace of God. Hidden, unfelt, unconfessed iniquity is the true leprosy, but when sin is seen and felt it has received its death blow, and the Lord looks with eyes of mercy upon the soul afflicted with it. Nothing is more deadly than self-righteousness, or more hopeful than contrition. We must confess that we are "nothing else but sin," for no confession short of this will be the whole truth, and if the Holy Spirit be at work with us, convincing us of sin, there will be no difficulty about making such an acknowledgment—it will spring spontaneously from our lips. What comfort does the text afford to those under a deep sense of sin! Sin mourned and confessed, however black and foul, shall never shut a man out from the Lord Jesus. Whosoever cometh unto Him, He will in no wise cast out. Though dishonest as the thief, though unchaste as the woman who was a sinner, though fierce as Saul of Tarsus, though cruel as Manasseh, though rebellious as the prodigal, the great heart of love will look upon the man who feels himself to have no soundness in him, and will pronounce him clean, when he trusts in Jesus crucified. Come to Him, then, poor heavy-laden sinner,

Come needy, come guilty, come loathsome and bare;
You can't come too filthy—come just as you are.

Evening Reading

I found Him whom my soul loveth: I held Him, and would not let Him go.

—Song 3:4

Does Christ receive us when we come to Him, notwithstanding all our past sinfulness? Does He never chide us for having tried all other refuges first? And is there none on earth like Him? Is He the best of all the good, the fairest of all the fair? Oh, then let us praise Him! Daughters of Jerusalem, extol Him with timbrel and harp! Down with your idols, up with the Lord Jesus.. Now let the standards of pomp and pride be trampled under foot, but let the cross of Jesus, which the world frowns and scoffs at, be lifted on high. O for a throne of ivory for our King Solomon! let Him be set on high for ever, and let my soul sit at His footstool, and kiss His feet, and wash them with my tears. Oh, how precious is Christ! How can it be that I have thought so little of Him? How is it I can go abroad for joy or comfort when He is so full, so rich, so satisfying. Fellow believer, make a covenant with thine heart that thou wilt never depart from Him, and ask thy Lord to ratify it. Bid Him set thee as a signet upon His finger, and as a bracelet upon His arm. Ask Him to bind thee about Him, as the bride decketh herself with ornaments, and as the bridegroom putteth on his jewels. I would live in Christ's heart; in the clefts of that rock my soul would eternally abide. The sparrow hath made a house, and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God; and so too would I make my nest, my home, in Thee, and never from Thee may the soul of Thy turtle dove go forth again, but may I nestle close to Thee, O Jesus, my true and only rest.

"When my precious Lord I find,
All my ardent passions glow;
Him with cords of love I bind,
Hold and will not let Him go."

Pride and Shame or Humility and Wisdom

Day By Day By Grace
Bob Hoekstra
September 29, 2010

When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom…The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools. (Proverbs 11:2 and 3:35)

In order to live by the grace of God, we must be willing to walk in humility, instead of in pride. "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (1 Peter 5:5). We must be willing to acknowledge our daily, desperate need for God. Any other approach to life is based upon pride (which is a foolish, inaccurate assumption that we are adequate to produce a life on our own). Those who walk in pride end up with shame. Those who walk in humility end up with wisdom.

The Scriptures describe those who foolishly walk in pride, as well as declaring the shame that they experience. "When pride comes, then comes shame…shame shall be the legacy of fools." One example would be the wicked way that many privileged and powerful people persecute the downtrodden and the vulnerable. They are demonstrating their pride. "The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised" (Psalm 10:2). Their shame is that they can become entangled in the very schemes that they have contrived. Another example is seen in those who arrogantly oppose the people of God. "This they shall have for their pride, because they have reproached and made arrogant threats against the people of the LORD of hosts" (Zephaniah 2:10). Their shame was announced as a barrenness so severe as to be likened unto the end of Sodom and Gomorrah. "'Therefore, as I live,' says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Surely Moab shall be like Sodom, and the people of Ammon like Gomorrah—overrun with weeds and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation'" (Zephaniah 2:9).

In contrast to the shame that comes to the prideful, is the wisdom (and resulting glory, or honor) that comes to the humble. "With the humble is wisdom… The wise shall inherit glory." Those who walk humbly before the Lord find the godly wisdom available in the Lord's infallible word. "The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple" (Psalm 19:7). This wisdom from God brings honor to the humble ones who live by it. "A man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor" (Proverbs 29:23). Again, this honor for the humble is in striking contrast to the wretched and ignoble end that pride engenders.

