The First Day of December
TRUE WALKING POSTURE
"He that walketh uprightly walketh surely." - KJV
"Whoever walks in integrity walks securely." - ESV - Proverbs 10:9.
His walk may be slow, but it is sure. He that hasteth to be rich shall not be innocent nor sure; but steady perseverance in integrity,
if it do not bring riches, will certainly bring peace. In doing that which is just and right we are like one walking upon a rock, for we
have confidence that every step we take is upon solid and safe ground. On the other hand, the utmost success through questionable
treacherous, and the man who has gained it must always be afraid that a day of reckoning will come, and then his gains will condemn him.
Let us stick to truth and righteousness. By God's grace let us imitate our Lord and Master, in whose mouth no deceit was ever found.
Let us not be afraid of being poor, nor of being treated with contempt. Never, on any account whatever, let us do that which our conscience
cannot juspngy. If we lose inward peace, we lose more than a fortune can buy. If we keep in the Lord's own way, and never sin against our
conscience, our way is sure against all comers. Who is he that can harm us if we be followers of that which is good? We may be thought
fools by fools if we are firm in our integrity; but in the place where judgment is infallible we shall be approved.
"I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand,
I shall not be moved." - KJV
"I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken." - ESV - Psalm 16:8.
The Third Day of December
PEACE WHATEVER EXPOSURE
"I will make them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil
beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the
wilderness, and sleep in the woods." - KJV
"I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may
dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods." - ESV - Ezekiel 34:25.
It is the height of grace that Jehovah should be in covenant with man, a feeble, sinful and dying creature. Yet the Lord has solemnly
entered into a faithful compact with us, and from that covenant He will never turn aside. In virtue of this covenant we are safe. As lions
and wolves are driven off by shepherds, so shall all noxious influences be chased away. The Lord will give us rest from disturbers and
destroyers; the evil beasts shall cease out of the land. O Lord, make this thy promise good even now!
The Lord's people are to enjoy security in places of the greatest exposure: wildernesses and woods are to be as pastures and folds to
the flock of Christ. If the Lord does not change the place for the better, He will make us the better in the place. The wilderness is not a
place to dwell in, but the Lord can make it so; in the woods one feels bound to watch rather than to sleep, and yet the Lord giveth His
beloved sleep even there. Nothing without or within should cause any fear to the child of God. By faith the wilderness can become the
suburbs of Heaven, and the woods the vestibule of glory.
The Fourth Day of December.
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COVERED AND PROTECTED
"He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust:
his truth shall be thy shield and buckler." - KJV
"He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler." - ESV - Psalm 91:4.
A condescending simile indeed! Just as a hen protects her brood and allows them to nestle under her wings, so will the Lord defend His
people, and permit them to hide away in Him. Have we not seen the little chicks peeping out from under the mother's feathers? Have we not
heard their little cry of contented joy? In this way let us shelter ourselves in our God, and feel overflowing peace in knowing that He is
guarding us.
While the Lord covers us we trust. It would be strange if we did not. How can we distrust when Jehovah Himself becomes house and home,
refuge and rest to us?
This done, we go out to war in His name and enjoy the same guardian care. We need shield and buckler, and when God, even as the
chick trusts the hen, we find His truth arming us from head to foot. The Lord cannot lie; He must be faithful to His people; His promise
must stand. This sure truth is all the shield we need. Behind it we defy the fiery darts of the enemy.
Come, my soul, hide under those great wings, lose thyself among those soft feathers! How happy thou art!
The Fifth Day of December
HIGH PLACES OF DEFENSE
"He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks:
bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure." - KJV
"He will dwell on the heights;
his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks;
his bread will be given him; his water will be sure." - ESV - Isaiah 33:16.
The man to whom God has given grace to be of blameless life dwells in perfect security. He dwells on high, above the world, out of
gunshot of the enemy, and near to Heaven. He has high aims and motives, and he finds high comforts and company. He rejoices in the
mountains of eternal love, wherein he has his abode.
He is defended by munitions of stupendous rock. The firmest things in the universe are the promises and purposes of the unchanging
God, and these are the safeguard of the obedient believer.
He is provided for by this great promise, "Bread shall be given him." As the enemy cannot climb the fort, nor break down the rampart,
so the fortress cannot be captured by siege and famine. The Lord, who rained manna in the wilderness, will keep His people in good store
even when they are surrounded by those who would starve them.
