THE HOME

 

NOVEMBER 6



THE HOME

"Let not your heart be troubled: 

ye believe in God, 
believe also in me. 

In my Father's house are many mansions: 
if it were not so, I would have told you. 
I go to prepare a place for you.

                                                  John 14:1,2

How familiar with Heaven!

How well acquainted with that "BETTER LAND"

   must Jesus be!
He calls it "MY FATHER’S HOUSE." 
Sweet view of our eternal residence!
 
Dying is but 'going home.
  Going home to our Father.
  Going to our Father's house.

And shall we fear this? 

Fear it! Can we do anything other than desire it?

 
Do we not wish to go home and see our Father? 

We shall not be strangers there,
 so many of our Christian friends 

  have gone home before us.

And if they were not, 

how can we not feel strange where JESUS is!
 
"I leave the world," said Jesus,
"and go unto the Father." 

Such should be our language, in the prospect of death.

O that, with child-like simplicity, 

  we could receive into our minds 

     the testimony of God's Word!

O that we could view death and Heaven just 

  as the Scriptures represent them!

Where would our doubts and fears be then?

What would become of our reluctance to leave the world then?

 
Then, if we speak of departed relatives, 

  who died in the faith of Jesus, 

  we should use similar language to that 

  of Judah before Joseph in reference to Benjamin, 

   "The youngest is this day with our Father!"

We would no longer talk of losing friends or relatives.

Oh no! We should speak of them as 

  being in our Father's house, or 

     of being with our Father!

Is God my Father?" Yes, assuredly, 

  If I believe in Jesus;
  for "you are all the children of God, 

       by faith in Christ Jesus!"

Is God my Father?

Unquestionably he is, if I love the Lord’s people, 

  for “We know that we have passed from death unto life, 

    because we love the brethren.”

My soul, I charge thee, 

  in future to look to Heaven, 

    simply as thy Father's house!

For we know that if our earthly house 

  of this tabernacle were dissolved, 

  we have a building of God, 

  an house not made with hands, 

   eternal in the heavens. 

                              2 Corinthians 5:1

 JAMES SMITH 1869

THE CITY

NOVEMBER 3

THE CITY

God is not ashamed to be called their God:
  for he hath prepared for them a city. 

                                        Hebrews 11:16
 
Wonderful fact, that poor, depraved, and
as sinful as we now are,  

God is not ashamed of us!

By the faith which he has given us,
we "have come to Mount Zion,

  to the heavenly Jerusalem,” and 

  consider this our home: 

  as Paul says “Jerusalem which is above is free, 

  and she is the mother of us all.”

Jesus calls it, "the city of my God!"
John in vision saw "the holy city, 

  new Jerusalem, coming down from 

  God out of heaven,”

Such a city, for
  costly materials,
  excellent workmanship,
  vast extent,
  perfect purity, and
  for the health and happiness 

  of the inhabitants,
 was never known.
 
No sin,
no sorrow,
no tears,
no disease there!
for “he that sat upon the throne said,

  Behold, I make all things new.”

On that city the glory of God rests for ever, 

 and there the Lamb for ever dwells.

Here we shall find every delightful accommodation,
 the saints will be connected in bonds of holy   citizenship,
 they will enjoy perfect satisfaction, 

 and be elevated to the highest honor.
 
This city was founded before time;
 it is even now preparing for our reception,

 it will be stored with all that can gratify

 and delight us; and we shall possess
  and enjoy it for ever.
 

How wonderful that, poor, mean, and vile as we are, the infinitely great and glorious Jehovah should not be ashamed to be called our God;
but that he should prepare for us a city, and such a city!

How good, how gracious, how deep God's thoughts of us must have been!

Well may David say, "How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them."

Blessed be God for thinking of us, providing for us, and revealing to us such astonishing things;
may we be daily preparing to pass over Jordan and possess them!
 
For our conversation is in heaven; 

from whence also we look for the Saviour, 

the Lord Jesus Christ: 
                                Philippian 3:20,
 
JAMES SMITH 1869 

THE INHERITANCE

 

NOVEMBER 2

THE INHERITANCE

To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed
1 Peter 1:4, 5

 
Heaven is called an inheritance, 

  because it comes to us by heirship. 

Being born of the Spirit,

   we are all the children of God; 

   and if we are God's children,

   then heirs, heirs of God, and 

   joint-heirs with Jesus Christ!

What a glorious inheritance must this be.

Meditate upon it, O my soul! 

It is incorruptible. 

It will endure forever; 

  no part of it is subject to decay. 

It is undefiled. No one can acquire it dishonestly;

   no one can soil it by sin. 

It is beyond the reach of change and decay. 

Its glory is ever new.

The plants on that inheritance, know no winter.
The sun never goes down.
It is always in full perfection.

The noblest production of God's power,

  it will stand out in bold relief from his other works, 

  as the paragon of excellence.

