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Rev. Dr.
Thomas Binney
MORNING
WORSHIP.
OUR Father who
art in heaven, from whom cometh every good and every perfect
gift, we beseech Thee to grant unto us that gift which includes
all others--even that Holy Spirit which Thou hast promised to
give unto them that ask Thee; to lead them into the light, to
make their hearts soft by contrition, to sanctify them wholly,
and to fill them with that peace which passeth all
understanding. May we enjoy the renewing of the inward man, day
by day; that, growing up into Christ in all things, our light
may so shine before men, that they may glorify our Father who is
in heaven. Amen.
HYMN, or Psalm,
xcii. 1-4.
LOVING kindness
every morning,
Faithful shelter every night,
Light and peace life’s path adorning
Helpful guidance strong and right;
Ever to us, poor and needy,
God his tender mercy shows,
And with care, precise and speedy,
All-sufficient grace bestows.
Trust to him, then, all your sorrows,
Wait upon his blessed will;
Leave to him the sad to-morrows,
And to-day’s demands fulfil.
Rest upon him, never fearing;
Christ thy Saviour lives to bless,
And our need, his love endearing,
But exalts our happiness.
DEUTERONOMY
XXXII. 48-52.
AND the Lord
spake unto Moses that self-same day, saying,
49. Get thee up
into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land
of Moab, that is over against Jericho, and behold the land of
Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a
possession; 50. And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and
be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount
Hor, and was gathered unto his people: 51. Because ye trespassed
against me among the children of Israel at the waters of
Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of sin; because ye sanctified
me not in the midst of the children of Israel. 52. Yet thou
shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither
unto the land which I give the children of Israel.
DEUTERONOMY
XXXIV.
AND Moses went up
from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of
Pisgah, that is over against Jericho; and the Lord shewed him
all the land of Gilead, unto Dan. 2. And all Naphtali, and the
land of Ephraim, and Manaseh, and all the land of Judah, unto
the utmost sea, 3. And the south, and the plain of the valley of
Jericho, the city of palm-trees, unto Zoar. 4. And the Lord said
unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto
Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I
have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not
go over thither. 5. So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died
there, in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord,
&c.
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Prayer.
ALMIGHTY and most
merciful God, in whom we live and move and have our being, in
whose hand our breath is, and whose are all our ways; we desire
to bless Thee for the repose of the past night, and to
acknowledge Thy goodness in the gift of a new day. We laid
ourselves down and slept; we have arisen because Thou makest us
to dwell in safety. Our voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O
Lord; in the morning will we direct our prayer unto Thee, and
will look up. This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will
rejoice and be glad in it. Glory be to Thee for the holy and
blessed memories of the day. On the first day of the week our
Lord Jesus Christ, having died for our sins, rose from the dead,
and brought life and immortality to light. Having overcome the
sharpness of death, He opened the kingdom of heaven to all
believers. He ascended up on high, entered within the vail,
appears in Thy presence for us, and can save to the uttermost
all that come unto Thee by Him. We desire to approach the
footstool of Thy feet by that new and living way which He hath
consecrated for us by His most precious blood; that, accepted in
the Beloved, we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help us in
every time of need. May we be in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.
May we enter into thy house in the multitude of Thy mercies, and
so may we worship towards Thy holy temple. We are not worthy of
this great privilege, for we have been disobedient and
rebellious, and have grieved and offended Thy good and holy
Spirit. But, acknowledging our manifold sins and iniquities,
casting ourselves on Thy fatherly compassion, pleading the blood
which cleanseth from all sin, and supplicating the help of Thy
grace, we would look up to the place where thine honour dwelleth,
feeling that Thy glory need not make us afraid. Proceeding from
penitent and contrite hearts, may our prayer be set forth before
Thee as incense; may the lifting up of our hands be as the
morning and evening sacrifice of old. Grant unto each of us the
blessedness of the man whose transgression is forgiven, and
whose sin is covered. Strengthen within us every holy purpose,
exalt and purify our desires and affections. May we this day be
led into the green pastures and by the still waters, that our
souls may be fed, and solaced, and refreshed. May we wait upon
Thee without distraction; may the lessons of Holy Scripture come
to us, not in word only, but in power; may prayer and song be
acceptable to Thee, and strengthening to ourselves; and may the
instructions of the preacher, accompanied by Thy rich and
effectual blessing, prove to us stimulating, edifying and
consolatory, and be productive of impressions on the conscience
and the heart, which shall not be without practical results. We
pray for all worshiping assemblies, commending to Thee the
household of faith spread throughout all the world. Grace be
with all humble and holy souls, who worship God in the Spirit,
rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
May every member of this family, and all with whom we are
connected by the ties of nature, or any of the relationships
which connect man with man, share in the blessings of Thy church
and kingdom, and so live, this and every day, as to be prepared
for the inheritance of the saints in light. May we, and all whom
we love, find a place at last in the general assembly and church
of the first-born, and be permitted to share in the holy
satisfactions and to take part in the pure and perfect worship,
of the upper world. These and all other mercies we humbly beg in
the name and for the sake of the Lord Jesus, to whom with Thee,
O Father, and the Holy Ghost, be glory and honour, dominion and
praise, world without end. Amen.
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THE CHURCH IN
THE HOUSE.
MERCIFUL God,
who, in compassion to our ignorance and weakness, hast given
unto us Thy holy word to be a light unto our feet and a lamp
unto our path; we desire to bless Thee for its fulness and
variety, its revelations of spiritual truth, its records of the
experience of Thy saints of old, their penitential utterances,
their expressions of hope and trust, their prayers and songs --
so that, learning, like them, to walk with Thee we may finally
be brought to sit down with them in Thy heavenly kingdom. Grant,
we beseech Thee, O Lord, that this great object for which all
Holy Scripture was written, maybe fully realized in us, through
the power of Thy Spirit accompanying the word; and this we ask
in the name and for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
HYMN, or Psalm
xxxvi 5-9.
ETERNAL Light!
Eternal Light,
How pure the soul must be,
When, placed within thy searching sight,
It shrinks not, but with calm delight
Can live, and look on Thee!
The spirits that surround thy throne,
May bear the burning bliss;
But that is surely theirs alone,
Since they have never, never, known
A fallen world like this.
O! how shall I, whose native sphere
Is dark, whose mind is dim,
Before the Ineffable appear
And on my naked spirit bear
That uncreated beam?