But what if water should fail? That cannot be, "his waters shall be sure." There is a never-failing well within the impregnable
fortress. The Lord sees that nothing is wanting. None can touch the citizen of the true Zion. However fierce the enemy, the Lord will
preserve His chosen.
The Sixth Day of December.
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"THROUGH" NOT ENGULFED
"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and
through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest
through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame
kindle upon thee." - KJV
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not
---------------------=====--------------- - consume you." - ESV - Isaiah 43:2.
Bridge there is none: we must go through the waters, and feel the rush of the rivers. The presence of God in the flood is better than
a ferry-boat. Tried we must be, but triumphant we shall be; for Jehovah Himself, who is mightier than many waters, shall be with us.
Whenever else He may be away from His people, the Lord will surely be with them in difficulties and dangers. The sorrows of life may rise
to an extraordinary height, but the Lord is equal to every occasion.
The enemies of God can put in our way dangers of their own making, namely, persecutions and cruel mockings, which are like a burning
fiery furnace. What then? We shall walk through the fires. God being with us, we shall not be burned; nay, not even the smell of fire shall
remain upon us. Oh, the wonderful security of the heaven-born and heaven-bound pilgrim! Floods cannot drown him, nor fires burn him. Thy
presence, O Lord, is the protection of thy saints from the varied perils of the road. Behold, in faith I commit myself unto thee, and my
spirit enters into rest.
The Seventh Day of December
GIFT OF STRENGTH; PEACE TO BLESS
"The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people
with peace." - KJV
"May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!" - ESV - Psalm 29:11.
David had just heard the voice of the Lord in a thunderstorm, and had seen His power in the hurricane whose path he had described; and
now, in the cool calm after the storm, that overwhelming power by which Heaven and earth are shaken is promised to be the strength of the
chosen. He who wings the unerring bolt will give to His redeemed the wings of eagles; He who shakes the earth with His voice will terrify
the enemies of His saints, and give His children peace. Why are we weak when we have divine strength to flee to? Why are we troubled when
the Lord's own peace is ours? Jesus, the mighty God, is our strength; let us put Him on and go forth to our service. Jesus, our blessed
Lord, is also our peace; let us repose in Him this day, and end our fears. What a blessing to have Him for our strength and peace both now
and for ever!
That same God who rides upon the storm in days of tempest will also rule the hurricane of our tribulation, and send us, before long,
days of peace. We shall have strength for storms, and songs for fair weather. Let us begin to sing at once unto God our strength and our
peace. Away, dark thoughts! Up, faith and hope!
The Eighth Day of December.
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FOLLOWING LEADS TO HONOR
"If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my
servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor." - KJV
" If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me,
the Father will honor him." - ESV - John 12:26.
The highest service is imitation. If I would be Christ's servant I must be His follower. To do as Jesus did is the surest way of
bringing honor to His name. Let me mind this every day.
If I imitate Jesus I shall have His company: if I am like Him I shall be with Him. In due time He will take me up to dwell with Him
above, if, meanwhile, I have striven to follow Him here below. After His suffering our Lord came to His throne, and even so, after we have
suffered a while with Him here below, we also shall arrive in glory. The issue of our Lord's life shall be the issue of ours: if we are
with Him in His humiliation we shall be with Him in His glory. Come, my soul, pluck up courage, and put down thy feet in the blood-marked
footprints which thy Lord has left thee. Let me not fail to note that the Father will honor those who follow His Son. If He sees me true to
Jesus He will put marks of favor and honor upon me for His Son's sake. No honor can be like this. Princes and emperors bestow the mere
shadows of honor; the substance of glory comes from the Father. Wherefore, my soul, cling thou to thy Lord Jesus more closely than ever.
The Ninth Day of December
THE "ALL" OF BELIEF
"Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible
to him that believeth." - KJV
"And Jesus said to him, "'If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.'" - ESV - Mark 9:23.
Our unbelief is the greatest hindrance in our way; in fact, there is no other real difficulty as to our spiritual progress and
prosperity. The Lord can do everything; but when He makes a rule that according to our faith so shall it be unto us, our unbelief ties the
hands of His Omnipotence.
