Lenten Devotional '19 "The Way into Peace is Through Jesus"

And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.

Luke 7:36-7

I come before You Lord,

Pouring forth praise like sweet perfume,

Breaking open my grateful heart,

That I may exalt and glorify You.

May the praises of my lips,

Fill the realm of Heaven with fragrance;

For You have loved and accepted me,

Ever present with tender grace and forgiveness.

Jesus, You sacrificed Your life,

A fragrant offering unto God.

You drank my cup of bitterness,

Breaking open Your heart on the cross.

Praise and glory be unto You,

My Shepherd through the valley.

You have been faithful all along,

And will lead me to glory.

The Anointing of Jesus

C.A. TAYLOR

Some of the most exquisite stories in the Gospels are told us only by Luke. And, among these, the story of the woman that was a sinner is unsurpassed in tenderness and beauty.

         She stood behind Him weeping. Unrestrained and passionate indeed must have been her weeping! No lightly-passing shower of April skies, but the full down-pouring of the lowering swollen clouds of autumn.

         Wonderful and gracious were the words now falling from the lips of Jesus. The Speaker was He who said, ‘Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest…Learn of Me: for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.’ ‘I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,’ ‘to seek and to save that which was lost.’ ‘They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick.’ It was He who taught that ‘there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents.’ It was He who spake the Parable of the Prodigal Son. He who showed a way of escape, near at hand, for every sinner; He testified of the pitifulness and tender mercy of the Father to all who turn to Him: in words of all but irresistible pathos and love, He proclaimed Himself as sent from the Father to bring sinners back to God. Such was the preaching which the case of the sinful woman required.

         But the Savior had not spoken to her personally. Till this was done her heart could not rest. Her mourning could not end, though the bitterness and agony of her grief were removed. Her heart could not be fully reassured, nor could she confidently take her place among the pardoned and renewed, until the Master’s voice would have proclaimed her accepted.

         We can think of no higher blessing that that which the Lord pronounced on her —Go, and enter into peace; thy faith hath saved thee —and that is the blessing He gives to every sinner who truly turns to Him.

         Love beams upon every page of the gospels and shines from every look of Jesus Christ. The complete God gives Himself entirely in the Incarnation for the entire salvation of His poor child who has fallen into sin.

         The Pharisee had no true love for Christ; the woman had. The whole emphasis of the story is laid on this. To him there was nothing attractive in Jesus, nothing that touched his heart, because it was a blind, unfeeling, cold, stony heart, incapable of loving greatly anything except himself. This man was just a lump of stiff, haughty, polished selfishness. That was what Jesus saw in him.

         But the woman, whatever she had been, had still a soul that was alive, and a heart that could see and feel. As soon as she saw the Lord and heard His voice, she was drawn to Him. She was drawn to His goodness, though it made her feel more deeply the sin that was in her. He was so pitiful, so tender, so infinitely kind, and that to look into His face was like new life. That face created in her a world of glad and grateful emotions. It filled her with strange new hopes, it spoke to her of forgiveness. It whispered to her possibilities of a better life. It was music, sunshine, and very heaven. Oh how she loved! All the channels of her devotion were opened to pour worship and honor at His feet. She forgot herself and the place and the guests and everything else as she knelt to kiss His feet and wash them with her tears in a great abandonment of love. And verily in loving Him thus she proved that she was far nearer to sanctity and heaven than the other.

         For forgiveness is not a solitary gift. It is the beginning of a new life, a center from which life and light radiate, a germ which exists not so much for itself as for what it produces. It brings assurance of a friendship that is of infinite value; it imparts a reliance upon God as our God, teaching us to count upon Him, exhibiting to us His hitherto unthought-of goodness. It pervades the soul with new and exhilarating sensations, and fills it with new desires and purposes. Therefore the gospel does not directly say ‘love,’ but ‘believe.’ Trust in Christ as willing to forgive. Bring to Him your empty, ruined, ungodly, unloving spirit, and have it healed, filled, renewed.

         Can we fail to love Him whose love for us is, after all, almost the only fixed and sure thing we can count upon? Can we fail to love Him to whom we must be indebted for as great a forgiveness as was this woman?

         Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

JAMES HASTINGS

Luke

Are you living?...Are you lonely?...

Leave your world awhile and hark.

One there is at least, who loved you—

You—His lily of the dark.

Never mind tho’ dead men deem you

Outcast—stand in God’s own light:

Have you sorrow for your sinning?

