Morning “I will pour water upon him that is thirsty.” / Isaiah 44:3

 When a believer has fallen into a low, sad state of feeling, he often tries to

lift himself out of it by chastening himself with dark and doleful fears. Such

is not the way to rise from the dust, but to continue in it. As well chain the

eagle’s wing to make it mount, as doubt in order to increase our grace. It is

not the law, but the gospel which saves the seeking soul at first; and it is

not a legal bondage, but gospel liberty which can restore the fainting

believer afterwards. Slavish fear brings not back the backslider to God, but

the sweet wooings of love allure him to Jesus’ bosom. Are you this morning

thirsting for the living God, and unhappy because you cannot find him to the

delight of your heart? Have you lost the joy of religion, and is this your

prayer, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation”? Are you conscious also

that you are barren, like the dry ground; that you are not bringing forth the

fruit unto God which he has a right to expect of you; that you are not so

useful in the Church, or in the world, as your heart desires to be? Then here

is exactly the promise which you need, “I will pour water upon him that is

thirsty.” You shall receive the grace you so much require, and you shall have

it to the utmost reach of your needs. Water refreshes the thirsty: you shall

be refreshed; your desires shall be gratified. Water quickens sleeping

vegetable life: your life shall be quickened by fresh grace. Water swells the

buds and makes the fruits ripen; you shall have fructifying grace: you shall

be made fruitful in the ways of God. Whatever good quality there is in divine

grace, you shall enjoy it to the full. All the riches of divine grace you

shall receive in plenty; you shall be as it were drenched with it: and as

sometimes the meadows become flooded by the bursting rivers, and the fields

are turned into pools, so shall you be–the thirsty land shall be springs of

water.

 

Evening “Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.”

/ Hebrews 9:20

 There is a strange power about the very name of blood, and the sight of it is

always affecting. A kind heart cannot bear to see a sparrow bleed, and unless

familiarized by use, turns away with horror at the slaughter of a beast. As to

the blood of men, it is a consecrated thing: it is murder to shed it in wrath,

it is a dreadful crime to squander it in war. Is this solemnity occasioned by

the fact that the blood is the life, and the pouring of it forth the token of

death? We think so. When we rise to contemplate the blood of the Son of God,

our awe is yet more increased, and we shudder as we think of the guilt of sin,

and the terrible penalty which the Sin-bearer endured. Blood, always precious,

is priceless when it streams from Immanuel’s side. The blood of Jesus seals

the covenant of grace, and makes it forever sure. Covenants of old were made

by sacrifice, and the everlasting covenant was ratified in the same manner.

Oh, the delight of being saved upon the sure foundation of divine engagements

which cannot be dishonoured! Salvation by the works of the law is a frail and

broken vessel whose shipwreck is sure; but the covenant vessel fears no

storms, for the blood ensures the whole. The blood of Jesus made his testament

valid. Wills are of no power unless the testators die. In this light the

soldier’s spear is a blessed aid to faith, since it proved our Lord to be

really dead. Doubts upon that matter there can be none, and we may boldly

appropriate the legacies which he has left for his people. Happy they who see

their title to heavenly blessings assured to them by a dying Saviour. But has

this blood no voice to us? Does it not bid us sanctify ourselves unto him by

whom we have been redeemed? Does it not call us to newness of life, and incite

us to entire consecration to the Lord? O that the power of the blood might be

known, and felt in us this night!