Daily Devotionals

Spiritual Treasury For The Children of God

Devotional: March 4th

Unto you who believe, he is precious.- 1 Peter 2:7.

We are loved with PRECIOUS LOVE; redeemed by PRECIOUS BLOOD; comforted by PRECIOUS PROMISES; justified by PRECIOUS FAITH: yea, righteousness, holiness, heaven, we have all by union with a PRECIOUS Jesus. Surely then, "to them that believe he is precious."

Say, ye sons and daughters of poverty and affliction, is not this a time when friends grow cool and desert you? But in such a season, did you find one friend who visited you in your distress-was ever saying kind things to you-ever doing all possible good for you-when in prison, he sought you out, and set you at liberty-when sick he was your physician and healed you-when naked he clothed you-when in abject poverty he made you rich-thus was always pleased when he could make you easy and happy-say, is not this a friend of ten thousand? a friend who sticketh closer than a brother? Is not such a one precious indeed?

All this, and infinitely more than all this, hath Jesus done for a poor wretched race of sinners. Therefore he is indeed to them, a precious "Friend, who loveth at all times: the precious brother, who is born for adversity."- Proverbs 17:17. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." Precious in what he hath done yesterday-shed his blood for the guilty-wrought out a righteousness to clothe the naked soul. To-day he is pleading our cause before the throne, where "he ever lives to save to the uttermost all them that come unto God by him."- Hebrews 7:25. He is making love-visits, sending kind tokens, refreshing manifestations of his favor, causing poor hearts to rejoice in him, filling them with peace and comfort through him. O he is inestimably precious in what he is doing, and in what he will do; for Jesus will never leave one of his members till he has brought them all safe through a wicked world, given them the victory over sin, Satan, and death, and lodged their precious souls in the arms of his embraces; "for where I am, there shall all my servants be," saith our loving Saviour. O who can say how infinitely precious Jesus is to the saints above! This we must die to know. Though "now we know but in part, and speak but in part;" yet what we do see and know by faith, we can say, "he is precious indeed."

However distressing our circumstances to sense and feeling, yet his eye seeth us, his heart of love is towards us, he is Immanuel, God with us. Are we sick of sin? he is our physician. Is sin our burden? he is our mighty deliverer. Doth the law accuse and condemn us? he is THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Do lust and corruption rebel against us? he is our sanctification. Do the world, sin, and Satan, threaten our destruction? he is JESUS, our Saviour, our salvation; our ALL and in ALL- Colossians 3:11.

The rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity. Psalms 125:3.

How shall we draw the line between the righteous and the wicked? How shall we distinguish them, seeing they are both alike the subjects of a wicked nature, derived from Adam the sinner, their father? The Holy Ghost does this. He sets a mark upon the righteous, by which they are essentially distinguished from the wicked, in the first verse of this Psalm: “They trust in the Lord.” The wicked trust in themselves, that they are righteous; trust in their own power, to make and keep themselves so; and hope for God’s favour and heaven, because they are so. They trust in their own wisdom to guide them through life, and to their own goodness to make them happy in death. The righteous are stript of their righteousness: they are convinced of sin: they are poor, hopeless, desperate, and in a forlorn and wretched condition as to themselves. (Do you see somewhat of your own picture here?) They trust in the Lord Jesus, for righteousness to justify and entitle them to heaven, to cleanse them from sin; for wisdom, to guide; power to support; grace, to sanctify: and love, to bring them to glory. Now, these two sorts of persons are back to back; the face of one is towards heaven; the other, towards hell. They are of two seeds; there is enmity put between them. The wicked have always a rod for the back of the righteous. Ay! and they would lay it on with both hands, and always keep it upon their backs too. Though, for wise and gracious ends, the Lord permits this for a season; yet he will not suffer it to rest there long. Wicked Saul was a scourge to righteous David; so was blaspheming Sennacherib to good Hezekiah: and says the church, “Thou caused men to ride over our heads.” (Psalms 66:12.) Yet David came to the throne; Hezekiah and his people were unhurt by the Assyrians: and the church says, “We went through fire and water, but thou broughtest us into a wealthy place.” Here is a reason why our Lord will not suffer the rod of the wicked to rest on the righteous: “Lest he put forth his hand unto iniquity.” We never suffer judgment, but mercy is in it. Our troubles are dealt to us by the hand of love: mercy is mixed with them all. The Lord knows the righteous is but frail: he remembers he is but dust, and liable to sin: he is wise to prevent this. When oppression and trials from the wicked bring us low, and make us cry to the Lord, then we honour his grace and his power, his truth and his love, by the affiance of our heart. “He will fulfil the desire of them who fear him; he also will hear their cry and will save them.” (Psalms 145:9.)