Yes, the confederacies of evil shall be scattered if we can but believe. Despised truth shall lift its head if we will but have
confidence in the God of truth. We can bear our load of trouble, or pass uninjured through the waves of distress, if we can gird our loins
with the girdle of peace, that girdle which is buckled on by the hands of trust.
What can we not believe? Is everything possible except believing in God? Yet He is always true; why do we not believe Him? He is
always faithful to His word; why can we not trust Him? When we are in a right state of heart faith costs no effort: it is then as natural
for us to rely upon God as for a child to trust its father.
The worst of it is, that we can believe God about everything except the present pressing trial. This -is folly. Come, my soul, shake
sinfulness, and trust thy God with the load, the labor, the longing of this present. This done, all is done.
The Tenth Day of December.
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GOD IS OUR ALLY
"But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak;
then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto
thine adversaries." - KJV
"But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies
and an adversary to your adversaries." - ESV - Exodus 23:22.
The Lord Christ in the midst of His people is to be acknowledged and obeyed. He is the viceregent of God, and speaks in the Father's
name, and it is ours implicitly and immediately to do as He commands. We shall lose the promise if we disregard the precept.
To full obedience how large the blessing! The Lord enters into a league with His people, offensive and defensive. He will bless those
who bless us, and curse those who curse us. God will go heart and soul with His people, and enter in deepest sympathy into their position.
What a protection this affords us! We need not concern ourselves about our adversaries, when we are assured that they have become the
adversaries of God. If Jehovah has taken up our quarrel we may leave the foemen in His hands.
So far as our own interest is concerned we have no enemies; but for the cause of truth and righteousness we take up arms and go forth
to conflict. In this sacred war we are allied with the eternal God, and if we carefully obey the law of our Lord Jesus, He is engaged to
put forth all His power on our behalf. Wherefore we fear no man.
The Eleventh Day of December
TRUST AND DO; DO AND TRUST
"Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily
thou shalt be fed." - KJV
"Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness" - ESV - Psalm 37:3.
Trust and do are words which go well together, in the order in which the Holy Spirit has placed them. We should have faith, and that
faith should work. Trust in God sets us upon holy doing: we trust God for good, and then we do good. We do not sit s.till because we trust,
but we arouse ourselves, and expect the Lord to work through us and by us. It is not ours to worry and do evil, but to trust and do good.
We neither trust without doing, nor do without trusting.
Adversaries would root us out, if they could; but by trusting and doing we dwell in the land. We will not go into Egypt, but we will
remain in Immanuel's land - the providence of God, the Canaan of covenant love. We are not so easily to be got rid of as the Lord's
enemies suppose. They cannot thrust us out, nor stamp us out: where God has given us a name and a place, there we abide.
But what about the supply of our necessities? The Lord has put a "verily" into this promise. As sure as God is true, His people shall
be fed. It is theirs to trust and to do, and it is the Lord's to do according to their trust. If not fed by ravens, or fed by an Obadiah,
or fed by a widow, yet they shall be fed somehow. Away, ye fears!
The Twelfth Day of December.
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A QUIET HEART
"In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength." - KJV
"In quietness and in trust shall be your strength." - ESV - Isaiah 30:15.
It is always weakness to be fretting and worrying, questioning and mistrusting. What can we do if we wear ourselves to skin and bone?
Can we gain anything by fearing and fuming? Do we not unfit ourselves for action, and unhinge our minds for wise decision? We are sinking
by our struggles when we might float by faith.
Oh, for grace to be quiet! Why run from house to house to repeat the weary story which makes us more and more heart-sick as we tell
it? Why even stay at home to cry out in agony because of wretched forebodings which may never be fulfilled? It would be well to keep a
quiet tongue, but it would be far better if we had a quiet heart. Oh, to be still and know that Jehovah is God!
Oh, for grace to be confident in God! The Holy One of Israel must defend and deliver His own. He cannot run back from His solemn
declarations. We may make sure that every word of His will stand though the mountains should depart. He deserves to be confided in; and if
we would display confidence and consequent quietness, we might be as happy as the spirits before the throne.
Come, my soul, return unto thy rest, and lean thy head upon the bosom of the Lord Jesus.
The Thirteenth Day of December
EVENING BRIGHTENS INTO DAY
"It shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light." - KJV
"Neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light." - ESV - Zechariah 14:7.
