_Now are we the sons of G.o.d: and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 1 John iii. 2._
"Now are we the sons of G.o.d." That is the pier upon one side of the gulf. "It doth not yet appear what we shall be, but when He shall appear we shall be like Him." That is the pier on the other. How are the two to be connected? There is only one way by which the present sonship will blossom and fruit into the future perfect likeness, and that is, if we throw across the gulf, by G.o.d"s help day by day, the bridge of growing likeness to Himself, and purity therefrom.--_Alex. McLaren._
=September 12th.=
_Behold, we go up to Jerusalem. Matt. xx. 18._
Never had there been such a going up to Jerusalem as that which Jesus here proposes to His disciples. He goes up voluntarily. The act was not enforced by any external compulsion. Jerusalem might at this time have been avoided. It was deliberately sought. It was a going up to a triumph to be reached through defeat, a coronation to be attained through ignominy and humiliation.
O believer, in your walk through the world to-day, be strengthened, be comforted, be inspired, by the spectacle of the Captain of your salvation thus going up to Jerusalem! And remember, in all those apparently _downward_ pa.s.sages of life, where sorrow, and it may be death, lie before you, that all such descents, made or endured in the Spirit of Jesus, are really _upgoing_ steps, leading you to the mount of G.o.d and the resurrection glory.--_J. B. Stratton._
=September 13th.=
_These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work. 1 Chron. iv. 23._
Anywhere and everywhere we may dwell "with the King for His work." We may be in a very unlikely or unfavorable place for this; it may be in a little country life, with little enough to be seen of the "goings" of the King around us; it may be among hedges of all sorts, hindrances in all directions; it may be, furthermore, with our hands full of all manner of pottery for our daily task. No matter! The King who placed us "there" will come and dwell there with us; the hedges are all right, or He would soon do away with them; and it does not follow that what seems to hinder our way may not be for its very protection; and as for the pottery, why, this is just exactly what He has seen fit to put into our hands, and therefore it is, for the present, "His work."--_Frances Ridley Havergal._
=September 14th.=
I will instruct thee, and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go; _I will guide thee with mine eye. Psa.
x.x.xii. 8._
When G.o.d does the directing, our life is useful and full of promise, whatever it is doing; and discipline has its perfecting work.--_H. E.
Cobb._
=September 15th.=
_The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.
Matt. xx. 28._
We are so to surrender ourselves to Christ that this great purpose of His coming shall claim and possess the whole life. We are to live, like G.o.d, to bless others. This is His will, His purpose concerning us. This is what His power waits to do for us. And this too, is the claim of His great love upon us.
Do not sigh a poor a.s.sent to the truth of it, and then pa.s.s by neglectfully on the other side. Do not think about it and pray about it without even a pa.s.sing hope that the prayer will be answered. Do not gather yourself up in great resolutions to be good and useful. Kneel in sight of the Crucified. In the cross of Christ spell out His great purpose and yearning love to men. Let the heart feel all the might of the appeal that comes to us from those torn hands and feet and bleeding brow, from all the dreadful shame and agony of our dear Lord. And, bought and bound by all this, surrender yourself to Him for His great purpose. Take Him as your strength for this life-work.--_Mark Guy Pea.r.s.e._
=September 16th.=
_Jesus . . . went about doing good. Acts x. 38._
The finest of all fine arts is the art of doing good; and yet it is the least cultivated.--_T. DeWitt Talmage._
=September 17th.=
_And the angel of the Lord said unto her [Hagar], Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. Gen. xvi. 9._
SUBMISSION is a great Christian law, but we find it early in Genesis, early in the history of mankind, and angel-given.--_Selected._
=September 18th.=
_Then spake Solomon . . . I have surely built thee an house to dwell in. 1 Kings viii. 12, 13._
Solomon, the prince of peace, alone could build the temple. If we would be soul-winners and build up the church, which is G.o.d"s temple, let us note this; not by discussion nor by argument, but by lifting up Christ shall we draw men unto Him.--_J. Hudson Taylor._
=September 19th.=
_I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. Isa.
xlviii. 10._
Does not the word come like a soft shower, a.s.suaging the fury of the flame? Yea, is it not an asbestos armor, against which the heat hath no power? Let affliction come--G.o.d has chosen me. Poverty, thou mayest stride in at my door--but G.o.d is in the house already, and He has chosen me. Sickness, thou mayest intrude, but I have a balsam ready--G.o.d has chosen me. Whatever befalls me in this vale of tears I know that He has "chosen" me. Fear not, Christian; Jesus is with thee. In all thy fiery trials His presence is both thy comfort and safety. He will never leave one whom He has chosen for His own. "Fear not, for I am with thee," is His sure word of promise to His chosen ones in the "furnace of affliction."--_Spurgeon._
=September 20th.=
_Base things of the world and things which are despised hath G.o.d chosen. 1 Cor. i. 28._
In some of the great halls of Europe may be seen pictures not painted with the brush, but mosaics, which are made up of small pieces of stone, gla.s.s, or other material. The artist takes these little pieces, and, polishing and arranging them, he forms them into the grand and beautiful picture. Each individual part of the picture may be a little worthless piece of gla.s.s or marble or sh.e.l.l; but, with each in its place, the whole const.i.tutes the masterpiece of art.
So I think it will be with humanity in the hands of the great Artist.
G.o.d is picking up the little worthless pieces of stone and bra.s.s that might be trodden under foot unnoticed, and is making of them His great masterpiece.--_Bishop Simpson._
=September 21st.=
_Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. Psa. c. 2._
G.o.d wants our life to be a song. He has written the music for us in His Word and in the duties that come to us in our places and relations in life. The things we ought to do are the notes set upon the staff. To make our life beautiful music we must be obedient and submissive. Any disobedience is the singing of a false note, and yields discord.--_J. R.
Miller._
=September 22nd.=
_When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father, which is in secret. Matt. vi. 6._
This is faith"s stronghold; here she weapons herself for the daily conflict. Silence in that closet of prayer bespeaks death throughout all the house. When that door is suffered to rust on its hinges, and that chamber is deserted, then the heart-house is soon retaken by Satan, and evil spirits come in and dwell there.--_Theodore Cuyler._
=September 23rd.=
_Be ye holy; for I am holy. 1 Pet. i. 16._
The highway of holiness is along the commonest road of life--along your very way. In wind and rain, no matter how it beats--it is only going hand in hand with Him.--_Mark Guy Pea.r.s.e._