HE THAT BELIEVETH SHALL NOT MAKE HASTE.

 

AUGUST 31.
 
He that believeth shall not make haste.
Isaiah 28:16

 
FAITH is satisfied with God's time, and
  content to walk God’s pace.
 
Sense is always in a hurry, and
  must be gratified at once, or
  it will fret, murmur, complain,
    doubt, and despond.
 
Haste often throws us into confusion, and
   hinders instead of helps.
 
The Lord’s time is always the best, and
  if we are building on God's foundation,
  trusting in God's promises,
  walking in God's way, and
  working in God's vineyard,
  there can be no cause for hurry or confusion.
 
Faith will keep us steady in the storm,
  quiet in the furnace, and
  patient under the cross.
 
O for more faith!
 
O for more confidence in the presence,
  promises, and faithfulness of God!
 
Then we shall wait upon him, in every duty;
  wait for him, in every difficulty; and
  wait upon him, we shall be honored by him.
 
Friend, do you believe in Jesus?
Do you embrace his promises?
Do you depend on his veracity and faithfulness?
 
If so, you may calmly wait his will,
  watch his hand, and
  expect his interference without fear of disappointment.
 

O that I thus on Christ reclined,

His quiet, meek and even mind

Might with himself possess;

I want the faith which works by hope,

Which calmly to its Lord looked up,

And waits for perfect peace.

 

James Smith 1849

WHOSE HEART THE LORD OPENED.

 

Whose heart the Lord opened.
Acts 16:14

 
EVERY heart by nature is closed against God,
  and nothing can open a sinner’s heart but
  invincible power.
 
It takes the same power to open a sinner’s heart
  as it did to create the world, or
  to raise the dead body of Jesus from the grave.
 
Until the heart is opened,
  the word will not enter,
  sound conviction will not be felt,
  the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
  in the face of Jesus Christ will not be received.
 
The preacher may preach,
  judgments may thunder, mercy may call,
  but until God open the heart all is vain.
 
The Lord works by means,
  the means generally are his word and ordinances.
 
Something he throws the heart wide open at once,
  and the change is striking, startling, and apparent to all.
 
Sometimes he opens it by degrees, and
  then the change is gradual and almost imperceptible.
 
But if the heart be at all opened,
  God has done it; and being once opened,
  it is never quite closed again.
 
He opened and no man shutteth.
 
May the Lord open our hearts, and
  open them wide, that we may receive Christ, and
  with him the whole body of gospel truth!
 
Lord, not only open our hearts,
  but enter and fill them with thy glory.
 

Of every heart thou hast the key,

Command that mine may yield to thee

May hear thy whisper in thy word.

And opening now admit the Lord.

 
James Smith 1849

A BROKEN AND CONTRITE HEART ,,,

 

A broken and a contrite heart, O God,
Thou wilt not despise.
Psalm 51:17

 
NOTHING will effectually break a sinner’s heart
  but the love of Christ.
 
No one can produce true contrition in us
  but the Holy Spirit.
 
When our hearts are broken with a sense of sin, and
  we are truly sorry for sin,
  the work of the Holy Spirit is unquestionably
    experienced by us.
 
We have repentance unto life.
 
The foundation of experimental religion is laid.
 
But if I religion does not begin with a broken heart
  and sorrow for sin, it is, to say the least,
  questionable, and ought to be thoroughly examine
  and compared with God's word.
 
The broken hearted sinner has very low views of himself,
  and exalted views of God, so that he fears at times
  that God must despise him.
 
But no, the opposite is true.
 
God looks upon the broken hearted with love.
 
He sent his Son to bind up such, and
   he sent the Holy Spirit to heal the heart
   that he has broken.
 
God will visit, revive, and honor the contract in spirit.
 
O for a broken and contrite heart!
 

Jesus, Giver of contrition,

Giver thou of pardon art:

Wound me,  O my kind Physician,

Break, and then bind up my heart:

Who a broken hearted sinner

Never, never wilt despise:

Cast me down, my faith’s beginners,

Lift me up to paradise.