Then your soul is spotless, white.
E. SANDFORD

Epiphany Devotional "The incarnate God! They gazed with all their eyes."

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.  And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.

And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Matthew 2:10-11

From the shining realms of glory You came,

Foretold from ages past, as a sweet and tender babe.

The heavens shone with angels bright, lauding their Lord,

Our Morning Star has dawned, and all creation adores.

The beckoning star leads the kings to Your side;

The high and exalted One, so lowly lies.

O, the wonder of seeing the King of all mankind,

Overcome in awe at this treasure God let them find.

Jesus, Your face is radiant with loving grace,

Bringing newborn hope to this dark world gone astray.

The noble wise men lay before You their treasure,

Gold and spices You created for Your pleasure.

Bridge:

Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice all the earth!

Jesus Christ reigns, He’s clothed with majesty—

Let us all sing and extol His matchless worth!

O Jesus, Your glory shines brighter than the star of the Magi;

You are worthy of praise from all the angels of the skies.

Your face is lovelier than the pure gold of kings,

Endless honor will arise to You upon silver wings.

King of All Mankind

C.A. TAYLOR

The incarnation of the Son of God was one of the greatest events in the history of the universe. Its actual occurrence was not, however, known to all mankind, but was specifically revealed to the shepherds of Bethlehem and to certain wise men from the east.

"They saw the young Child.”

I don't think they merely said, "There He is," and so ended the matter, but they stood still and looked. Perhaps for some time they did not speak. I would imagine that around the face of the infant Jesus was a supernatural beauty. Whether there was a beauty to everyone's eye I don't know, but to theirs there was assuredly a superhuman attraction. The incarnate God! They gazed with all their eyes. They looked, and looked, and looked again. They glanced at His mother, but they fixed their eyes on Him. "They saw the Child."

So, too, let us think of Jesus with fixed and continuous thought. He is God, He is man, He is the substitute for sinners; He is willing to receive all who trust Him. He will save every one of us who will put their faith and trust in Him. Think of Him. If you are at home this afternoon, spend the time in thinking of Him. Bring Him before your mind's eye, consider and admire Him. Is it not a wonder that God would enter into union with man and come to this world as an infant? He who made heaven and earth nurses on a woman's breast for us! For our redemption the Word was made flesh. This truth will breed the brightest hope within your soul. If you follow that baby's wondrous life till it ends at the cross, I trust you may there be able to give such a look at Him. Though it has been many years since I first looked at Him, I desire to look to Jesus again. The incarnate God! My eyes swim with tears to think that He who might have crushed me into hell forever, becomes a young child for my sake! Look at Him, all of you, and looking--then worship.

What did the wise men do next? “They worshipped Him.”

Oh, when you think of Jesus Christ, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times, the eternal Son of the Father, and then see Him coming here to be a man formed in the womb of a woman, and know and understand why He came and what He did when he came, then you will fall down and worship Him.

We worship Jesus. Our faith sees Him go from the manger to the cross, and from the cross right up to the throne, and there where God the Father dwells, amidst the unendurable glory of the Divine Presence stands the Man, the very Man who slept at Bethlehem in the manger; there He reigns as Lord of lords. Our souls worship Him again. You are our Prophet, every Word You speak, Jesus, we believe and desire to follow: You are our Priest, Your sacrifice has made us clean, we are washed in Your Blood; You are our King, command, and we will obey, lead on, and we will follow: We worship You.

After worshipping, the wise men “presented their gifts to Him.”

One opened his box of gold, and laid it at the feet of the newborn King. Another presented frankincense--one of the precious products of the country from which they came; and another laid myrrh at the Redeemer's feet; all these they gave to prove the truth of their worship. They gave substantial offerings. And now, after you have worshipped Christ in your soul, and seen Him with the eye of faith, give Him yourself, give Him your heart, give Him all that you are and own. Why, you will not be able to keep from doing it. He who really loves the Savior in his heart, cannot help devoting to Him his life, his strength, his all. If any man loves Christ, he will soon be finding ways and means of proving his love by his sacrifices. If you have gold, then give it; if you have frankincense, then give it; if you have myrrh, then give it to Jesus; if you don't have any of these things, give Him your love, all of your love, and that will be gold and spices all in one; give Him your tongue, speak of Him; give Him your hands, work for Him; give Him your whole self. I know you will, for He loved you, and gave Himself for you.

