MARCH 31.
 
Behold, I come as a thief.
Revelation 16:15
 

JESUS will come suddenly when he is little expected.
 
His coming will fill many with alarm and surprise.
 
His coming in the flesh was the hope
  of the Old Testament saint;
  his coming with power and great glory,
  to reign before his ancients,
  is the hope of the New Testament church.
 
Until then, the Church will be like the betrothed bride,
  waiting for the marriage day.
Until then, believers will groan,
   being burdened.
Until then, the old serpent will deceive
   the whole world.
Until then, the souls of the martyrs
  under the altar will cry,
   “How long, O Lord, will thou not avenge our blood
     on them that dwell on the earth.”
Until then, the gospel must be preached
    among all nations for a witness.
 
But when Jesus comes, he will take
  his bride to himself;
  he will silence the groans of his saints;
  the old serpent will be bound and shut up;
  the blood of martyrs will be avenged;
  and the gospel will have accomplished its object.
 
Beloved, let us not sleep as do others,
  that let us watch.
 
Daily let us act as if we expect him
  to come before the evening, and
  let us lie down at night with the thought,
    Jesus may come before morning.
 

Let all who Jesus know

To meet their God prepared.

And pass their every hour below

In watching unto prayer.

 
James Smith 1849
 

Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

 

MARCH 30.
 
Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
I Corinthians 5:7
 

ISRAEL were in danger, and
  God was about to deliver them.
 
The destroying angel was going through
   the land of Egypt to slay all the first born.
 
He had commanded his people to take a lamb,
  and kill it, and to sprinkle its blood on the lintel
  and on two side post of the door of every house,
  and promised,
    “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.”
 
They did so, and they were safe.
 
We are by nature in great danger;
  the ministers of justice or in the constant motion:
   but Jesus, as the Lamb of God,
   has been sacrificed for us; and
   if his blood is sprinkled upon us we are safe.
 
There was no safety for Israel without blood.
 
If the blood had not been on the door,
  they would have been slain; and
  there is no safety for us without blood.
 
Nor is it enough that the blood of Christ
  has been shed; it must be applied.
 
It is blood on us, that makes us safe.
 
Beloved, has the blood of Jesus ever been
  applied to your conscience?
 
Are you trusting in it?
 
Nothing else can secure you from the wrath of God.
 
The blood must be applied to you, or you perish.
 
Examine, how is it with you?

 

Lord, thy spirit now in part,

To bring me near to God;

Sprinkle my conscience and my heart

With Christ atoning blood.

 
 
James Smith 1849
 

THEN BELIEVED THEY HIS WORDS.

 

MARCH 29.
 
Then believed they his words.
Psalm 106:12

 

NOTHING is so unreasonable as unbelief,
  and yet nothing is so common.
 
We need no stronger proof of the depravity
  of our nature than this,
    that God is the last being that we believe.
 
We give credit to what is told us by our fellow men;
  we should receive the report of an angel.
 
We constantly believe the falsehoods of Satan;
  but who believes the Lord's word?
 
We say by our conduct,
   “I can believe anyone but God,
         anything but his word.”
 
Is not this awful?
  But it is strictly true.
 
Thus Israel acted in the desert, and
   thus we act in our present circumstances.
 
But when did they believe?
 
Just for a short time when they saw his wonderful works.
 
But they soon forgot his works, and
   waited not for his counsel.
 
We often think that if we saw miracles, or
   heard a voice from heaven,
    we should believe.
But we are mistaken.
 
This has been tried, and it has been found true,
  that if we believe not Moses and the prophets,
  neither should we be persuaded though
   one rose from the dead.
 
If God is to be believed he must give us faith.
 
For we never really believe him,
  but as he works faith in our hearts
    by the power of the Holy Ghost.
 
 

Let me not doubt thy holy word;

   It fills my heart with grief;

I would believe thy promise, Lord;

   O help my unbelief!

 
 
James Smith 1849

I WILL REJOICE.

 

MARCH 28.
 
I will rejoice.
Psalm 60:6

 

WHEN we cannot rejoice in possession,
  we may rejoice in hope.
 
If the present be gloomy,
   the prospect is bright and shiny.
 
God had spoken, and the Psalmist would rejoice;
  because if God gives us his word,
    he will never dishonor it.
 
There are some things in which we may always rejoice,
  therefore the Apostle says,
     “Rejoice evermore.”
 
We may rejoice in Christ Jesus as a Saviour to the uttermost;
   so that no case can be desperate.
 
We may rejoice in God as our father,
   who will care and provide for us in time,
  and be our portion for evermore.
 
We may rejoice that our names are written in heaven;
  and being written there,
    no one can block them out.
 
We may rejoice, that,
  let whatever changes may take place in the world
  or the church,
   we can want no good thing while we walk uprightly.
 
