THE LORD SHALL GIVE THAT WHICH IS GOOD.

 

EVENING DEVOTION by James Smith

MARCH 31

 

Psalm 85:12

Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good;

and our land shall yield her increase.

 
Whatever is good for his people the Lord will certainly bestow/
 
Grace to sanctify, provision to sustain, and glory to crown them at last.
 
But he will only give that which is good, therefore he will refuse them many things which they may desire.
 
But all that is good for them they shall have, and he will give every good thing in its proper season. He will so give them good now, as to secure the greatest good at the last; and every good thing shall come to them through the hands of Jesus.
 
That he will give that which is good, is certain from the relation in which he stands to them, he is their Father.
 
From this infinite wisdom which is engaged for them, and his tender love, which is set upon them.
 
From the plan of his grace, and the word of his promise. From testimony of his people, and his conduct towards his very enemies, for he will not feed his foes, and starve his friends.
 
Let his assurance then check your impatience; wait for the Lord. Let it rouse you to prayer, ask good things of the Lord; and let it feed your faith, believe the word of the Lord; and let it produce contentment.
 

The Lord will grace and glory grant,

And every good supply’

No blessing which is people want,

His bounty can deny.

 
James Smith
 

FOR I FEAR GOD.

 

EVENING DEVOTION by James Smith

MARCH 30

 

Genesis 42:18

And Joseph said unto them the third day,

This do, and live; for I fear God: 

 
So said Joseph to his brethren, when he sent them home with provisions to their needy father.
 
So may we say whenever tempted to act becoming our Christian character.
 
The true fear of God springs from love, and is deepened and strengthened by filial fellowship with God.
 
It is not a dread of his majesty, but a fear to offend or grieve his heart.
 
It is produced by the Holy Spirit, and is a great preventive to sin.
 
If I fear to offend God, I shall certainly strive to please him. If I love him, I shall fear to offend him. This fear makes us cautious, careful, and watchful. It will often lead us to prayer. It will prompt us to self-examination. It will lead us to compare our conduct with God’s word.
 
It will preserve us from presumption, levity, and dishonesty.
 
He that fears God will not go in the way of sinners, stand in the counsel of the ungodly, or sit in the seat of the scornful; but his delight will be in the word of God, and in his book will he meditate day and night.
 
Has the fear of God influenced us this day?
 
Have we said by our conduct, in our dealings with our fellow men,
 
“I fear God.”
 

It gives religion life,

To warm as well as light;

Makes mercy sweet, salvation great,

And all God’s judgments right.

 
James Smith
 

I AM WITH YOU ALWAY.

 

EVENING DEVOTION by James Smith

MARCH 29

 

Matthew 28:20

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever

I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway,

even unto the end of the world. Amen.

 
Then Jesus is with us to-night.
 
He is and he will be with us as he has promised in all future time.
 
He is with is to afford protection,
  to impart consolation,
  to subdue our fears,
  to inspire us with hope.
 
He identifies us with himself. He makes our cause his own.
 
His presence is pledged to us, and
    it is the shield of our protection,
       the strength of our hearts, and
           the source of our joy.
 
He will not take his eye off us, or close his ear to us for one moment,
 
He tells us that we are more endeared to him than the loveliest infant is to the fondest mother.
 
The ties of nature are not so strong, or so tender, or so lasting as the ties of grace.
 
Let us endeavour to keep this fact in view, Jesus is with is, ever will be with us.
 
He will be the last to comfort us in time, and the first to welcome us in eternity. He will go through the whole journey with us, and then place us before his face forever.
 
We are therefore sure of one thing, and
   that is, the presence of Jesus; and
      his presence is the joy of angels,
         the bliss of heaven, and
             the glory of immortality.
 

Lord, I commend thee

The remnant of my days;

Oh that my chief concern may be

To spend them to thy praise.

 
James Smith

I WILL FEAR NO EVIL

 

EVENING DEVOTION by James Smith

MARCH 28

 

Psalm 23:4

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow 

of death, I will fear no evil: for thou are with me; thy rod 

and thy staff they comfort me.

 
Why should I, if I am the Lord’s?
 
Let this matter be settled, and then farewell to the fear of evil; for the Lord shall preserve thee from all evil.
 
Not from all trials, for they are not all evils, but only benefits.
 