C.H. Spurgeon

Sermons: The Wise Men, the Star, and the Savior

Christmas Advent Devotional Pt.II ~"The symbol of the Divine Presence glowed through the darkness"

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

​

 ​​“Glory to God in the highest,

​​And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Luke 2:8-14

The selection of two or three peasants as receivers of the message, the time at which it was given, and the place, are all significant. It was no unmeaning fact that the ‘glory of the Lord’ shone lambent round the shepherds, and held them and the angel standing beside them in its circle of light. No longer within the secret shrine, but out in the open field, the symbol of the Divine Presence glowed through the darkness; for that birth hallowed common life, and brought the glory of God into familiar intercourse with its secularities and smallnesses. The appearance to these humble men as they ‘sat simply chatting in a rustic row‘ symbolized the destination of the Gospel for all ranks and classes.

No wonder that the sudden light and music of the multitude of the heavenly host’ flashed and echoed round the group on the hillside. The true picture is not given when we think of that angel choir as floating in heaven. They stood in their serried ranks round the shepherds and their fellows on the solid earth, and ‘the night was filled with music,’ not from overhead, but from every side. Crowding forms became all at once visible within the encircling ‘glory,’ on every face wondering gladness and eager sympathy with men, from every lip praise. Angels can speak with the tongues of men when their theme is their Lord become man, and their auditors are men. They hymn the blessed results of that birth, the mystery of which they knew more completely than they were yet allowed to tell.

As was natural for them, their praise is first evoked by the result of the Incarnation in the highest heavens. It will bring ‘glory to God’ there; for by it new aspects of His nature are revealed to those clear-eyed and immortal spirits who for unnumbered ages have known His power, His holiness, His benignity to unfallen creatures, but now experience the wonder which more properly belongs to more limited intelligences, when they behold that depth of condescending Love stooping to be born. Even they think more loftily of God, and more of man’s possibilities and worth, when they cluster round the manger, and see who lies there.

‘On earth peace.’ The song drops from the contemplation of the heavenly consequences to celebrate the results on earth, and gathers them all into one pregnant word, ‘Peace.’ What a scene of strife, discord, and unrest earth must seem to those calm spirits! And how vain and petty the struggles must look, like the bustle of an anthill! Christ’s work is to bring peace into all human relations, those with God, with men, with circumstances, and to calm the discords of souls at war with themselves. Every one of these relations is marred by sin, and nothing less thorough than a power which removes it can rectify them. That birth was the coming into humanity of Him who brings peace with God, with ourselves, with one another. The ringing music of that angel chant has died away, but its promise abides.

Note the conduct of the shepherds, as a type of the natural impulse and imperative duty of all possessors of God’s truth. Such a story as they had to tell would burn its way to utterance in the most reticent and shyest. But have Christians a less wonderful message to deliver, or a less needful one? If the spectators of the cradle could not be silent, how impossible it ought to be for the witnesses of the Cross to lock their lips!

The antithesis to this barren wonder is the beautiful picture of the Virgin’s demeanor. She ‘kept all these sayings, and pondered them in her heart.’ What deep thoughts the mother of the Lord had, were hers alone. But we have the same duty to the truth, and it will never disclose its inmost sweetness to us, nor take so sovereign a grip of our very selves as to mould our lives, unless we too treasure it in our hearts, and by patient brooding on it understand its hidden harmonies, and spread our souls out to receive its transforming power. If we hide His word in our hearts, and often in secret draw out our treasure to count and weigh it, we shall be able to speak out of a full heart, and like these shepherds, to rejoice that we have seen even as it was spoken unto us.

ALEXANDER MACLAREN

Expositions of Holy Scripture

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation;

O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!

Glory to God, all glory in the highest;

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

Christmas Advent Devotional Part I ~"God is compassion, and compassion is God."

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;

​​For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,

​​To give knowledge of salvation to His people

​​By the remission of their sins,

 ​​Through the tender mercy of our God,

​​With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;

​​To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,

​​To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Luke 1:76-79

“But for you who revere My name, the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.”

