BibleWare/BibWare.bin/bibstudy/morneven.exe/ME09.PM

Text File | 1993-09-05 | 61KB | 1,124 lines

* 09/01/PM

"Trust in Him at all times."
                                                    --Psalm 62:8

   Faith is as much the rule of temporal as of spiritual life;
we ought to have faith in God for our earthly affairs as well as
for our heavenly business. It is only as we learn to trust in
God for the supply of all our daily need that we shall live
above the world. We are not to be idle, _that_ would show we did
_not_ trust in God, who worketh hitherto, but in the devil, who
is the father of idleness. We are not to be imprudent or rash;
that were to trust chance, and not the living God, who is a God
of economy and order. Acting in all prudence and uprightness, we
are to rely simply and entirely upon the Lord at all times.

   Let me commend to you a life of trust in God in temporal
things. Trusting in God, you will not be compelled to mourn
because you have used sinful means to grow rich. Serve God with
integrity, and if you achieve no success, at least no sin will
lie upon your conscience. Trusting God, you will not be guilty
of self-contradiction. He who trusts in craft, sails this way
to-day, and that way the next, like a vessel tossed about by the
fickle wind; but he that trusteth in the Lord is like a vessel
propelled by steam, she cuts through the waves, defies the wind,
and makes one bright silvery straightforward track to her
destined haven. Be you a man with living principles within;
never bow to the varying customs of worldly wisdom. Walk in your
path of integrity with steadfast steps, and show that you are
invincibly strong in the strength which confidence in God alone
can confer. Thus you will be delivered from carking care, you
will not be troubled with evil tidings, your heart will be
fixed, trusting in the Lord. How pleasant to float along the
stream of providence! There is no more blessed way of living
than a life of dependence upon a covenant-keeping God. We have
no care, for He careth for us; we have no troubles, because we
cast our burdens upon the Lord.

* 09/02/PM


"Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe."
                                                     --John 4:48

   A craving after marvels was a symptom of the sickly state of
men's minds in our Lord's day; they refused solid nourishment,
and pined after mere wonder. The gospel which they so greatly
needed they would not have; the miracles which Jesus did not
always choose to give they eagerly demanded. Many nowadays must
see signs and wonders, or they will not believe. Some have said
in their heart, "I must feel deep horror of soul, or I never
will believe in Jesus." But what if you never should feel it, as
probably you never may? Will you go to hell out of spite against
God, because He will not treat you like another? One has said to
himself, "If I had a dream, or if I could feel a sudden shock of
I know not what, then I would believe." Thus you undeserving
mortals dream that my Lord is to be dictated to by you! You are
beggars at His gate, asking for mercy, and you must needs draw
up rules and regulations as to how He shall give that mercy.
Think you that He will submit to this? My Master is of a
generous spirit, but He has a right royal heart, He spurns all
dictation, and maintains His sovereignty of action. Why, dear
reader, if such be your case, do you crave for signs and
wonders? Is not the gospel its own sign and wonder? Is not this
a miracle of miracles, that "God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him might not
perish"? Surely that precious word, "Whosoever will, let him
come and take the water of life freely" and that solemn promise,
"Him that cometh unto Me, I will in no wise cast out," are
better than signs and wonders! A truthful Saviour ought to be
believed. He is truth itself. Why will you ask proof of the
veracity of One who cannot lie? The devils themselves declared
Him to be the Son of God; will you mistrust Him?

* 09/03/PM


"The Lord trieth the righteous."
                                                    --Psalm 11:5

   All events are under the control of Providence; consequently
all the trials of our outward life are traceable at once to the
great First Cause. Out of the golden gate of God's ordinance the
armies of trial march forth in array, clad in their iron armour,
and armed with weapons of war. All providences are doors to
trial. Even our mercies, like roses, have their thorns. Men may
be drowned in seas of prosperity as well as in rivers of
affliction. Our mountains are not too high, and our valleys are
not too low for temptations: trials lurk on all roads.
Everywhere, above and beneath, we are beset and surrounded with
dangers. Yet no shower falls unpermitted from the threatening
cloud; every drop has its order ere it hastens to the earth. The
trials which come from God are sent to prove and strengthen our
graces, and so at once to illustrate the power of divine grace,
to test the genuineness of our virtues, and to add to their
energy. Our Lord in His infinite wisdom and superabundant love,
sets so high a value upon His people's faith that He will not
screen them from those trials by which faith is strengthened.
You would never have possessed the precious faith which now
supports you if the trial of your faith had not been like unto
fire. You are a tree that never would have rooted so well if the
wind had not rocked you to and fro, and made you take firm hold
upon the precious truths of the covenant grace. Worldly ease is
a great foe to faith; it loosens the joints of holy valour, and
snaps the sinews of sacred courage. The balloon never rises
until the cords are cut; affliction doth this sharp service for
believing souls. While the wheat sleeps comfortably in the husk
it is useless to man, it must be threshed out of its resting
place before its value can be known. Thus it is well that
Jehovah trieth the righteous, for it causeth them to grow rich
towards God.

* 09/04/PM

"Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin,
shall ye have."
                                               --Leviticus 19:36

   Weights, and scales, and measures were to be all according to
the standard of justice. Surely no Christian man will need to be
reminded of this in his business, for if righteousness were
banished from all the world beside, it should find a shelter in
believing hearts. There are, however, other balances which
weigh moral and spiritual things, and these often need
examining. We will call in the officer to-night.

   The balances in which we weigh our own and other men's
characters, are they quite accurate? Do we not turn our own
ounces of goodness into pounds, and other persons' bushels of
excellence into pecks? See to weights and measures here,
Christian. The scales in which we measure our trials and
troubles, are they according to standard? Paul, who had more to
suffer than we have, called his afflictions light, and yet we
often consider ours to be heavy--surely something must be amiss
with the weights! We must see to this matter, lest we get
reported to the court above for unjust dealing. Those weights
with which we measure our doctrinal belief, are they quite fair?
The doctrines of grace should have the same weight with us as
the precepts of the word, no more and no less; but it is to be
feared that with many one scale or the other is unfairly
weighted. It is a grand matter to give just measure in truth.
Christian, be careful here. Those measures in which we estimate
our obligations and responsibilities look rather small. When a
rich man gives no more to the cause of God than the poor
contribute, is that a just ephah and a just hin? When ministers
are half starved, is that honest dealing? When the poor are
despised, while ungodly rich men are held in admiration, is that
a just balance? Reader, we might lengthen the list, but we
prefer to leave it as your evening's work to find out and
destroy all unrighteous balances, weights, and measures.

* 09/05/PM

"Hast thou entered into the springs of