Daily Devotionals

Spiritual Treasury For The Children of God

Devotional: July 30th

And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the Lord their God.- Leviticus 26:44.

Can any child of God read his Father’s awful threatenings in this chapter, and think light of sin? Can he count it a small thing to walk contrary to God’s revealed mind and will? Indeed one would think it impossible; nor can we hardly believe any one who has known the true grace of God could read this verse and ever dare open his mouth and shoot his arrows of bitter words against the doctrines of everlasting, electing love, sovereign grace, and the certain salvation of every redeemed soul. But alas! when the mouth of proud man is not held in by the bridle of humility, what awful, what horrid speeches will he dare to utter, even against the plain and express declarations of Jehovah himself! The rank weeds of natural notions are offensive to gracious souls. Pride, unbelief, and corrupt reason, mutually strengthen each other in carnal hearts, in enmity and opposition to free-grace truths. But what is a bone of contention to such, is wholesome comfortable food to self-emptied and humble souls, through the faith of Jesus.

To every self-abased soul, who has no hope but in the word of the Lord, no confidence but in the covenant-love of Jesus our Mediator, the Lord our God speaks thus comfortably; "Though in the land," yea as thou often fearest, in the hand and under the power of thine enemy, O hear and rejoice! thy Lord saith, "I will not cast away, abhor, utterly destroy."

Though thou hast broken the covenant, yet God will not. It is firm as the mountains; unshaken as the rocks. God will visit for sin, chastise for provocations, correct for backsliding. All this is covenant-love; but to cast away his children he will not: to abhor them he cannot; to destroy and punish them in hell is contrary to his truth, his justice, his promise, his oath, his covenant, established in love, and ratified by the blood of Jesus, his Son, our Saviour. What tongue saith, Is it so? Come then, let us sin with an high hand! Poor soul, thy speech bewrayeth thee. The sound of grace has only reached thine ear; but where it is known and felt in the heart, it speaks otherwise. God’s free, loving, absolute declarations attract to love and obedience. The grace of God that brings salvation, teaches to deny all ungodliness, etc.- Titus 2:11-12.

The promise of my Father’s love

Shall stand for ever good:

He said, and gave his soul to death,

And seal’d the grace with blood.

To this dear cov’nant of thy word

I set my worthless name;

I seal th’ engagement to my Lord

And make my humble claim.

I have remembered thy name, O Lord, in the night. Psalms 119:55.

Consider, (1st.) Hebrew names express the nature of the things to which they are applied. Whatever name the LORD makes himself known by to us, is expressive of his nature, and of his covenant love and grace to us. Hence there is no name so sweet to us sinners, as that which he hath assumed, the name JESUS: The Lord, the self-existing Jehovah, Jesus. All the glorious perfections of wisdom, love, and power, shine with the greatest lustre in that name: the great God, even our Saviour Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:13.) All the attributes of Jehovah are magnified and glorified in that precious name. (2d.) To remember the name of the Lord, is to meditate in faith, upon what he is to us, hath done for us, and hath promised to bestow upon us, as the Lord our Saviour. O what a wide field for meditation is here! But (3d.) David remembered the Lord in the night. While others were sleeping, or doing worse, he was meditating: in the night, when all nature was in profound silence. This is a blessed season for meditation, upon the Lord of creation, providence, and grace. But by the night may also be understood, (1st.) the night of affliction, pain, and sickness of body. O how sweet, to remember the Lord’s name in it: to see the rod of love in the hand of a covenant God and loving Father. Or, (2d.) a night of bereaving; the loss of a near relative, or a dear friend. O blessed to remember, “the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away;” and to remember the Lord, to sanctify the loss, that we may be enabled to say, blessed be the name of the Lord. Or, (3d.) the night of temptation, when all appears dark and distressing. Then how joyful to remember the name of him who was tempted for us, the love of him who sympathizes with us, the power of him who is able to succour us, and the compassion of him who says his grace is sufficient for us! Or, (4th.) the night of desertion. O this is a black night indeed! but yet, how animating to remember the name of the Lord, who declares, “In a little wrath, I hid my face from thee, for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy upon thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.” (Isaiah 54:8.) Lastly, How sweet to remember the name of the Lord against the night of death. Dear Lord, familiarize that solemn night to our souls. Let us meditate on it with composure, and look for it with joy. When we think of its awful solemnity, let us remember thee, who hast swallowed up death in victory-took away its strength and sting-so that in faith, we may joyfully cry out, “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 15:57.