Only two things can be said to be evils;
   the one is sin, but to the believer, sin is pardoned;
   in the believer, sin is crucified; and
   over the believer, it shall not have dominion.
 
The other evil is separation from God: but nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
 
The Lord is our keeper, he will preserve our souls.
 
We may be tried by losses and crosses,
   by Satan and by men,
       by poverty and pain, but
          all these will work together for our good.
 
And even death is not an evil; therefore we should not fear it.
 
Let us live upon Christ;
   let us live like Christ; and then to die,
   will only be to depart and be with Christ,
   which is far better than remaining here.
 
To die will be gain, or best of all.
 
Let us then grasp the promise with a firm faith,
   walk close to the bleeding side of Jesus,
   aim to glorify God in our day and generation, and
   go through life saying, “I will fear no evil.”
 

Fear not, believe his word,

You are to Jesus given;

‘Tis the good pleasure of the Lord

To bring you safe to heaven.

 
James Smith
 

YE ASK, AND RECEIVE NOT.

 

EVENING DEVOTION by James Smith

MARCH 27

 

James 4:3

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss,

that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

 
Is God then unwilling to bestow?
 
Will he forfeit his word?
 
No; but he never promised to sanction sin,
   or encourage folly; and
   this he must do if he answered all our prayers.
 
In prayer God looks at our motives.
 
He reads our hearts while he listens to our words.
 
If we ask for spiritual things with a carnal end God is just in withholding them.
 
We may ask for good things that we may become eminent in the estimation of men, be respected by our fellows, or applauded by the multitude.
 
Even grace and holiness may be prayed for in order to get a name.
 
Our object should be simply to honour God, to exalt Jesus, and to promote his cause.
 
Or, we may be too anxious for temporals.
 
We may be indifferent about spirituals.
 
See, then, the cause why our prayers are not always answered; the motive, or the end in view, or the spirit displayed is not good.
 
The prayer is as the design is.
 
Let us ask then,-Why do we pray?
 
How do we pray?
 
For what do we pray?
 

I fear I often ask amiss,

Lord, search my heart and see;

My motive purify, not cease

To draw my soul to thee.

 
James Smith
 

THE FATHER OF MERCIES.

 

EVENING DEVOTION by James Smith

MARCH 26
 
2 Corinthians 1:3
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
 

Jehovah is a Father,

   a merciful Father,

   a tenderly merciful Father;

   a Father of mercies,

        with whom all mercies originate,

              from whom all mercies proceed.

 

Our chief mercy is a Saviour;

   that Saviour,

      his only begotten Son;

         that Son freely delivered up for us all.

 

He was the author of the mercy which quickened us,

   comforted us, and

   still keeps us.

 

All our merciful afflictions,

   deliverances,

       shuttings up, and relief,

            flow from his sovereign will.

 

He is the fountain and source of mercy,

and from him all our mercies flow.

 

This should correct the views we sometimes take of him,

   as if he were difficult to please,

   or soon angry with us.

 

It should also encourage our faith, hope, prayers, and love.

 

What a comfort to a seeking soul,

   to know that the God he is seeking is the Father of mercies.

 

What a shield this to ward off the fiery darts of Satan.

 

What a inducement to love our God more than all the gifts we receive from him.

 

Beloved, look up to heaven to-night, and

   call upon the Father of mercies in confidence;

      he will produce and present the very mercy you need,

         be it what it may.

 
My soul, thou hast (let what will ail)
A never changing Friend;
When brethren, friends, and helpers fail.
On him alone depend.
 

James Smith

 

THAT I MAY KNOW HIM

EVENING DEVOTION by James Smith 

MARCH 25
 
Philippians 3:10
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection,
and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made
conformable unto his death;
 

Paul appears to have had seven principal wishes, and they are all expressed in this brief epistle.

 

They all have reference to Christ.

 

Indeed Christ was Paul’s centre, to which he constantly tended, and the circle within which all the desires of his soul were included.

 

He especially desired

   to know Christ;

   to win Christ;

   to magnify Christ both in his body and soul;

   to be found in Christ; to rejoice in the day of Christ;

   and to be with Christ.

 

But the first lies at the root of all the rest. The knowledge of Christ is more excellent than any other, than all other knowledge. But how little do we know of Christ, therefore it is that we enjoy so little of Christ.

 

Our knowledge of Christ should be

   powerful and influential,

     regulating our thoughts,

      desires, hopes, fears, confidence,

        and our conduct toward God and man,

             especially toward the saints; and

                  we should grow in the knowledge of Christ.