There is a way for man to rise
To that sublime abode;
An offering and a sacrifice,
A Holy Spirit’s energies,
An Advocate with God:
These, these prepare us for the sight
Of Holiness above:
The sons of ignorance and night
May dwell in the eternal Light,
Through the eternal Love!
LUKE IX. 28-36.
AND it came to
pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter, and
John, and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. 29. And as
he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his
raiment was white and glistering. 30. And, behold, there talked
with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: 31. Who appeared
in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at
Jerusalem. 32. But Peter and they that were with him were heavy
with sleep;: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and
the two men that stood with him. 33. And it came to pass, as
they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is
good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one
for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what
he said. 34. While he thus spake, there came a cloud and
overshadowed them; and they feared as they entered into the
cloud. 35. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying This
is my beloved Son; hear him. 36. And when the voice was past,
Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man
in those days any of those things which they had seen.
2 Peter I.
16-18.
FOR we have not
followed cunningly-devised fables, when we made known unto you
the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were
eye-witnesses of his majesty. 17. For he received from God the
Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him
from excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased. 18. And this voice which came from heaven we heard,
when we were with him in the holy mount.
SERMON XXXIII.
“THEN COMETH
JESUS WITH THEM UNTO A PLACE CALLED GETHSEMANE, AND SAITH UNTO
THE DISCIPLES, SIT YE HERE, WHILE I GO AND PRAY YONDER. AND HE
TOOK WITH HIM PETER AND THE TWO SONS OF ZEBEDEE, AND BEGAN TO BE
SORROWFUL AND VERY HEAVY. THEN SAITH HE UNTO THEM, MY SOUL IS
EXCEEDING SORROWFUL, EVEN UNTO DEATH.”
-- Matt. xxvi. 36-38.
THE sufferings of Christ are as prominent an object in the New
Testament, as anything concerning him. He is as much spoken of
for what he suffered, as for what he did; as much remembered for
what he endured, as for what he taught. He was “a man of
sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” Grief and he, if we may so
speak, walked together as intimate associates, were united as
inseparable friends. They were acquainted, not merely by “the
hearing of the ear,” or as by a casual glance and distant
recognition--a short and hasty interview, and, anon, separation
and departure; there was close and constant intimacy--an
intimacy that grew closer and closer, till the one, as it were
merged in the other; till Jesus in a manner disappeared, being
entirely hidden and overshadowed by grief. His self-possession
seemed to forsake him, his calm greatness to be obscured and
eclipsed. He, who had required of others so often and so
strongly that they should bear the cross lay, when his own was
in sight, prostrate on the earth -- convulsed, alarmed, and in
tears -- utterly overwhelmed by his feelings, in a manner and to
an extent that, at first sight, excites thoughts which it is
hardly proper to express; as if what is recorded appeared to
involve something that was pusillanimous, abject, and unworthy
of himself.
The three great
scenes in the life of the Lord, on which an earnest and
thoughtful man will often dwell, are the wilderness, the Mount,
and the Garden -- in other words, the temptation, the
transfiguration, and the agony in Gethsemane. The cross, indeed,
comes after all, and concludes all; but that, properly
understood, is included in the last. It is the close and the
consummation of what begins in Gethsemane; in this respect,
Calvary is but the continuance, or the summit, of the Mount of
Olives.
The temptations
of the wilderness strengthened and prepared the Christ for
action. He came forth from the successful conflict “in the power
of the Spirit,” and so spake and so acted that all men
marvelled. Then, his glorious interview and familiar converse
with Moses and Elias, the divine effulgence of the bright cloud,
and the remembered tones of the paternal voice, cheered his
spirit in the prospect of the “decease which he was to
accomplish at Jerusalem.” He came down from the place of vision,
and instantly set himself to proceed thither. Thither he came;
and on the night on which he was betrayed, knowing that his hour
was come, and that the things concerning him had an end, he
went, as he was wont, to the Mount of Olives -- to a garden,
whither he was accustomed to resort for converse and prayer with
his disciples. To this sacred place, this favourite retreat, he
came once more. The twelve were with him -- all but one, and
that one “knew the place,” and was expected soon to be there
too, though in company with such as would disturb its serenity
and pollute its sacredness. The greater number of those who
accompanied him Jesus left by themselves. Taking with him, into
a more retired part of the garden, Peter and the two sons of
Zebedee, James and John, “he began to be sorrowful and very
heavy.” Then commenced that mysterious eclipse of his holy,
calm, and divine soul, which three out the four evangelists have
described. This we propose to make the subject of our present
meditation. In venturing to approach it, we desire and pray that
we may be enabled to do so with that humility, reverence, and
awe, which are so necessary when treading upon a spot so holy,
and gazing upon a spectacle so mysterious. May we feel, where it
may be impossible to reason; and adore, where we cannot
comprehend.
I. The first
thing to which we direct attention is the intense severity of
the suffering, which now overwhelmed and oppressed the mind of
Christ.
In noticing the
indications of this, and indeed, in our remarks on the whole
subject, we shall not confine ourselves to what is stated by any
one of the evangelists, but shall collect and combine what is
most observable in their separate accounts. These separate
accounts are in perfect keeping and harmony with each other; at
the same time, words and expressions are varied by the different
writers, and some incidents and circumstances noticed by one
that the others omit, only showing that that while they agree in
substance because they describe a real occurrence, they are
distinguished by that diversity of manner that proves them to
have borne distinct and independent testimonies. The extreme
intenseness and severity of Christ’s sufferings in the garden
are indicated by several circumstances.
In the first
place, it appears, that as soon as he had retired with the three
disciples who were permitted to be near him, the internal
conflict commenced, and a sudden change took place in his
appearance. Matthew says, that “he began to be sorrowful and
very heavy;” and Mark, varying the expression, uses, instead of
the word “sorrowful,” the phrase “sore amazed” -- “he was sore
amazed and very heavy.” The original terms are all singularly
forcible; they are very inadequately rendered in our authorized
version, and indeed hardly admit of being represented by any
single words in our language. They imply, that he was utterly
overwhelmed by irresistible dejection and anguish of mind; that
he was struck through, as it were, by the most piercing and
bitter sorrow; that he was astounded and alarmed, as if taken by
surprise; astonished at the magnitude of the trial, and
wondering at his own weakness before it. There was a complete
prostration of the bodily powers -- a suspension or deprivation,
so to speak, of nervous energy. He was “very heavy.” Both
Matthew and Mark record this. “Very heavy;” that is, he was so
oppressed that it seemed to stupify him: he appeared as if
incapable of rousing or exerting his faculties or his faith; he
was stunned as by a blow. His internal strength seemed to fail
and forsake him, and he appeared in danger of passively yielding
to the onset of sorrow, as if it were hopeless to bear up
against it.
