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March 16 |
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Morning Reading |
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Evening
Reading |
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"I am a stranger with thee." |
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Psalm 39:12 |
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Yes, O Lord,
with thee, but not
to
thee. All my natural alienation from thee, thy grace has
effectually removed; and now, in fellowship with
thyself, I walk through this sinful world as a pilgrim
in a foreign country. Thou
art a stranger in thine own world. Man forgets thee,
dishonours thee, sets up new laws and alien customs, and
knows thee not. When thy dear Son came unto his own, his
own received him not. He was in the world, and the world
was made by him, and the world knew him not. Never was
foreigner so speckled a bird among the denizens of any
land as thy beloved Son among his mother's brethren. It
is no marvel, then, if I who live the life of Jesus,
should be unknown and a stranger here below. Lord, I
would not be a citizen where Jesus was an alien. His
pierced hand has loosened the cords which once bound my
soul to earth, and now I find myself a stranger in the
land. My speech seems to these Babylonians among whom I
dwell an outlandish tongue, my manners are singular, and
my actions are strange. A Tartar would be more at home
in Cheapside than I could ever be in the haunts of
sinners. But here is the sweetness of my lot: I am a
stranger with thee.
Thou art my fellow-sufferer, my fellow-pilgrim. Oh, what
joy to wander in such blessed society! My heart burns
within me by the way when thou dost speak to me, and
though I be a sojourner, I am far more blest than those
who sit on thrones, and far more at home than those who
dwell in their ceiled houses.
To me remains nor place,
nor time:
My country is
in every clime;
I can be calm
and free from care
On any shore, since God is there.
While place we
seek, or place we shun,
The soul finds happiness in none:
But with a God
to guide our way,
'Tis equal joy to go or stay. |
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Evening Reading |
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"Keep back thy servant also from
presumptuous sins." |
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Psalm 19:13 |
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Such was the prayer of
the
"man after God's own heart."
Did holy David need to pray thus? How needful, then,
must such a prayer be for us babes in grace! It is as if
he said, "Keep me back, or I shall rush headlong over
the precipice of sin." Our evil nature, like an
ill-tempered horse, is apt to run away. May the grace of
God put the bridle upon it, and hold it in, that it rush
not into mischief. What might not the best of us do if
it were not for the checks which the Lord sets upon us
both in providence and in grace! The psalmist's prayer
is directed against the worst form of sin — that which
is done with deliberation and wilfulness. Even the
holiest need to be "kept back" from the vilest
transgressions. It is a solemn thing to find the apostle
Paul warning saints against the most loathsome sins.
"Mortify therefore your members which are upon the
earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection,
evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is
idolatry." What! do saints want warning against such
sins as these? Yes, they do. The whitest robes, unless
their purity be preserved by divine grace, will be
defiled by the blackest spots. Experienced Christian,
boast not in your experience; you will trip yet if you
look away from him who is able to keep you from falling.
Ye whose love is fervent, whose faith is constant, whose
hopes are bright, say not, "We shall never sin," but
rather cry,
"Lead us not into temptation." There is enough
tinder in the heart of the best of men to light a fire
that shall burn to the lowest hell, unless God shall
quench the sparks as they fall. Who would have dreamed
that righteous Lot could be found drunken, and
committing uncleanness? Hazael said,
"Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this thing?"
and we are very apt to use the same self-righteous
question. May infinite wisdom cure us of the madness of
self-confidence. |
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