 

If we do really and sincerely desire

   to know Christ,

   we shall search his word,

   frequent his ordinances,

   meditate on his truth,

   be often at his throne, and

   speak of him to his people.

 
‘Tis life to know the dying Lamb.
Eternal life is in his name;
O may I in this knowledge grow,
And daily more of Jesus know.
 
James Smith

GO IN PEACE .

 

EVENING DEVOTION by James Smith

MARCH 24

 

Luke 7:50

And he said to the woman,

Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

 

True peace flows from the pardon of sin.

 

If we believe that God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven us all trespassess, our souls will enjoy peace.

 

For being justified by faith, we have peace with God.

 

We have nothing to fear from God,

   for having pardoned us,

   he has not charge against us:

   but we may expect every good thing from God,

   for having given us his Son,

   will he not with him also freely give us all things?

 

If therefore we have no evil to fear,

   but every good to expect,

       may we not, ought we not, to be at peace?

 

When Jesus pardoned the woman,

      he said to her, “Go in peace.”

 

So he says to us.

 

Mind not what Satan says,

 

Fear not what man can do.

 

Go in the path of duty.

Go, and face trials and persecutions.

Go, and enjoy your temporal merices.

 

God, and enjoy your religious privileges.

 Go, though dangers surround you.

 

Go though you feel weak and feeble.

 

Go in peace, for God accepts you.

Go, for your reconciliation to God is honourable and perfect.

Go and spread a Saviour’s fame.

 

Go and tell of Jehovah’s pardoning love.

 

Go, and bear your personal testimony to the truth of his word.

 

 

O Lamb of God, in tender love,

Now bid my sorrows cease;

Kindly my doubts and fears remove,

And bid ME, “Go in peace.”

 

James Smith

READY TO FORGIVE .

 

EVENING DEVOTION by James Smith

MARCH 23

 

Psalm 86:5

For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive;

and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

 
JEHOVAH is revealed as a God who delights in showing mercy, who is slow to anger; as “a God ready to pardon.”
 
This is always a fact, and it should always be believed by us.
 
It should also be daily kept before our minds,
   that we may seek,
       expect, and
             enjoy a daily pardon.
 
The Lord is never disposed, or
   backward to pardon a believing,
   penitent,
   confessing sinner.
 
But he is faithful to his word, and
 just to the merit of his Son,
 in pardoning every one who applies in the Saviour’s name.
 
“Ready to forgive!”
 
The goodness of his nature is such that he devised a way in which he could honourably pardon the vilest transgressor;
   and though this cost him the life of his only begotten Son,
   he freely gave him up,
   to show that he was “a God ready to pardon.”
 
Without an atonement, pardon would have been impossible but through the atonement of Jesus,
     God can easily, completely, and daily pardon the greatest sinners.
 
What he can do, he will do-he does do.
 
And to-night, he is “ready to forgive” the sins of this day and of every previous day-to forgive us, and to do it at this moment.
 
Blessed truth!
 

Believing let us raise our eye

To him who liveth and hath died;

That look will lift our souls on high,

And God pronounces us justified.

 
James Smith

HEIRS OF PROMISE.

 

EVENING DEVOTION by James Smith

MARCH 22

 

Hebrews 6:17

Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew

unto the heirs of promise the immutability of

his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:

 
We were by nature children of wrath, even as others.
 
In character we were unrighteous; in circumstances, destitute; in state, lost.
 
We had no claim upon God for one good thing, for we were traitors against his throne and government. But by an ancient and gracious appointment, he constituted us as believers in Jesus, “HEIRS OF PROMISE.”
 
We were promised to Jesus as a see, to reward the travail of his soul; and are entitled to all the promises, which in him are yea, and in him amen, to the glory of God by us.
 
By virtue of our relation to Christ, by our interest in the testament of Christ, as well as to the appointment of God, we are entitled to all promised blessings. 

To is promised life, eternal life; 

  righteousness, everlasting righteousness; 

  supplies, both temporal and spiritual; 

  a kingdom of grace and glory; 

  salvation, eternal salvation.
 
We are heirs, and all these things are included in our estate.
 
Heirship flows from grace. It stands in Christ. It leads us to heaven.
 
It calls for gratitude.
 
Ought we not to ask, am I an heir? 

