Under God's Wings

Under God's Wings

J. R. Miller, 1912


"How priceless is Your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge under the shadow of Your wings!" Psalm 36:7

Some of the most expressive illustrations of the divine love and care employed in the Bible, are taken from the ways of birds. For example, this beautiful figure of a bird sheltering her young under her wings, runs through all the Scriptures, as a picture of God's sheltering love.

We find it often. Boaz welcomed Ruth from her heathen home to the land of Israel, "The Lord recompense your work, and a full reward be given you of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you are come to trust." In one of the Psalms we find the words, "My soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed." In another Psalm is the prayer, "Hide me under the shadow of your wings, from the wicked that oppress me." In still another Psalm is this word of confidence, "He shall cover you with his feathers, and under his wings shall you trust." Then, in the New Testament, our Lord gives the picture yet added beauty and sweeter and more sacred meaning, by His wonderful adaptation of it to Himself. Addressing those who had resisted His love, He said, with a great pain at His heart," O Jerusalem, Jerusalem . . . how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings!"

Thus the image is a favorite one in the Bible. Here it is expressed in words of great beauty: "How priceless is Your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge under the shadow of Your wings!" While a picture of a bird sheltering her young beneath her wings is before us, let us think of the wings of God and what is beneath them.

They are wings of mercy. "How priceless is Your unfailing love!" This is mercy—kindness to the undeserving. Under God's wings is a place for penitent sinners. If it were a place only for good people, sinless people—it would have little comfort for us. The angels might go in there—but we could not. But it is a place for sinners.

When you look closely, you see that the wings of God are stained with blood. Some birds, when defending their young, put their own bodies between them and the danger, themselves receiving the stroke that was meant to destroy their offspring. Open your Bible and you find that Jesus has been wounded. Up there, amid the bright glory of heaven, He appears as One that has beenslain. Look at His hands, those hands that always were so gentle—and there are great wounds upon them! Look at His feet, those sacred feet that bore Him on so many errands of love, that the penitent woman kissed and wetted with her tears, and there are wound-prints in them! Look at His side, over His heart, that heart which throbbed with so much tenderness and love and compassion; and there you see a spear-wound! You ask how Jesus received these five wounds, and you are pointed to the answer, "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities . . . with His stripes we are healed." Then you understand it. Jesus interposed His own blessed body to receive the woundings that would have fallen upon us. That is the meaning of the blood upon the wings of God. The wounds were received in saving us. Beneath these wings is mercy, because LOVE has suffered for us!

The wings of God are wide-spreading. You have seen a hen stretch out her wings to cover her brood; yet hers are not broad wings. They can shelter only her own little family. God's wings are infinitely broader. For six thousand years they have been gathering human souls under their blessed shelter—and yet there is room!

In Malachi, there is a wonderful word which speaks of the coming Messiah as a Sun, the Sun of Righteousness, whose spreading beams are likened to wings, under which there is healing. Think how widely the sun's radiant beams reach, when that orb is in the zenith. God's wings spread over every spot on earth, in which is a penitent soul. We know how the invitations ring out to the weary, the sinful, the lost. The God of the Bible—is the God of the sinning and the sorrowing and of those who have failed and fallen. His love is as wide as the human race—and as free as the sunshine. No sinner has fallen so low—but that the wings of God can reach out over him. There is room beneath these wings for all classes—for the happy children, for the strong young people, for the feeble old people.

Sometimes there seems to be no place on earth for the aged. They cannot keep pace any more with the hurrying ranks, and drop behind. Sometimes even the children, whom they sheltered in infancy, for whom they toiled, suffered, and sacrificed; appear to forget to keep a warm nest for their parents in their old age. But there is one place where aged Christians are never in the way. There is one home from whose door they are never turned away. There is room under the wings of God for the aged. God's voice is heard saying: "I will be your God throughout your lifetime—until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I willcare for you. I will carry you along and save you!" How many dear aged people, has God folded to sleep as gently as ever a mother folded her babe to her bosom!

So there is room for all—the wise man and the ignorant, the strong and the weak, the healthy and the trembling invalid, life's victors and the defeated, the pure and gentle and innocent, and the worst sinners. These wings of God are wide-spreading.

God's wings are gentle. The warmest nests in this world, are those which human love prepares for its dear ones. We know how the mothers tuck their babes away in their little cribs, with pillow of down and soft blankets. We know how warm and gentle a place every true and happy home is for children to rest in and grow up in. We know what tenderness a noble, manly husband prepares for the wife he loves and takes into the shelter of his strength. We know what tenderness many a friendship makes for the life that it enfolds, throwing about it life's fondest gentleness, blessing it with all delicate thoughtfulness and attentive ministry, and sheltering it from life's rude storms and harsh contacts.