 
James Smith 1849

HE SHALL TAKE OF MINE, AND SHOW IT UNTO YOU.

 

He shall take of mine, and show it unto you.
John 16:15

 
THIS is a special part of the work of the Holy Spirit.
 
All things are delivered unto Jesus by the Father; and
  all that he has is for the use and benefit of his people.
 
The Spirit unfolds to us the glory of his person,
  the riches of his grace,
  the glory of his righteousness,
  the efficacy of his blood,
  the power of his intercession,
  the preciousness of his word, and
  the adaptation of his offices to our state and case.
 
He takes his doctrines, and teaches us to understand them;
  his promises, and helps us to believe them;
  his institutions, and inclines us to observe them;
  his precepts, and enables us to keep them.
 
The things of Christ are all great, glorious, and valuable;
  they are calculated to strengthen our faith,
  increase our hope,
  influence our love,
  quicken our zeal, and
  consecrate all our powers to his service.
 
O that the Holy Spirit would take of the things of Christ
  and show them unto us today!
 
May we see his glory,
  enjoy his presence, and
  promote his cause.
 

Holy Ghost, by him bestowed

Who suffer’d on the tree,

Take a my Redeemer's blood,

And show it unto me;

Witness with the blood thou art.

Apply it to this soul of mine;

Now assure my sprinkled heart

It is the blood divine.

 
James Smith 1849

HE SHALL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS.

 

He shall teach you all things.
John 14;26

 
THE Holy Spirit is the teacher of the church.
 
To him the promise refers,
  “All thy children shall be taught of the Lord,
  and great shall be the peace of thy children.”
 
He taught the apostles all things necessary
    for their office and work;
  he teaches the true ministers of Christ,
    leading them into the truth as it is in Jesus; and
  he teaches every believer all that is really
    necessary for him to know.
 
The Bible is the lesson-book,
  the believer is the scholar,
  the blessing Spirit is the teacher, and
  experimental religion is the education.
 
No one teaches like him.
 
He teaches us gradually, silently, and always efficiently;
  for what the Spirit teaches us we know.
 
He teaches us what God requires in the law, and
  what he has provided in the gospel;
  what Christ is to his people, and
    what his people are to him.
 
His teaching makes practical Christians,
  for he always teaches us to deny ungodliness and
  worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and
    godly in the present world.
 
O to be taught of God!
 

O that we might the Spirit find

By Jesus’ grace be stowed,

Which leads us into all the mind,

And all the things of God.

Come, Holy Ghost, thy power display,

And teach us all in one,

Teach us in Christ, the living way,

To God's eternal throne.

 
James Smith 1849

Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation

 

Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.
Psalm 35:3

 
EVERY believer longs for assurance, and
  no one should rest satisfied without it.
 
For though it is not necessary to our safety,
  it is to our comfort and usefulness.
 
The Lord does assure his people that
  he is theirs, and that they are his.
 
This is done sometimes by applying the word,
  sometimes my shining on the soul, and
  sometimes by the direct witness of the Holy Spirit.
 
“The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit,
  that we are the children of God.”
 
Beloved, do you feel your need of salvation?
 
Are you seeking salvation?
 
Do you want the assurance of salvation?
 
If so, make the Psalmist prayer your own, and
  cry unto God with him,

      “Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.”
 
If God is your salvation,
  he will deliver you from all evil, and
  preserve you unto his kingdom and glory.
 
He will give you power against Satan,
  victory over the world, and
  deliverance from the dominion, guilt,
    and consequences of sin.
 
If God is your salvation,
  you may rejoice and not be afraid;
  for all things shall work for
    your good and God's glory.
 

Who can soothe the soul’s distresses?

Jesus, Lord, thy kind word

All my sorrows erases:

By the virtue of thy passion

Make me whole, tell my soul,

I am thy salvation!

 
James Smith 1849

WHAT I DO THOU KNOWEST NOT NOW.

 

What I do thou knowest not now.
John 13:7

 
WE walk by faith, not by sight.
 