Can I prove my title? 

Do I view the promises as my title-deeds? 

Do I live as a person entitled to such possessions?
 

As heirs of promise, let us live

By faith in Jesus’ word;

Except his fulness to receive,

And glorify the Lord.

 
James Smith
 

THEY DESIRE A BETTER COUNTRY

 

EVENING DEVOTION by James Smith

MARCH 21

 

Hebrews 11:16

But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly:

wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God:

for he hath prepared for them a city. -

 
Not only a better state, or a better frame, but a better country.
 
This was the experience of the Patriarchs, the Apostles felt the same, so have all true Christians. Do we desire a better country?
 
Do we desire a heavenly country?
 
There is a better, it is set before us in the gospel, it is promised to all who believe in Jesus, and continue faithful unto death. 

Heaven is a country where all enjoy rest; there is 

  no pain, 

  no vexation,

  no toil, 

   no trials, there.
 
All are active, yet all enjoy perfect repose.
 
Heaven is the home of love; there are no foes, no envious professors, no jealous brethren.
 
All is love, pure, perfect, perpetual love. 

All love God, and God loves all.
 
Each loves his fellow, and loves his fellow as he loves himself. 

It is the residence of Holiness.
 
There are no sinners, for all are righteous; there is no sin, for each exactly resembles Jesus. Holiness is the element, the joy, the characteristic of the place.
 
It is the abode of perfect satisfaction, unbroken joy, and undisturbed tranquillity.
 
There Jesus is seen face to face.
 
There God unfolds his glories-there every desire is gratified, every heart is full, every countenance beams with benevolent joy.
 

Then let the hope of joys to come

Dispel our cares, and chase our fears;

If God be ours we’re travelling home,

Though passing through a vale of tears.

 
James Smith
 

RISEN WITH CHRIST

 

EVENING DEVOTION by James Smith

MARCH 20

 

Colossians 3:1

If ye then be risen with Christ,

seek those things which are above,

where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

 
Christ as our substitute died in our dread. He died as a public person, representing his people; and as such he rose from the dead.
 
All is people are said to have died in him, when he died, and rose with him, when he arose.
 
By virtue of this we are quickened by the Spirit of life from Christ, and we arise and ascend to him in our hopes, desires, and affections.
 
His life is put forth in us, and we are to make manifest the resurrection life of Christ in our bodies.
 
We are to reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
It is also stated of all believers that he hath raised us up together, and made us sit together with Christ in the heavenlies.
 
Christ and his people are one.
 
They were represented by him when he fulfilled the law, when he made atonement, when he arose from the dead, and when he entered into the holiest of all with his own blood. They live through his death.
 
They live in union to his person.
 
They also live for his honour and glory.
 
Being risen with Christ, they should not grovel on earth; but as their head, their portion, and their life is in heaven, there their thoughts, desires, and affections should be.
 

Believing souls, whom Jesus know,

If risen indeed, with him ye are,

Superior to thy joys below,

His resurrection power declare.

 
James Smith
 

HE RESTORETH MY SOUL.

 

EVENING DEVOTION by James Smith

MARCH 19

 

Psalm 23:3

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the

paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

 
“I have gone astray like a lost sheep.”
 
We are prone to wander, and having wandered we never return till the good Shepherd seeks us.
 
But his eye is upon the wanderer.
 
His heart yearns unto it.
 
He follows it with reproofs, rebukes, and expostulations; and at length he restores it.
 
He convinces of the folly of wandering from the fold,
  the soul becomes unhappy in its wandering state,
  a spirit of prayer is awakened,
  concern to return deepens,
  the sheep creeps to the Shepherd’s feet,
  acknowledges its sin and folly,
  implores mercy, and cries,
 “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.”
 
It is taken up by gentle reproofs to the fold.
 
Every restoration is of grace.
 
In every instance it is the Shepherd’s care that restores the wandering soul.
 
The restored wanderer always feels deeply humbled,
   flies to the precious blood of atonement,
       admires restoring mercy,
           becomes more cautious,
               careful, and circumspect;
                   his conscience is more tender,
                        his hatred of sin is deeper, and
                           his jealousy of his own heart is more lively.
 
He pants for the presence of God, prizes the ordinances of religion, and watches unto prayer.
 

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it;

Prone to leave the God I love-

Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it,

Seal it for thy courts above.

 
James Smith