Malachi 4:2

         As the dawn is ushered in by the notes of birds, so the rising of the Sun of Righteousness was heralded by song. Mary and Zacharias brought their praises and welcome to the unborn Christ, the angels hovered with heavenly music over His cradle, and Simeon took the child in his arms and blessed Him. The human members of this choir may be regarded as the last of the psalmists and prophets, and the first of Christian singers. The song of Zacharias, from which this text is taken, is steeped in Old Testament allusions, and redolent of the ancient spirit, but it transcends that. For that final chapter of the Old Testament colors the song both of Mary and of Zacharias. The picturesque old English word, ‘dayspring’ means neither more nor less than sunrising. And it is here used practically as a name for Jesus Christ, who is Himself the Sun, represented as rising over a darkened earth, and yet, with a singular neglect of the propriety of the metaphor, as descending from on high, not to shine on us from the sky, but to ‘visit us’ on earth.

         Jesus Christ Himself, over and over again, said by implication, and more than once by direct claim, ‘I am the Light of the world.’ As the darkness speaks to us of ignorance, so Christ, as the Sun illumines us with the light of ‘the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.’ For doubt we have blessed certainty, for a far-off God we have the knowledge of God close at hand. For an impassive will or a stony-eyed fate we have the knowledge (and not only the wistful yearning after the knowledge) of a loving heart, warm and throbbing. Our God is a living Person who can love, who can pity, and we are speaking more than poetry when we say, God is compassion, and compassion is God. This we know because ‘he that has seen Me has seen the Father.’ And the solid certainty of a loving God, tender, pitying, mighty to help, quick to hear, ready to forgive, waiting to bless, is born into our hearts, and comes there, sweet as the sunshine, when we turn ourselves to the light of Christ.

         In like manner the darkness, born of our own sin, which wraps our hearts, and shuts out so much that is fair and sweet and strong, will pass away if we turn ourselves to Him.  His light pouring into our souls will hurt the eye at first, but it will hurt to cure. The darkness of sin and alienation will pass, and the true light will shine.

         The darkness of sorrow—well! it will not cease, but He will ‘smooth the raven down of darkness till it smiles,’ and He will bring into our griefs such a spirit of quiet submission as that they shall change into a solemn scorn of ills, and be almost like gladnesses. Peace, which is better than exuberant delight, will come to quiet the sorrow of the soul that trusts in Jesus Christ. The day which is knowledge, purity, gladsomeness, the cheerful day will be ours if we hold by Him. We ‘are all the children of the light and of the day’; we ‘are not of the night nor of darkness.’’

         The Dayspring is ‘from on high.’ This Sun has come down on to the earth. It has not risen on a far-off horizon, but it has come down and visited us, and walks among us. This sun, our life-star, ‘has had elsewhere its setting and comes from afar.’ For He that rises upon us as the light of life, has descended from the heavens, and was before He appeared amongst men.
        There is only one way of peace, and that is to follow His beams and to be directed by His preceding us. Then we shall realize the most indispensable of all the conditions of peace ~Christ brings you and me the reconciliation which puts us at peace with God, which is the foundation of all other tranquillity. And He will guide docile feet into the way of peace in yet another fashion ~in that the cleaving to Him, the holding by His skirts or by His hand, and the treading in His footsteps, is the only way by which the heart can receive the solid satisfaction in which it rests, and the conscience can cease from accusing and stinging. The way of wisdom is a path of pleasantness and a way of peace. Only they who walk in Christ's footsteps have quiet hearts and are at amity with God, in concord with themselves, friends of mankind, and at peace with circumstances....for the man who puts his hand into Christ's hand, and says, 'Order my footsteps in Your word.' 
       Friend, put your hand out from the darkness and clasp His, and 'the darkness shall be light about thee'; and He will fulfill His own promise when He said, 'I am the Light of the world. He that follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of life.'

ALEXANDER MACLAREN

St. Luke

Thanksgiving Devotional "...when thy God hides His face, say not that He hath forgotten thee."

Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God,

believe also in Me.

John 14:1

Wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, you are in heaviness through manifold trials...Whom having not seen, you love; in whom, though now you see Him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 1:6, 8

God, let Thy mighty heart beat into mine,

And let mine answer as a pulse to Thine.

See, I am low; yea, very low; but Thou

Art high, and Thou canst lift me up to Thee.

I am a child, fool before Thee, God;

But Thou hast made my weakness as my strength.

I am an emptiness for Thee to fill;

My soul, a cavern for Thy sea. I lie

Diffused, abandoning myself to Thee…

—I will look up, if life should fail in looking.

