Morning “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he

suffered.” / Hebrews 5:8

We are told that the Captain of our salvation was made perfect through  suffering, therefore we who are sinful, and who are far from being perfect,  must not wonder if we are called to pass through suffering too. Shall the head  be crowned with thorns, and shall the other members of the body be rocked upon  the dainty lap of ease? Must Christ pass through seas of his own blood to win  the crown, and are we to walk to heaven dryshod in silver slippers? No, our  Master’s experience teaches us that suffering is necessary, and the true-born  child of God must not, would not, escape it if he might. But there is one very  comforting thought in the fact of Christ’s “being made perfect through  suffering”–it is, that he can have complete sympathy with us. “He is not an  high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” In  this sympathy of Christ we find a sustaining power. One of the early martyrs  said, “I can bear it all, for Jesus suffered, and he suffers in me now; he  sympathizes with me, and this makes me strong.” Believer, lay hold of this  thought in all times of agony. Let the thought of Jesus strengthen you as you  follow in his steps. Find a sweet support in his sympathy; and remember that,  to suffer is an honourable thing–to suffer for Christ is glory. The apostles  rejoiced that they were counted worthy to do this. Just so far as the Lord  shall give us grace to suffer for Christ, to suffer with Christ, just so far  does he honour us. The jewels of a Christian are his afflictions. The regalia  of the kings whom God hath anointed are their troubles, their sorrows, and  their griefs. Let us not, therefore, shun being honoured. Let us not turn  aside from being exalted. Griefs exalt us, and troubles lift us up. “If we  suffer, we shall also reign with him.”

Evening  “I called him, but he gave me no answer.” / Song of Solomon 5:6

Prayer sometimes tarrieth, like a petitioner at the gate, until the King  cometh forth to fill her bosom with the blessings which she seeketh. The Lord,  when he hath given great faith, has been known to try it by long delayings. He  has suffered his servants’ voices to echo in their ears as from a brazen sky.  They have knocked at the golden gate, but it has remained immovable, as though  it were rusted upon its hinges. Like Jeremiah, they have cried, “Thou hast  covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through.” Thus  have true saints continued long in patient waiting without reply, not because  their prayers were not vehement, nor because they were unaccepted, but because  it so pleased him who is a Sovereign, and who gives according to his own  pleasure. If it pleases him to bid our patience exercise itself, shall he not  do as he wills with his own! Beggars must not be choosers either as to time,  place, or form. But we must be careful not to take delays in prayer for  denials: God’s long-dated bills will be punctually honoured; we must not  suffer Satan to shake our confidence in the God of truth by pointing to our  unanswered prayers. Unanswered petitions are not unheard. God keeps a file for  our prayers–they are not blown away by the wind, they are treasured in the  King’s archives. This is a registry in the court of heaven wherein every  prayer is recorded. Tried believer, thy Lord hath a tear-bottle in which the  costly drops of sacred grief are put away, and a book in which thy holy  groanings are numbered. By and by, thy suit shall prevail. Canst thou not be  content to wait a little? Will not thy Lord’s time be better than thy time? By  and by he will comfortably appear, to thy soul’s joy, and make thee put away  the sackcloth and ashes of long waiting, and put on the scarlet and fine linen  of full fruition.