The next
particular that shows the severity of his suffering, is the
language in which he himself describes it: “My soul is exceeding
sorrowful, even unto death.” “Exceeding sorrowful” -- the word
signifies to be entirely surrounded by sorrow -- for grief to be
pressing on the spirit on all sides, as the atmosphere presses
on the body, or water on an object when immersed. Exceeding
sorrowful, “even unto death.” It seemed to him -- if I durst so
to express it -- it seemed to him as if his soul must die; as if
his spirit was enduring a mortal pang; or, at least, as if the
grief that consumed it must speedily terminate his bodily life.
The distressing state of mental and physical exhaustion -- of
utter helplessness, and, at first, of apparent self-abandonment,
-- to which Christ was reduced, is depicted very forcibly in
some of the psalms in which Messiah is undoubtedly the speaker.
“I am a worm, and no man;” “I am poured out like water:” “My
heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels:” My
strength is dried up: Thou hast brought me into the dust of
death:” “I am consumed by the blow of thine hand.”
The next
circumstance by which the crushing and agonizing nature of the
Lord’s sufferings is indicated, may be seen, I think, in his
earnest appeal to his three friends -- “Tarry ye here, and watch
with me.” These words, in one aspect at least in which they may
be viewed seem to betray an anxiety not to be left alone -- a
sort of painful, restless dread lest the disciples should
depart, or that he should not be able to find them, and fall
back upon their sympathy, when he returned from the spot to
which he was about to retire. And here, as appropriately as
anywhere else, I may make the remark, that it is especially
behoves us, in thinking and speaking of the sufferings of
Messiah, to remember his humanity. The humanity of Christ is as
much a truth, perhaps as great a truth, as his divinity. While,
in some mysterious manner, the Messiah was “God manifest in the
flesh,” he was also truly and properly a man; he had a body and
a soul, and was susceptible of the same pains and affections
with ourselves. In fact, it was only his humanity that could
suffer, and in that he was tried, in all points, even as we are;
“learning obedience by the things that he suffered,” and
“through suffering being made perfect.” His human affections,
and the nature of his personal temperament as a man, seem to me
to be indicated by the anxiety he expressed for his friends to
tarry with him and watch. There are men so formed and
constituted that they care nothing about, and feel no want of,
the sympathy of others. They feel a strong personal
independence, a sufficiency in themselves for anything they have
to accomplish or endure; to which the company or concurrence of
others can add nothing, and which even their opposition and
ridicule cannot diminish. There are other men, more
distinguished by tenderness than strength, whose
susceptibilities are acute and keen, tenderly alive to insult or
friendship, and by whom the sympathies of friendship are greatly
valued as a frequent source of consolation and vigour. This
latter class are not incapable of acting alone. They can
accomplish unaided labours, and endure solitary suffering, but
they cannot do either from natural and constitutional
inflexibility; they need, in order to it, to feel laid upon them
the stern and strong necessity of duty; to be constantly kept up
by this; and even then, to be without the company and
concurrence, deprived of the sympathy, or exposed to the
opposition of others, is exquisitely painful. To this latter
class Jesus, considered as a man, belonged. As a man, his
natural susceptibilities and feelings were acute and tender. I
think it likely that there was something of elaborate fineness
and perfection about his bodily structure, that not only
rendered it singularly sensible to pain, but gave increased
intensity to the feelings of his exquisitely soft and loving
spirit. It is intimated that he was keenly sensible to “shame”
and insult; he felt “reproach;” and he cung to the society and
sympathy of his friends; they were endeared to him by
“continuing with him in his temptations;” he especially and
anxiously wished them to be near when his sorrow was great upon
him, and by this anxiety indicated its greatness. He knew,
indeed, that the hour would come, and was very near, when they
would be stricken and scattered, and would leave him alone; and
though he felt he would still have the Father with him, so
appalling were the first approaches of his agony, so fearful the
alarm and agitation of his spirits, that he seemed to dread the
solitary conflict, and besought the three to remain nigh: “Tarry
ye here, and watch with me.”
The particulars
next to be noticed, which further indicate the intenseness and
severity of Christ’s anguish of mind, are those connected with
his supplications -- the object, frequency and manner of his
prayer. His earnest, impassioned, and repeated request to the
Father was, that that hour might pass from him. He “offered up
his supplications with strong crying and tears.” Again and again
he returned to ask the same thing -- “if it were possible, that
the cup might pass.” The strength and vigour of the principle of
obedience were displayed, indeed, at the same time, by his
breathing the sentiment of filial submission to the Father’s
will, at the moment that he asked relief; but that relief he did
ask, and asked it repeatedly, and asked it in a manner that
showed the excruciating torture he endured. He kneeled down he
fell on his face, he lay, as it were, helpless and prostrate on
the ground; anon, he wrestled as in an “agony;” he appeared to
be in deadly conflict with some strong and mighty antagonist. It
was approaching midnight; the air was cool, and the damp and
thick dew was falling to the earth and moistening all things;
but Jesus in his agony was as one heated in battle; sweat
covered him, and that of no common or ordinary kind; it was like
great drops of blood -- perhaps it was blood; clots of gore fell
from him to the ground; the anguish of his spirit thus making
itself visible on the body.
In the last
place, “there appeared an angel from heaven strengthening him.”
But this shows to what a mysterious condition of weakness he was
reduced. He needed to be strengthened, to be helped, perhaps, by
the angel’s arm to rise and stand upon his feet, and to be
animated and cheered by the angel’s suggestions, to admit the
thoughts that would sustain his soul. Physically and mentally he
was brought very low, and required to have his anguish assuaged,
his courage recalled, and is frame supported, by one from
heaven.
Putting together
all the particulars that have thus been glanced at, it is
impossible not to feel that we have set before us, in the
Gethsemane-conflict of the Great Sufferer, and instance of
mental distress, or soul-trouble, of the depth, magnitude, and
intensity of which, it is utterly impossible for us adequately
either to conceive or speak.
II. In the second
place, it becomes us, with humility and awe, to inquire into the
nature and source of this extraordinary distress and anguish of
spirit, which so overpowered and prostrated the Son of God.