We all long for tenderness. To live without it—is dreary indeed. It is a blessed thing that it comes to us in so many sweet ways in life. But the love of God is gentler than the fondest human gentleness. Have you ever thought how suggestive of tenderness, warmth, and softness—the wings of a bird are? There is something almost human in the way the mother-bird cares for her young. What is softer than the downy feathers she spreads over them?

Some birds build their nests on a rock. Underneath it is bare, cold, and hard. But what do the young birds care, so long as over them they feel the warm covering of the mother-bird's feathers? Some of God's children find the earthly nest under them bare and cold. They have to endure the experiences of poverty. Their lot has in it many hardships. They have trials. At times afflictions are their portion. Not all have human love's tenderness about them.

Not every heart's nest in this world—is lined with down. There are homes that are not gentle. There are lives with fine feelings and sensibilities, which move as amid briars and thorns and are hurt every day! There are many whose relations with others are not of the kind to give comfort. There are children who do not know what the refinements of gentle home-love are. There are hearts that are hurt by ingratitude, by coldness, by rudeness, by incessant unkindness, by unfaithfulness, by betrayal, by wrong and injustice. But the gentleness of God is over all who will nestle beneath it—and it never fails, never lacks in tenderness.

What a warm place this is—to which to flee in time of sorrow! Some of us do not yet understand this. We cannot see the stars—until the sun goes down and night comes. We cannot know the marvelous tenderness of God, while yet we are surrounded and overshadowed and blessed by rich and unbroken human tenderness. There are many things about the love of God—which we cannot learn until we lose earth's good things.

Again and again people say in their times of bereavement and sore trial: "I cannot understand the experience I am having. I felt as the sorrow approached, that I could not possibly endure it, that my heart would break. But when it came, there seemed to be something enfolding me, so that I was not crushed—but could even sing in my grief and loss." A friend wrote once, when he was watching beside his brother's deathbed, that he was learning not so much the meaning of sorrow—as he was learning the meaning of God's comfort. Some of us understand this from our own experience. As we entered the valley of grief, and the darkness deepened about us—we felt a Presence we could not see; the darkness seemed to be struck through with a soft, heavenly light. There was something we could not describe, which strangely comforted us, keeping us calm and quiet.

We call sorrow a shadow, and we talk about it falling upon us, and deepening, until sometimes all the light of earth is obscured. But it is the shadow of God's wings. What seems darkness—is only the darkening of earth's dim lights, that heaven's light may shine about us. Sorrow, for a Christian, is not God's withdrawal; it is His nearer coming. We shall never know how warm and soft a place there is beneath the wings of love—until we creep there out of earth's nights and blasts of storm.

In this world we nestle only, as it were, under the outer edge of this broad shadow. We do not, therefore, experience the fullness, the best, the blessedness which lies up nearer the divine heart. Then, what we call dying is, for a Christian—only going in deeper beneath these wings. God's grace is very sweet, even on the earth—but heaven is far better.

There is a great comfort for us in this lesson, when we stand by the bedside of our believing friends and watch them pass into the shadow which we call death. It is painful for us to have them go out of our arms—into the strange mystery. Yet they only nestled up closer up under God's wings! That is the true meaning of dying.

Notice what this Psalm tells us is under these wings of God. There are four things.

Satisfaction is the first. "They shall be abundantly satisfied!"

Joy is the second. "You give them drink from your river of delights."

Life, larger, fuller life, is the third. "With you is the fountain of life."

Light is the fourth. "In your light—we shall see light."

These four great blessings are found beneath the wings of God—satisfaction, joy, life, light.

When we are dwelling beneath the wings of God, and under these wings have such marvelous blessings—why should we ever be afraid? Why should we dread to see our Christian friends pass out of this life! To depart and be with Christ—is very far better!

God's wings are also wings of refuge. "How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings!" When the storm comes, the mother-bird gathers her young beneath her wings and shelters them, bearing herself the pelting of the hail—but keeping them safe and warm. So Christ gathers His people beneath the wings of His love—when the tempest breaks upon them.

"What tempest? From what do we need a refuge?" Does anyone ask the question! Have you never felt the need of a refuge for your own life? Have you never felt yourself driven by fears, by dangers, by alarms, by the wild tempests of sorrow or of doubt—needing some refuge, some secure place to hide, where you would be safe from the angry strifes?

In all such times and experiences, there is a refuge beneath the wings of God! There is a refuge there, because it is mercy's place. Under the wings of the cherubim, was the mercy seat. We have sinned. We need atonement. Those who flee beneath God's wings, beneath the outstretched arms of the cross—have nothing to fear from their sins. They are forgiven. "There is now no condemnation."

