Morning “The iniquity of the holy things.” / Exodus 28:38

What a veil is lifted up by these words, and what a disclosure is made! It

will be humbling and profitable for us to pause awhile and see this sad sight.

The iniquities of our public worship, its hypocrisy, formality, lukewarmness,

irreverence, wandering of heart and forgetfulness of God, what a full measure

have we there! Our work for the Lord, its emulation, selfishness,

carelessness, slackness, unbelief, what a mass of defilement is there! Our

private devotions, their laxity, coldness, neglect, sleepiness, and vanity,

what a mountain of dead earth is there! If we looked more carefully we should

find this iniquity to be far greater than appears at first sight. Dr. Payson,

writing to his brother, says, “My parish, as well as my heart, very much

resembles the garden of the sluggard; and what is worse, I find that very many

of my desires for the melioration of both, proceed either from pride or vanity

or indolence. I look at the weeds which overspread my garden, and breathe out

an earnest wish that they were eradicated. But why? What prompts the wish? It

may be that I may walk out and say to myself, In what fine order is my garden

kept!’ This is pride. Or, it may be that my neighbours may look over the wall

and say, How finely your garden flourishes!’ This is vanity. Or I may wish for

the destruction of the weeds, because I am weary of pulling them up. This is

indolence.” So that even our desires after holiness may be polluted by ill

motives. Under the greenest sods worms hide themselves; we need not look long

to discover them. How cheering is the thought, that when the High Priest bore

the iniquity of the holy things he wore upon his brow the words, “Holiness to

the Lord:” and even so while Jesus bears our sin, he presents before his

Father’s face not our unholiness, but his own holiness. O for grace to view

our great High Priest by the eye of faith!

 

Evening “Thy love is better than wine.” / Song of Solomon 1:2

Nothing gives the believer so much joy as fellowship with Christ. He has

enjoyment as others have in the common mercies of life, he can be glad both in

God’s gifts and God’s works; but in all these separately, yea, and in all of

them added together, he doth not find such substantial delight as in the

matchless person of his Lord Jesus. He has wine which no vineyard on earth

ever yielded; he has bread which all the corn-fields of Egypt could never

bring forth. Where can such sweetness be found as we have tasted in communion

with our Beloved? In our esteem, the joys of earth are little better than

husks for swine compared with Jesus, the heavenly manna. We would rather have

one mouthful of Christ’s love, and a sip of his fellowship, than a whole world

full of carnal delights. What is the chaff to the wheat? What is the sparkling

paste to the true diamond? What is a dream to the glorious reality? What is

time’s mirth, in its best trim, compared to our Lord Jesus in his most

despised estate? If you know anything of the inner life, you will confess that

our highest, purest, and most enduring joys must be the fruit of the tree of

life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God. No spring yields such sweet

water as that well of God which was digged with the soldier’s spear. All

earthly bliss is of the earth earthy, but the comforts of Christ’s presence

are like himself, heavenly. We can review our communion with Jesus, and find

no regrets of emptiness therein; there are no dregs in this wine, no dead

flies in this ointment. The joy of the Lord is solid and enduring. Vanity hath

not looked upon it, but discretion and prudence testify that it abideth the

test of years, and is in time and in eternity worthy to be called “the only

true delight.” For nourishment, consolation, exhilaration, and refreshment, no

wine can rival the love of Jesus. Let us drink to the full this evening.