THEY WHICH ARE OF FAITH.

 

APRIL 7.
 
They which are of faith.
 
Galatians 3:7

 
SOME are of works, and are
   labouring at the law to procure salvation, and
   render themselves acceptable to God;
    but all such labour is in vain.
 
Some are of faith, or
   are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ;
   such are the children of Abraham,
   and are blessed with him.
 
They which are of faith,
   look to Jesus for salvation,
   fly to him for refuge from the wrath to come,
   submit to God’s righteousness,
   take hold of God’s covenant,
   receive Christ as God’s gift,
   open the heart and admit him to
   fellowship and communion,
   affectionately embrace the promises,
   feed upon Christ daily as the bread of life,
   trust in the Lord with all the heart and
   wait patiently for God in all trials and troubles.
 
Beloved are you of faith?
 
If so you have discovered your own poverty and emptiness,
  and the Savour’s adaptation and glorious fulness.
 
You acquiesce in God’s method of salvation, and
  consent to every part of his gracious covenant.
 
Is it so?
 
If not, consider your absolute need of Christ, and
  that his arms and heart are open to receive you
     at this moment.
 

Thee, Jesus full of truth and grace,

My God, my Saviour, I embrace,

To all believers given,

My Prophet, Priest, and King receive,

And in thy name alone believe

For pardon, grace, and heaven.

 
James Smith 1849

WHOM I SERVE.

 

APRIL 6.
 
Whom I serve.
Acts 27:23

 
EVERY saint is the Lord’s servant.
 
He who does not serve Christ
  is not saved by him;
  for he saves his people that they
   may serve him without fear.
 
Every one who serves God aright,
  worships and adores him; and
  every one who worships God aright serves him.
 
Paul served God with all humility of mind;
  with courage and fortitude;
  with submission and perseverance;
  with delight and love.
 
In serving God he was happy,
  he was safe,
  he was sure of a supply,
  he was useful.
 
Are you serving God?
 
Have you believed his gospel,
  embraced the Saviour, and
  trusted his promises?
 
This lies at the root of all acceptable service.
 
If you serve God,
  you may expect great things from him.
He will protect you in danger.
He will direct you in difficulty.
He will supply you in trying times.
He will meet with you in the field of labour, and
  hold sweet and hallowed fellowship with you.
 
Jesus says, “If any man serve me, let him follow me;
   and where I am, there shall also my servant be;
   if any man serve me, him shall my father honour.”
 

My gracious Lord, I owe thy right

To every service I can pay;

And call it my supreme delight

To hear the dictates and obey;

I love to aid thy noble cause,

And yield obedience to thy laws.

 
James Smith 1849

THEY SHALL LOOK ON HIM WHOM THEY PIERCED.

 

APRIL 5.

They shall look on him whom they pierced.
John 19:37
 

BLESSED object !
 
Transforming sight !
 
Jesus was pierced by his foes.
 
He was pierced for us.
He was pierced by us.
 
His persecutors were our representatives.
 
We pierced him by them.
 
Our sins were the procuring cause of all his suffering.
 
As he died to atone for our sins,
  so it is only by faith's view of him,
   as the “pierced one,”
   that we can be delivered from guilt,
   freed from condemnation,
    enjoy peace, or
     walk comfortably with God.
 
Reader, did you ever look on Jesus
  as pierced by your sins?
 
Did you ever mourn for him, and
   grieve that you had caused him such pain?
 
If so, you felt a hatred to sin,
  a desire to be entirely freed from it, and
  to be entirely devoted to him,
     who died for you, and rose again.
 
O to look to Jesus today!
O to see him by faith hanging on the accursed tree!
O to be meted down in love and grief before him,
  and to be filled with self loathing,
   self abhorrence, and deeply humility.
 
Fellowship with Christ in his sufferings will embitter sin,
  and wean from the world.
 

My sins have done the deed,

Have torn his sacred flesh,

And made him often bleed,

And crucified afresh;

The man I pierced, ‘tis he, ‘tis he

I look, I feel him die - for me.

 
James Smith 1849

I WAIT FOR THE LORD.

 

APRIL 4.
I wait for the Lord.
Psalm 130:5
 

THIS is a blessing posture,
  but it is often a trying one.
 
Every Christian has to wait, and
  waiting is for his good.
 
“It is good that a man should both hope and
  quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.”
 
We are kept waiting to try us - are we sincere?
Are we in earnest?
Do we value the blessing?
 
To stir us up;
  we are apt to become formal,
  to settle on our lees,
  to sink into lukewarmness.
 
Then comes a trial,
  this sends us to the Lord.
He does not appear.
  We go again.
    We get no answer.
       We must wait.
 
This rouses our energies,
  reproves our folly, and
  makes us more decided and determined.
 
It is to teach us our dependence.
We are apt to forget,
   or lose sight of this.
 
