Daily Devotionals

The Poor Man's Morning and Evening Portions

Devotional: May 24th

May 24—Morning—Ezra 4:24

"Then ceased the work of the house of God."—Ezra 4:24.

Ah, how distressed was Zion, when this decree took place; and yet the history of the church plainly proves that the hand of the Lord was in it. My soul, are thine exercises sometimes similar? Doth it seem to thee, as if the work of God in thee was at a stand? Nay, as if it was totally over? Pause, recollect there is a set time to favour Zion. Thy Jesus is of one mind, and who can turn him? He is everlastingly pursuing the designs of his love. And as Zion was graven upon the palms of his hands, and her walls were continually before him, when she appeared in her most desolate circumstances; so the work of his grace, in the hearts of his people, doth not remit, though, to thy view, all thy promising beginnings seems to be blighted, and, as it seems in thy apprehension, thou findest growing imperfection. And is not Jesus, by this very means, emptying thee of self, and all the pride of self-attainments? Is he not preparing thee for his own glory, by removing in thee the rubbish of all creature confidences? Remember what is said: "When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory." Mark here, that it is the Lord that is to build Zion: and it is the Lord’s glory, and not thine, that is to result from it. The work of the house of God in thee would indeed cease, if the work was thine, or thou hadst any hand in the performance of it. But the same Almighty hands which laid the foundation of this house, those hands shah also finish it. And by this process, the glorious Builder is teaching thee to cease from thine own works, as Jesus, when redemption work was finished, did from his. Precious Lord, is this the cause, and are these the lessons thou art teaching me, in the deadness, emptiness, and the numberless complaints under which I daily groan? Oh then, for grace to cease from self, to cease from all fancied attainments, and to have my whole heart and soul centered in thee, in whom alone is all righteousness, grace, work, and fulness. Yes, Lord, the work is thine, the salvation is thine, the glory is thine, all is thine; and all that remains for me, is to be for ever giving thee the just praise that is due to thy most holy name, content to be nothing, yea, less than nothing, that the power of Jesus may rest upon me; for when most weak in myself, then am I most strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

May 24—Evening—Judges 13:5

"A Nazarite unto God from the womb."—Judges 13:5.

And what, in the language of scripture, was a Nazarite unto God? Certainly what the very term implies; one dedicated to God, set apart, and sanctified. Both the person and character are largely descried, Numbers 6:1-21. And was Samson such? It cannot be doubted, notwithstanding the many strange particularities in his life, which were departures from sanctity of character. But in that part of Samson’s life wherein the Nazarite was strongly marked, he was eminently proved to be one; and it is in this feature of the illustrious Danite, that we behold him as a striking type of the Lord Jesus Christ. My soul! as it hath pleased the Holy Ghost to give the church so circumstantial an account of Samson, do thou ponder the subject well, and remark (what was evidently the only design for which it was given) how gracious the Lord the Spirit was, thus to set forth, in type, Jesus of Nazareth, so many ages before his incarnation. Was Samson a Nazarite unto God from the womb? Such was Jesus, who was so named by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And what was the object for which Samson was separated from his birth as a Nazarite to God? We are told that it was to deliver his brethren out of the hands of their enemies, Judges 13:5. The same was declared of Jesus: he shall be called Jesus; for "he shah save his people from their sins, Matthew 1:21. Was holiness unto the Lord the distinguishing feature of the Nazarite? How suitably did it set forth the Lord Jesus, "who sanctified himself for his people," John 17:19. The very devil himself saluted Christ with his name, when he said," Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God." Mark 1:24. And so very important was it considered by the Holy Ghost, that the church’s Lord and Saviour should be known by this name of" the Nazarite unto God from the womb," that it is remarkable how many persons have given their testimony, and some of them plainly without design, to this one character of our Lord. The angel at the annunciation; the devil, as before remarked; the Jews in contempt, John 18:5; the Roman governor in his inscription on the cross, John 19:19; the angels at the sepulchre, Mark 16:6; the apostles glorifying in this name after his ascension, Acts 2:22; and Jesus himself, from heaven, at the conversion of Paul, Acts 22:8. Precious Nazarite to God! holy Lord Jesus! thou art indeed the true, the only one; for of thee, and by thee, can it be said, "Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire," Lament. 4: 7. Help me, Lord, by thy grace, to keep thee ever in remembrance. And while the cry of the infidel is still heard, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Oh! may my soul hear thy sweet voice, by faith: "the Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name!" Isaiah 49:1. Lord, thus it is fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophets:" He shall be called a Nazarene," Matthew 2:23.