GEORGE MACDONALD

Within and Without

Where showers fall most, there the grass is greenest.  I suppose the fogs and mists of Ireland make it "the Emerald Isle"; and whenever you find great fogs of trouble, and mists of sorrow, you always find emerald green hearts; full of the beautiful verdure of the comfort and love of God.  O Christian, do not thou be saying, "Where are the swallows gone?  They are gone; they are dead."  They are not dead; they have skimmed the purple sea, and gone to a far-off land; but they will be back again by and by.  Child of God, say not the flowers are dead; say not the winter has killed them, and they are gone.  Ah, no!  Though winter hath coated them with the ermine of its snow; they will put up their heads again, and will be alive very soon.  Say not, child of God, that the sun is quenched, because the cloud hath hidden it.  Ah, no; he is behind there, brewing summer for thee; for when he cometh out again, he will have made the clouds fit to drop in April showers, all of them mothers of the sweet May flowers.  And oh! above all, when thy God hides His face, say not that He hath forgotten thee.  He is but tarrying a little while to make thee love Him better; and when He cometh, thou shalt have joy in the Lord, and shalt rejoice with joy unspeakable.  Waiting exercises our grace; waiting tries our faith; therefore, wait on in hope; for though the promise tarry, it can never come too late.

                                                                                                                    

C.H. Spurgeon

 Mornings and Evenings

Autumn Devo '18 "God’s interest in man is the interest not merely of grace but of creatorship."

Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

1 Peter 4:19

O Lord, have mercy upon me

A wandering sinner in great need.

I need You to heal and restore—

Forgive my erring divided heart.

Cleanse my soul that’s torn apart,

My eyes return to You, gracious Lord.

I entrust my soul to You, my faithful Creator,

My loving and merciful Father and rightful King.

You’re the eternal One who will reign forever and ever.

Unto You, the Majestic Glory, my soul will sing.

Your love comes softly like the touch of angel’s wings;

Full forgiveness covers like snow, gently falling.

My soul is made clean and set free from this darkness—

I can now walk upon Your pathway of light.

My Rock, my Refuge and love of my life,

Your promised presence dispels all my loneliness.

I Entrust My Soul to You

C.A. TAYLOR

         God is a faithful Creator. That is an illumined and illuminating word. God’s interest in every man is the interest not merely of grace but of creatorship.

Man is created to become holy and blessed in the free service of God. Man falls into sin through the abuse of his freedom. Is God, then, to abandon His original purpose? The artist or architect has conceived his ideal labors for its realization in spite of obstacles. And will God abandon His design? No: the ‘faithful Creator’ ‘forsakes not the work of His own hands.’ He remains true to His original purpose. Humanity, in His idea, is a holy and blessed thing; and this idea must yet be realized. Trust in a faithful Creator is the keynote of the gospel, the explanation of the tranquility of Christ. There is much gold in human nature, but it is embedded in much quartz. Will God separate the gold from the quartz? The answer in the text seems to have been written for us and for all men. What is our real worth to Him in whom we live and move and have our being?

What do we mean when we speak of God as a faithful Creator? We mean that He is true to Himself; that He always acts from a definite purpose of good, to which He adheres.

This is so in the physical world. Is not science always reminding us that the whole universe is under the reign of law, that the revolution of a planet in its orbit and the growth of a wayside flower are alike the product of forces that have nothing arbitrary in them? The moon has her appointed seasons: the sun knoweth his going down. The ancient promise still stands: while the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, summer and winter will not cease. Now this uniformity of Nature is but another name for the faithfulness of God. He has placed man on the earth, He has taught him to cultivate the ground; and when human hands plough the fields and sow the seed, human hands reap the harvest ripened by sunshine and rain. In this way God keeps faith with man; having created him with needs, He gives him the means of supplying them. The physical world is adjusted to his senses; there is food for his hunger, water for his thirst; he eye loves beauty, and he finds it in the loveliness of green fields or waving corn or pastoral hills; his ear craves music, and he hears it in the ripple of the brooks and the song of the birds, and the rustle of the wind among the trees. It has been so from the first, and has continued so from generation to generation, because God is faithful to the creatures He has made.
JAMES HASTING

1 Peter

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Thomas Chisholm

August Devotional ~"Why Do These Trials Come?"

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by manifold trials, that the proof of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ…

1 Peter 1:6-7

Jesus, You shine in marvelous splendor,

Reigning from Heaven’s throne of glory!

Creator of the sun, moon and stars of wonder;

Angels praise Your Name from all eternity.

