Daily Devotionals

The Poor Man's Morning and Evening Portions

Devotional: March 29th

March 29—Morning—Psalms 133:2

"The precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard, that went down to the skirts of his garments."—Psalms 133:2.

My soul, behold, in the anointing here set forth of the Jewish high priest, a type of His anointing who is a Priest for ever, and a Priest upon his throne; and while looking at Aaron, say, as the Lord Jesus did upon another occasion concerning Solomon, "A greater than Aaron is here." It is sweet, very sweet, and very profitable, to behold the old church shadowing forth the new, and the law ministering to the gospel. Yes, blessed Jesus, I behold in Aaron, and in the precious ointment poured forth upon his head, thus running down to the skirts of his garments, the beautiful representation of that fulness of the Spirit, which was poured out upon thee without measure; that from thee the communication might glow down to the poorest, the humblest, the lowest of thy members, even to the very skirts of thy clothing. "It pleased the Father that in thee should all fulness dwell:" that of that fulness all thy people might receive, and grace for grace. And by virtue of our interest in thee, and union with thee, all thy people do richly partake of communion in all thy benefits, blessings, mercies. The sun shines not to itself, nor for itself, but to impart light and life to others: so dost thou, the Sun of Righteousness, shine forth in all thy glory, not for thyself, but to bless, and enliven, and give out of all thy grace and fulness, every suited blessing, according to the measure of the gift of Christ. My soul, bring home these precious truths to the conviction of experience. Was Jesus indeed anointed for his people? Was grace poured into his lips? Was he, like Aaron, so installed into the office of the priesthood, and the Holy Spirit so unmeasurably communicated to him, on purpose that all his little ones should partake of this unspeakable gift of God? Did God the Father say to Jesus, "I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring?" Well then, my soul, hast thou partaken of the Holy Spirit? Hast thou communion with Jesus in all that concerns thy salvation? A child of God, a joint, heir with. Christ, and a soul begotten of the Holy Spirit, hath interest and communion in all that belongs to Jesus, as the Great Head and Mediator of his church; interested in his Person, interested in his work, interested in his righteousness, in his life, in his death, in his resurrection, in his everlasting priestly office, and in his everlasting glory. What sayeth my soul to these things? Go, my soul, go this morning, go in the strength of this interest, and look at a throne of grace, within the vail, whither thy forerunner is for thee entered; behold thy glorious Aaron, wearing the priestly vestments still, and having all grace, all fulness; waiting to be gracious, and to impart of that fulness to thy necessities; and having received gifts for men, yea, for thee, the most rebellious, that the Lord God might dwell among them. Lord, proportion thy mercies to my wants; and as the day is, so let the strength be.

March 29—Evening—Matthew 5:25-26

"Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily, I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing."—Matthew 5:25-26.

My soul! hast thou agreed with thine adversary, and made full payment of all the law charges? If so, it is blessed to review the account, and look over the several particulars, wherein thou wert a debtor, now struck out of God’s book, and marked paid, paid, in red letters, with Jesus’s blood. To thee, as a sinner, born in sin, and an insolvent debtor, both by nature and by practice, the law of God stood forth as thine adversary. To agree with him as quickly as possible, whilst in the way with him, and while life remains, which is every moment subject to be ended, is the first and most momentous of all concerns. Hadst thou not done this, and death had come, both law and justice must have consigned thee over to the Judge of quick and dead; and having rejected him as thy Saviour, and knowing him only as thy Judge, he must have delivered thee to the angels, who are officers in his kingdom, to execute his wrath; and into hell, as the eternal prison, thou must have been cast: and as the debt then could never have been paid, so deliverance could never have been obtained; but unsatisfied justice would have continued to demand, without any possibility on thy part of paying, to all eternity. Now see how thy account stands. It is a solemn thing to deal with God. If thy debt of original and actual sin be not paid by thy surety, it is not cancelled; but if Jesus, thy surety, hath paid it for thee, thy God hath accepted it of him; yea, he himself constituted and appointed him to pay it; and Jesus never gave over, nor did he compound with God, until he had paid the uttermost farthing: then art thou free. Oh! then, be often reviewing the blessed account, in which all thy plea for grace and acceptance here, and glory hereafter, most completely stands. Jesus hath paid the whole, and God the Father graciously saith, "Deliver him from going down into the pit; I have found a ransom."—Job 33:24.