the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Spiritual Treasury For The Children of God
And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee.- Psalms 39:7.
What a blessing is inward composure of mind! How delightful an exercise is waiting upon the Lord! What a profitable privilege is prayer! How happy the soul whose hope is in God! These are all the sweet attendants upon, and promoted by the grace of faith in Christ Jesus. While that grows strong in the soul, we are more lively and comfortable. Hence the disciple’s petition, "Lord, increase our faith," is daily needful. Then it is well with the soul when it is enabled to make this solemn appeal to its Saviour, ’Thou, Lord, knowest what I long for, what I wait for, even the spiritual blessings of thy kingdom, to be more inwardly transformed into thine image, to be more perfectly obedient to thy will, and to obtain a more complete victory over my worst foes, sin, Satan, and the world.’
Verily the heavenly-instructed soul knows, that all this is of God by Jesus Christ; and that the contrary to all this is from the lusts that dwell in him, and the evils that surround him: therefore God alone is his hope. His hope is not in his graces, his feelings, his frames, his comforts, but in the God of all grace-not in the streams, but in the fountain-not in what he has received, but in the infinite fulness which is treasured up in Jesus for the needy. Hope of salvation in Jesus is our helmet. Faith guards the heart; hope fortifies the head; hence the Christian lifts up his head in the day of battle, and in the hour of temptation. His head being armed, he dreads not divine wrath, Satan’s terrors, nor the law’s threatenings.
Thou man of God, consult not thy carnal reason; consider not thy body, which is dead, because of sin; but know that the Spirit is life, because of righteousness. Though the law is weak through the flesh, yet grace reigns; and through gospelgrace thou hast great and precious promises to encourage thee to hope confidently; and the omnipotent power of the Spirit to work in thee, to make thee go on cheerfully, while Jesus is the stay of thine heart to uphold and strengthen thee. Fear not; only believe; greater is Jesus than all thine enemies. "Stronger is he who is for us, than all that are against us." Verily thou shalt not be disappointed of thy hope, seeing it is in the Lord. Where Jesus is the object of faith, and the anchor of hope is cast within the veil, that soul shall safely and comfortably weather out every storm, and shall assuredly obtain the haven of eternal rest. By faith we possess the promises; hope expects the perfect fulfilment of them; in waiting we renew our strength.
My fainting flesh had dy’d with grief,
Had not my soul believ’d
To see thy grace provide relief;
Nor was my hope deceiv’d.
Wait on the Lord, ye trembling saints,
And keep your courage up;
He’ll raise your spirit when it faints,
And far exceed your hope.
What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. Psalms 56:3.
A Christian’s fears commence with his joys. Being new-born, he is the subject of new joys and new fears also: and, glory to grace! he has a new object too to trust in-a covenant God in Christ, who is unchangeable in his love. Confidence in him is the sovereign antidote against dejecting fears. Fears, that the world know not of, beset holy saints. (1st.) They find and feel their hearts to be superlatively deceitful, and desperately wicked. They dread their corruptions, more than all the men on earth, or devils in hell: they are afraid lest some vile lust, cursed corruption or devilish temptation should prevail, so as to offend their Lord, wound their conscience, and bring a reproach upon that holy name, whereby they are called. This is a godly fear; it can do the soul no harm: it is for its good: it keeps it humble and self-diffident, and causes it to say, “I will trust in thee.” “Do,” saith the Saviour; “My grace is sufficient for thee: my strength is made perfect in thy weakness: my power shall prevail over thy wickedness.”
(2d.) They may be afraid, after all their delightful hopes, of living and reigning with Jesus in glory; that, through the pressure of a body of sin and death, the snares and devices of Satan, the allurements of the world, etc., they may come short and perish at last. They may fear, lest, after they have spun the last thread, they should perish on the shore, in sight of glory. But they may boldly and confidently say, “I will trust in thee.” For here is a most precious three-fold cord which can never be broken. Thus saith Jesus, (1st.) “I give unto my sheep eternal life.” (2d.) “They shall never perish.” (3d.) “None shall pluck them out of my hands.” (John 10:28.) I thank thee, my dear Lord! this has been a sheet-anchor to my soul in many a dreadful storm.
(3d.) We may be afraid of that terrible monster-Death! But Christ has conquered him for us. Trust in the Lord, brings perfect victory over him, and joyful triumph against him: so that we can say, “O, death! where is thy sting? O, grave! where is thy victory? Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:55.) Faith makes a bridge over the river of death. But,
(4th.) Says a poor sinner, ‘I am not afraid of being damned in hell, but of starving on earth.’ But, saith he, “Trust in the Lord, and verily thou shalt be fed.” Psalms 32:3.
How many are the fears
Which exercise my mind!
But God is nigh, his grace appears:
From this, support I find.
O! teach my soul the art
All times to trust in thee:
For, O, how gracious is thy heart!
In love it bled for me.