Dear Lord of Glory, how fitting that those who pridefully oppose You will be brought low and will end up in shame. I do not want to be numbered among them. I desire to walk in humility, to eagerly acknowledge my desperate need for You every day in every way, and to be compassionate toward the needy. I desire to bless Your people, to humbly seek the wisdom of Your word, and to be a vessel of honor unto You, through Christ Jesus, my Lord, Amen.

Come quickly O Lord!

Daily Promises
Blue Letter Bible
September 29, 2010

Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. (2 Peter 3:13)

We as believers have a hope and a promise from God that there will be a new heaven and a new earth, which is the home of the righteous! These mortal things will soon pass! We merely await His glorious return! Let us cry with a great hope: "Come quickly O Lord!"

The grand secret!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(Octavius Winslow, "Evening Thoughts")

"This is real love. It is not that we loved God--but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." 1 John 4:10

Deal much and closely with a crucified Savior! This is the grand secret of a constant ascending of the affections to God. If you find it difficult to comprehend the love of God towards you--then read it in the cross of His dear Son!

Dwell upon this amazing fact,
drink into this precious truth,
muse upon it,
ponder it,
search into it,
pray over it,
until your heart is melted down, and broken, and overwhelmed with God's wondrous love to you, in the gift of Jesus!

Oh, how will this rekindle the flame that is ready to die in your bosom! How it will draw you up in a holy and unreserved surrender of body, soul, and spirit!

Deal much with Jesus!

Whenever you detect . . .
a waning of love,
a reluctance to take up the daily cross,
a shrinking from the precept
--go immediately to Calvary!

Go simply and directly to Jesus!

Get your heart warmed with ardent love by contemplating Him upon the cross--and soon will the frosts that gather round it melt away, and the congealed current shall begin to flow!

"Who loved me--and gave Himself for me!" Galatians 2:20

Romans 10:1-4

A Study of The Book of Romans

Lesson 71 Chapter 10:1 – 4

By Pastor Randy Johnson

1. Verse 1 “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.”
1. This is Paul second plea for his beloved Israel . Romans 1:3 “For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:”
2. However he ended chapter 9 admitting they would only be a few that was the true elect of God. Romans 9:27 “Esaias also crieth concerning Israel , Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:”
3. He also understood from his past belief and firmness in the Jewish faith, and their hatred for Jesus Christ and Christians, and that their total depravity that they would never turn to Christ on their own. This is why also in chapter 9 he ended with this; Romans 9:32 - 33 “Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; (33.) As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” Christ Jesus is their stumbling stone, just as He is with the religionist of our day because He simply in not alone able to cleanse us from out sins in totality.
4. “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is…”

a. “…my heart's desire…” means - my earnest and sincere prayer is – meaning he truly did desire the Israelites to be saved but understood unless God redeemed them they were eternally lost.

b. Wesley said in his commentary, “He would not have prayed for this, had they been absolutely reprobated.” – I agree, Paul did pray because he wanted them to be saved, if he believed there was no hope at all he would not have prayed about it.

5. “…that they might be saved.” He did not pray for worldly riches or worldly powers or etc. he prayed for their salvation. If you know someone who is lost the only thing they need from God is salvation, pray for salvation before all else because God is the only One Who can save the lost.
1. Verse 2 “For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.”
1. This goes back to their living and attempting to obey the law, just because they have zeal to serve God does not mean they will be accepted as saved. Just because religious people consider themselves “good Christians” and have wonderful works does not make them Christians.
2. “For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God…” The word “zeal” means – heat or fervent mind – It could mean one who serves God most faithfully, or one who lives for God, or one who has faithful works. But without Christ it is all fruitless, one cannot serve God without Christ in their heart. John 16:2 - 3 “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. (3.) And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.” – Just because one is religious does not mean they know the True God, nor do they know Jesus Christ.

a. Jesus said; Matthew 23:15 “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.” Justin Martyr defines it this way, “the proselytes did not only disbelieve Christ’s doctrine, but were abundantly more blasphemous against him than the Jews themselves, endeavoring to torment and cut off the Christians wherever they could; they being in this the instruments of the scribes and Pharisees.” – The converts were worse than the Jews were, all the while convinced they were doing Gods will, just as Saul (or Paul) did before he was saved.

b. Albert Barnes said “That is, twice as bad. To be a child of hell was a Hebrew phrase, signifying to be deserving of hell, to be awfully wicked.

3. “…but not according to knowledge.” – But not according to truth. Many people believe themselves to be doing Gods will but in reality know nothing about God or His true will. Their works are in vain.

a. Matthew 15:9 “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”

b. Galatians 2:21 “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”

c. Philippians 2:16 “Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.”

d. Those that LABOR for God and for salvation know neither the grace of God nor the salvation of God, and will spend eternity in hell for all their labors no matter how wonderful man may consider them.