We may rejoice, even in the worst of times,
  that all things shall work together for our good.
 
We may rejoice, that however full our cup
  of sorrow may be now,
  in the next world our cup of joy will be full.
 
Beloved, read God's promises,
  study God's character,
  look forward to Christ second coming, and
  say even in the darkest day,
     “I will rejoice.”
 

Rejoice evermore in the truth, and the power,

  And the grace of your heavenly Friend,

‘Till to us who believe he his glory doth give,

  And a kingdom that never shall end.

 
James Smith 1849
 

WILL YE WEARY MY GOD ALSO ?

 

MARCH 27.
 
Will ye weary my God also?
 
Isiah 7:13

 

GOD speaks to us in the language of men.
 
He clothes himself with our passions and
  speaks to us as if affected in the same way with ourselves.
 
Whatever we do in some way affects our God.
 
Every action either pleases or displease him.
 
The only thing that is ever said to weary God is sin,
  the sins of his own people.
 
They are so provoking, so insulting, so daring.
 
He bade Ahaz ask a sign, and so try him.
 
But he said, “I will not ask,
   neither will I tempt (or prove) the Lord.”
 
This was highly offensive.
 
It was most ungrateful.
 
It deeply affected the Prophet,
    and he indignantly asked,
      “Is it a small thing for you to weary men,
         but will ye weary my God also?”
 
Such conduct as ours would weary and
   wear out our best earthly friends: and
    it is enough to weary our God.
 
He bids us trust him,
  but we give way to doubt.
He makes the most gracious promises,
  but we do not believe him.
He has interposed by an oath, and
  yet we encourage our fears.
He bids us prove him,
  but we refuse to do so.
 
Can such conduct be right?
 
Can it be excused?
 

How strange the sin, the guilt how great,

The word of God to disbelieve!

His promise meets our lost estate

With aids we scruple to receive;

Distrust the proffered help and die,

Rather than on its truth rely.

 
James Smith 1849

HE IS THE PROPITIATION FOR OUR SINS.

 

MARCH 26.
 
He is the propitiation for our sins.
 
I John 2:2

 
SIN is an insult offered to God.
 
It awakens his displeasure,
  calls for punishment,
   and deserves hell.
 
We have sinned.
 
We daily sin.
 
But God has devised a way by which sinners
  may approach him,
    obtain pardon,
      be reconciled to him, and
        stand high in his favor.
 
Under the law, the mercy seat was the propitiatory;
  here the blood was sprinkled,
  here Jehovah was enthrone,
  here the priest pleaded,
  here blessings were dispensed, and
  here God held communion with his people.
 
Under the gospel Jesus is our propitiation;
  he has satisfied the claims of justice,
  appeased the wrath of God, and
  his glorious righteousness covers and
    hides all our sins.
 
His atonement is our plea,
  the ground of our confidence, and
   the cause of our reconciliation.
 
He advocates our cause,
  he intercedes for our persons,
    he renders our service acceptable.
 
Precious Saviour,
  we need no merit but thine;
  no priesthood but thine;
  no sacrifice but thine!
 
Thou shall be all our salvation
  and all our desire!
 
In thy name will we rejoice, and
  in thy righteousness shall we be exalted.
 
 

Now sinner’s advocate with God,

My only trust is in thy blood,

Thou all atoning Lamb;

The virtue of thy death impart,

Speak comfort to my drooping heart,

And tell me all thy name.

 

James Smith 1849

O GOD, MY HEART IS FIXED.

 

MARCH 25
 
O God, my heart is fixed.
 
Psalm 108:1
 

IF so, and if it is fixed on the right object,
   it is an unspeakable mercy.
 
The sinner’s heart can find no rest.
 
It roves from object to object, and
  fixes first on one thing, and
  then upon another, but there is no repose.
 
No one can fix the heart but God; and
  if he fix it, it is upon himself.
 
Before the heart can be fixed,
  we must be thoroughly convinced of the emptiness.
  and vanity of all earthly things.
 
We must be weaned from every thing on earth.
 
We must perceive the excellency and
  glory of God, in the person of Jesus Christ.
 
We must be reconciled to him, and
  be assured that he is at peace with us.
 
We must believe his precious promise and
  rely for acceptance on the finished work of Jesus alone.
 
We must learn by experience the sweetness of communion with him.
 
We must either be driven by trials, troubles
  and disappointments from all our broken cisterns,
  to him as the fountain of living waters; or
  be drawn by the powerful influences of the Holy Spirit,
  to build our all upon him as the rock of ages.
 
The soul first fixed on the work of Christ,
  then on his glorious person, and
   ultimately on God as revealed in Christ.
 

My God, now fix my wandering heart,

And let it centre in thy love;

Thy sanctifying grace impart,

Nor let me after idols rove.

