Evening and Morning
April 4
Morning
"For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who
knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."—2 Corinthians 5:21.
Mourning Christian! why weepest thou? Art thou
mourning over thine own corruptions? Look to thy
perfect Lord, and remember, thou art complete in Him; thou art in God's sight
as perfect as if thou hadst never sinned; nay, more
than that, the Lord our Righteousness hath put a divine garment upon thee, so
that thou hast more than the righteousness of man—thou hast the
righteousness of God. O Thou who art mourning by reason of inbred sin and
depravity, remember, none of thy sins can condemn thee. Thou hast learned to
hate sin; but thou hast learned also to know that sin is not thine—it was laid upon Christ's head. Thy standing is
not in thyself—it is in Christ; thine
acceptance is not in thyself, but in thy Lord; thou art as much accepted of God
to-day, with all thy sinfulness, as thou wilt be when thou standest
before His throne, free from all corruption. O, I beseech thee, lay hold on
this precious thought, perfection in Christ! For thou art "complete
in Him." With thy Saviour's garment on, thou art
holy as the Holy one. "Who is he that condemneth?
It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the
right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for
us." Christian, let thy heart rejoice, for thou art "accepted in the
beloved"—what hast thou to fear? Let thy face ever wear a smile;
live near thy Master; live in the suburbs of the Celestial City; for soon, when
thy time has come, thou shalt rise up where thy Jesus sits, and reign at His
right hand; and all this because the divine Lord "was made to be sin for
us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in
Him."
Evening
"Come ye, and let us go up
to the mountain of the Lord."—Isaiah 2:3.
It is
exceedingly beneficial to our souls to mount above this present evil world to
something nobler and better. The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of
riches are apt to choke everything good within us, and we grow fretful,
desponding, perhaps proud and carnal. It is well for us to cut down these
thorns and briers, for heavenly seed sown among them is not likely to yield a
harvest; and where shall we find a better sickle with which to cut them down
than communion with God and the things of the kingdom? In the valleys of
Switzerland many of the inhabitants are deformed, and all wear a sickly
appearance, for the atmosphere is charged with miasma, and is close and
stagnant; but up yonder, on the mountain, you find a hardy race, who breathe
the clear fresh air as it blows from the virgin snows of the Alpine summits. It
would be well if the dwellers in the valley could frequently leave their abodes
among the marshes and the fever mists, and inhale the bracing element upon the
hills. It is to such an exploit of climbing that I invite you this evening. May
the Spirit of God assist us to leave the mists of fear and the fevers of
anxiety, and all the ills which gather in this valley
of earth, and to ascend the mountains of anticipated joy and blessedness. May
God the Holy Spirit cut the cords that keep us here below, and assist us to
mount! We sit too often like chained eagles fastened to the rock, only that,
unlike the eagle, we begin to love our chain, and would, perhaps, if it came
really to the test, be loath to have it snapped. May God now grant us grace, if
we cannot escape from the chain as to our flesh, yet to do so as to our
spirits; and leaving the body, like a servant, at the foot of the hill, may our
soul, like Abraham, attain the top of the mountain, there to indulge in
communion with the Most High.