3. Verse 3 “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”
1. “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness…” – The word “ignorant” simply means – not to know or to understand – They were and are ignorant of Gods plan of salvation and the religious world today is in the same state. How can one know if God does not reveal it to them?
2. “…and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” – By living the law, this is mans creation not God, God never said a man is justified by works of any kind.

a. Philippians 3:8 “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, (9.) And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:”

b. Every saved person believes Jesus Christ saves sinners and not works. Works is a man-made salvation it has nothing to do with God. Romans 5:1 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”

c. Verse 4 “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” – This is point blank, no doubt, Paul simply spelled it all out, Christ Jesus is salvation He is not only a part of salvation. Christ + nothing else = salvation / Christ + anything else = eternity in hell.

d. Matthew 5:17 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” – Because He fulfilled the law so do we who are in Him, therefore why would our attempt to fulfill it be a part of salvation? Did He not do a good enough job? This is why “…Christ is the end of the law…” V. 4 It needs no more fulfilling.

He restores my soul

Kirksville Daily Express

Pastor Glenn Archer

September 26, 2010

Faith Baptist Church

He restores my soul.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, [bless] his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: who forgives all your iniquities; who heals all thy diseases; who redeems thy life from destruction; who crowns thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies; who satisfies thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Ps 103:1-5)

The Psalmist did not say, “He restores my body.” He said, “He restores my soul.” As David spoke in Psalm 103, he addressed his soul, saying, “Bless the LORD, O my soul.” Speaking to his soul he remarks, “Forget not all His benefits.” He then began to enumerate the benefits the Lord had bestowed upon His soul.

First and foremost in the bag of benefits was, “He forgives all your iniquities.” Forgiveness is our greatest need. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. If we are to approach God, it must be that He has found some way to forgive us. This He has done through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, “in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Ephesians 1:7)

The second benefit he mentions was that the Lord had healed all his soul’s diseases. We fret because of disease in our bodies. Billions are spent trying to correct these problems. In spite of all we do for them, they are but headed for the grave. David was concerned with the disease of his soul. His prayerlessness, his lust and greed, his dishonesty, his pride, his covetousness; these were the things that troubled him. God not only forgives us, but He cleanses us as well. He heals the diseases of our souls. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1John 1:9)

A third benefit was that God had redeemed his life of from destruction. The fear of Hell had been removed. He was no longer afraid to meet God. The blood of Jesus prevails to remove the enmity that existed between God and the sinner. We now have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We know that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.” (2Corinthians 5:19)

David understood that God had crowned his life with loving-kindness and tender mercies. His mouth had been satisfied with good, until his youth had been renewed like the eagles. How good and how gracious is the Lord our God. “Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” (2Corinthians 4:16) David understood that “The things which are seen are temporary; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2Corinthians 4:18)

Are we willing to devote our lives to that which is but ‘a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” James 4:14)? Is it not better to live for that which is eternal? Who is the object of our respect? To whom are our lives devoted? Where did we come from? Where are we going? Who is our Judge?

“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:” (Isaiah 55:6)

Morning and Evening

Charles H. Spurgeon
September 28, 2010

Morning Reading

The Lord looketh from heaven; He beholdeth all the sons of men.

—Psalm 33:13

Perhaps no figure of speech represents God in a more gracious light than when He is spoken of as stooping from His throne, and coming down from heaven to attend to the wants and to behold the woes of mankind. We love Him, who, when Sodom and Gomorrah were full of iniquity, would not destroy those cities until He had made a personal visitation of them. We cannot help pouring out our heart in affection for our Lord who inclines His ear from the highest glory, and puts it to the lip of the dying sinner, whose failing heart longs after reconciliation. How can we but love Him when we know that He numbers the very hairs of our heads, marks our path, and orders our ways? Specially is this great truth brought near to our heart, when we recollect how attentive He is, not merely to the temporal interests of His creatures, but to their spiritual concerns. Though leagues of distance lie between the finite creature and the infinite Creator, yet there are links uniting both. When a tear is wept by thee, think not that God doth not behold; for, "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him." Thy sigh is able to move the heart of Jehovah; thy whisper can incline His ear unto thee; thy prayer can stay His hand; thy faith can move His arm. Think not that God sits on high taking no account of thee. Remember that however poor and needy thou art, yet the Lord thinketh upon thee. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards Him.

Oh! then repeat the truth that never tires;
No God is like the God my soul desires;
He at whose voice heaven trembles, even He,
Great as He is, knows how to stoop to me.

Evening Reading

Go again seven times.