But this is not the only sense in which the wings of God give a refuge to men. You know the restful feeling that steals over one when after a day out in the world, amid its strifes, cares, and competitions, its babble of tongues, its insincerities, its disappointments; he enters his own sweet and happy home and shuts his door. Home is a refuge to his heart. He finds love there, sincerity, no enmity, no competition, no sharp dealing. God is home to the human soul that trusts in Him, "Lord, you have been our dwelling-place from all generations!"

There is a sense in which a noble, true, and faithful human life—is a refuge to many others. But the best human refuges are only frail and temporary. You turn some day for shelter—and find your friend dead. Then when the shock comes, the temptation, the sorrow, the fear, the danger—-and you want to fly to him, he is not there, and you are left to fall. Human refuges are well in their place, as gifts of God, as shelters for an hour; but you need to have the Rock of Ages for your refuge! Then you will never find your hiding place removed, when you need to flee into it. In any hour you can creep into that shelter, and sing:


Jesus, Lover of my soul,
Let me to Your bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high:
Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide;
O receive my soul at last!

Other refuge have I none;
Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
Leave, ah! leave me not alone,
Still support and comfort me.
All my trust on You is stayed,
All my help from You I bring;
Cover my defenseless head
With the shadow of Your wing!

Christ As the Gardener

Christ As the Gardener
by Louis Albert Banks (1855-1933)

"She turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and  knew not that it was Jesus. 
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thout Whom seekest thou? She, supposing 
him to be the gardener, saith unto him. Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me 
where thou hast laid him, and I Will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. 
She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni ; which is to say, Master."
                                                                                               —John 20:14-16

In the days immediately after the resurrection Jesus appeared to his disciples in many forms. And that is what he is always doing to men and women in our own time. He appears in a different form to every one of us.   To some he comes as he came to the disciples in the storm at night, when they thought he was a spirit and cried out with fright. There are many people to whom Christ now appears to be only a ghost to haunt them on the stormy voyage of life. If they would but listen to him, however, they would hear him saying as of old, "Be of good cheer; it is I ; be not afraid." 

To some Christ comes as a deliverer. Their sense of bondage to sin is so keen that the supreme cry of their hearts is for some one strong enough to unlock the prison doors and spring back the great iron bolts that hold fast the dungeon walls of their prison. To such Christ comes as the liberator to set them free, and they ever think of him as a heroic Saviour. Others there are, whose souls have long been hungry and starved for hope and sympathy and love, to whom Christ comes as does the harvest after an Indian famine, with abundance of bread. Jesus to them is the bread of life ; they feed upon the bread sent down from heaven. Still others, like Paul, are smitten down by the light at noonday ; by the glory of that Light which is greater than the brightness of the sun, and ever after, looking backward to the old days of blindness and darkness, Christ seems to them to be the light-bringer. 

Christ comes to many in childhood with the tenderness of a shepherd who carries the lambs in his bosom. A little boy who had been accustomed to seeing every day in his play-room a picture of the Good Shepherd carrying a little lamb in his arms was confronted with  the picture of the Madonna and her Child.  He looked up into my face and asked, "Is that the Good Shepherd when he was a baby?" There are many to whom Christ comes as naturally as that, and who are led on through all the days of childhood by his gentle spirit, who never know what it is to stray away from the Shepherd's side. There ought to be many more than there are of that class. I doubt if Christianity, or rather the Christian church, is acting with so little wisdom at any other point as it is in relation to children. Our children should be consecrated to Christ in infancy and be given over to his care and training with never a thought of a period for the sowing of wild oats which must be uprooted again in penitence and sorrow. Isaiah says, " Peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near,'' and if we do our full duty by childhood the overwhelming majority of our children reared in Christian homes will be kept ever near to the side of the Shepherd Christ. 