It is a surprise that it should be so; for all things threaten that at evening time it shall be dark. God is wont to work in a way so
much above our fears and beyond our hopes, that we are greatly amazed, and are led to praise His sovereign grace. No, it shall not be with
us as our hearts are prophesying: the dark will not deepen into midnight, but it will on a sudden brighten into day. Never let us despair.
In the worst times let us trust in the Lord who turneth the darkness of the shadow of death into the morning. When the tale of bricks is
doubled Moses appears, and when tribulation abounds it is nearest its end.
This promise should assist our patience. The light may not fully come till our hopes are quite spent by waiting all day to no purpose.
To the wicked the sun goes down while it is yet day: to the righteous the sun rises when it is almost night. May we not with patience wait
for that heavenly light, which may be long in coming, but is sure to prove itself well worth waiting for?
Come, my soul, take up thy parable and sing unto Him who will bless thee in life and in death, in a manner surpassing all that nature
has ever seen when at its best.
The Fourteenth Day of December.
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NOTHING OLD
"And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new." - KJV
"And he who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.'" - ESV
- Revelation 21:5.
Glory be to His name! All things need making new, for they are sadly battered and worn by sin. It is time that the old vesture
was rolled up and laid aside, and that creation put on her Sunday suit. But no one else can make all things new except the Lord who made
them at the first; for it needs as much power to make out of evil as to make out of nothing. Our Lord Jesus has undertaken the task, and He
is fully competent for the performance of it. Already He has commenced His labor, and for centuries He has persevered in making new the
hearts of men, and the order of society. By-and-by He will make new the whole constitution of human government, and human nature shall be
changed by His grace; and there shall come a day when the body shall be made new, and raised like unto His glorious body.
What a joy to belong to a kingdom in which everything is being made new by the power of its King! We are not dying out: we are
hastening on to a more glorious life. Despite the opposition of the powers of evil, our glorious Lord Jesus is accomplishing His purpose,
and making us, and all things about us, "new," and as full of beauty as when they first came from the hand of the Lord.
The Fifteenth Day of December
WORLD CONCORD
"And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears
into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more." - KJV
"And they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore." - ESV - Isaiah 2:4.
Oh, that these happy times were come! At present the nations are heavily armed, and are inventing weapons more and more terrible, as
if the chief end of man could only be answered by destroying myriads of his fellows. Yet peace will prevail one day; yes, and so prevail
that the instruments of destruction shall be beaten into other shapes and used for better purposes.
How will this come about? By trade? By civilization? By arbitration? We do not believe it. Past experience forbids our trusting to
means so feeble. Peace will be established only by the reign of the Prince of Peace. He must teach the people by His Spirit, renew their
hears by His grace, and reign over them by His supreme power, and then will they cease to wound and kill. Man is a monster when once his
blood is up, and only the Lord Jesus can turn this lion into a lamb. By changing man's heart, his blood-thirsty passions are removed. Let
every reader of this book of promises offer special prayer today to the Lord and Giver of Peace, that He would speedily put an end to war,
and establish concord over the whole world.
The Sixteenth Day of December.
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DIVINE EXPULSION
"Thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and
though they be strong."
- KJV
"For you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron,
and though they are strong." - ESV - Joshua 17:18.
It is a great encouragement to valor to be assured of victory, for then a man goes forth to war in confidence, and ventures where else
he had been afraid to go. Our warfare is with evil within us and around us, and we ought to be persuaded that we are able to get the
victory, and that we shall do so in the name of the Lord Jesus. We are not riding for a fall, but to win; and win we shall. The grace of
God in its Omnipotence is put forth for the overthrow of evil in every form: hence the certainty of triumph.
Certain of our sins find chariots of iron in our constitution, our former habits, our associations, and our occupations. Nevertheless
we must overcome them. They are very strong, and in reference to them we are very weak; yet in the name of God we must master them, and we
will. If one sin has dominion of us we are not the Lord's free men. A man who is held by Only one chain is still a captive. There is no
going to Heaven with one sin ruling within us, for of the saints it is said, "Sin shall not have dominion over you." Up, then, and slay
every Canaanite, and break to shivers every chariot of iron! The Lord of hosts is with us, and who shall resist His sin-destroying power?
