FOR WHOM THE LORD LOVETH .

 

EVENING DEVOTION by James Smith

FEBRUARY 21

 

Hebrews 12:6

For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and

 scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

 
Every believer is beloved of his God,
  yet every believer is chastened, and
     chastisement is a proof of love.
 
We are but children and need it, we are children and therefore receive it.
 
Some are chastened by losses,
   some by sickness,
       some by the failure of their favourite schemes,
           some by domestic trials,
                some by the conduct of relatives or Christian friends.
 
We are not all chastened with the same rod, but we are all chastened by the same hand.
 
We are not all correct in the same way, but we are all corrected by the same wise, holy, and loving Father.
 
Some suffer most in mind, others in body: some are tried most in their own persons, others more in their relatives.
 
But let us never forget, every correction flows from love; every stroke is in kindness.
 
Our follies call for strokes, and our sins for rebukes; let us therefore humble ourselves under our Father’s hand.
 
Let us not question our relationship, or his love to us, because we are so tried, neither let us think the discipline unnecessary, and so despise his chastening.
 

Afflicted by a gracious God,

The strike I patiently sustain,

Grievous to feeble flesh and blood,

Unable to rejoice in pain.

Beneath a Father’s hand I bow,

And groan to feel the chastening now.

 
James Smith

ME COUNSEL SHALL STAND .

 

EVENING DEVOTION by James Smith

FEBRUARY 20

 

Isaiah 46:10

Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient

times the things that are not yet done, saying, Me counsel

shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

 
The counsel of man is often weak and unwise, his knowledge being imperfect, and his mind disordered.
 
But the counsel of the Lord is the effect of infinite wisdom, and is sustained by omnipotent power. Men’s purposes are often formed under evil influences, or when the mind is confused and perplexed; but the purposes of God were formed in the calm and quiet of the eternal mind, under the influence of justice, grace, holiness, truth, and love. Men’s counsels are often frustrated, but God’s counsel purposes can never be.
 
Men’s purposes are frequently defeated, but our God worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. His counsel includes all that is essential to our eternal welfare; his purposes embrace all the events of this transitory life: therefore we ought to be much affected by anything which takes place around us.
 
There may be confusion, conflict, injustice, oppression, cruelty, but our God who has his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, says, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” Remember, beloved, our God is at work always and everywhere.
 
He doth according to his will in heaven, earth, and hell; and he says to us, “Be still and know that I am God.”
 

God will for all my wants provide,

And save me for his mercy’s sake:

Me by his counsel he will guide,

And afterwards to glory take.

 
James Smith
 

TAKE THEREFORE NO THOUGHT FOR THE MORROW.

 

EVENING DEVOTION by James Smith

FEBRUARY 19

 

Matthew 6:34

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the

morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.

Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

 
That is, NO
   anxious,
      perplexing,
         distressing thought.
 
You know not that you shall live until to-morrow, the Lord may take you home to-night;
but if you do, the Lord will be
   as thoughtful of you,
   as kind to you, and
   as watchful of you,
   as he has been to-day.
 
There is daily grace as well as daily bread.
 
You cannot be fatherless, you will not be neglected.
 
Whatever your circumstances may be,
    your Father knows them,
        he has provided for them,
           he will bring you through them, and
                     get glory to himself by them.
 
Let the peace of God rule in your heart.
 
Stay yourself upon the word of the Lord.
 
Your loving Saviour wishes you to be free from anxiety, to wait upon him without distraction, to honour his Father’s love, by living in the exercise of calm, patient, waiting faith.
 
Go to rest this night, obeying your Redeemer’s word, 

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all temporal things shall be added unto you.

 
Take no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.”
 
When you awake in the morning you God will be with you, and he will not forsake you.
 

By day, by night, at home, abroad,

Still I am guarded by my God:

By his incessant bounty fed,

By his unerring counsel led.

 
James Smith

TO WAIT FOR HIS SON FROM HEAVEN .

 EVENING DEVOTION by James Smith

FEBRUARY 18

 

1 Thessalonians 1:10

And to wait for his Son from heaven,

whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus,

which delivered us from the wrath to come.

 
Jesus came in the flesh to redeem us, 

   he sent his Holy Spirit to sanctify us, 

      he will soon come again and receive us to himself, 

         that where he is we may be also.
 
This is a most glorious event.

It is constantly kept before the minds of the Lord’s people in the New Testament. 

It is our blessed hope.
 
We are deeply interested in it, should frequently meditate upon it, and daily prepare for it, and be found in a waiting posture.
 
We are servants, and our master is coming to call us to account. 

We are sons, and our Father is coming to fetch us home.
 
We are the espoused bride of the Son of God, and he is coming to marry us, and introduce us to his glorious kingdom.
 
He will come when very few expect him.
 