We are to believe when we cannot see;
  and to believe when we cannot understand.
 
The Lord is now working in nature, providence, and grace;
  and he does many things which we do not understand at present.
 
But when his work is complete, and
  it lies stretched out before us in the light of eternity,
  then we shall comprehend the design,
  admire the wisdom, and
  adore the divine agent.
 
In the meantime,
  we must give the Lord credit
  for wisdom, kindness, and veracity;
  his work must correspond with his word,
  the one is but the counterpart of the other.
 
Beloved, is God cleansing you by fiery trials, or
  causing you to pass through the waters?
 
Are you at a loss to know what is his design, or
  where the present dispensation will end?
 
Be still.                        Wait his time.
 
There is a working time,
  which is the present; and
  there is a revealing time,
    which is to come.
 
The wisest are often in the dark now,
  but the simplest will see all things clearly by and by.
 
A little more patience,
  a little more faith, and
      all will be well.
 

Do what thou wilt; it should be so;

Thy works I shall hereafter know,

(When death the veil remove,)

Unwind the providential maze,

And gladly own that all thy ways

Are wisdom, truth, and love.

 
James Smith 1849
 

YET WILL I NOT FORGET THEE.

 

Yet will I not forget thee.
 
Isaiah 49:15

 
WE often forget the Lord,
  this is both our sin and our folly;
  for as we can never be happy but
  as we live in the enjoyment of his love,
  so every sin brings its own punishment with it.
 
We sometimes suspect that the Lord has forgotten us,
  but he assures us that this is impossible.
 
He admits that the mother may forget her sucking child,
  and treat it with neglect; but
  he denies that he can ever forget his people.
 
They are too deeply engraven on his hands,
  his love to them is too strong and active,
  to allow him to forget them.
 
Jesus thinks of us this morning.
 
He is thinking of the trials we shall have to endure,
  of the duties we have to discharge,
  of the foes we shall have to face, and
  of the grace that will be necessary for us.
 
Friends may forget us;
  relations may forget us;
  but Jesus never will:
  nor will he forget, or
  overlook any thing that concerns us.
 
O may I never forget him!
 
May he live in my memory,
  reign in my affections, and
  dwell in my heart by faith.
 
O to think of him,
  trust in him, and
    render constant and cheerful obedience to him.
 
He says, “I will not forget thee;
may we say, --
 

I know it: by thy hands and feet

Thou must remember me;

Thou couldest as easily forget

What passed on Calvary!

 
James Smith 1849

BEHOLD, I AM VILE.

 

Behold, I am vile.
Job 40:4

 
JOB did not always think so.
 
He did not always feel thus.
 
While at a distance from God,
  he could boast, argue, and contend with God;
  but when brought into the presence of God's holiness,
  the contrast was so striking that he sunk down in astonishment,
  clothed with shame, and filled with self-loathing.
 
The manifestation of God's glory to a sinner
  always produces the same effect.
 
Isaiah felt as Job did, and exclaimed,
   “I am undone, for my eyes have seen
      the King the Lord of hosts.”
 
Pride and self-righteousness can never live in God's presence.
 
The nearer to God,
  the more we discover our depravity,
  the more we loathe ourselves, and
  the more precious does the person
    and work of Jesus become.
 
Proud sinners have never been brought into God's presence.
 
Conceited professors,
  if they follow God at all,
   do so at a great distance.
 
O for clear, correct, and humbling views of self;
  that God may be glorified in us,
  and Jesus be precious to us!
 
It is only as we see our own vileness,
  that we shall value a Saviour’s righteousness;
  and only as we feel our own weakness,
  that we shall prize and pray for the Spirit's power.
 

Jehovah to the creature shown

Confounds his boast and virtuous pride,

And now he knows that God alone

Is just, and vile are all besides.

 
James Smith 1849

WE WOULD SEE JESUS.

 

We would see Jesus.
John 12:21

 
CURIOSITY pants to see great men,
  remarkable places, and uncommon things;
  but grace in the heart pants to see Jesus.
 