The Seventeeth Day of December
NEAREST AND DEAREST FELLOWSHIP
"So shall we ever be with the Lord." - KJV
"So we will always be with the Lord." - ESV - 1 Thessalonians 4:17.
While we are here the Lord is with us, and when we are called away we are with Him. There is no dividing the saint from His Saviour.
They are one, and they always must be one: Jesus cannot be without His own people, for He would be a Head without a body. Whether caught up
into the air, or resting in Paradise, or sojourning here, we are with Jesus; and who shall separate us from Him?
What a joy is this! Our supreme honor, rest, comfort, delight, is to be with the Lord. We cannot conceive of anything which can
surpass or even equal this divine society. By holy fellowship we must be with Him in His humiliation, rejection, and travail, and then we
shall be with Him in His glory. Before long we shall be with Him in His rest and in His royalty, in His expectation and in His
manifestation. We shall fare as He fares, and triumph as He triumphs.
O my Lord, if I am to be for ever with thee, I have a destiny incomparable. I will not envy an archangel. To be for ever with the
Lord is my idea of Heaven at its best. Not the harps of gold, nor the crowns unfading, nor the light unclouded, is glory to me; but Jesus,
Jesus Himself, and myself for ever with Him in nearest and dearest fellowship.
The Eighteenth Day of December.
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DEFENDED AND COVERED
"As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem." - KJV
"Like birds hovering, so the Lord of hosts
will protect Jerusalem." - ESV - Isaiah 31:5.
With hurrying wing the mother bird hastens up to the protection of her young. She wastes no time upon the road when coming to supply
them with food, or guard them from danger. Thus as on eagle's wings will the Lord come for the defense of His chosen; yea, He will ride
upon the wings of the wind.
With outspread wing the mother covers her little ones in the nest. She hides them away by interposing her own body. The hen yields her
own warmth to her chicks, and makes her wings a house, in which they dwell at home. Thus doth Jehovah Himself become the protection of His
elect. He Himself is their refuge, their abode, their all.
As birds flying, and birds covering (for the word means both), so will the Lord be unto us: and this He will be repeatedly and
successfully. We shall be defended and preserved from all evil: the Lord who likens Himself to birds will not be like them in their
feebleness, for He is Jehovah of hosts. Let this be our comfort, that almighty love will be swift to succor, and sure to cover. The wing of
God is more quick and more tender than the wing of a bird, and we will put our trust under its shadow henceforth and for ever.
The Ninteenth Day of December
"He keepeth all his bones; not one of them is broken." - KJV
"He keeps all his bones;
not one of them is broken." - ESV - Psalm 34:20.
This promise by the context is referred to the much afflicted righteous man: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord
delivereth him out of them all." He may suffer skin-wounds and flesh-wounds, but no great harm shall be done, "not a bone of him shall be
broken."
This is great comfort to a tried child of God, and comfort which I dare accept; for up to this hour I have suffered no real damage
from my many afflictions. I have neither lost faith, nor hope, nor love. Nay, so far from losing these bones of character, they have gained
in strength and energy. I have more knowledge, more experience, more patience, more stability than I had before the trials came. Not even
my joy has been destroyed. Many a bruise have I had by sickness, bereavement, depression, slander, and opposition; but the bruise has
healed, and there has been no compound fracture of a bone, not even a simple one. The reason is not far to seek. If we trust in the Lord,
He keeps all our bones; and if He keeps them, we may be sure that not one of them is broken.
Come, my heart, do not sorrow. Thou art smarting, but there are no bones broken. Endure hardness, and bid defiance to fear.
The Twentieth Day of December.
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MEN AS MEN; GOD AS GOD
"I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou
shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man
which shall be made as grass; and forgettest the Lord thy maker,
that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of
the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury
of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the
fury of the oppressor?." - KJV
"I, I am he who comforts you;
who are you that you are afraid of man who dies,
of the son of man who is made like grass,
and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth,
and you fear continually all the day
because of the wrath of the oppressor,
when he sets himself to destroy?
And where is the wrath of the oppressor?" - ESV - Isaiah 51:12, 13.
Let the text itself be taken as the portion for today. There is no need to enlarge upon it. Trembling one, read it, believe it, feed
on it, and plead it before the Lord. He whom you fear is only a man after all; while He who promises to comfort you is God, your Maker, and
the Creator of Heaven and earth. Infinite comfort more than covers a very limited danger.
