September 21 - Morning"I will rejoice over them to do them good." — Jeremiah 32:41
How heart-cheering to the believer is the delight which God has in His
saints! We cannot see any reason in ourselves why the Lord should take
pleasure in us; we cannot take delight in ourselves, for we often have to
groan, being burdened; conscious of our sinfulness, and deploring our
unfaithfulness; and we fear that God's people cannot take much delight in
us, for they must perceive so much of our imperfections and our follies,
that they may rather lament our infirmities than admire our graces. But we
love to dwell upon this transcendent truth, this glorious mystery: that as
the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so does the Lord rejoice over us.
We do not read anywhere that God delighteth in the cloud-capped
mountains, or the sparkling stars, but we do read that He delighteth in the
habitable parts of the earth, and that His delights are with the sons of men.
We do not find it written that even angels give His soul delight; nor doth
He say, concerning cherubim and seraphim, "Thou shalt be called
Hephzibah, for the Lord delighteth in thee"; but He does say all that to
poor fallen creatures like ourselves, debased and depraved by sin, but
saved, exalted, and glorified by His grace.
In what strong language He
expresses His delight in His people! Who could have conceived of the
eternal One as bursting forth into a song? Yet it is written, "He will rejoice
over thee with joy, He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with
singing." As He looked upon the world He had made, He said, "It is very
good"; but when He beheld those who are the purchase of Jesus' blood,
His own chosen ones, it seemed as if the great heart of the Infinite could
restrain itself no longer, but overflowed in divine exclamations of joy.
Should not we utter our grateful response to such a marvellous declaration
of His love, and sing, "I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of
my salvation?" September 21 - Evening"Gather not my soul with sinners." — Psalm 26:9
Fear made David pray thus, for something whispered, "Perhaps, after all,
thou mayst be gathered with the wicked." That fear, although marred by
unbelief, springs, in the main, from holy anxiety, arising from the
recollection of past sin. Even the pardoned man will enquire, "What if at
the end my sins should be remembered, and I should be left out of the
catalogue of the saved?" He recollects his present unfruitfulness — so little
grace, so little love, so little holiness, and looking forward to the future, he
considers his weakness and the many temptations which beset him, and he
fears that he may fall, and become a prey to the enemy.
A sense of sin and
present evil, and his prevailing corruptions, compel him to pray, in fear
and trembling, "Gather not my soul with sinners." Reader, if you have
prayed this prayer, and if your character be rightly described in the Psalm
from which it is taken, you need not be afraid that you shall be gathered
with sinners. Have you the two virtues which David had — the outward
walking in integrity, and the inward trusting in the Lord? Are you resting
upon Christ's sacrifice, and can you compass the altar of God with humble
hope?
If so, rest assured, with the wicked you never shall be gathered, for
that calamity is impossible. The gathering at the judgment is like to like.
"Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them:
but gather the wheat into my barn." If, then, thou art like God's people,
thou shalt be with God's people. You cannot be gathered with the wicked,
for you are too dearly bought. Redeemed by the blood of Christ, you are
His for ever, and where He is, there must His people be. You are loved too
much to be cast away with reprobates. Shall one dear to Christ perish?
Impossible! Hell cannot hold thee! Heaven claims thee! Trust in thy
Surety and fear not! September 21 |