Morning     “Take us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines.”   Song of Solomon 2:15

A little thorn may cause much suffering. A little cloud may hide the sun. Little

foxes spoil the vines; and little sins do mischief to the tender heart. These

little sins burrow in the soul, and make it so full of that which is hateful to

Christ, that he will hold no comfortable fellowship and communion with us. A

great sin cannot destroy a Christian, but a little sin can make him miserable.

Jesus will not walk with his people unless they drive out every known sin. He

says, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have

kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” Some Christians very

seldom enjoy their Saviour’s presence. How is this? Surely it must be an

affliction for a tender child to be separated from his father. Art thou a child

of God, and yet satisfied to go on without seeing thy Father’s face? What! thou

the spouse of Christ, and yet content without his company! Surely, thou hast

fallen into a sad state, for the chaste spouse of Christ mourns like a dove

without her mate, when he has left her. Ask, then, the question, what has driven

Christ from thee? He hides his face behind the wall of thy sins. That wall may

be built up of little pebbles, as easily as of great stones. The sea is made of

drops; the rocks are made of grains: and the sea which divides thee from Christ

may be filled with the drops of thy little sins; and the rock

which has well nigh wrecked thy barque, may have been made by the daily working

of the coral insects of thy little sins. If thou wouldst live with Christ, and

walk with Christ, and see Christ, and have fellowship with Christ, take heed of

“the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes.” Jesus

invites you to go with him and take them. He will surely, like Samson, take the

foxes at once and easily. Go with him to the hunting.

 

Evening   “That henceforth we should not serve sin.”   Romans 6:6

Christian, what hast thou to do with sin? Hath it not cost thee enough already?

Burnt child, wilt thou play with the fire? What! when thou hast already been

between the jaws of the lion, wilt thou step a second time into his den? Hast

thou not had enough of the old serpent? Did he not poison all thy veins once,

and wilt thou play upon the hole of the asp, and put thy hand upon the

cockatrice’s den a second time? Oh, be not so mad! so foolish! Did sin ever

yield thee real pleasure? Didst thou find solid satisfaction in it? If so, go

back to thine old drudgery, and wear the chain again, if it delight thee. But

inasmuch as sin did never give thee what it promised to bestow, but deluded thee

with lies, be not a second time snared by the old fowler–be free, and let the

remembrance of thy ancient bondage forbid thee to enter the net again! It is

contrary to the designs of eternal love, which all have an eye to thy purity and

holiness; therefore run not counter to the purposes of thy Lord. Another thought

should restrain thee from sin. Christians can never sin cheaply; they pay a

heavy price for iniquity. Transgression destroys peace of mind, obscures

fellowship with Jesus, hinders prayer, brings darkness over the soul; therefore

be not the serf and bondman of sin. There is yet a higher argument: each time

you “serve sin” you have “Crucified the Lord afresh, and put him to an

open shame.” Can you bear that thought? Oh! if you have fallen into any special

sin during this day, it may be my Master has sent this admonition this evening,

to bring you back before you have backslidden very far. Turn thee to Jesus anew;

he has not forgotten his love to thee; his grace is still the same. With weeping

and repentance, come thou to his footstool, and thou shalt be once more received

into his heart; thou shalt be set upon a rock again, and thy goings shall be

established.