"Where is the fury of the oppressor?" It is in the Lord's hand. It is only the fury of a dying creature; fury which will end as
soon as the breath is gone from the nostril. Why, then, should we stand in awe of one who is as frail as ourselves? Let us not dishonor
our God by making a God of puny man. We can make an idol of a man by rendering to him excessive fear as well as by paying him inordinate
love. Let us treat men as men, and God as God; and then we shall go calmly on in the path of duty, fearing the Lord, and fearing nobody else.
The Twenty First Day of December
FROM ANGER TO LOVE
"He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our
iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." - KJV
"He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our[a] sins
into the depths of the sea." - ESV - Micah 7:19.
God never turns from His love, but He soon turns from His wrath. His love to His chosen is according to His nature, His anger is only
according to His office: He loves because He is love, He frowns because it is necessary for our good. He will come back to the place in
which His heart rests, namely, His love to His own, and then He will take pity upon our griefs and end them.
What a choice promise is this " - He will subdue our iniquities"! He will conquer them. They cry to enslave us, but the Lord will give
us victory over them by His own right hand. Like the Canaanites, they shall be beaten, put under the yoke, and ultimately slain.
As for the guilt of our sins, how gloriously is that removed! "All their sins," " yes, the whole host of them; "thou wilt cast" - only
an almighty arm could perform such a wonder; "into the depths of the sea" -where Pharaoh and his chariots went down. Not into the shallows
out of which they might be washed up by the tide, but into the "depths" shall our sins be hurled. They are all gone. They sank into the
bottom like a stone. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
The Twenty Second Day of December.
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IMMEDIATELY PRESENT
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." - KJV
"God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble." - ESV - Psalm 46:1.
A help that is not present when we need it is of small value. The anchor which is left at home is of no use to the seaman in the hour
of storm; the money which he used to have is of no worth to the debtor when a writ is out against him. Very few earthly helps could be
called "very present": they are usually far in the seeking, far in the using, and farther still when once used. But as for the Lord our
God, He is present when we seek Him, present when we need Him, and present when we have already enjoyed His aid.
He is more than "present," He is very present. More present than the nearest friend can be, for He is in us in our trouble; more
present than we are to ourselves, for sometimes we lack presence of mind. He is always present, effectually present, sympathetically
present, altogether present. He is present now if this is a gloomy season. Let us rest ourselves upon Him. He is our refuge, let us hide
in Him; He is our strength, let us array ourselves with Him; He is our help, let us lean upon Him; He is our very present help, let us
repose in Him now. We need not have a moment's care, or an instant's fear. "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge."
The Twenty Third Day of December
PRECIOUS THINGS
"And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious
things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath." - KJV
" And of Joseph he said,
“Blessed by the Lord be his land,
with the choicest gifts of heaven above,
and of the deep that crouches beneath." - ESV - Deuteronomy 33:13.
We may be rich in such things as Joseph obtained, and we may have them in a higher sense. Oh, for "the precious things of heaven"!
Power with God, and the manifestation of power from God, are most precious. We would enjoy the peace of God, the joy of the Lord, the glory
of our God. The benediction of the three divine Persons in love, and grace, and fellowship we prize beyond the most fine gold. The things
of earth are as nothing in preciousness compared with the things of Heaven.
"The dew." How precious is this! How we pray and praise, when we have the dew! What refreshing, what growth, what perfume, what life
there is in us when the dew is about! Above all things else, as plants of the Lord's own right hand planting, we need the dew of His Holy
Spirit.
"The deep that coucheth beneath." Surely this refers to that unseen ocean underground which supplies all the fresh springs which make
glad the earth. Oh to tap the eternal fountains! This is an unspeakable boon; let no believer rest till he possesses it. The all-sufficiency of
Jehovah is ours for ever. Let us resort to it now.
The Twenty Fourth Day of December.
Return to the Top.
OVER JORDAN WITH SINGING
"Thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee." - KJV
"Your enemies shall come fawning to you." - ESV - Deuteronomy 33:29.
That arch-enemy, the devil, is a liar from the beginning; but he is so very plausible that, like mother Eve, we are led to believe
him. Yet in our experience we shall prove him a liar.
