Morning “Be ye separate.” / 2 Corinthians 6:17

The Christian, while in the world, is not to be of the world. He should be
distinguished from it in the great object of his life. To him, “to live,”
should be “Christ.” Whether he eats, or drinks, or whatever he does, he should
do all to God’s glory. You may lay up treasure; but lay it up in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, where thieves break not through nor steal.
You may strive to be rich; but be it your ambition to be “rich in faith,” and
good works. You may have pleasure; but when you are merry, sing psalms and
make melody in your hearts to the Lord. In your spirit, as well as in your
aim, you should differ from the world. Waiting humbly before God, always
conscious of his presence, delighting in communion with him, and seeking to
know his will, you will prove that you are of heavenly race. And you should be
separate from the world in your actions. If a thing be right, though you lose
by it, it must be done; if it be wrong, though you would gain by it, you must
scorn the sin for your Master’s sake. You must have no fellowship with the
unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Walk worthy of your
high calling and dignity. Remember, O Christian, that thou art a son of the
King of kings. Therefore, keep thyself unspotted from the world. Soil not the
fingers which are soon to sweep celestial strings; let not these eyes become
the windows of lust which are soon to see the King in his beauty–let not
those feet be defiled in miry places, which are soon to walk the golden
streets–let not those hearts be filled with pride and bitterness which are
ere long to be filled with heaven, and to overflow with ecstatic joy.

Then rise my soul! and soar away,

Above the thoughtless crowd;

Above the pleasures of the gay,

And splendours of the proud;

Up where eternal beauties bloom,

And pleasures all divine;

Where wealth, that never can consume,

And endless glories shine.

Evening “Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies.” / Psalms 5:8

Very bitter is the enmity of the world against the people of Christ. Men will
forgive a thousand faults in others, but they will magnify the most trivial
offence in the followers of Jesus. Instead of vainly regretting this, let us
turn it to account, and since so many are watching for our halting, let this
be a special motive for walking very carefully before God. If we live
carelessly, the lynx-eyed world will soon see it, and with its hundred
tongues, it will spread the story, exaggerated and emblazoned by the zeal of
slander. They will shout triumphantly. “Aha! So would we have it! See how
these Christians act! They are hypocrites to a man.” Thus will much damage be
done to the cause of Christ, and much insult offered to his name. The cross of
Christ is in itself an offence to the world; let us take heed that we add no
offence of our own. It is “to the Jews a stumblingblock”: let us mind that we
put no stumblingblocks where there are enough already. “To the Greeks it is
foolishness”: let us not add our folly to give point to the scorn with which
the worldly-wise deride the gospel. How jealous should we be of ourselves! How
rigid with our consciences! In the presence of adversaries who will
misrepresent our best deeds, and impugn our motives where they cannot censure
our actions, how circumspect should we be! Pilgrims travel as suspected
persons through Vanity Fair. Not only are we under surveillance, but there are
more spies than we know of. The espionage is everywhere, at home and abroad.
If we fall into the enemies’ hands we may sooner expect generosity from a
wolf, or mercy from a fiend, than anything like patience with our infirmities
from men who spice their infidelity towards God with scandals against his
people. O Lord, lead us ever, lest our enemies trip us up!