The suffering of
Christ in Gethsemane was not bodily pain; physically, he was in
health and vigour, at the prime of life, and in the flower of
his age. The torture of the cross was before him, with all th
preliminary accumulations of woe; but we cannot think that the
mere apprehension of these will sufciently account for what he
endured. His mind had long been familiar with the death that he
was to die; and he knew, and had predicted, his speedy
resurrection to a glorious life. Now, it seems impossible to
imagine that an event, however painful, which was to be
immediately succeeded by “fullness of joy,” could have thrown
him into such mysterious agony of mind. In after times, martyrs,
men and women, were called to suffer the most excruciating
tortures, had to entertain the prospect, and undergo the
infliction of death, in forms as lingering and dreadful as his,
and which involved as great an aggregate of physical suffering;
and they anticipated and endured it with cheerfulness, joy,
magnanimity, rapture. If Jesus was merely a martyr for truth,
and was about to seal his testimony with his blood, I would say
it with reverence, but I would say it, that his example rather
fails than otherwise at this point, and that his conduct was
surpassed, in firmness and heroism, by other sufferers. These
other sufferers, too, it is to be remembered, were on every
supposition far inferior to him in character, not sustaining so
glorious an office, nor anticipating so great a reward. Some
other cause must certainly be found for Christ’s darkness and
distress of mind, distinct from the mere apprehension of the
cross.
The seat of his
suffering was the soul. But then, it is again and again
affirmed, that he was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from
sinner;” that he was “without spot;” had no speck or stain of
guilt upon his conscience, and could not be oppressed by any
feeling of personal demerit. He had no frailty, no defect; he
had never erred, in thought, word, or deed; he had no conscious
deficiencies to oppress him, nothing to acknowledge and confess
with shame, no necessity to pray for mercy, no iniquity to fill
him with terror at the thought of God. In spite of this,
however, “his soul was troubled,” was “exceeding sorrowful even
unto death” -- overpowered and beset with bitter anguish.
I know of no
principle on which this mental suffering of a perfectly innocent
and holy being can be rationally accounted for, except that
which refers it to the fact of his being a sacrificial and
propitiatory victim. “He bare our griefs, and carried our
sorrows.” “He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for
our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him.” “It
pleased the Lord to bruise him and to put him to grief: Jehovah
laid on him the iniquity of us all.” His mental sufferings were
“the travail of his soul” --the pangs and throes through which a
guilty and dead world might be reborn, and rise again to the
life of God. “He suffered, the just for the unjust;” “he was
made sin for us, who knew no sin;” “he redeemed us from the
curse of the law, being made a curse for us.” “By his stripes we
are healed.”
The great
doctrine of redemption by sacrifice--”God setting forth his Son
as a propitiation through faith in his blood” -- appears to me
to be passages of scripture. We are redeemed from the penalty
and the power of sin “by the precious blood of Christ, as of a
lamb without blemish and without spot.” It is quite possible, we
think, to show, by very sufficient and satisfactory arguments,
the consistency of the doctrine of atonement with right reason;
and the necessity which there is, in the nature of things, and
under the government of a holy God, for some positive ground for
the exercise of mercy distinct from, and additional to, both the
repentance of the sinner, and the paternal tenderness of the
divine mind. That part of the subject, however, we entirely
waive at present, and, taking the fact a we have stated it, that
Christ suffered as a propitiatory victim, we ask, if any account
can be given, on this ground, of the causes and the nature of
this extraordinary mental agony and terror?
The scriptures,
we think, seem to refer to three sources of this distress and
anguish. There was some mysterious conflict with the great
adversary of God and man, from whose tyranny he came to redeem
us. When discomfited in temptation, the devil, it is said,
“departed from him for a season”; and in Gethsemane seems to
have returned. It was then, as Christ himself expressed it, “the
hour of the power of darkness.” I know nothing of the mode of
the tempter’s approach, or of the nature of the hellish
suggestions by which he disturbed the serenity of Jesus; I do
not pretend to understand the possibility even of the thing
itself: but that it was, the scripture just quoted seems to
assert. Here, then, is one source of mental conflict. The
subtlety and malice of the devil, --the combined forces of the
bottomless pit -- were brought against him, and in some way,
impossible to be explained, overwhelmed him with darkness,
discomposed his spirit, and alarmed his soul by infamous
temptations. Then it is also said, that it “pleased the Father
to bruise him, and to put him to grief;” that “Jehovah made his
soul and offering for sin;” that he called for the sword, and
awoke it against the Shepherd, and pierced and smote him. There
was some mysterious infliction direct from the hand of God, some
wonderful withdrawal of his countenance and complacency, or at
least of their sensible manifestation; fire descended from
heaven to consume the sacrifice. Again I add, I can explain
nothing; I think the fact rests clearly upon scriptural
statements, but I can go little beyond its simple assertion:
that little, however, perhaps the next particular will lead us
to suggest. It is said then, in the third place, that our
iniquities were laid upon him, and that in some sense he bore
the curse and penalty of transgression. I need hardly say, we
reject the notion that he literally endured the punishment of
sin. This would have been impossible, since that included actual
remorse, and Christ could never feel that he was a sinner,
though he was treated as if he were. Nor would it have consisted
with the nature of the gospel and the display of mercy, since,
the penalty literally exacted, mercy would be impossible, and
the sinner might demand his release from justice. Still there
was suffering in the mind of Christ, flowing into it from human
guilt. His pure mind had such an apprehension of sin, such a
view of all is vile and malignant properties -- its possible
attributes and gigantic magnitude so rose and spread before him
-- that he started as in amazement from the dreadful object, and
trembled, and was terrified exceedingly. Sin was laid upon him,
and it sank and crushed him, and, in some sense, its poison and
bitterness entered into his soul. The conclusion to which I am
led, I confess, is this -- that while, as I have said, I deem it
impossible for Jesus to have endured that literal remorse which
is the natural and direct punishment of sin, yet I do think,
that his agony of mind was the nearest to this which it was
possible for him to experience. He was so affected by the
pressure of sin upon him on all sides, and agitation of a
burdened conscience and a wounded spirit. His mind was in a
tempest when his agony was at its height; it wrought upon his
frame till his sweat was blood; the arrows of God seemed to have
entered into his soul; he had all the appearance of a sinner
stricken for his sins. I again repeat, that this could not
literally be the case; I only say that it was the nearest to it
that the Christ could feel, or God inflict; and I see not that
there is any more mystery in something of this nature being
felt, than in the fact of a perfectly pure and spotless being
suffering at all.
