the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
The Poor Man's Morning and Evening Portions
November 2—Morning—John 14:26
"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."—John 14:26.
Oh blessed Spirit, to whom I owe such unspeakable mercies, let me, Lord, contemplate thee this day under this gracious, kind, compassionate office of the Comforter. Thou art indeed the Holy Ghost the Comforter. And how mercifully dost thou sympathize with all the followers of Jesus in their various afflictions, both of soul and body. How tenderly dolt thou shew us our sins, and lead to Jesus’s blood to wash them away. How sweetly dost thou visit, encourage, strengthen, instruct, lead, and guide, into all truth. And how powerfully at times, by thy restraining grace, dost thou enable us to mortify the deeds of the body, that we may live. Hail, thou holy, blessed, almighty Comforter! Oh let thy visits be continual. Come, Lord, and abide with me, and be with me for ever. Manifest that thou art the Sent of the Father, and of the Son, in coming to me in Jesus’s name, in teaching me of all the precious things concerning Jesus, and acting as the Remembrancer of Jesus; that in thee, by thy blessed office work, I may know, and live in the sweet enjoyment of fellowship with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ, through the influence of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter.
November 2—Evening—Psalms 116:11
"I said in my haste, all men are liars."—Psalms 116:11.
Hasty words, for the most part, are not wise words. But, as the apostle remarks, "Let God be true, and every man a liar." It should seem that this hasty expression of David was at a time when he was greatly afflicted. Alas! what exercises, for want of the proper use of them, in their sanctifying properties, are men brought into! But if, from long experience, the heart be led to a just conclusion, that man, in his best friendship, and best intention, is too fickle and helpless a creature to trust in, or depend upon; and from a full conviction of the hollow and deceitful nature of the human heart, the soul is led unto God in Christ, as the only stable and permanent security; thus changing the reeds of Egypt, for the Rock of Israel: here it becomes not the subject of haste, but the deliberate conclusion formed by grace, to consider every being fallacious but the faithful Jehovah. My soul, take thy stand, this evening, under Jesus’s banner: and though thou hast been deceived by man, yea, by every man; though thine own heart be deceitful, and desperately wicked, so much so, that though, since grace brought thee first acquainted with it, thou hast been making discoveries more and more, that have astonished thee, and thou hast not yet, nor ever will in this life get to the bottom in exploring the depths of deception; though the world and the great enemy of souls be all in league to deceive thee; yet shall not the whole of these deceivers prevail, nor separate thee from the love of Christ. Jesus will make thee more than conqueror through his grace supporting thee. As the armies in heaven, so his faithful upon earth, "overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and have loved not their lives unto death."
