the Third Week after Easter
Click here to learn more!
Daily Devotionals
The Poor Man's Morning and Evening Portions
November 26—Morning—Ezekiel 47:9
"And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live."—Ezekiel 47:9.
Listen to this promise, my soul, and make it the subject of this morning’s meditation, of this day, and every day. See how rich, how extensive it is in the life-promising power. And the river of life in Jesus possesseth all these blessed effects. To every poor sinner, brought into this rich stream, it gives life, spiritual life, eternal life. And who shall describe the length, the breadth, the heights, the depths of it? Not only extending over all the continent of the earth, but from the borders of hell to heaven, and from one eternity to another. And its sovereignty is such that it bears down all before it—washing away sin, and guilt, and misery; diffusing streams of life, and grace, and mercy; opening sources of joy, and peace, and happiness, for ever and for ever. Oh precious, precious Jesus, make glad my soul with the streams of this river; be thou the fountain of all my happiness, and let all my springs be in thee.
November 26—Evening—Psalms 45:13
"The King’s daughter is all glorious within."—Psalms 45:13.
As the Redeemer is known to his church under a great variety of names and characters, and is blessed to the church in every one, whether of brother, or husband, or friend; so Jesus condescends to call his church by a variety of names also, all descriptive of the unbounded love he bears towards her. She is his fair one, his spouse, his chosen, his sister; and in this song of loves, she is called "the King’s daughter." But it is most blessed to observe that by whatever name she is known, it is all in allusion to Jesus, for from him, and in him, she derives the whole of her beauty and excellency. Her glory is in her Lord, and she is wholly spiritual, all derived, like the shining of the moon, from the sun. If the church be comely, it is from the comeliness the Lord Jesus hath put upon her. For as the whole perfection of beauty is in Christ, as a rich and complete constellation, so every perfection in his people is from their union with him. It is Jesus who gives a loveliness to every object that is lovely. My soul, what saith thy experience to this statement? Thou art indeed "all glorious within," if Christ be formed there "the hope of glory." And if thy God be thy glory, then wilt thou feel what the church felt, and, taking tip her language, thou wilt say, "I am black as the tents of Kedar but comely as the curtains of Solomon," Song of Solomon 1:5. Oh! the felicity of knowing the total unworthiness of the human heart, which, like the spots and swarthiness of the Ethiopian, makes the church truly black and deformed: and Oh! the felicity also of knowing our comeliness, from the beauty Christ hath put upon us, and the sanctifying and regenerating influences of the Holy Spirit. Precious Lord Jesus! be it my portion always to appear in the spotless robe of thy righteousness, and then shall I be indeed "all glorious within!"
