October 10 - Morning"Faultless before the presence of His glory." — Jude 24
Revolve in your mind that wondrous word, faultless!" We are far off from
it now; but as our Lord never stops short of perfection in His work of
love, we shall reach it one day. The Saviour who will keep His people to
the Lend, will also present them at last to Himself, as "a glorious church,
not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but holy and without
blemish." All the jewels in the Saviour's crown are of the first water and
without a single flaw. All the maids of honour who attend the Lamb's wife
are pure virgins without spot or stain.
But how will Jesus make us
faultless? He will wash us from our sins in His own blood until we are
white and fair as God's purest angel; and we shall be clothed in His
righteousness, that righteousness which makes the saint who wears it
positively faultless; yea, perfect in the sight of God. We shall be
unblameable and unreproveable even in His eyes. His law will not only
have no charge against us, but it will be magnified in us. Moreover, the
work of the Holy Spirit within us will be altogether complete. He will
make us so perfectly holy, that we shall have no lingering tendency to sin.
Judgment, memory, will — every power and passion shall be emancipated
from the thraldom of evil. We shall be holy even as God is holy, and in His
presence we shall dwell for ever. Saints will not be out of place in heaven,
their beauty will be as great as that of the place prepared for them. Oh the
rapture of that hour when the everlasting doors shall be lifted up, and we,
being made meet for the inheritance, shall dwell with the saints in light. Sin
gone, Satan shut out, temptation past for ever, and ourselves "faultless"
before God, this will be heaven indeed! Let us be joyful now as we
rehearse the song of eternal praise so soon to roll forth in full chorus from
all the blood-washed host; let us copy David's exultings before the ark as a
prelude to our ecstasies before the throne. October 10 - Evening"And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible." — Jeremiah 15:21
Note the glorious personality of the promise. I will, I will. The Lord
Jehovah Himself interposes to deliver and redeem His people. He pledges
Himself personally to rescue them. His own arm shall do it, that He may
have the glory. Here is not a word said of any effort of our own which
may be needed to assist the Lord. Neither our strength nor our weakness is
taken into the account, but the lone I, like the sun in the heavens, shines
out resplendent in all-sufficience. Why then do we calculate our forces, and
consult with flesh and blood to our grievous wounding? Jehovah has
power enough without borrowing from our puny arm.
Peace, ye
unbelieving thoughts, be still, and know that the Lord reigneth. Nor is there
a hint concerning secondary means and causes. The Lord says nothing of
friends and helpers: He undertakes the work alone, and feels no need of
human arms to aid Him. Vain are all our lookings around to companions
and relatives; they are broken reeds if we lean upon them — often
unwilling when able, and unable when they are willing. Since the promise
comes alone from God, it would be well to wait only upon Him; and when
we do so, our expectation never fails us.
Who are the wicked that we
should fear them? The Lord will utterly consume them; they are to be
pitied rather than feared. As for terrible ones, they are only terrors to
those who have no God to fly to, for when the Lord is on our side, whom
shall we fear? If we run into sin to please the wicked, we have cause to be
alarmed, but if we hold fast our integrity, the rage of tyrants shall be
overruled for our good. When the fish swallowed Jonah, he found him a
morsel which he could not digest; and when the world devours the church,
it is glad to be rid of it again. In all times of fiery trial, in patience let us
possess our souls. October 10 |