It is the portion of his children,

  the dwelling-place of the Lamb 

  and his glorified bride.

The reward given to Jesus, for his agonies and death. 

There the Lord God will dwell among his people. 

The tabernacle of God will be with us.

But description is impossible, for the powers of conception fail.
Eye hath not seen,
nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man,
 the things which God hath prepared for them that love him

 
However great our sufferings here,

  and they may be exceedingly great; 

  yet when the apostle compares them 

  with this inheritance, he says, 

     "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time

       are not worthy to be compared with the glory 

        which shall be revealed in us." 

What! O what, will that glory be!

We must possess — it to know it;

   we must be actually in it,

     to adequately speak or write of it.

Tried Christian, however poor now, however tried now,

  thou art heir to an eternal inheritance, 

   which comprises the unsearchable riches of Christ;

    therefore, suffer patiently, and hope to the end!

Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Colossians 1:12

 JAMES SMITH 1869

THE REST

 

NOVEMBER 1

THE REST

Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.       Revelation 14:13

The better land is the land of rest for the weary, and of sweet repose for the troubled.

Here, we are often tossed with tempests, and are not comforted; or
we toil on in weariness, discouragement, and sadness.

But "there remaineth a rest for the people of God," and a glorious rest it is.

For a time, the poor body will rest in the grave, and the disembodied spirit will rest in the presence of Jesus.
 
 
My aged friend, thy labour in carrying thy cross has been wearying;
thy labour for the cause of Jesus has been exhausting; and the inward conflict has added greatly to the trouble of thy soul; but now thou shalt rest!

Rest from all temptation; no more trials of faith, patience, and perseverance; no more solicitations to sin against God, grieve the Holy Spirit, and dishonor the cause dear to thy heart.

No more painful afflictions, either personal or relative; of  mind or body.

No more self-denying duties, nor crucifying of the  old man, or mortifying the flesh, with its affections and lusts.
All field labour, all outdoor work, is done.

No more exposure to storms and tempests, to burning suns or pinching frosts; no more bleak winds nor pelting showers; "the winter is past," these things are over and gone.
 
 
Rest! O how sweet is rest to the weary!

Rest! O how delightful the sound to the exhausted traveler!

Rest! O how pleasant to the poor, tired, and afflicted believer!

 
No more wearisome nights are appointed for thee now!

No long, almost endless, days of strong pain remain for thee now.

No need now to wish for the wings of a dove, that thou mayest flee away and be at rest.

Thou shalt rest, and rest for ever.

Thy rest will be sweeter than an angel's, it will be as sweet as the rest of Jesus,  when he ascended from the tree of agony, from the field of blood.
 
"Arise, and depart! For this is not your resting place, because it is defiled, it is ruined, beyond all remedy!"

                        Micah 2:10

James Smith 1869

THE DEPARTURE

 

OCTOBER 31

 
THE DEPARTURE

"For I am now ready to be offered, 

   and the time of my departure is at hand." 

                                            2 Timothy 4:6
 
Aged believer, the time of thy departure 

  will soon come;
  let not thy mind be exercised as to
    where thou shalt die,
     when thou shalt die, or
        how thou shalt die;
these are all minor matters,
 and ought not to affect thee.
 
Simply look at death as Jesus did, 

  as we read,
 "Jesus knew that his hour was come

    that he should depart out of this world 

       unto the Father" 
 
 
Why shouldest thou regret 

  to leave a world like this,
 where sin, sorrow, pain, grief, 

  disappointment, and anxiety 

    meet thee at every turn?
Or why be reluctant to go HOME,
   to go to thy Father?
 
Dost thou not want to see his face?
 to enjoy his company?
 to be perfectly happy in his presence?
 
What did I hear thee say,

   "If I should be mistaken?"

If I should presume?
Mistaken! How can you be mistaken?
 
Do you not renounce all hope in yourself,
   all dependence on your duties,
   and do you not trust on Christ alone?
 
Have you not sought his face,
  relied on his Word,
  trusted in his blood? Mistaken!
   why, if you are not right,
     what will make you so?
 
Do you say, "My sins, my imperfections, 

  my infirmities."
 
Knowest thou not, that sins confessed,

   imperfections deplored, 

    infirmities mourned over,
if accompanied with faith in Jesus,
 never kept a soul out of Heaven yet,
    and never will.
 
Do you say, "Presume," didst thou say!

What, is it presumption to believe thy Savior?

Is it presumption to take God at his Word,
and give him credit for speaking truth?
 
"Presumption!" It is presumption to doubt,
 when God has spoken so plainly.

 It is presumption to fear,
 when God has spoken so positively,
 It is presumption to want something 

   else to assure thee,
 when God has said:
"He that believeth hath everlasting life."
    And to you,  "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,

   and THOU SHALT BE SAVED."
 
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,

   according to thy word:      Luke 2:29

 JAMES SMITH 1869