But I wish especially to call your attention to the form in which Christ appeared to Mary at the sepulcher. Joseph's tomb, where Christ had been buried, was in the midst of a garden ; and when Mary turned about and saw Jesus clothed in the ordinary garb of a gardener --she thought he was the gardener. What purpose Christ had in thus appearing to her we do not know, and yet we surely do not in any way distort Scripture meaning by studying this figure as representing Christ's cultivation of our hearts. Christ is the gardener of every soul that yields to him. In one of his parables he especially sets himself forth as a gardener. He tells the story of a certain man who had a fig-tree in his vineyard; and this man came and sought fruit year after year, but the tree was always barren and fruitless. So there came a day when he said to the gardener, " I have been coming every year now for three years to taste the figs on this tree and have never found any. Cut it down; why should it be left to cumber the ground?'' But the gardener had sympathy for the tree and pleaded for it. He begged the owner of the vineyard to let it alone for another year and during that year he would fertilize the soil, and dig carefully about the roots of the tree, and if it bear fruit, well and good; but if it still remained barren after that, it should be cut down. I think we can take that parable as illustrating Christ's gardening in human hearts. There is a sense in which we are all trees in God's vineyard. Some of us are barren trees, yielding no fruit; but as the barren tree in the vineyard drinks in the sunshine and the summer dew and the spring showers the same as the trees that are full of fruit, so God sends his rain upon the just and the unjust, and the sinful man receives the blessings of God, giving opportunity and privilege for every good thing to come into his life, the same as does the righteous. Not one of us is so poor and barren in moral and spiritual inheritance but that it is possible for us to bear fruit unto God if we yield ourselves completely to the Heavenly Gardener. 

It is the glory of the skillful gardener that he is able to make common plants develop into forms of beauty and usefulness that the ignorant gardener would never dream of producing. In the great gardens scientific men are every year producing new combinations in roses and carnations and many other flowers. I remember last year a certain Eastern florist paid many thousands of dollars for the exclusive privilege of growing in America a new carnation which had been developed in England. It is the glory of great artists in every department of life that they are able to bring much out of little ; that they can give value and splendor to common things. Dr. W. L. Watkinson says that on visiting an art-gallery recently he noticed that some of the greatest pictures had not a splendid thing in them. The ordinary artist when he wants to be effective paints in a breadth of golden harvest, or he portrays a kingfisher or some other iridescent bird, or a tree in bloom, or that captivating thing, a rainbow. But you will notice that some of the greatest painters that ever lived never touch these things. They take common things:  a railway cut, a plowed field ; no conspicuous object ; only the black earth, the brown earth, the red earth; but their touch is a supreme touch, so that you can see the blossom in the dust, and the rainbow in the cloud; and the picture, although it contains not a brilliant thing, is bathed in imagination, poetry and beauty. So Christ can take the most common human plants in his garden and develop them into the most indescribable beauty and interest. 

Just think of some of the human plants that grew in Christ's garden when he was here on earth:  a man who had a whole legion of devils ; and Mary Magdalene, who had seven ; and fretful and peevish Martha ; an old beggar, Bartimaeus, blind since he was bom; Zacchaeus, the tax-collector; a handful of fishermen without education or standing. Jesus picked up people like that, and how they blossomed under his hands ! They have grown into the heart of the world for eighteen hundred years, and the sweet fragrance of their Christian graces bless humanity in every land. 

What Christ did with these people he can do with us. In soul-gardening it is possible for the gardener to impart his own nature to the sensitive human plant under his care. It is said that among the Dutch the rose is sometimes cultivated by planting a rose of ordinary variety close to a rose of unusual beauty and fragrance. The common rose is carefully watched and its anthers removed so as to avoid its propagating its own species ; the object being that it shall be pollenized by the superior rose. Gradually the rose thus treated takes upon itself the characteristics of the nobler and sweeter life of its neighbor. This is a striking illustration of what happens when we permit ourselves to be planted in the garden of Jesus. Our lives receive the gracious influences of his own divine spirit. We become like him. We lose the characteristics of the lower life to which we have been accustomed and begin to show the indications of the nobler and sweeter life of him who is the Rose of Sharon. How can any intelligent man or woman refuse to yield the heart to this Divine Gardener?

I do not doubt that some of you are greatly discouraged by your own lives. You have had much higher ideals for yourself than you have ever realized. You have meant to live a much nobler life, and to perform deeds of rarer value, than any that have ever been put down to your credit. But you have never yielded your heart to the care of him who is able to make out of your life something far better than the things you have hoped for but failed to accomplish. You have tried in your own strength and are not satisfied with your success, why not give your life over into Christ's hands?  A young man who was converted a few months ago told me recently that when I had long pleaded with him to come to Christ, and seemed ready to give up in discouragement, the thing that started him was my final sentence, "It cannot do you any harm, anyhow.'* And so I say to you, it cannot, by any possibility, do you any harm to obey Jesus Christ, and yield yourself to be led by his hand. This young man says now that it not only did him no harm, bnt has been of more good to him than anything that has ever come into his life. You will say the same if you surrender your life to the training of Jesus. 