—1 Kings 18:43

Success is certain when the Lord has promised it. Although you may have pleaded month after month without evidence of answer, it is not possible that the Lord should be deaf when His people are earnest in a matter which concerns His glory. The prophet on the top of Carmel continued to wrestle with God, and never for a moment gave way to a fear that he should be non-suited in Jehovah's courts. Six times the servant returned, but on each occasion no word was spoken but "Go again." We must not dream of unbelief, but hold to our faith even to seventy times seven. Faith sends expectant hope to look from Carmel's brow, and if nothing is beheld, she sends again and again. So far from being crushed by repeated disappointment, faith is animated to plead more fervently with her God. She is humbled, but not abashed: her groans are deeper, and her sighings more vehement, but she never relaxes her hold or stays her hand. It would be more agreeable to flesh and blood to have a speedy answer, but believing souls have learned to be submissive, and to find it good to wait for as well as upon the Lord. Delayed answers often set the heart searching itself, and so lead to contrition and spiritual reformation: deadly blows are thus struck at our corruption, and the chambers of imagery are cleansed. The great danger is lest men should faint, and miss the blessing. Reader, do not fall into that sin, but continue in prayer and watching. At last the little cloud was seen, the sure forerunner of torrents of rain, and even so with you, the token for good shall surely be given, and you shall rise as a prevailing prince to enjoy the mercy you have sought. Elijah was a man of like passions with us: his power with God did not lie in his own merits. If his believing prayer availed so much, why not yours? Plead the precious blood with unceasing importunity, and it shall be with you according to your desire.

More on Josiah Humbling Himself before the Lord

Day By Day By Grace
Bob Hoekstra
September 28, 2010

Thus says the LORD God of Israel: "Concerning the words which you have heard—because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you," says the LORD…"your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place and its inhabitants." (2 Chronicles 34:26-27)

King Josiah was a godly ruler, who purged the land of idolatrous activities. When the neglected word of God was discovered in the temple, he responded humbly as he heard it read. "Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes." He thereby escaped the judgment that was deserved by the rebellious people. Also, this appropriate wrath was postponed until after his reign.

These blessings of grace came because of Josiah's humble response to God's word. His heart was soft when he heard the word of the Lord: "Concerning the words which you have heard—because your heart was tender." The attitude of the heart toward the Scriptures is pivotal if a person is to experience God's grace at work in his life. A hardhearted response to the word of God does not receive the grace of God. The Israelites in Zechariah's day were a sad example of this. The Lord sent His word to them, "But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear. Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the LORD of hosts" (Zechariah 7:11-12).

Josiah's attitude was a vivid contrast. "You humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants." He did what James would later call God's people to do. "Receive with meekness the implanted word" (James 1:21). Josiah's humility was so evident. "You humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me." The result was that Josiah would enjoy the grace of God. His time of leadership would not have to go through the wrath that the people deserved from their previous rebellion and hardheartedness. "Your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place and its inhabitants."

Dear Lord, I confess that I have not always responded in humility before Your word. I thank You for Your forgiving grace. Yet, even more, I hunger for Your transforming grace. Shape my heart into a tender vessel that will meekly receive Your holy word, day by day, for Your honor and glory, Amen.

I am continually with thee

Daily Promises
Blue Letter Bible
September 28, 2010

Nevertheless I [am] continually with thee: thou hast holden [me] by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me [to] glory. (Psalms 73:23-24)

My Prayer: Gracious Father, thank You for continually being present within my life! Thank You for loving me with such unconditional adoration! Make me worthy of Your wonderful devotion toward me that I may give You honour and praise. Cause me to have a passionate desire toward Your word that I may please You in all I do and say. May I desire nothing on this desolate earth but the future glory with You!

A few more throbbings of this aching heart!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(John MacDuff, "The Faithful Promiser")

"The days of your mourning shall be ended!" Isaiah 60:20

Christ's people are a weeping band--though there is much in this lovely world to make them joyous and happy. Yet when they think of sin--their own sin, and the unblushing sins of a world in which their God is dishonored--need we wonder at their tears? Are we surprised that they should be called "Mourners," and that their pilgrimage is a "Valley of Tears?" Sickness, bereavement, poverty and death following the track of sin--add to their mourning experience! And with many of God's best beloved children, one tear is scarcely dried--when another is ready to flow!

Mourners! rejoice!

When the reaping time comes--the weeping time ends!

When the white robe and the golden harp are bestowed--every remnant of the sackcloth attire is removed. The moment the pilgrim, whose forehead is here furrowed with woe, bathes it in the crystal river of life--that moment the pangs of a lifetime of sorrow are eternally forgotten!

Reader! if you are one of these careworn ones, take heart--the days of your mourning are numbered! A few more throbbings of this aching heart--and then sorrow, and sighing, and mourning, will be forever past!

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes! There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain!" Revelation 21:4