The first object we wish to see when regenerated is Jesus;
  and the last we shall wish to see when quitting the world is Jesus.
 
We want to see him in sorrow, to cheer us;
  in darkness, to illumine us;
  in trouble, to deliver us;
  in prosperity, to keep us;
  in sickness they comfort us; and
  in death to enable us to triumph.
 
We would see Jesus in the manger,
  Jesus at the Jordan,
  Jesus in the temple,
  Jesus in the busy crowd,
  Jesus in the house of affliction,
  Jesus by the grave of Lazarus,
  Jesus in Gethsemane’s garden,
  Jesus at Pilate’s bar,
  Jesus hanging on Golgotha,
  Jesus ascending from Olivet,
  Jesus interceding for us before his Father, and
  Jesus coming in the clouds to claim the world
    which was erected by him and for him.
 
Friend, have you ever seen Jesus?
 
Do you want to see him this morning?
 
Can you say,---
 

Fain would I my Redeemer see

As when extended on the tree,

He groaned beneath my heavy load,

He poured out all his precious blood;

Above, I want this only sight,

To view the Lamb by his own light,

To admire the luster of those scars,

Which brightens all the morning stars!

 
James Smith 1849
 

I WILL LOOK UP.

 

I will look up.
Psalm 5:3

 
THIS what is the Psalmist’s determination in the morning,
  and it should be ours.
 
Preserved and protected through the night,
  we should look up with gratitude, and
  praise God for his goodness.
 
Aware of our dependence and wants,
  we should look up and desire mercies of the God
     of heaven for the newborn day.
 
Sensible of our foes and dangers,
  we should look up and pray to be
  kept, guided, and sanctified by an ever-present God.
 
We if we look within, it will dispirit us;
  if we look around, it may distract us;
  if we look back, it may awaken fears;
  if we look forward, it may arouse foreboding;
but if we look up, it will preserve the head from swimming,
  the heart from sinking,
  the feet from slipping, and
  the hands from hanging down.
 
Beloved, let us look up, there is our loving father,
  there is our interceding Savior,
  there are our elder brethren,
  there are all our supplies, and
  there is our everlasting home.
 
Let others look where they will,
       “I WILL LOOK UP.”
 
If we look up to God in faith,
   he will look down upon us in mercy,
  and looking supply all our needs.
 

Rock of my security,

Thankful I look up to thee;

Blest with yet another day

Let me live my God to obey,

Live thine utmost will to prove,

Live to pray, repent, and love.

 
James Smith 1849

OF HIS FULNESS HAVE WE RECEIVED

 

Of his fulness have we received.
John 1:16

 
IT pleased the Father that in Jesus all fulness dwell.
 
The fulness of the Godhead dwelt in him.
 
He has, in order to communicate; and
  he gives freely to all comers.
 
The grace that justifies, and
  the grace that sanctifies,
    are a like from him.
 
Of his fullness we received grace at first, and
  then from his fullness we must receive at the last.
 
We need go nowhere else,
  for he has everything we do or
   can possibly need;
  it is of no use to go anywhere else,
  for no one else can supply us.
 
We may therefore say with Peter,
  “Lord, unto whom can we go,
    thou hast the words of eternel life.”
 
Let us go to his fullness this morning.
Let us ask largely.
Let us expect to receive grace to help us in every duty,
  in every trial, and in every temptation this day.
 
He is full of grace and truth.
 
O keep the eye fixed on his fullness,
  the heart happy in his love, and
  the hand diligently employed in his service!
 
He giveth liberally and upbraideth not.
 

Thou slaughtered Lamb of God,

From the world's foundation's slain,

By thy sacrificial blood

Wash out all my guilty stain,

Clothe my spirit’s nakedness

 With a covering from above,

Put on me thy spotless dress,

Wrap me up in heavenly love.

 
James Smith 1849
 

WHEN HE GIVETH QUIETNESS

 

When he giveth quietness, 
     who then can make trouble.
Job 34:29

 
OUR times are in God's hands, and
  our experience is absolutely under his control.
 