There is something very touching in the parable of the unfruitful fig-tree, where Christ pictures himself as interceding in behalf of the unfruitful soul. How many years has God been coming to your life seeking in vain for the fruit of thought and conversation and conduct which he had a right to expect. Instead, perhaps, there has been bitter fruit, fruit that could do no one any good, and it may be has done much harm. Bring this home to your own heart, and think of that barren tree as yourself. Hear God saying: "Cut down the unfruitful tree. Cut down this useless life. I have been coming year after year to this man, or this woman, seeking for fruit and finding none. Cut them down. Why should they cumber the ground? And then hear Jesus as he pleads for you: "Let him alone one year more; let me fertilize the soil with the preaching of the gospel, and the invitation of Christian neighbors, and the rebukes of conscience, and the whispered pleading of the Holy Spirit ; perhaps he will turn and repent, and all will be well; but if lie does not, then shall he be cut down.'' When that last year's limit is made, none of us can tell. You may be in that period now. Possibly it is already drawing near to a close. It is a solemn thought. But, thank God, the probation has not yet ended, and this very hour you may by the divine grace and the forgiving mercy of Christ be transformed in your inmost nature so that you will begin to bear fruit unto righteousness.  

The Still Small Voice (and other devotionals)

The Still Small Voice

In the last three devotionals, we have looked at principles on how we should respond when our life is in crisis.  The last principle is found in  1 Kings 19:11-12,

Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD."  And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

If your life is in crisis today, you need to remind yourself how God leads.  Do not look for it in outward, powerful manifestations—the strong wind, an earthquake, or fire.

Rather, listen for that "still small voice."

That is how Jesus speaks to us today.  Read carefully the words of John 16:13,

"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come."

God has given you and me His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us.  And, friend, when God leads you, it is going to be through the still small whisper of the Spirit in your heart.

Yet many people want more than that.  Some people think, "I'm in a desperate situation.  I need something more!"  You and I need nothing more, because through the indwelling Holy Spirit, we have God on the inside.

So if God is going to guide you, He is going to do it from within…through that still small voice.

~Bayless Conley~

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What Is There to Fear?

The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? - Psalm 27:1

My dog Buddy is a consistent source of insight and amusement in my life. For you animal lovers, you know what I am talking about. God's creatures are simply unique and amazing in wonderful ways. My dog is all of those things to me and I am amazed at how the Lord teaches me certain messages through Buddy. For example, my husband and I had taken Buddy out to some property where deer and coyote roam freely. Buddy was quick to take off, running through weeds so high that all I could see is the white tip of his tail. He crawled through a barbed-wire fence, jumped over a creek, and dragged himself through thickets and brush that left him covered with briars. He was in heaven, loving every minute of his excursion, and without a care of any danger seemed to enter his mind. Later that evening when we got home, I heard Buddy whimpering outside near the back door. I thought he was hurt or that something was wrong with him. What was wrong? There was a twig lying on the concrete and he was afraid to step over it.

One minute my dog was walking through the jungle with no fear; the next, he was whimpering over a twig. Why? Because his fear was based on something unknown and unfamiliar to him, though we know that a twig is far more harmless than plowing through rattlesnake weeds out in the country. How often do we allow fear of something harmless to stop us in our tracks and keep us from going forward? How often does the Lord look at us and think we look ridiculous (as I did of Buddy)? We so often let the fear of the unknown keep us from having all that God has for us.

Do you have fears in your life that stop you in your tracks? Are you consistently afraid of the unknown? Sometimes we are far more comfortable in dangerous places just because we are familiar with them. Let's be willing to be uncomfortable sometimes and let the Lord truly lead us. The Lord tells us to trust Him and to step out in faith. The Lord promises to protect us, regardless of where we go with Him. Just as I was watching Buddy closely, just in case that twig jumped up at him—the Lord is always watching out for us too.

~Daily Disciples Devotional~

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Looking for Him

"Unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation"   (Hebrews 9:28).

This is our hope. He to whom we have already looked as coming once to bear the sins of many will have another manifestation to the sons of men; this is a happy prospect in itself. But that second appearing has certain peculiar marks which glorify it exceedingly.

Our LORD will have ended the business of sin. He has so taken it away from His people and so effectually borne its penalty that He will have nothing to do with it at His second coming. He will present no sin offering, for He will have utterly put sin away.

Our LORD will then complete the salvation of His people. They will be finally and perfectly saved and will in every respect enjoy the fullness of that salvation. He comes not to bear the result of our transgressions but to bring the result of His obedience; not to remove our condemnation but to perfect our salvation.

Our LORD thus appears only to those who look for Him. He will not be seen in this character by men whose eyes are blinded with self and sin. To them He will be a terrible Judge and nothing more. We must first look to Him and then look for Him; and in both cases our look shall be life.

~Charles Spurgeon~

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Paying an Extra Price

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, that I might finish my course” Acts 20:24

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Do you pay a price—some extra time in the morning—to get into the Word of God? Do you pay the price of being ridiculed because you keep your Bible on your desk in the office or bow your head and thank God for His gracious goodness to you when He gives you a meal? Are you willing to be different? Will you finish your course?