III. The third
and last thing to which we direct attention, is the conduct of
Jesus under his mysterious trial.
He was
“sorrowful,” “amazed,” and “very heavy,” but he roused himself
to pray: the action of his mind so wrought on him, that he
seemed suddenly deprived of strength, but he fell prostrate on
the ground and prayed; again and again he prayed, increasing in
fervour, earnestness, and importunity. He prayed, though
disappointed in the support and sympathy of his friends. Instead
of watching with him, seeking if possible to soothe his mind and
to mourn an anguish they could not share -- instead of this,
they gave way to fatigue and sleep; and though repeatedly roused
by their Lord’s reproof -- administered much more in sorrow than
in anger -- again they neglected his request and admonition, and
left him “to tread the wine-press alone.” He prayed anxiously
for the relief he sought, but always with submission to the
Father’s will. He asked it, if it were possible; he pleaded for
it on the ground, that with God all things were possible. Being
in an agony, he prayed “more earnestly.” As his grief and sorrow
increased upon him, he increased in the strength and fervour of
his prayer; and yet, as he proceeded to repeat his request, the
language of acquiescence became more absolute. At first he says,
“If it be possible let this cup pass;” but afterwards he says,
“If this cup may not pass, thy will be done” -- as if he felt
what that will was, and meekly placed himself in harmony with
it. We have reason to believe, however, that he did obtain, if
not the thing he sought, that which was sufficient to supply its
place. The apostle says, in the epistle to the Hebrews, “He
offered up supplications with strong crying and tears unto him
that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he
feared,” or, was heard in respect to the thing he feared. He was
not literally delivered from death, nor from those deadly mental
pangs, so much worse than the cross itself; but he was saved
from sinking under them; he was strengthened by an angel sent to
him from the Father, and was thus enabled to ear up till the
darkness had passed away. It was similar, I imagine, to what is
recorded of the apostle afterwards; he besought the Lord thrice
that a certain evil might be removed; and he was at length
answered, not by the removal of the evil, but by the promise of
grace and strength to sustain it. With this he was satisfied,
and he felt that he had been heard, “in respect to the object of
his fear;” for though he had not obtained the thing he sought,
he had obtained a sufficient equivalent. The Great Sufferer, in
the hour of his mighty anguish, wept and prayed for relief in
his sorrow, and relief he had: for relief comes, whether the cup
of sorrow be removed, or we have strength given us to drink it.
Having thus
adverted to the severity and the sources of the Christ’s
conflict and sufferings in Gethsemane, and to his spirit and
deportment under them, it only remains to conclude the subject,
by a very brief practical improvement. We should learn from it
such things as the following: -- First, the evil of sin and the
holiness of God. How fearful and bitter is moral transgression,
when the innocent and immaculate Substitute of the guilty was
affected as we have seen, by its pressure on his spirit! How
intense must be the hostility of God against it, when, in order
to the demonstration of that hostility, and for the purpose of
displaying his righteousness in connection with the pardon of
the penitent, “he spared not his own Son, but freely gave him
up,” that he “might taste death for every man?” Again, we need
not be surprised at the fearful agonies that are sometimes
endured, from the deep sense of unpardoned sin. Happy will it be
for every one of us at every return of recollected guilt, to
cling to the hope provided for us in the vicarious sufferings of
the Christ of God. “The blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin.”
Pardon, in the gospel, is promised for a reason: that reason is
the great redemptive act of the sacrifice of Messiah, which is
to be confided in and pleaded by the contrite man. That reason
never failed, and it never will, so long as there is a sinner to
believe, and a God to hear. Again, let us dread to sin; if we
sin let us not be surprised if we feel its bitterness: let us
fear to fall into the hands of the just and holy One, but let us
not despair of ultimate relief, since Christ died to facilitate
the actings of His compassion and tenderness, “who retaineth not
His anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.” Again, in
the trials and conflicts of the Christian life, in every season
of suffering and sorrow, let us learn to imitate the example of
Jesus. However we may value or desire, let us not depend, on the
sympathy of others. Let us never forget, that in conflict with
temptation, and in wrestling with God, we must of necessity act
alone. Let us pray with fervour, importunity, repetition; if the
surges rise and overwhelm the spirit, if, like the Lord, we have
agony and anguish, let us learn to pray “the more earnestly” --
to pray, if needs be, with prostration and tears. The grace of
Christ will never be denied to the sincere and sorrowful, though
its manifestation may be delayed. He lives “a faithful and
merciful high priest, in that, he himself having suffered being
tempted, he knows how to succour them that are tempted.”
Imitating his example, and confiding in his mercy, succour and
light will come at last. No Christian must ever expect to be
without his Gethsemanes; but he that faints not, but continues
to pray without ceasing, will always find, that there is no
Gethsemane without its angel.” --THOMAS BINNEY, LL.D.
----------------
THE CHILDREN’S
SERVICE.
OF THE FAMILY
IN BETHANY.
Bethany. Painting by F.
Frith--Engraving by G. Greatbach
WHAT a sweet word
is home! What a cold world this would be, if there were no homes
in it! Those lands are best, where homes are most loved and held
as of great price. It is very sad to think, that there are so
many whose houses, for their want of all needful room, and other
things, cannot be called homes. They are haunts, dens, holes,
but not homes. It is sad, also, that many fine mansions with
large rooms, and plenty of them grandly furnished, want the
lives and the loves that make true homes. Sin has wrought these
things. God meant it otherwise. He set men in families, and
wished every family to have a happy home.
When the Lord
Jesus Christ came to earth, he did not have a home to take him
in, at first. He was born in a stable, and lay in a manger. Yet
the things which, more than the house we stay in, make home were
there in the cattle’s stall. There were love, care and prayer.
And after the visit to Bethlehem was over, and the flight into
Egypt on account of the cruel wrath of Herod had been followed
by return to Judea on Herod’s death, the child Jesus was taken
to a home. It was a humble one, but there was never another like
it. The Son of God, growing in stature and wisdom, was there. It
is a thing to be thought about, that nothing has been told us as
to how he lived in that home, except that he was an obedient,
wise child, loved by God and men. No one has told the story of
Christ’s childhood in details. The pretended gospels that try to
tell it, prove themselves false and silly. I wonder if the Lord
wished to keep that story hid, till he should tell it himself to
the multitudes of little children, whom death should bring up to
him in heaven from age to age. Be that as it may, surely it
should be good for children living in their homes on earth, to
think that once there was a child, living and growing like
themselves under a roof in Nazareth, who was then the Word made
flesh, and is now Lord of all.