No matter where we are, or
  in what circumstances;
  if God gives us peace,
  shed abroad his love in our hearts, and
  shine upon our souls,
    we shall enjoy quietness.
 
So on the other hand,
  if placed in the most favourable circumstances,
  if surrounded by the kindest friends,
  if loaded with the bounties of a beneficent Providence;
  without the presence, blessings, and the love of God,
     we cannot be happy.
 
Nothing under heaven will make us so.
 
Let us view all our concerns as in God's hands, and
  expect our comfort from his word, presence, and smile.
 
If he gives us quietniss, we shall enjoy repose,
  though the world be up in arms around us,
  though the strong foundation of the earth gives way,
  though the heavens be clothed with sackcloth.
 
Lord, give us quietness which flows from the pardon of sin,
  the enjoyment of adoption,
  the sense of thy love, and
  the hope of everlasting glory.
 
O for quiet confidence in an ever present God!
 

Jesus, thou seest my troubled breast;

Weary and faint, for lasting rest,

For thee alone, I pray;

O might I with my Lord receive

Peace which the world can never give,

Can never take away.

 
Change Smith 1849

I HAVE FINISHED THE WORK

 

I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
 
John 17:4
THE work of Jesus is perfect.

 
He completed all that he had to do on earth,
  before he returned to heaven.
 
He did not forget one thing,
  nor fail in one point.
 
Every demand made upon him, 

    he met;
  every engagement he had entered into, 

    he fulfilled;
  every foe that attempted to obstruct his progress, 

    he defeated;
  every member of his church, 

    he purchased; and
  the certain salvation of everyone committed unto him, 

    he secured.
 
He wrought on earth,
  he rested in heaven.
 
His finished work is his glory, and
  it is the ground of our hope, confidence, and try up.
 
As Jesus has finished his work,
  may we seek to finish ours;
  that as he is sat down with the father upon his throne,
   we may sit down with him upon his throne.
 
By the finished work of Jesus,
  justice is for ever satisfied,
  the holy law is magnified;
  sin is eternally put away; and
  the gates of heaven are thrown wide open
  to every simple minded believer.
 
O to look to, trust in, and
  boast of the finished work of Christ alone!
 
Nothing else will do for us in death,
  May we not attempt to do with any thing else in life.
 

Sin, death, and hell, are now subdued,

All grace is now to sinners given;

And, lo ! I plead the atoning blood,

For pardon, holiness, and heaven.

 
James Smith 1849

HE SHALL SEE HIS FACE WITH JOY.

 

He shall see his face with joy.
Job 33:26

 
THIS is what no sinner can do without a change of nature.
 
There is nothing in God to make a man happy
  while he loves and lives and sin.
 
But when convinced of transgression,
  when laid low in contrition,
  when reconciled through the precious blood of Jesus,
  when the Spirit of adoption within cries, “ABBA Father,”
   then we see his face with joy.
 
It is a father's face,
  a father's face beaming with love.
 
The face of a father who presses his guilty
   but returning prodigal to his heart.
 
O what joy to see that God is reconciled to us, and
   that he is at peace with us,
   that he loves us,
   that he delights in us,
   that he rejoices to do ask good!
 
This makes the heart dance with joy for joy.
 
This makes us rejoice with joy that
   is unspeakable and full of glory.
 
Sinner, if you are convinced of sin,
  if you seek God through Jesus,
    if you pray earnestly to unto him,
     he will deliver you from going down into the pit,
     and you shall see his face with joy.
 
O seek the Lord this day,
  nor cease until you are filled with his love!
 
Let nothing tempt you to delay,
  the strive to enter in at the Strait
  gate while it is yet open.
 

Comforter of all that morn,

Into joy my sorrows turn,

Joy to taste thy saving grace

Joy to see thy smiling face

Joy to know my sins forgiven

Joy to gain a glimpse of heaven.

 
James Smith 1849