Daily Devotionals

Spiritual Treasury For The Children of God

Devotional: September 18th

My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.- Galatians 4:19.

Many sincere disciples, who are convinced of sin, hope in themselves cut off, and have fled to Jesus for refuge, are often distressed because they have not been under such dreadful terrors of legal wrath which others talk of, and are mistaken for the pangs and travail of the new birth. But there is no authority from scripture to conclude we must have such great terrors of hell and damnation ere we come to and believe on Christ. Nay, the law may work great wrath in the conscience, and yet the soul never be converted to Jesus and the holiness of the gospel. The Spirit is a sovereign agent. Enlightened, convinced souls are differently wrought on; some feel more, others less terror; but each see the sinfulness of sin, their lost state by nature, the spirituality of the law and the preciousness of Jesus before they will come to him. On such the dear Saviour "sees the travail of his soul, and is satisfied."- Isaiah 53:11. Zion, the church, in her living members, travails in faith and prayer, and by her, as the mother, children are brought forth.- Isaiah 66:8. Ministers, in their painful labours and endeavours, travail that souls may be born to Jesus.

Thus laborious and affectionate Paul travailed in birth again for the apostatizing Galatians. He had been in pain for them till they were brought forth at first as a holy seed in their conversion to Jesus; but now his soul was pained at their turning back again to the law. Children of God, though little in knowledge, and weak in faith, are as dear to Jesus as adult Christians; so are they to his faithful ministers. But they are fearful of believing too much in, and trusting too much on, the finished work of Jesus. Their poor legal hearts are ever, now and then, looking to the law, and leaning to something of their own; but the Spirit will not leave such to abide in a feeble, infantine state. Ministers labour and travail for their growth in grace, by the knowledge of Jesus: the gracious Spirit, by the word, forms Christ more perfectly in them; he increases more perfect knowledge of his finished salvation, in the full atonement of his blood, the perfection of his righteousness, and the prevalency of his intercession for their justification and acceptance with God: and also in their sanctification, he more perfectly forms the image of Christ in them, as to the disposition of their hearts and conformity of their lives. "We are changed into his image by the Spirit of the Lord."- 2 Corinthians 3:18.

Glory to God the Spirit give,

From whose almighty pow’r,

Our souls their heav’nly birth derive,

And bless the happy hour.

Dear Lord, thou Spirit, with us stay,

And let us not thee grieve;

O, guide us thro’ our desert way,

And never, never leave.

We walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7.

Thus we quit sense for faith. So we overcome the lust of the eyes. To gratify these, is contrary to the walk of faith. Then is it any marvel, that we lose the peace, comfort, and joy of faith? But this is not what is here meant by sight, as opposed to faith. Here is an infallible truth. Though a Christian, by the eye of sense, can neither see God, Christ, the things of the heavenly world, etc. yet he walks in the firm belief of what the word of God tells him of them: and hence, they have the supreme affection of the soul, from day to day. Faith supplies the sight of them. They are as real to the mind, as though seen by the bodily eye. Thus, a lively hope of enjoying them, is kept up in the heart. “We are always confident,” we are sure of the existence of spiritual, heavenly, and invisible objects, as we are of our own being. O ye sons of carnal sight and sense! ye deride us: we pity you. Ye look only at temporal shadows: we, at eternal substance. “The things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18.) See the preciousness of faith. For, (1st.) though we do not now, nor ever have seen Christ, yet we love him: believing in him, we rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory. (1 Peter 1:8.) For, (2d.) we see in ourselves nothing but sin and misery. But by faith, we know we are perfectly righteous in Christ- perfectly accepted of God-perfectly justified in his sight- presented without spot of sin. (3d.) We see our bodies under the sentence of death-daily dying-hastening to the grave. Natural sight can look no further. There we see an end of our existence. The body turns to dust. But by faith we look through death and the grave: we see, and say, “We know, that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2 Corinthians 5:1.) (4th.) Though we do not see how, nor can we explain the manner of the Spirit’s work upon our souls, no more than we can tell from whence the wind cometh, or whither it goeth; yet by sweet experience we can say, “He who wrought us for this self-same thing, is the Spirit of God.” (verse 5.) For we find ourselves formed, to live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved us, and gave himself for us. (Galatians 2:20.) Hence, we are dead to the pleasures of sense, and the joys of carnal mirth. For, we see Jesus at the right hand of God, where is fulness of joy, and pleasures for evermore. Psalms 16:11.

Blest be our Lord, who gave us faith

Things out of sight to see;

To live and walk by what he saith,

May this our glory be.

Keep up this quick and piercing sight,

Dear Lord, of things above:

That we may walk with thee in light,

Rejoicing in thy love.