When you’re running this race, you’re going to find out that you’re running right against the grain. Don’t get the idea that there’s the broad road and the narrow road, and the narrow road runs alongside the broad road, and over there a bunch of people are going this way, and over here you’re going in the same direction.

No, there’s the broad way, and here you are, right in the middle of it, going the other way. Against the grain. What we believe starts at a different source follows a different course ends at a different conclusion …and there is a price to pay.

ACTION POINT:

Frankly, today we don’t like that idea of a “price to pay.” We say, “Well, I’m saved by grace, and so I’m just going to float on into heaven on flowery beds of ease.” No. A disciple is one who follows his master, obeys his master, and there is a price to pay.

~Adrian Rogers~

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Protected

Today's reading: 1 Samuel 29:1-11

David's situation isn't a good one as we come to 1 Samuel 29. David, the man God has chosen and anointed to be the next king of Israel is aligned with the Philistines and getting ready to go to war against his own nation. Neither king Achish or David think this is a problem, but Achish's men think differently and demand that David not take part in the battle. As I took in this passage, I was struck by God's goodness and how He protected David through the demands of Achish's men to remove him from this situation.

God has done the same for me a number of times. The most memorable time of protection was quite a number of years ago when I was getting ready to start a new job that was going to require me to put in massive hours away from my husband. I knew in my heart that the situation wasn't the best for me, but was blinded by the prestige and large salary that came with the position. Right before I was supposed to start, a complication arose and I could no longer accept the position. I was devastated, but looking back now I can see that God was protecting me and my marriage. As I write this today, I am grateful. Thank you, God!!!

When has God stepped in and protected you? What does this chapter show us about God being a loving Father who watches over us? 

~Tami~

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Ephesians 1:14

The earnest of our inheritance.

Oh! what enlightenment, what joys, what consolation, what delight of heart is experienced by that man who has learned to feed on Jesus, and on Jesus alone. Yet the realization which we have of Christ's preciousness is, in this life, imperfect at the best. As an old writer says, "'Tis but a taste!" We have tasted "that the Lord is gracious," but we do not yet know how good and gracious He is, although what we know of His sweetness makes us long for more. We have enjoyed the firstfruits of the Spirit, and they have set us hungering and thirsting for the fullness of the heavenly vintage. We groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption. Here we are like Israel in the wilderness, who had but one cluster from Eshcol, there we shall be in the vineyard. Here we see the manna falling small, like coriander seed, but there shall we eat the bread of heaven and the old corn of the kingdom. We are but beginners now in spiritual education; for although we have learned the first letters of the alphabet, we cannot read words yet, much less can we put sentences together; but as one says, "He that has been in heaven but five minutes, knows more than the general assembly of divines on earth." We have many ungratified desires at present, but soon every wish shall be satisfied; and all our powers shall find the sweetest employment in that eternal world of joy. O Christian, antedate heaven for a few years. Within a very little time thou shalt be rid of all thy trials and thy troubles. Thine eyes now suffused with tears shall weep no longer. Thou shalt gaze in ineffable rapture upon the splendor of Him who sits upon the throne. Nay, more, upon His throne shalt thou sit. The triumph of His glory shall be shared by thee; His crown, His joy, His paradise, these shall be thine, and thou shalt be co-heir with Him who is the heir of all things.

~Charles Spurgeon~

Things That Endure

Things That Endure

J.R. Miller
 

In one of the fables of ancient poetry, an angel was permitted to visit this earth. From a lofty mountain top, he looked down upon the cities, palaces, and works of men. As he went away, he said, "All these people are spending their time in building only birds' nests. No wonder they fail and are ashamed."

Building birds' nests to be swept away in the floods, when they might be erecting palaces of immortal beauty, to dwell in forever — thus, indeed, must much of our life and work appear to the angels who look down upon us from Heaven and see things as they are. Many things that men do, leave no permanent results, nothing to show a little while afterward, that they have been wrought.

No doubt, there are things evanescent in themselves, which yet leave an enduring impression. A rose has but a brief existence, and yet it may leave a touch of beauty on the hearts of those who behold it. Charles Kingsley advises, "Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful. Welcome beauty in every fair face, every fair sky, every fair flower — and thank Him for it, who is the fountain of all loveliness; and drink it in simply and earnestly with all your eyes; it is a charming draught, a cup of blessing." There may be good, therefore, in even the most transient things we do. They may leave touches of beauty on the lives of others, or may put inspiration toward sweeter and better living, into other hearts.

But there is a large class of those do not do good to others, nor store away any treasures for themselves.