 
James Smith 1849

GOD SPARED NOT THE ANGELS THAT SINNED.

 

MARCH 24.
 
God spared not the angels that sinned.
 
II Peter 3:4
 

THEN is it not wonderful that he should spare us?
 
They were more noble in their nature, and
  more exalted in their station;
  yet when they sinned God did not spare them,
  but cast them down to hell.
 
Nor would he have spared us,
  but for the method of his grace;
  by which his Son became our substitute,
    took our responsibility,
    came into our world, and
      acted as our surety.
 
And when he appeared in this character,
  he was dealt with accordingly,
  he was not spared, therefore we read,
    “He spared not his own Son,
       but delivered him up for us all.”
 
Was not this wonderful,
  God would not spare his son,
  that he might spare us;
  us who were his enemies, and
  would have remained so for ever if
  he had not changed our hearts by his grace?
 
Let us this day reflect upon the facts,
  “God spared not the angels that sinned,”
   “He spared not his Son,”
 but he says of us, “I will spare them,
  as a man spareth his own Son that serveth him.”
 
O mystery of mercy !
 
What depths of love,
  what heights of grace are here !
 
My soul, adore the sovereignty, and
  eternally praise the distinguishing grace displayed !
 

Amazing work of sovereign grace

 That could distinguish rebels so !

Our guilty treasons call’d aloud

For everlasting fetters too.

 
James Smith 1849

I WILL LOOK FOR HIM.

 

MARCH 23.
 
I will look for him.
Isaiah 8:17

 THE Lord often conceals himself from his people.

He leaves them, that they may learn

  the value of his presence,
  their dependence upon him, and
  their impotence without him.
 
When he withdraws their comfort declines,
  their prospects are beclouded,
  their enemies are lively, and
  their fears are often strong.
 
They feel desolate, depressed, and alone.
 
And except Satan beguile them, or
  the things of time entangle them,
  they began at once to search for him.
 
They look for him in the works of his hands;
  in the dispensations of his providence;
  in the ordinances of his house;
  in the pages of his word; and
  especially in the closet,
  where they pour out their hearts.
 
They go forward, but he is not there;
  and backward, but they cannot perceive him;
  on the left hand where he doth work,
    but they cannot behold him;
  he hideth himself on the right hand,
   that they cannot see him.
 
Then they passionately cry,
    “Oh that I knew where I might find him!”
 
Disappointed, and dispirited, they fear, fret,

 and perhaps complain;
  but they cannot give up, still they cry,
“I will look for him.”
 

Disconsolate, forsook,

Jesus, for thee I look;

Only thou my heart canst cheer,

Comfort with thyself restore;

Show thyself the Comforter,

Come, and never leave me more.

 
 James Smith 1849

LET US HOLD FAST OUR PROFESSION.

 

MARCH 22.
 
Let us hold fast our profession.
Hebrews 4:14
 

WE have a great, a glorious High Priest;
  he has made a full atonement for our sins;
  he is gone to present his blood before His father
    in the holiest of all;
  he has a tender heart;
  he ever liveth to make intercession for us.
 
We have professed to be the true circumcision,
  to trust in his finished work alone for acceptance with God,
  and to devote ourselves entirely to his service.
 
But there are many temptations to draw us aside,
  to doubt either his power or his pity,
  and to withdraw ourselves from his services.
 
But, let us be steadfast.
 
Let us be steady.
 
Let us hold fast our profession,
  and prove that we do so by coming boldly
     to the throne of grace in his name,
  by looking only to him and his perfect work
  for our justification and complete salvation, and
  by devoting our time, talents, and influence,
  to the promotion of his glory, and
    the extension of his kingdom.
 
Many have given way to temptation,
  many have made shipwreck of faith and
  of a good conscience,
  let us therefore watch and be sober.
 
Let us be jealous of ourselves.
 

Jesus ever lives to plead

  His suffering people's cause,

Let us then pursue our Head,

   And bear his daily cross, -

Faithful unto death remain,

And the crown of life obtain.

 
James Smith 1849
 

ON WHOM DOST THOU TRUST

 

MARCH 21.
 
On whom dost thou trust?
Isaiah 36:5

 

THIS is a very important question.
 
Much depends on it.
 
Let us therefore apply it to ourselves, and to each other.
 
On whom dost thou trust?
 
On thyself?
 
Then hear God's testimony,
“He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool.”
 
He knows not its weakness, its depravity,
  or its deceitfulness;  
    or he would never trust it.
 
On whom dost thou trust?
 
On thy fellow men?
 
Then hear God's threatening,
“Cursed be the man that trusteth in man,
   and maketh flesh his arm,
     and whose heart departeth from the Lord:
  for he shall be like the heath in the desert,
  and shall not see when good cometh,
  but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
  in a salt land and not inhabited.”
 
