the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
The Poor Man's Morning and Evening Portions
February 6—Morning—Exodus 30:15
"The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls."—Exodus 30:15.
Pause, my soul, over this sweet scripture, and mark the graciousness of thy God and Father in the blessed truth conveyed in it. What, were all the souls of the redeemed charged equally alike in the account of God? Did God thy Father rate them thus? And did Jesus, thy precious Jesus, purchase all his redeemed with an equal price, when he bought them with his blood? If this be so, my soul, it must follow, that thou, a poor unworthy creature as thou art, overlooked as thou art by the great ones of the earth, and too frequently overlooked in thyself how precious every redeemed soul must be in Jesus’s sight, cost as much to Jesus as the soul of Peter, or of Paul, or of any of the patriarchs, apostles, or prophets. Oh, think of this; write it down in the tablets of thy remembrance. Will not this tend to endear Jesus yet more to thee, and bring home thy Father’s love in the strongest affection? Add one thought more to this precious relation. If to Jesus thy redemption cost as much as any one of the redeemed in glory, think, my soul, after such a purchase, such a price, will he lose his property? will he forego what cost him so dear, and suffer one pearl of his mediatorial crown to be wanting? Add another sweet thought, my soul, to this delightful meditation. If, amidst the various inequalities of life, some poor and some rich, yet whatever difference was allowed, or even expected in other offerings, according to the abilities of God’s people; yet here, as a representation of the offering of the soul in Jesus’ purchase, no one distinction was to be made. Is it not plain that the redemption by Jesus is in him, and him only; and "his righteousness is unto all, and upon all, that believe; for there is no difference." Dearest Lord may my soul never lose sight of this blessed equality. Here thou art, indeed, no respecter of persons.
February 6—Evening—John 19:17
"And he, bearing his cross."—John 19:17.
Were grace always in lively exercise, how would every incident in the life of Jesus lead out the souls of his redeemed in endless contemplation Alas! my honoured Lord! how little do I think of thee, and of thy sufferings! Will Jesus, this evening, awaken me to the solemn subject? The bell of the neighbouring church is now tolling the curfew of the day. I hear it from my window. Ali! why should I want such a call to think on my Lord! Awake, awake my soul, and let thy meditation take wing, and flee to Gethsemane, and from the garden, and the hall, behold the Lamb of God bearing his cross towards the place of execution. Oh! Pilate! thou unjust judge! is this thy pretended innocency, to suffer him whom thou didst declare to be innocent, in the moment thou didst pass sentence for his death, to bear his cross also? See what long furrows the ploughers have ploughed upon his sacred back; and wilt thou compel him to bear the heavy weight upon a part so tender? See! Jesus faints under it! Will none of those whose souls he hath redeemed, and whose bodies be hath healed, help the Lord of life and glory? Where are his disciples? Are there none to aid? Not one to be found that dares assist him? Pause, my soul, over the sad contemplation! Christ is here, as his type represents him, the gospel Isaac, carrying the wood for his own burnt-offering. "In all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren." It was his office to be as a sheep before led as a lamb to the slaughter, and his shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth." "It pleased the Father to bruise him, and to put him to grief." The cross was ponderous. The body fainted under its pressure. But the sins of his redeemed made it heavier to his soul; and the weight of the Father’s wrath against sin, aggravated the dreadful load. Precious Redeemer, dying Lamb of God! were my sins adding to thy sorrow? Have I been reproaching Pilate, and all the while forgetting that every transgression of mine became more painful to thy soul than the cross, or the thorns, or the soldier’s spear that pierced thine heart? Oh! for grace to crucify those sins which nailed thee to the cursed tree! Oh! for grace to take up the cross and follow thee, day by day. Lord Jesus, I would pray thee to give me grace, to go forth unto thee, "without the camp, bearing thy reproach."
