Daily Devotionals

Spiritual Treasury For The Children of God

Devotional: March 31st

The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.- Proverbs 14:32.

’O, it is most comfortable, in a dying hour, to look back upon a well-spent life,’ say many. It is most comfortable to "forget the things that are behind, and to look forward, and press towards the mark for the prize of our high-calling of God in Christ Jesus," saith the Christian.- Philippians 3:14. What a delightful prospect, in a dying hour, to view a reconciled God, a glorified Jesus, and a kingdom prepared for us from the foundation of the world! but if we have not experienced a life of faith on Jesus, and by the grace of God had our conversation in the world, a life of self-righteousness will only beget vain confidence, and delude the soul with false hopes, which will end in awful disappointment at death. But who are the wicked? Verily all who reject the faith of the Son of God, refuse to submit to his righteousness, hope in themselves, and trust to what they can do to make themselves righteous, and to make their peace with God. This is the very essence of wickedness. All such are destitute of righteousness: their eyes are blinded by sin: their hearts are hardened against the truth. Living and dying so, they shall be driven away from the comforts of the righteous in the awful hour of death; in the tremendous day of judgment, they shall be driven away from the presence of Jesus, with "Go, ye cursed."

Who are the righteous? Even all who receive the gift of new covenant love, the gift of righteousness, which "cometh upon all the children of faith by one, Jesus Christ."- Romans 5:17.

The righteous man is of divine extraction; born again from above, he hath the mind of Christ, he loveth righteousness and hateth iniquity. The righteous hath hope in a God of justice, hope in a God of truth, hope in a God of faithfulness, because his hope standeth in God’s own covenant grace and love, which maketh sinners righteous in Jesus. This hope shall never forsake the righteous: it animates him in life to love and obedience; it comforts him in death against fears of wrath and terrors of hell; it inspires him with joyful assurance of a crown of righteousness in life and immortality, according to the free-grace, precious promises of God, through the righteousness of Jesus. Well might that eminently faithful minister of Jesus, the late Rev. Mr. Hervey, so sweetly fall asleep, with this hope in his heart, while his lips were warbling his dying song, ’Precious salvation! precious, salvation!-O precious grace! precious promises! precious faith! precious hope! All flowing to poor sinners, through the perfect righteousness and precious blood of the infinitely and eternally precious Jesus.’ Well might St. Paul sum up all our blessedness in that apostolic benediction, which includes all our hope: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen."- 2 Corinthians 13:14.

Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Jeremiah 3:22.

Backsliding is a species of apostasy from the faith. Apostacy is the high road to destruction. Total apostasy will certainly end in eternal damnation: for there can neither be repentance, or hope, for such a soul. The Son of God is the only sacrifice for sin: this, the backslider once professed to believe. But now he tramples on his precious blood, willfully despises and rejects the Saviour; so that now, he has only “a certain fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation, which shall devour every adversary of Christ.” (Hebrews 10:26-27.) Most striking is the picture of such, drawn by Mr. Bunyan, in his Pilgrim’s Progress, as a man in an iron cage, who thus confesses: “I was once a fair and flourishing professor, both in mine own eyes, and the eyes of others; I was, as I thought, fair for the celestial city, and had even joy at the thoughts that I should get thither: but I left off to watch and be sober-laid the reins upon the neck of my lusts; I sinned against the light of the word, and the goodness of my God; I grieved the Spirit, and he is gone; I tempted the devil, and he is come to me; I provoked God to anger, and he has left me; I have so hardened my heart, that I cannot repent. O, eternity! eternity! How shall I grapple with the misery I must meet with in eternity?” Lord, enable me to take warning by others and obey thy gracious words, which prevent thy children’s total apostasy from thee. Observe, (1st.) the conduct of the Lord to such. He arraigns them in the former verses, (1st.) Of treacherously departing from him, like a wife from her husband. O, what perfidious, faithless conduct! For, (2d.) it brings on perverting our way before God. And, (3d.) this ends in forgetting the Lord our God. This is the cause of every evil. If the objects of time and sense drive the memory of the Lord from our minds, though but an hour, how foolish do we act! Our hearts imperceptibly backslide from the sense of his presence. But O! the love of our Lord! He reminds us, (1st.) though backslidden, yet he owns us as children. O, father! thy love ever lives, though folly is in our ways. (2d.) He calls in love, return. May love cause us to take shame, fall down in sorrow, and cry for mercy. For, (3.) he promises, “I will heal your backslidings.” I will freely and fully pardon them ALL, though ever so numerous, heinous, or aggravating, as though they had never been committed. Backsliding sinner! believe and rejoice. See the effects of this love in the next meditation. “O Lord my God, lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death!” Psalms 13:3.

I’ve nought to plead by thy free grace,

Which does in Christ abound:

Grant me to see thy smiling face,

With mercy circled round.