the Fourth Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
The Poor Man's Morning and Evening Portions
May 3—Morning—Luke 8:35
"Sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind."—Luke 8:35.
Look at this man, my soul, and see whether thou canst find any resemblance to thyself. Before that he heard the voice of Jesus, he was under the possession of the evil spirit. It is said of him, that he wore no clothes. He dwelt in no house, but abode among the tombs. He was cutting himself with stones. No man could tame him, neither fetters nor chains bind him. Poor miserable creature! And yet, my soul, was not this a true emblem of thy state; and indeed, of every man’s state by nature? Had not Satan full possession of thine heart and affections, my soul, before that thou becamest savingly acquainted with the Lord Jesus Christ? Did he not lead thee in the pursuit and gratification of thy lusts and pleasure at his will? Thou mightest truly be said to wear no clothes; for so far from having on the garment of Jesus’s righteousness, in those days of thine unregeneracy, thou wert naked to thy shame, in the filth of nature. Thou didst not dwell in the house of God, nor even delight to go thither. And, as this poor creature abode among the dead, so didst thou live and abide with characters like thyself, dead in trespasses and sins. And as this miserable man was wounding himself with stones, so wert thou; for thy daily commission of sin was giving wounds to thy soul, infinitely more alarming than the wounds he gave his body. And could no chains or fetters be found strong enough to bind him? So neither did all the solemn commands and threatening judgments of God’s holy law act with the least restraint upon thine ungoverned passions. Pause, my soul, over the representation, and acknowledge how just and striking the similarity. Then ask thyself, art thou now sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in thy right mind? Yes! if so be like this poor man, thou hast heard the voice of Jesus, and felt the power of his grace in thine heart. If one like the Son of God hath set thee free, brought thee to his fold, opened thine ear to discipline, and thine heart, to grace, then art thou free indeed. What sayest thou, my soul, to these things? Is there this change, this blessed change, from dead works to serve the living and true God? Oh then, will not the language of thine heart be like Jesus, and his church of old? "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God: for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels."
May 3—Evening—Zechariah 9:1
"The eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the Lord."—Zechariah 9:1.
Precious Jesus! when shall this blessed scripture be accomplished? "The eyes of man!" What man? Surely as the church’s glorious head, and as her glorious representative, the eyes of our Lord Jesus himself were always from everlasting directed to Jehovah his Father. But secondarily, and subordinately, the eyes of thy redeemed, blessed Jesus, the eyes of man, the eyes of every man, must ultimately, as the tribes of Israel, be all toward thee for salvation. Thou indeed hast said, "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else," Isaiah 45:22. Paul, my soul! this evening, over this view of thy Jesus, for it is a very blessed one, and see what improvements under divine teaching, thou canst draw from it. It is said, that as one of the tribes, yea, all the tribes of Israel, every eye shall be upon Jesus. And how suitable is it that it should be so! Is not God the Father unceasingly beholding his dear Son in his engagements, as the Mediator and Surety of his church and people? Oh! who shall be competent to describe with what complacency and delight he beholds him in his glorious person, as the God-man, the Glory-man; and in all his offices, characters, and relations? Somewhat of this we may gather from what Jesus hath himself said concerning the Father’s love for his undertaking, and accomplishing redemption by his blood. "Therefore (saith our Jesus) doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again," John 10:17. But the full apprehension of the love of the Father on this one account, cannot perhaps be brought within the capacity of the human mind. But if God the Father loves Jesus as Mediator, and for his undertaking, and is unceasingly beholding him with rapture on this account, it may serve at least to teach thee, my soul, how exceedingly it becomes thee to look to Jesus for the same, and that thine eyes, as the eyes of all the tribes of Israel, should be towards the Lord. Dearest Lord Jesus! let mine eyes, mine heart, my whole soul be fixed on thee, until every affection be going out in desires after thee. I would trace thee, as the whole testament saints, who saw thy day" afar off, rejoiced, and were glad." I would behold thee as new testament believers, who are looking to thee, and "are enlightened, and their faces are not ashamed." I would see thee with the first dawn of the morning; yea, before the morning light, and" until the day break, and the shadows flee away;" and until my beloved come to me" as a roe, or a young hart, upon the mountains of, Bether!" Yes, precious Lord Jesus! I would be sending the earnest longings of my soul through the windows of the eye after thee, and never give rest to my eyes, nor slumber to my eyelids, until that blessed hour arrive, when no medium shall intervene to prevent the full enjoyment of my soul in thee; and when a body of sin and death shall no longer weary my soul in her enjoyment of thee; but I shall then see Jesus as he is, and never more lose sight of his lovely person, but live in his presence, and Jesus in mine, for evermore.