But I have begun
to speak about homes, because I have a story to tell about a
pleasant, happy, home where Jesus sometimes visited, and all the
persons in which loved him very much, and were loved by him.
There are two things told about the intercourse of Jesus with
that home. The one is connected with a feast, the other with a
funeral. I wish to tell them both. The first will not take a
long time to speak about; and in this story I shall be able just
to show you how the day of the feast came to be followed by a
time of sorrow and gloom.
The home of the
family I speak of was in a little village about two miles east
of Jerusalem, called Bethany. The road from Jerusalem to the
village went up and over the mount of Olives. Whether the family
had always lived there, or had moved to it from some other
place, I do not know, nor do I know how they first came to know
and to love Jesus; all that I know is that they were there, that
Jesus was dear to them, and that they were dear to Jesus. There
were three of them -- two sisters and a brother. I can have
little doubt that in some of the homes where this story in “The
Home Preacher” will be read, there will be exactly the same
number of young persons -- two sisters and a brother. As I write
I can think of some families I have known and loved, with
exactly that number. To such threes about the fireside, the
memory of Bethany should be very sweet and dear. Let me say to
them, Could you turn to John xi. , and read it with change of
your own names for those of Martha, and Lazarus, thus, Now Jesus
loved __________ and her sister, and ___________? May it be so!
The house this
family staid in is called Martha’s. That seems to show that she
was the eldest of the family. Some think she was a widow, having
her brother and sister to stay with her after her husband’s
death. However that might be, the house was of some note in the
village, and the sisters and brother were well known even in
Jerusalem. So one day, when Christ was travelling with his
disciples, and had come to Bethany, Martha made him welcome to
her house, and he was pleased to go. Now Martha was a kind
woman, and hospitable, perhaps a little proud of her nice way of
receiving guests. Loving Christ therefore, as she did, she
thought she must take a deal of care about the dinner. She would
not leave the preparing and serving of it to the attendants, but
bustled about herself, seeing to every thing, and getting quite
cumbered about the many matters she had to attend to I suppose
she got rather warm with her tasks; at least, her spirit got
rather heated and hasty. For while she was going to and fro,
ordering this and doing that, she noticed that her sister, whose
name was Mary, was quietly sitting at the Saviour’s feet,
hearing what he was saying. Mary was a thoughtful, reflecting
person, liking to go deep into things; and Christ’s words were
so deep, and pure, and good, and wonderful, that she was
delighted to listen to him, drinking in his heavenly wisdom. I
daresay she had sometimes vexed her active sister before, when,
perhaps, she was found in a corner poring over the book of the
law of the Lord, and trying to look forward into the grand days
that the prophets said were to come. I think I hear her say, not
unkindly, yet with a little impatience, I wonder at you, Mary,
when there is so much to do? But on this occasion she should
have recollected, that it was a rare and great opportunity for
getting knowledge, and should have been willing to be herself
the hand, while Mary was the ear. But she did not take her
sister’s sitting to hear and earn in that light and grew a
little cross.
There was no harm
in Martha wishing to treat Christ kindly, and to do well what
she had to do; but she either was disappointed to find no notice
taken of her labours, or was really feeling that she needed help
to get everything done to her mind. But if she ever complained
to her sister before, she did not do so this time. She went to
Christ himself, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my
sister has left me to serve alone! Tell her to come and help me.
There was surely a little pride in her doings in that speech,
and a little grudging of her sister’s being at ease, while she
was full of care.
That was Martha's
mistake; she was full of care. She thought more about the dinner
and serving it right, than she would have done, had she known
her Lord better. I do not think she would have been indifferent
about it, but she would not have been cumbered. She would have
done her best about the table, but she would have thought more
about her heart. And while her sister was sitting at Christ’s
feet, she would have said, had she not been wrong in spirit for
that time -- Mary understands the Master’s words better than I
do; I will ask her to tell me about what he says afterwards.
Instead of that, she in a way complained both of her sister and
her Lord.
What did Jesus
say or do? He answered her complaint with very remarkable words.
He said, Martha, Martha, repeating her name to show how
interested he was in her, and how sorry he was that she should
know him so ill as to speak in the way she did: Martha, Martha,
he said, you are worrying yourself about getting me a great many
things. Do you know that only one thing is absolutely necessary
to give me a welcome, and that, without that, all other things
would give no welcome to me? One thing is needful, were his
exact words. His meaning was, I think, as I have stated. The
open heart was needful to entertain him; nothing else was
indispensable; all else, without that, was useless. Mary had
given him that; and he would not send her away from his feet
just now, nor ever take away from her the part she had made
choice of. She should always be a learner at his feet.
I have no doubt
the kind reproof did Martha good. Possibly, however, she felt a
little sore afterwards about her sister being commended, while
she was not praised. If so, I can see a reason why that which
happened by and by was sent by God. The love between the sisters
may have cooled a little on Martha’s side; so God sent to the
two a common sorrow, to weld their hearts yet closer. The sorrow
came, however, for wider and higher ends -- to show Christ’s
glory, and to teach the whole world. It was this: Lazarus fell
sick, and at a time when the persecutions of the Jews had led
Jesus to go away from the neighbourhood, and he could not be
reached at once. If Martha had thought unkindly of Mary, or had
not been quite pleased at what Christ said, all is forgotten or
confessed and lamented now. Her sister and she are under a
common grief, and they have a common Lord to whom they feel that
they must appeal at once. So they sent a message to tell him
that one he so loved was sick, and they watched over Lazarus
together, with aching hearts. I think Martha would even now
serve most, getting cordials and medicines for her sick brother,
while Mary prayed more, and talked more with him about Israel’s
God, and the beloved Lord; but they had no jealousy of each
other and loved and wept together. Next story will tell more.
QUESTIONS ON
THE BIBLE STORY.
1. Where did
Jesus’ mother find a home after his death?
2. Do you know a passage where beasts are spoken of having a
home?
3. When did two disciples go perplexed to their own home?
4. Where is the grave spoken of as man’s home?
5. Where was the home of the child Jesus for many years?
6. Where do we read of Christ’s going to a feast in a Pharisee’s
house?
