Morning   “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made

the righteousness of God in him.”

2 Corinthians 5:21

Mourning Christian! why weepest thou? Art thou mourning over thine own

corruptions? Look to thy perfect Lord, and remember, thou art complete in him;

thou art in God’s sight as perfect as if thou hadst never sinned; nay, more than

that, the Lord our Righteousness hath put a divine garment upon thee, so that

thou hast more than the righteousness of man–thou hast the righteousness of

God. O thou who art mourning by reason of inbred sin and depravity, remember,

none of thy sins can condemn thee. Thou hast learned to hate sin; but thou hast

learned also to know that sin is not thine–it was laid upon Christ’s head. Thy

standing is not in thyself–it is in Christ; thine acceptance is not in

thyself, but in thy Lord; thou art as much accepted of God today, with all thy

sinfulness, as thou wilt be when thou standest before his throne, free from all

corruption. O, I beseech thee, lay hold on this precious thought, perfection in

Christ! For thou art “complete in him.” With thy Saviour’s garment on, thou art

holy as the Holy one. “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea

rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also

maketh intercession for us.” Christian, let thy heart rejoice, for thou art

“accepted in the beloved”–what hast thou to fear? Let thy face ever wear a

smile; live near thy Master; live in the suburbs of the Celestial City;

for soon, when thy time has come, thou shalt rise up where thy Jesus sits, and

reign at his right hand; and all this because the divine Lord “was made to be

sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in

him.”

 

Evening   “Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.”

Isaiah 2:3

It is exceedingly beneficial to our souls to mount above this present evil world

to something nobler and better. The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of

riches are apt to choke everything good within us, and we grow fretful,

desponding, perhaps proud and carnal. It is well for us to cut down these thorns

and briers, for heavenly seed sown among them is not likely to yield a harvest;

and where shall we find a better sickle with which to cut them down than

communion with God and the things of the kingdom? In the valleys of Switzerland,

many of the inhabitants are deformed, and all wear a sickly appearance, for the

atmosphere is charged with miasma, and is close and stagnant; but up

yonder, on the mountain, you find a hardy race, who breathe the clear fresh air

as it blows from the virgin snows of the Alpine summits. It would be well if the

dwellers in the valley could frequently leave their abodes among the marshes and

the fever mists, and inhale the bracing element upon the hills. It is to such an

exploit of climbing that I invite you this evening. May the Spirit of God assist

us to leave the mists of fear and the fevers of anxiety, and all the ills which

gather in this valley of earth, and to ascend the mountains of anticipated joy

and blessedness. May God the Holy Spirit cut the cords that keep us here below,

and assist us to mount! We sit too often like chained

eagles fastened to the rock, only that, unlike the eagle, we begin to love our

chain, and would, perhaps, if it came really to the test, be loath to have it

snapped. May God now grant us grace, if we cannot escape from the chain as to

our flesh, yet to do so as to our spirits; and leaving the body, like a servant,

at the foot of the hill, may our soul, like Abraham, attain the top of the

mountain, there to indulge in communion with the Most High.