We get conceited, or vain.
 
Then comes something which shows us
   that we cannot do without LORD.
 
We go to him.
  He seems to turn a deaf ear to us.
   We go again.
     We must wait.
 
This humbles us, and
  brings us into our proper place.
 
Beloved, is there any particular blessing
    which you need?
 
Have you asked of God?
 
Does he delay to give it?
 
Wait for him.
 
He will appear.
 
His time is the best.
 
Wait patiently.
 
 
 

For God, I look; with strong desires,

To God my ardent soul aspires;

And hope, still waiting for the Lord,

Rest on the promise of his word.

 
James Smith 1849

FOLLOW ME.

 

APRIL 3.
 
Follow me.
John 21:19

 
THIS is,
   copy my example,
     imitate my conduct,
         walk as I walked.
 
Jesus is God's living law;
  the precepts of the gospel walking before us,
   and speaking to us.
 
But if I follow Christ,
   where will he leave me?
 
He will lead you to Jordan to confess him;
  to the wilderness to be tempted with him;
  to the House of prayer to worship with his people;
  to the sick, the poor, and the sorrowful, to labour for him;
  to secret retirement to hold fellowship with him;
  to the world to be persecuted for his sake;
  to the cross to crucify the old man with his deeds; and,
   finally, to glory, to be for ever with him.
 
If you follow Jesus, carnal professors will

  not enjoy your company;
   the world will not admire your course;
      nor will Satan allow you to go on quietly.
 
If you follow Jesus, your heart must be renewed,
  your corruptions must be subdued,
  your motives must be purified, and
   you must be a new creature.
 
If Jesus lead you, you will be safe.
 
If you catch his spirit, copy his life, and
  keep him in sight,
    you will be peaceful, useful, and happy.
 
O! to imitate Jesus today,
  in his lovely spirit, holy life, and useful death!
 

Lord, I would thy servant be,

Give me power to follow thee,

Power to die the death divine,

Power to live for ever thine.

 
James Smith 1849

THINE ANGER IS TRUNED AWAY.

 

APRIL 2.
 
Thine anger is turned away.
Isaiah 12:1

 
THE anger of the God is his displeasure against sin.
 
It is not a passion like ours,
  which agitates and troubles us;
  but it is the calm, dignified, holy manifestation
    of his opposition to what is wrong.
 
He must hate evil.
 
He will always be displeased with sin.
 
But he will not always be angry with the sinner.
 
When his heart is broken;
  when his spirit is humbled;
  when he submits to God’s righteousness;
  when he frankly confesses his fault;
  when he is willing to part with all sin;
  when he looks to Jesus and
    pleads his sacrifice alone for acceptance;
       God is pleased, his anger is turned away.
 
He now smiles and forgives.
 
Invites the prodigal to come near unto him.
 
Sheds abroad his love in the heart,
  applies the precious promise to the soul,
  sprinkles the blood on atonement on the conscience,
   and peace and joy are experienced.
 
Then the sinner can say with the prophet,
  “O Lord, I will praise thee:
    though thou wast angry with me,
      thine anger is turned away and
       thou comfortedst me.”
 
Now, God appears as a Father,
   the believer is a reconciled, happy child,
  what ever happens to him is overruled for his welfare,
    and every trial flows from love.
 
 

For ever gracious is the Lord,

For ever faithful to his word:

By sweet experience now, I prove

His mercy, his unchanging love.

 
James Smith 1849

A SAVOUR AND A GREAT ONE.

 

APRIL 1.
 
A Saviour and a great one.
Isaiah 19:20
 

SUCH was the promise of God to the ancients,
  and it has been fulfilled to us.
 
Many saviours were raised up at different times,
  and great deliverances were wrought.
 
But there is no comparison between Jesus,
  and other deliverers.
 
They delivered from outward foes,
  he delivers us from our sins.
They delivered a few,
  he delivers a multitude which no man can number.
They delivered for a time,
  he delivers forever.
They delivered from a few evils,
  he delivers from all.
Their deliverance principally affected the body,
  his embraces the whole man.
 
Jesus is a great Saviour,
  for he saves great sinners,
  from great sins,
  by a great sacrifice,
   and raises them to the enjoyment of great glory.
 
He displayed great love,
  performed a great work,
  exerts great power, and
    deserves great honour.
 
His greatness is in is unsearchable.
 
He is so great,
  that God can provide no greater.
 
His name is Jesus.
His office is to save.
His joy is to save all that come unto him.
He never saw one yet that he could not save.
He was never sought by one that he would not save.
He saves freely, without price;
  cheerfully, without reluctance;
  eternally, without failure.
 

Jesus is a mighty Saviour,

Only source of all that's good;

Every grace and every favour

Flow through his most precious blood.

 

James Smith 1849