November 27 - Morning"Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord." — Zechariah 3:1
In Joshua the high priest we see a picture of each and every child of God,
who has been made nigh by the blood of Christ, and has been taught to
minister in holy things, and enter into that which is within the veil. Jesus
has made us priests and kings unto God, and even here upon earth we
exercise the priesthood of consecrated living and hallowed service. But this
high priest is said to be "standing before the angel of the Lord," that is,
standing to minister. This should be the perpetual position of every true
believer. Every place is now God's temple, and His people can as truly
serve Him in their daily employments as in His house.
They are to be
always "ministering," offering the spiritual sacrifice of prayer and praise,
and presenting themselves a "living sacrifice." But notice where it is that
Joshua stands to minister, it is before the angel of Jehovah. It is only
through a mediator that we poor defiled ones can ever become priests unto
God. I present what I have before the messenger, the angel of the covenant,
the Lord Jesus; and through Him my prayers find acceptance wrapped up
in His prayers; my praises become sweet as they are bound up with
bundles of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia from Christ's own garden.
If I can
bring Him nothing but my tears, He will put them with His own tears in
His own bottle for He once wept; if I can bring Him nothing but my groans
and sighs, He will accept these as an acceptable sacrifice, for He once was
broken in heart, and sighed heavily in spirit. I myself, standing in Him, am
accepted in the Beloved; and all my polluted works, though in themselves
only objects of divine abhorrence, are so received, that God smelleth a
sweet savour. He is content and I am blessed. See, then, the position of the
Christian — "a priest — standing — before the angel of the Lord." November 27 - Evening"The forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." — Ephesians 1:7
Could there be a sweeter word in any language than that word
"forgiveness," when it sounds in a guilty sinner's ear, like the silver notes
of jubilee to the captive Israelite? Blessed, for ever blessed be that dear star
of pardon which shines into the condemned cell, and gives the perishing a
gleam of hope amid the midnight of despair! Can it be possible that sin,
such sin as mine, can be forgiven, forgiven altogether, and for ever? Hell is
my portion as a sinner — there is no possibility of my escaping from it
while sin remains upon me — can the load of guilt be uplifted, the crimson
stain removed? Can the adamantine stones of my prison-house ever be
loosed from their mortices, or the doors be lifted from their hinges?
Jesus tells me that I may yet be clear. For ever blessed be the revelation of
atoning love which not only tells me that pardon is possible, but that it is
secured to all who rest in Jesus. I have believed in the appointed
propitiation, even Jesus crucified, and therefore my sins are at this
moment, and for ever, forgiven by virtue of His substitutionary pains and
death. What joy is this! What bliss to be a perfectly pardoned soul! My
soul dedicates all her powers to Him who of His own unpurchased love
became my surety, and wrought out for me redemption through His blood.
What riches of grace does free forgiveness exhibit! To forgive at all, to
forgive fully, to forgive freely, to forgive for ever! Here is a constellation of
wonders; and when I think of how great my sins were, how dear were the
precious drops which cleansed me from them, and how gracious was the
method by which pardon was sealed home to me, I am in a maze of
wondering worshipping affection. I bow before the throne which absolves
me, I clasp the cross which delivers me, I serve henceforth all my days the
Incarnate God, through whom I am this night a pardoned soul. November 27 |