7. When was the Son of God entertained by a hospitable matron,
before he lived on the earth?
8. What other woman, of the same name, resembled Mary of Bethany
in thoughtfulness?
9. Do you know any Old Testament text which pronounces blessings
on those who take a posture like Mary’s?
10. Can you find a text telling us where to cast our cares?
11. What other instances do you find of Jesus’ tenderness and
interest in naming the persons he speaks to?
ANSWERS to
the foregoing questions may be found by turning to the following
chapters: -- John xix.; 1 Sam. vi.; John xx.; Eccl. xii.; Matt.
ii., or Luke iv.; Luke vii.; Gen. xviii.; Luke ii.; Pro. viii.;
1. Pet. v., or Ps. lv.; Matt. xvi., Luke xxii., John xiv., John
xx., John xxi.
----------------
Prayer.
O GOD, we thank
Thee for all the sweet joys of home; for the love of father and
mother, and sister and brother. We pray that peace and holiness
may always be in our homes, and that Thou wouldst bless all that
dwell there. Bless our dear parents. Bless those whose earthly
father or mother, or both, are no longer on earth; be Thou a
father to them. Bless all endeavors to provide better homes for
the poor, and give to rich and poor those dispositions and
habits of life which make home happy. May Thy fear and Thy love
bless human homes everywhere more and more. May all strife
between brothers and sisters cease, and may the time soon come
when all men shall so dwell together as to make the whole world
like one happy home. So, O blessed Father, shall Thy children on
earth be prepared for going home to Thyself in heaven, and
dwelling with Thee always--a happy holy family wearing Thy name,
and made like unto their Lord; to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
----------------
EVENING
WORSHIP.
LORD God
Almighty, who art wonderful in counsel and excellent in working,
we would recognize Thy hand, and adore Thy perfections, as seen
in the things that are made. The heavens declare Thy glory, and
the earth is full of Thy praise. But there is a spirit in man,
and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding.
Thou hast made us for Thyself; for Thyself have we been
redeemed. We rejoice in Thy purposes of love and mercy, which
have been ever of old; for the words of patriarchs and prophets,
which prepared Thy way, that in the fulness of time Thou
mightest be manifested in Thy Son, and through Him reconcile the
world unto Thyself. Grant unto us, we beseech Thee, so to
receive Christ Jesus the Lord, that we, being cleansed from our
sins by His most precious blood, may imbibe His spirit and
follow His example, be daily strengthened and comforted by His
grace, and at length be permitted to enter into His joy. These
and all other blessings we ask in that name which is above every
name; and to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, would ascribe praise
and glory for ever. Amen.
HYMN, or Psalm
cxxi.
HOLY Father! When
we praise
With imperfect accents here;
Ancient of eternal days,
Lord of heaven, and earth, and air;
Stooping from amid the blaze
Of the flaming seraphim;
Hear and help us, while we raise
This our sabbath evening hymn.
We have trod thy temple, Lord;
We have joined thy public praise;
We have sought thy heavenly grace:
All thy goodness we record;
All our powers to Thee we bring;
Let thy faithfulness afford,
Now, the shadow of thy wing.
We have seen thy dying love,
Jesus! Once for sinner slain:
We would follow Thee above;
We like Thee, would rise and reign.
Seasons of delight in Thee!
Let thy presence, Holy Dove,
Fit us for eternity.
LUKE III. 1-18.
NOW, in the
fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate
being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee,
and his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and of the region of
Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, 2. Annas and
Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John,
the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. 3. And he came into all
the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance
for the remission of sins; 4. As it is written in the book of
the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, the voice of one crying
in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his
paths straight. 5. Every valley shall be filled, and every
mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be
made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; 6. And
all flesh shall see the salvation of God. 7. Then said he to the
multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of
vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8.
Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance; and begin not
to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father; for I
say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up
children unto Abraham. 9. And now also the axe is laid unto the
root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth
good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 10. And the
people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? 11. He
answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him
impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do
likewise. 12. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said
unto him, Master, what shall we do? 13. And he said unto them,
Exact no more than that which is appointed you. 14. And the
soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do?
And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any
falsely; and be content with your wages. 15. And as the people
were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John,
whether he were the Christ, or not; 16. John answered, saying
unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier
than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to
unloose; he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with
fire; 17. Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge
his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the
chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. 18. And many other
things, in his exhortation, preached he unto the people.
1 Peter I.
1-11.
PETER, an apostle
of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus,
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2. Elect according to
the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of
the spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus
Christ: grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. 3. Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to
his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope,
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4. To an
inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not
away, reserved in heaven for you, 5. Who are kept by the power
of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the
last time: 6. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a
season (if need be) ye are in heaviness through manifold
temptations; 7. That the trial of your faith, being much more
precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with
fire, might be found unto praise, and honour, and glory, at the
appearing of Jesus Christ: 8. Whom having not seen, ye love; in
whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with
joy unspeakable, and full of glory: 9. Receiving the end of your
faith, even the salvation of your souls. 10. Of which salvations
the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who
prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 11. Searching
what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ which was in
them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of
Christ, and the glory that should follow.
----------------
Prayer.
WE come before
Thee, O Lord, at the close of Thy holy sabbath, to offer unto
Thee our evening sacrifice of prayer and praise; to give Thee
thanks for the mercies of the day, and to commit ourselves for
the night to Thy gracious protection. Glory be to Thee for the
day of rest and worship, for the sacred hours which have passed
over us, and for all we have enjoyed during their stay, of
Christian fellowship, sympathy, and communion. A day in Thy
courts is better than a thousand; we had rather be doorkeepers
in the house of our God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Often in the high services of Thy church has Thou put joy and
gladness into our hearts, more than the men of the world enjoy
when their corn and their wine do most abound. Again hast Thou
broken to us, by Thy ministers, Thy Spirit, and Thy word, the
living and life-giving bread; we have eaten of the hidden manna;
we have drunk of the the water from the spiritual rock; we have
seen the King in His beauty, have beheld His stately steppings
in the sanctuary, and have felt the warmth and sunlight of His
love. May the sacred satisfactions of Thy house be as enduring
as they are precious; may the influence of the sabbath go with
us throughout all the week; may our worldly engagements be
regulated and sanctified by religious faith, so that, in all
places and at all times, whatever we do may be done in
accordance with our sacred character as belonging to the royal
priesthood of God. May no day and no duty be deemed by us common
or unclean; but whether we eat or drink, buy or sell, rule or
serve, may we do all to Thy glory; that all time may be hallowed
by the spirit of worship, and all service become divine.