It is possible to live, however, so that everything we do shall last. In all our busy life, we may be laying gold, silver, precious stones, on the walls of life's temple — materials which will not be consumed nor tarnished in the fire which shall try men's work.

In the sphere of unseen things, results are rated, not by dollars, but by moral values. Here, a cup of cold water given to a thirsty one in the name of Christ will count for more than the piling up of a fortune for one's self. In this sphere, also, the man whose hands appear empty at the end of his life — may be rich, leaving to the world an enduring inheritance of good. Writes Kingsley again:

There is no failure for the good and wise.
What though your seed should fall by the wayside
And the birds snatch it, yet the birds are fed;
Or they may bear it far across the tide
To give rich harvests after you are dead.

Our work will last, only when it is inspired by love and is wrought in the name of Christ. Nothing that we do for ourselves, will endure. There is no immortality for vanity and self-seeking. The glory of self-conceit is only a bubble which bursts and leaves but a wreck of froth behind. But what we do in love for Christ and our fellow-men, will live.

One made a costly piece of embroidery, weaving into it many silver and gold threads. The work was then laid away for a time, and when it was looked at again, the whole delicate and beautiful fabric had decayed — nothing was left except the gold and silver threads. These were as bright as ever, in imperishable beauty. The only threads in the web of a life which will endure — are the gold and silver threads, which love for Christ and love for men put in.

We do not begin to realize what power even the smallest things, if love is in them — have to put brightness and a blessing into dreary or empty lives. The memory of a kindly word stays ofttimes for years, in a heart to which it brought cheer and uplifting. A flower sent to a darkened room in some time of sickness or sorrow, leaves fragrance which abides ever afterward. A note of sympathy, with its word of cheer and love, is cherished as dearer than gold or gems, and its message is never forgotten. The greatest deeds without love — make no enduring record, but when love inspires them, even the smallest ministries of kindness leave imperishable memories in the lives which they help and bless.

It ought to be one of the deepest longings of every true heart, to leave in this world something which will last, which will live in blessing and good.

"Is the world better or worse where I tread? What have I done in the years that are past? What have I left in the way as I passed, foibles to perish — or blessings to last?"

It is pitiful to spend one's years in doing things that are not worth while, things which will perish and leave no record of good in any life. We should not be content to let a single day pass in which we do not speak some gracious word, or do a kindness that will add to the happiness, the hope, or the courage and strength, of another life. We should seek ever by ministries of love, to redeem our days of toil from dreariness, emptiness, and earthliness — and make them radiant in God's eye, and in the story we write for eternity.

The Christ Child and the Emperpor

The Christ Child and the Emperor   


David James Burrell   (1844-1926)

"Then Herod...said go and search diligently for the young child: and when 
ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him."
                                                  —Matthew 2:7-8

The Incarnation was an invasion. God crossed the border into the territory of Earthly Power. No trumpets were heard, no roar of artillery disturbed the quiet of the early morning. A mother sat crooning to an Infant in her arms. That was all; but it was the first note of the onset. What could be more helpless than the pink, dimpled hand that lay upon that mother s breast? Yet that hand was destined to cut the sinews of Roman supremacy and change the currents of history through the ages. 

The arrival of the Magi at Jerusalem passing from door to door with the question, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews?" threw the naturally suspicious Herod into a paroxysm of jealous fear. Well might he be troubled; old, feeble, bloody-minded, pursued by conscience, harried by the furies of his mislived past, this Idumean usurper, representing Caesar's authority in Judea, was ill prepared to meet a new disturbance of his provincial rule. And his fear was well grounded, since Jesus was really of the royal line. One can scarcely wonder, knowing how insecure was his hold on power, at the outburst of his wrath in the Slaughter of the Innocents. It was like the scream of a falcon in a dovecote, or the ravaging of a wolf among sheep. The man and the time must be borne in mind. As to the man, a lurid sidelight was thrown upon his character when the Emperor Augustus, on being informed that the infant son of Herod himself had perished in this massacre, observed, "It were better to be one of his swine than one of his children." As to the time, it makes a great difference whether an event is dated " B.C." or "A.D." This was before Christ. Life was cheap in those days. A placard may be seen on a ruined wall in Pompeii announcing an entertainment thus: "In the Arena a hundred men will fight with ferocious beasts." Line up the victims. Drag out the dead! Such was Paganism in its Golden Age. 

The incident at Bethlehem, however, was a mere preliminary skirmish. The murder of a score of children was an episode of slight consequence in the royal policies of those days. And it failed to accomplish its purpose; for "Joseph arose and took the young child and his mother by night and fled into Egypt." 