Sovereign over all, You reign as the Prince of Life,

My sins You carried in Your Body upon the tree.

Conquering death, You arose with power divine,

Shepherd of the stars, I now need You to carry me.

Shine your wisdom upon this shadowed path of mine,

Give me hope and the strength to carry on.

Anoint me with Your gladness from on high,

Lift up my head, my Light and great Salvation.

May my faith come through this fire like pure gold,

Reflecting and revealing Your marvelous glory.

These trials will seem to us nothing when all is told,

Lift up Your face and shine upon us; give us peace.

Endless honor and praise to the Lord of uncreated light,

Any glimmers streaming from us are borrowed rays.

Yet, You bestow upon us the brightness of the noonday sky,

Like the stars who will forever shine forth Your praise.

C.A. TAYLOR

Prince of Life

         Now these ‘manifold trials’ assume many guises and employ varied weapons of painful inquisition. Some of them may be found in the antagonism of men. Loyalty to truth may be confronted with persecution. A beautiful ministry may be given an evil interpretation. Our beneficence may be maligned. This may be one of ‘the manifold trials.’ Or our antagonism may be found in the apparent hostility of our circumstances. Success is denied us. Every way we take seems to bristle with difficulties. Every street we enter proves to be a cul-de-sac. We never emerge into an airy and spacious prosperity. We pass our days in material straits. Such may be another of ‘the manifold trials.’ Or it may be that our antagonist dwells in the realm of our own flesh. We suffer incessant pain. We are just a bundle of exquisite nerves. The streets of the city are instruments of torture. The bang of a door shakes the frail house to its base. We are easy victims of physical depression. Who knows but that this may have been Paul’s ‘thorn in the flesh’? At any rate, it is one of ‘the manifold trials’ by which many of our brethren are put to grief.

         Why do these trials come? Why are antagonisms allowed to range themselves across our way? Why are there any blind streets which bar our progress? Whey does not labor always issue in success? Why are ‘manifold trials’ permitted? We may find a partial response in the words of our text. They are permitted for ‘the proof’ of our faith. That is the purposed ministry of the sharp antagonism and the cloudy day—‘the proof of your faith.’ Now ‘to prove’ the faith means much more than to test it.

         First of all, it means to reveal it. To prove the faith is to prove it to others. God wants to reveal and emphasize your faith, and so He sends the cloud. May we not say that the loveliness of the moonlight is revealed and emphasized by the ministry of the cloud? It is when there are a few clouds about, and the moonlight transfigures them, that the glory of the moon herself is declared. And it is when the cloud is in our life that the radiance of our faith is proved and proclaimed. The ‘manifold trials’ set out in grand relief that which might have remained a commonplace. Light which fringes the cloud is light which is beautified. Faith which gleams from behind the trial is faith which is glorified. It is the hard circumstance that sets in relief the quality of our devotion.

         But ‘the manifold trials’ do more than reveal the faith. There is another ministry wrapped up in this suggestive word ‘prove.’ The trial that reveals the faith also strengthens and confirms it. The faith that is ‘proved’ is more richly endowed. The strong wind and rain which try the tree are also the ministers of its invigoration. The round of varying seasons makes the tree ‘well seasoned,’ and solidifies and enriches its fibre. It is the negative that develops the strength of the affirmative. It is antagonism that cultivates the wrestler. It is the trial that makes the saint. The man who sustains his hold upon God through one trial will find it easier to confront the next trial and exploit it for eternal good. And so these ‘manifold trials’ prove our faith. They reveal and they enrich our resources. They strengthen and refine our spiritual apprehension. They may strip us of our material possessions, ‘the gold that perisheth,’ but they endow us with the wealth of that ‘inheritance’ which is ‘incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away.’

JAMES HASTINGS

The Speakers Bible -1 Peter

        

         No man gets good for himself alone out of his sorrows. Whatever purifies and makes gentler and more Christ-like, whatever teaches or builds up—and sorrows rightly borne do all these—is for the common good. Be our trials great or small, be they minute and everyday—like gnats that hum about us in clouds, and may be swept away by the hand, and irritate rather than hurt when they sting—or be they huge and formidable, like the viper that clings to the wrist and poisons the life-blood, they are meant to give us good gifts, which may transmit to the narrow circle of our homes, and in every widening ring of influence to all around us.

We shall never understand our sorrows unless we try to answer the question, What good to others is meant to come through me by this?

ALEXANDER MaCLAREN