Hearken, O Lord, to the common prayer in which we have joined
this day, the public and uttered supplications of Thy people;
and fulfil also, and graciously remember, the private and
personal breathings of individual souls the desires secretly
poured into Thine ear, or made known by groanings that could not
be uttered. Forgive the formality, levity, and thoughtlessness
which may have marked the behaviour of some this day, who
appeared to worship with Thy people, but whose hearts were
without sympathy with them, and far from Thee. Have mercy on
those who, though surrounded by the light, walk in darkness; who
know not their spiritual destitution, and are unaffected by the
sinfulness of sin; who are not conscious of that spiritual
hunger and thirst which Thou hast promised to satisfy, for which
Thou hast so richly provided in the gospel of Thy Son. O that
all who hear of the common salvation might be partakers of its
blessedness, and being brought into true and living fellowship
with Thy church, might be filled with joy and peace in
believing, and know by experience the happiness of conformity to
the holy and acceptable and perfect will of God. Happy are they
who, having fellowship one with another, and with Jesus Christ
their loving Lord, find in the ordinances of His church that
feast which He has provided for them that are His -- a feast of
fat things and of wine on the lees, of fat things full of
marrow, and of wine on the lees well refined. May the
blessedness of waiting upon Thee be so felt by each of us, as
often to prompt the exclamation, Lord, it is good to be here!
Animated and refreshed by the duties and enjoyments of this holy
day, rejoicing in Thy love and care, we would now gather
ourselves together under the wing of Thy Fatherhood, and commit
ourselves to Thee, that we may be preserved from the perils and
dangers of this night. The day and the night, the light and the
darkness, are alike Thine. All our times are in Thy hand. We
close our eyes under Thy sleepless guardianship; and when we
awake we are still with Thee. So let our weeks and sabbaths be
ever Thine -- the days of our years all loyally devoted to Thy
service; so that when all means and ordinances, sabbaths and
sacraments, all the things which are made for man, shall have
ceased and determined, we may enter upon that higher life for
which man was made, for which we have been redeemed, and
towards, which we would ever be pressing, following the example
of those who through faith and patience are inheriting the
promises. Hear us, O Lord, in heaven, Thy dwelling place, fulfil
all our prayers receive our praise, accept and bless us, for
Jesus’ sake. Amen.
----------------
MORNING AND
EVENING MEDITATIONS.
MONDAY.
Morning.
But do thou
for me, O God the Lord, for thy name’s sake: because thy mercy
is good, deliver thou me.
I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and
down as the locust.
My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of
fatness.
I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me
they shaked their heads.
Help me, O Lord my God: O save me according to thy mercy;
That they may know that this is thy hand.
Ps. cix. 21 22,
23, 24, 25, 26, 27.
Evening.
I love the
Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call
upon him as long as I live.
The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat
hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
Then called I upon the name of the Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee,
deliver my soul.
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.
The Lord preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped
me.
Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt
bountifully with thee.
Ps. cxvi. 1, 2, 3,
4, 5, 6, 7.
TUESDAY.
Morning.
Behold, happy
is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the
chastening of the Almighty:
He shall deliver thee in six troubles; yea, in seven there shall
no evil touch thee.
In famine he shall redeem thee from death; and in war from the
power of the sword.
Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue; neither shalt
thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.
And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace.
Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of
corn cometh in his season.
Job. v. 17, 19,
20, 21, 24, 26.
Evening.
If ye suffer
for righteousness; sake, happy are ye:
For even hereunto were ye called; because Christ also suffered
for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps.
Jesus said, He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after
me, is not worthy of me.
He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his
life for my sake shall find it.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in
heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before
you.
1. Pet. iii. 14. 1
Pet. ii. 21. Matt. x. 38, 39. Matt. v. 10, 12.
WEDNESDAY.
Morning.
O remember not
against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily
prevent us: for we are brought very low.
O that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to
his seat!
I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with
arguments.
I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand
what he would say unto me.
Will he plead against me with his great power? No: but he would
put strength in me.
Ps. lxxix. 8. Job
xxiii. 3, 4, 5, 6.
Evening.
Turn us, O God
of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.
Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine
anger to all generations?
Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in
thee?
Shew us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.
I will hear what God the Lord will speak; for he will speak
peace unto his people, and to his saints,; but let them not turn
again to folly.
Ps. lxxxv. 4, 5,
6, 7, 8.
THURSDAY.
Morning.
Lord, how are
they increased that trouble me! Many are they that rise up
against me.
Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in
God.
But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter
up of mine head.
I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his
holy hill.
I laid me down and slept; I awaked: for the Lord sustained me.
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people that have set
themselves against me round about.
Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy
people.
Ps. iii. 1, 2, 3,
4, 5, 6, 8.
Evening.
Watch ye,
stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment;
and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I
will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my
God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the
name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new
Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God; and I
will write upon him my new name.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches.
1 Cor. xvi. 13.
Rev. iii. 5, 12, 13.
FRIDAY.
Morning.
Therefore, my
brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so
stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and
having on the breast-plate of righteousness.
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and
his commandments are not grievous.
For whatever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is
the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that
Jesus is the Son of God?
Phil. iv. 1. Eph.
vi. 14. 1 John v. 3, 4, 5.
Evening.
The servant of
the Lord must not strive: but be gentle unto all men, apt to
teach, patient,
In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God
peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of
the truth;
And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the
devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove,
rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering, and doctrine.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.
2 Tim. ii. 24, 25,
26. 2 Tim. iv. 2, 3.
SATURDAY.
Morning.
Walk in wisdom
toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye
may know how ye ought to answer every man.
A good man, out of the good treasure of the heart, bringeth
forth good things: and an evil man, out of the evil treasure,
bringeth forth evil things.
But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak,
they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou
shalt be condemned.
Col. iv. 5, 6.
Matt. xii. 35, 36, 37.
Evening.
Therefore we
ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have
heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
For if the word spoken by angels were stedfast, and every
transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of
reward;
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world,
and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for
his soul?
Choose you this day whom ye will serve.
Heb. ii. 1, 2, 3. Matt. xvi. 26. Josh. xxiv. 15.
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