He says that we shall fall from grace, dishonor our profession, and perish with the doom of apostates; but, trusting in the Lord
Jesus, we shall hold on our way and prove that Jesus loses none whom His Father gave Him. He tells us that our bread will fail, and we
shall starve with our children; yet the Feeder of the ravens has not forgotten us yet, and He will never do so, but will prepare us a table
in the presence of our enemies.
He whispers that the Lord will not deliver us out of the trial which is looming in the distance, and he threatens that the last ounce
will break the camel's back. What a liar he is! For the Lord will never leave us, nor forsake us. "Let him deliver him now!" cries the
false fiend: but the Lord will silence him by coming to our rescue.
He takes great delight in telling us that death will prove too much for us. "How wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?" But there
also he shall prove a liar unto us, and we shall pass through the river singing psalms of glory.
The Twenty Fifth Day of December
HE CAME; HE IS COMING
"This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in
like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." - KJV
"This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
- ESV - Acts 1:11.
Many are celebrating our Lord's first coming this day; let us turn our thoughts to the promise of His second coming. This is as sure
as the first advent, and derives a great measure of its certainty from it. He who came as a lowly man to serve will assuredly come to take
the reward of His service. He who came to suffer will not be slow in coming to reign.
This is our glorious hope, for we shall share His joy. Today we are in our concealment and humiliation, even as He was while here
below; but when He cometh it will be our manifestation, even as it will be His revelation. Dead saints shall live at His appearing. The
slandered and despised shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Then shall the saints appear as kings and priests, and
the days of their mourning shall be ended. The long rest and inconceivable splendor of the millennial reign will be an abundant recompense
for the ages of witnessing and warring.
Oh, that the Lord would come! He is coming! He is on the road and traveling quickly. The sound of His approach should be as music to
our hearts! Ring out, ye bells of hope!
The Twenty Sixth Day of December.
Return to the Top.
GOD ONLY, YOU CAN TRUST
"Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because
of thee, yet will I never be offended." - KJV
"Peter answered him, 'Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.'" - ESV - Matthew 26:33.
"Why," cries one, "this is no promise of God." Just so, but it was a promise of man, and therefore it came to nothing. Peter thought
that he was saying what he should assuredly carry out; but a promise which has no better foundation than a human resolve will fall to the
ground. No sooner did temptations arise than Peter denied his Master, and used oaths to confirm his denial.
What is man's word? An earthen pot broken with a stroke. What is your own resolve? A blossom, which, with God's care, may come to
fruit, but which, left to itself, will fall to the ground with the first wind that moves the bough.
On man's word hang only what it will bear.
On thine own resolve depend not at all.
On the promise of thy God hang time and eternity, this world and the next, thine all and the all of all thy beloved ones.
This volume is a checkbook for believers, and this page is meant as a warning as to what bank they draw upon, and whose signature they
accept. Rely upon Jesus without limit. Trust not thyself nor any born of woman, beyond due bounds; but trust thou only and wholly in the Lord.
The Twenty Seventh Day of December
HIS KINDNESS AND COVENANT
"For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my
kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of
my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee."
- KJV
"'For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,'
---------------------=====--------------- - says the Lord, who has compassion on you." - ESV - Isaiah 54:10.
One of the most delightful qualities of divine love is its abiding character. The pillars of the earth may be moved out of their
places, but the kindness and the covenant of our merciful Jehovah never depart from His people. How happy my soul feels in a firm belief of
this inspired declaration! The year is almost over, and the years of my life are growing few, but time does not change my Lord. New lamps
are taking the place of the old, perpetual change is on all things; but our Lord is the same. Force overturns the hills, but no conceivable
power can affect the eternal God. Nothing in the past, the present, or the future can cause Jehovah to be unkind to me.
My soul, rest in the eternal kindness of the Lord, who treats thee as one near of kin. Remember also the everlasting covenant. God is
ever mindful of it -see that thou art mindful of it too. In Christ Jesus the glorious God has pledged Himself to thee to be thy God, and
to hold thee as one of His people. Kindness and covenant - dwell on these words as sure and lasting things which eternity itself shall not
take from thee.
The Twenty Eighth Day of December.
Return to the Top.
