Morning   “Whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of

evil.”  Proverbs 1:33

 Divine love is rendered conspicuous when it shines in the midst of judgments.

Fair is that lone star which smiles through the rifts of the thunder clouds;

bright is the oasis which blooms in the wilderness of sand; so fair and so

bright is love in the midst of wrath. When the Israelites provoked the Most High

by their continued idolatry, he punished them by withholding both dew and rain,

so that their land was visited by a sore famine; but while he did this, he took

care that his own chosen ones should be secure. If all other brooks are dry, yet

shall there be one reserved for Elijah; and when that fails, God shall still

preserve for him a place of sustenance; nay, not only so, the Lord had

 not simply one “Elijah,” but he had a remnant according to the election of

grace, who were hidden by fifties in a cave, and though the whole land was

subject to famine, yet these fifties in the cave were fed, and fed from Ahab’s

table too by His faithful, God-fearing steward, Obadiah. Let us from this draw

the inference, that come what may, God’s people are safe. Let convulsions shake

the solid earth, let the skies themselves be rent in twain, yet amid the wreck

of worlds the believer shall be as secure as in the calmest hour of rest. If God

cannot save his people under heaven, he will save them in heaven. If the world

becomes too hot to hold them, then heaven shall be the place of their

 reception and their safety. Be ye then confident, when ye hear of wars, and

rumours of wars. Let no agitation distress you, but be quiet from fear of evil.

Whatsoever cometh upon the earth, you, beneath the broad wings of Jehovah, shall

be secure. Stay yourself upon his promise; rest in his faithfulness, and bid

defiance to the blackest future, for there is nothing in it direful for you.

Your sole concern should be to show forth to the world the blessedness of

hearkening to the voice of wisdom.

 

Evening   “How many are mine iniquities and sins?”  Job 13:23

 Have you ever really weighed and considered how great the sin of God’s people

is? Think how heinous is your own transgression, and you will find that not only

does a sin here and there tower up like an alp, but that your iniquities are

heaped upon each other, as in the old fable of the giants who piled Pelion upon

Ossa, mountain upon mountain. What an aggregate of sin there is in the life of

one of the most sanctified of God’s children! Attempt to multiply this, the sin

of one only, by the multitude of the redeemed, “a number which no man can

number,” and you will have some conception of the great mass of the guilt of the

people for whom Jesus shed his blood. But we arrive at a more

 adequate idea of the magnitude of sin by the greatness of the remedy provided.

It is the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s only and well-beloved Son. God’s Son!

Angels cast their crowns before him! All the choral symphonies of heaven

surround his glorious throne. “God over all, blessed forever. Amen.” And yet he

takes upon himself the form of a servant, and is scourged and pierced, bruised

and torn, and at last slain; since nothing but the blood of the incarnate Son of

God could make atonement for our offences. No human mind can adequately estimate

the infinite value of the divine sacrifice, for great as is the sin of God’s

people, the atonement which takes it away is immeasurably greater.

 Therefore, the believer, even when sin rolls like a black flood, and the

remembrance of the past is bitter, can yet stand before the blazing throne of

the great and holy God, and cry, “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that

died; yea rather, that hath risen again.” While the recollection of his sin

fills him with shame and sorrow, he at the same time makes it a foil to show the

brightness of mercy–guilt is the dark night in which the fair star of divine

love shines with serene splendour.