The virgins will all slumber and sleep, but “let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober.” Jesus may before morning, he will certainly come soon.
 
Are we ready for his coming?
 
Should we be glad to hear the trumpet sound, see the heavens pass away, and behold him come in like manner as his disciples saw him go into heaven?
 

The Saviour comes! he comes to reign,

To banish sorrow, sin, and pain;

Prepare my soul and patient wait,

So shall thy peace and joy be great.

 
James Smith

MY SOUL CLEAVETH UNTO THE DUST .

 

EVENING DEVOTION by James Smith

FEBRUARY 17

 

Psalm 119:25

My soul cleaveth unto the dust:

quicken thou me according to the word.

 
How common is the complaint, and how discreditable!
 
What is the world? DUST.
 
Its pleasures,
    profits,
        employments,
            honours, all dust.
 
That is comparatively worthless, beneath an immortal mind, unsuitable to a child of God.
 
Yet our thoughts are filled with them, our affections are entangled by them, and our graces are weakened through them.
 
Worldlings are at home in the dust, they appear to be satisfied with it; but the Christian when he cleaves to it most, is not at home, cannot be satisfied with it.
 
This is a mercy.
 
O to look on high! To rise and plume the wing!
 
To treat the things of time as they deserve!
 
My soul, rouse and shake thyself from the dust, and put on the beautiful garments; It is the say of salvation, thy God calls thee, he waits to hold fellowship with thee, he hath blessings of immense value to bestow upon thee.
 
It is beneath thy dignity to life here.
 
It is contrary to thy profession.
 
It is opposed to thy best interests.
 
Heaven is thy home.
 
Holiness is thy element.
 
The King of kings is thy husband.
 
Glory is thy eternal portion.
 
Earth is but a wilderness through which thou hast to pass; it is not thy rest, it is polluted.
 

Strange that my soul should cleave to dust,

With death and heaven so nigh;

Begone vain world; my spirit must

Ascend to dwell on high.

 
James Smith

BY GRACE YE ARE SAVED .

 

EVENING DEVOTION by James Smith

FEBRUARY 16

 

Ephesians 2:5

Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened

us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

 
What a mercy to be saved!
 
To be saved by mere favour!
 
But our salvation from first to last is of grace.
 
It originated in the mind of God. before time began;
and it will be completed before the throne of God,
when time shall be no more.
 
We are chosen to salvation-chosen in Christ:
and this choice of our persons was eternal,
        -sovereign,
               -immutable.
 
Election gave us a name in God’s book,
an interest in the Saviour’s undertaking, and
 a part in the saints’ inheritance.
 
We are redeemed from among men, and this is a favour.
 
In redemption,
    a price is paid for us,
         power is exerted to rescue us, and
               a plea is put into our mouths.
 
We are called to God’s kingdom and glory, and
this is a favour: it is personal, powerful, effectual.
 
Calling gives us a new life, a spiritual taste, and
an evidence of interest in all covenant blessings.
 
We are kept by the power of God, and this is a favour.
 
Prevented from being overcome by foes, crushed by dangers, 

and from apostatizing from the faith; and 

this proves that we are appointed to salvation.
 
If salvation is a favour, then the vilest may receive it; and
all the glory of it from the first to last must be the Lord’s
 

Salvation is a favour God bestows,

Through Jesu’s blood on alien and foes;

By sovereign grace, to make his glory known

He raises sinner to surround his throne.

 
James Smith

THE HOLY SPIRIT OF PROMISE .

 

EVENING DEVOTION by James Smith

FEBRUARY 15

 

Ephesians 1:13

I whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, 

the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed,

 ye were sealed with the holy Spirit of promise,

 
The great blessing promised in the Old Testament, is the Son of God; but the great promise of the New Testament, is the Holy Spirit.
 
He was promised to Jesus as the reward of his work; and he has promised him to us, to all who ask him. Jesus gives this living water, and all who receive it, find it to be a spring of water, welling up into everlasting life.
 
The Spirit is promised to us, to teach us, to lead us, to comfort us, and assist us in every duty; and we are dependent upon him for light, life, joy, peace and power, as we are upon acceptance with God.
 
He is the Spirit of promise also, as it is part of his work to unfold, apply, and prompt us to plead the promises before God.
 
Without him we read the promises but do not perceive their fullness, realize their glory, or appropriate them to ourselves; but under his teaching, the promises appear new, exactly suited to us, exceedingly great, and very precious. Every Christian is learning out in the school of painful experience, his dependence upon, and daily need of the Holy Spirit of promise.
 
Beloved, let us guard against grieving him; with double diligence let us consult his will, and obey his intimations.
 

Father, the sealing Spirit give,

In me to live and reign!

Let me the promise now receive

And never thirst again.

 
James Smith