Do you say, “But they are wise men, great men,
  exalted in station, excellent in character.”
 
“Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man,
   in whom there is no help.
 His breath goeth forth,
    he returneth to his earth;
  in that very day his thoughts perish.”
 
But on whom dost thou trust?
 
On Jehovah?   Jehovah as revealed in Jesus?
 
Then take the comfort of God's promise,
   “Blessed is the man that trusteth in Jehovah,
    and whose hope the Lord is.”
 

Happy the man, securely blest,

Who finds in Jacob’s God his rest,

Whose hope, when threatening changes rise,

Firm on Jehovah's power relies.

 
James Smith 1849

YE ARE SANCTITIED.

 

MARCH 20.

Ye are sanctified.
I Corinthians 6:11

 

THE Corinthians were by nature dreadfully depraved,
  but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.
 
They were created anew in Christ Jesus,
  they were sanctified by the power of the Holy Ghost.
 
To be sanctified is to be separated from sinners;
  to be delivered from the power of sin, and
  to be set apart for God.
 
Sanctification begins in regeneration.
 
There is no holiness in any of God's fallen creatures,
   until regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
 
We may separate ourselves from others,
  but we shall not be truly sanctified to God,
  unless we are renewed in the spirit of our minds.
 
Every truly sanctified person loves holiness,
  pray for holiness, and strives for holiness.
 
In vain do we boast of a sound creed,
  rejoice in church privileges, or
  expect heaven at death,
     except we really desire and seek to be holy.
 
But, if we mourn over sin,
  fly to the fountain of the Saviour’s blood, and
  strives for conformity to the Lord Jesus Christ,
  unquestionably we are sanctified,
   as the Corinthians were, “in the name of the Lord Jesus,
        and by the spirit of our God.”
 
Beloved, are you sanctified?
Your God says, “Be ye holy, for I am holy.”
 

Lord, let thy grace with sweet control,

Bind all the feelings of my soul;

Bid all its vanities depart,

And ever sway my wayward heart.

 

James Smith 1849

HE WILL SWALLOW UP DEATH IN VICTORY.

 

MARCH 19.
 
He will swallow up death in victory.
 
Isaiah 25:8

 
DEATH is the fruit of sin.
 
It is God's standing testimony against it.
It is man's enemy.
It is the object of the sinners dread.
It has filled many saints with fear and alarm.
 
Some are all their lifetime subject to
    bondage through the fear of death.
It is a solemn event.
The consequences are momentous.
 
We must die.
 
No one can escape it.
No one will, except those who are alive when Jesus comes.
 
But though it is a foe, and
  a terrible one too,
   it cannot really hurt a Christian.
 
It is not now a curse, but a blessing.
 
As a penal evil it is abolished.
It will be swallowed up in victory.
 
The monster has lost its sting, and
  it will lose its existence.
 
The victory of Jesus over it will be
   complete, manifest, and eternally.
 
“There shall be no more death,
  neither sorrow, nor crying,
  neither shall there be any more pain!
 For the former things are passed away.”
            Revelation 21:4
 
It will be as perfectly done away,
  as completely lost sight of,
  as the stone that is cast and
   swallowed up in the depths of the sea.
 

Ah, grant me, Lord, in death to find,

That death is swallowed up in thee,

While on thy loving breast reclin’d

  I gasp for immortality !

Purchas’d by thine expiring groan,

And feel it in my heart made known.

 
James Smith 1849
 

They have not all obeyed the gospel.

 

MARCH 18.
 
They have not all obeyed the gospel.
Romans 10:16

 

AND does the gospel require obedience?
 
Yes: it commands us to repent of sin;
  to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ;
  to pray always and not to faint;
  to confess Christ before men;
  to glorify God in our bodies and
     spirits which are God’s;
  to consecrate ourselves and
    all we have to the Lord’s glory.
 
But comparatively few obey the gospel.
 
Reader, do you?
 
Are you daily sorrowing over sin?
 
Are you placing your entire confidence in Jesus,
  and resting on his finished work alone
  for acceptance with God?
 
Do you pray as naturally as you breathe, and
  pray for all you need and desire?
 
Have you confessed Jesus before your fellow-men,
  and taking up the apostle’s determination
    to glorify only in his cross?
 
Do you aim at God's glory in every purpose you form,
  in every plan you draw,
  in every work you execute?
 
Have you concentrated your person,
  property, and talents to the Lord;
  and do ministering angels see written upon all
  you have, “This is the Lord's?”
 
Solemn inquiries these!
 
Let them sink down into your heart.
 
Take them, and search your heart with them.
 
Turn and claim me as thine own,
Be my portion, Lord, alone;
In me all thy grace display,
And thy gospel I'll obey.
 
James Smith 1849