Daily Devotionals

Spiritual Treasury For The Children of God

Devotional: February 12th

And experience worketh hope.- Romans 5:4.

We are ever to consider the gospel as a proclamation of grace to rebels; a declaration of mercy to the profligate and abandoned; glad tidings of salvation to lost, desperate, hopeless sinners. It finds the soul destitute of any one encouraging symptom: it brings all hope and encouragement with it. When the gospel becomes the "power of God to salvation" to any sinner, it works a mighty change in his state and practice. In the sweet experience, proof, or the trial of this, the soul is comforted. Hope concerning his state is confirmed. Experience worketh hope of one’s own interest in Jesus, and salvation by him. It works not by legal terrors and dreadful horrors, as was Judas; nor by working up the animal passions to a flash of joy, just as the stony ground hearers were affected by the word. But it powerfully enlightens the soul to see the evil of sin, and the infinite preciousness of the Lord Jesus, so as to loathe and detest the former, and cleave to and trust alone in the latter.

Hence Jesus becomes the tried stone, the sure foundation of the soul. Upon the finished work of Jesus, all hope, in time and for eternity, is laid. All other foundations are rejected as sandy; all other hopes as vain. Faith in God’s word, relying on his promises in Christ, begets resignation to his will, and patience under his dispensations, being assured, that "all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."- Romans 8:28.

We first experience his power in effectual calling, and then his love in keeping us close to himself, and obedient to his will. So we enjoy peace from him, and our hearts are cheerfully devoted to him. But how oft doth the believing soul find coolness of affection, heaviness of heart, and dejection of mind? Doth not this destroy his hope? No: even this experience, sad as it seems, worketh hope: hereby pride and self-confidence are slain, sin embittered; the soul humbled at the feet of Jesus, with ’Thou, even thou alone art my hope, I dare not trust in any other; my soul shall make her boast of thee, and thee only.’

We have the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves: and the more we live upon, and trust in the Lord, so shall we experience hope spring up, love flourish, and holiness abound. Praised be the Lord our God, who is "the God of hope, and who fills us with joy and peace in believing, that we may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost."- Romans 15:13.

Long did my Lord in patience wait,

Till I return’d to him.

Let patience prove thy tried word,

And thereby hope confirm.

Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? 2 Kings 7:2.

This is a daring reply to, “Thus saith the Lord!” The word of the Lord promises, by a great plenty, instantly to relieve his people from a great famine. Doubtless, with a witty sneer, this great peer of the earth uttered this reply to Elisha, as though he had said, “Behold, ye people, do not mind what this mad fellow says; use your reason; judge of the nature of things by your senses: do you think God will make windows in heaven, to pour down corn for you? there is no other possible way for such a supply as Elisha talks of.” Thus, with an imperious air he insults the prophet, and exalts his carnal reason and unbelief against the Lord’s word of promise. Today, he prides himself in his wisdom; to-morrow, he perishes, and is trod under foot, as an unbelieving fool. Here, see the cursed nature of carnal reason; here, behold the dreadful evil of rejecting the word of the Lord, by unbelief! Beware of the great, the noble, and the wise of this world. Not many of them are called. Those who are not, are great enemies to God’s grace and truth. Look not at the wisdom of the wise, and the judgment of the great of this world: they are fools in the things of God. “God hath made foolish the wisdom of this world.” (1 Corinthians 1:20.) But, my fellow-sinner! see we not somewhat of ourselves in the judgment of this lord? O, Jesus! how does our human reason and unbelief often oppose thy blessed word of grace! When we find a famine in our souls, we think we shall perish for want of the bread of life; we look this way and that for hope; human probability shuts up every avenue. Still we have “Thus saith the Lord,” to look to: great and precious promises to trust in! ‘Ah! but,’ says carnal reason, ‘will the Lord fulfil them?’ ‘No!’ says unbelief; ‘it is impossible.’ What! after the Lord himself came down from heaven to seek and to save us; after such a miracle of love to us, can we doubt of his care for us? O! let us cry to the Lord, to enable us to trample this man of sin, this lord of unbelief under our feet; that we be not faithless, but believing. “He that spared not his own Son, but freely gave him to us, how shall he not with him freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32.)

Come, let our souls address the Lord,

Who fram’d our nature with his word;

He is our shepherd, we his sheep,

His mercy chose, his pastures keep.

Come, let us hear his voice to-day,

The counsels of his love obey;

Nor let our foolish hearts renew

The sins and plagues that Israel knew.