ABSOLUTE ASSURANCE
"He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." - KJV
"I will never leave you nor forsake you." - ESV - Hebrews 13:5.
Several times in the Scriptures the Lord hath said this. He has often repeated it, to make our assurance doubly sure. Let us never
harbor a doubt of it. In itself the promise is specially emphatic. In the Greek it has five negatives, each one definitely shutting out the
possibility of the Lord's ever leaving one of His people so that he can justly feel forsaken of his God. This priceless Scripture does not
promise us exemption from trouble, but it does secure us against desertion. We may be called to traverse strange ways, but we shall always
have our Lord's company, assistance, and provision. We need not covet money, for we shall always have our God, and God is better than gold,
His favor is better than fortune. We ought surely to be content with such things as we have, for he who has God has more than all the world
besides. What can we have beyond the Infinite? What more can we desire than Almighty Goodness.
Come, my heart; if God says He will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, be thou much in prayer for grace, that thou mayest never leave
thy Lord, nor even for a moment forsake His ways.
The Twenty Nineth Day of December
HE WILL CARRY US HOME
"And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I
carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will
deliver you." - KJV
"Even to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save." - ESV - Isaiah 46:4.
The year is very old, and here is a promise for our aged friends; yes, and for us all, as age creeps over us. Let us live long enough,
and we shall all have hoar hairs; therefore we may as well enjoy this promise by the foresight of faith.
When we grow old our God will still be the I AM, abiding evermore the same. Hoar hairs tell of our decay, but He decayeth not. When we
cannot carry a burden, and can hardly carry ourselves the Lord will carry us. Even as in our young days He carried us like lambs in His
bosom, so will He in our years of infirmity.
He made us, and He will care for us. When we become a burden to our friends, and a burden to ourselves, the Lord will not shake us
off, but the rather He will take us up and carry and deliver us more fully than ever. In many cases the Lord gives His servants a long and
calm evening. They worked hard all day and wore themselves out in their Master's service, and so He said to them, "Now rest in anticipation
of that eternal Sabbath which I have prepared for you." Let us not dread old age. Let us grow old graciously, since the Lord himself is
with us in fullness of grace.
The Thirtieth Day of December.
Return to the Top.
LOVED TO PERFECTION
"Having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end." - KJV
"Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end." - ESV - John 13:1.
This fact is essentially a promise; for what our Lord was He is, and what He was to those with whom He lived on earth, He will be to
all His beloved so long as the moon endureth.
Having loved": here was the wonder! That He should ever have loved men at all is the marvel. What was there in His poor disciples that
He should love them? What is there in me?
But when He has once begun to love, it is His nature to continue to do so. Love made the saints "his own" - what a choice title! He
purchased them with blood and they became His treasure. Being His own, He will not lose them. Being His beloved, He will not cease to love
them. My soul, He will not cease to love thee!
The text is well as it stands: "to the end," even till His death the ruling passion of love to His own reigned in His sacred bosom. It
means also to the uttermost. He could not love them more: He gave Himself for them. Some read it, to perfection. Truly He lavished upon
them a perfect love, in which there was no flaw nor failure, no unwisdom, no unfaithfulness, and no reserve.
Such is the love of Jesus to each one of His people. Let us sing to our Well-beloved a song.
The Thirty First Day of December
NO STRANGER IN HEAVEN
"Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory." - KJV
"You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory." - ESV - Psalm 73:24.
From day to day and from year to year my faith believes in the wisdom and love of God, and I know that I shall not believe in vain. No
good word of His has ever failed, and I am sure that none shall ever fall to the ground.
I put myself into His hand for guidance. I know not the way that I should choose: the Lord shall choose mine inheritance for me. I
need counsel and advice; for my duties are intricate, and my condition is involved. I seek to the Lord, as the High Priest of old looked
to his Urim and Thummim. The counsel of the infallible God I seek in preference to my own judgment or the advice of friends. Glorious
Jehovah, thou shalt guide me!
Soon the end will come: a few more years, and I must depart out of this world unto the Father. My Lord will be near my bed. He will
meet me at Heaven's gate: He will welcome me to the glory land. I shall not be a stranger in Heaven: my own God and Father will receive me
to its endless bliss.
GLORY BE TO HIM WHO
WILL GUIDE ME HERE,
AND
RECEIVE ME HEREAFTER.
AMEN.