The affair was shrewdly planned; but Herod reckoned without God. The futility of the bloody deed is set forth in two masterpieces of recent art. One of them is Holman Hunt's "Triumph of the Innocents," in which Joseph and the virgin mother and her Child are represented on their way to Egypt followed by the spirits of the slain innocents; one of them carrying a golden censer while the others come trooping after with palm branches. These are the vanguard of that noble army of martyrs who ever since have followed in his train. The other picture is "The Repose in Egypt" by Merson. It represents the dull-eyed, wondering Sphinx on the verge of the desert, between the world with out hope and the world of progress. It is night.  In the arms of the great image the mother reposes with the Child on her bosom; and from his face there radiates a light which penetrates the darkness of the surrounding wastes. 

That was indeed a memorable flight, the first strategic move in the long campaign of centuries. It was a retreat preparatory to an advance all along the line. 

We do not see the Child and the Emperor face to face again until the Child has grown to manhood. His ministry is under way. He has gone up and down among the villages preaching, working wonders, troubling the corrupt times. His name is on every lip. He enters Jerusalem at length and begins to preach. Herod, desirous of making an end of his influence, presumes to threaten him. His underlings come to Jesus, saying, "Get thee out and depart hence, for Herod will kill thee!" But Jesus sees through the shallow device of the intriguing court. Observe his calm disdain: "Go tell that fox, Behold I cast out devils and do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Tell him, I must walk today and tomorrow and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet shall perish out of Jerusalem." And the work goes on. 

In vain does the earthworm lift its head against the chariot of the King. "I must walk!" The behest of divine duty is upon Jesus; and who or what shall prevent it? He must accomplish the mighty task which has brought him from heaven to earth.  "The kings of the earth do set them selves and the rulers take counsel together saying, Let us break his bands asunder and cast his cords from us! He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision."   This is not the Herod of the massacre, but Herod Antipas, another of a smaller mould, who has been characterized by a distinguished historian as "the meanest thing the world ever saw." 

It is the story of the centuries. "Kindle the fagots! Sharpen the sword! Let loose the lions!" cries Caesar. "We will make an end of the Nazarene and his religion!" But the blood of the martyrs is ever the seed of the Church. The royal standards onward go. "I must walk!" says the Master. "I must walk in majesty upon the heights of Bozrah with garments dyed red. I must walk in the glory of him who cometh from Teman with the pestilence before him." 

"Herod will kill thee," forsooth. So they said in The Terror, when the streets of Paris were red and slippery with blood of the innocents. The image of the Virgin Mother was torn from its shrine in Notre Dame and supplanted by a notorious woman of the demi-monde, whom the mob worshipped as Goddess of Reason. Through the clash of arms and the shriek of the dying was heard the grim word of Voltaire, "Crush the Nazarene!" But calm over all rose the commanding voice of the Master, "I must walk to day, tomorrow and the day following! I must lead my militant hosts until the tabernacle of God shall come down among men." 

So runs the Parable of Progress: "For the kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field: which indeed is the least of all seeds; but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree." 

The next meeting of Christ and Caesar was on the last day of the public ministry, when Jesus was teaching in Solomon's Porch. The Herodians, representing the Roman Government in the Jewish Sanhedrin, sent a delegation to ensnare him. They said, "Master, we know that thou teachest truth and regardest not the person of men; tell us, therefore, what thinkest thou, Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not?" Observe again the calm disdain: "Why tempt ye me, ye mask-wearers? Show me the tribute money." They gave him a penny; and he said, "Whose is this image and superscription?" They answered, "Caesar s." Then said he, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar s and unto God the things that are God s." 

This was "diplomacy" at its highest and best; an illustration of the truth that "peace hath its victories no less renowned than war." The conference on this occasion was of immeasurable importance not only because the parties con-cerned were the authorities of earth and heaven, but because of the great principle which was evolved from it. 

Once and again the world powers have met, in what are technically known as "conventions," for the distribution of spoils or the division of territory. Such was the Convention of 1572, when Catherine de Medici and the Duke of Alva met on the borders of Spain to divide between them the Continent of Europe for the inquisition of faith. Conventions of like character have been held by the so-called Great Powers in recent years for the partition of China, of the Dark Continent, of Korea. For the most part, however, they have left out Christ, the King who sits supreme over all. 

In the brief and inconspicuous "convention" in Solomon s Porch a principle was laid down which formulated for all time the right relations of civil and ecclesiastical authority. In the proposition, "Render unto Cesar the things which are Caesar s and unto God the things which are God s," the fact is fairly stated that Church and State are co-ordinate powers; that they are interdependent, yet independent each of the other, since they proceed along distinct lines; that they rest on mutual support and are entitled to loyal following, since both alike are ordained of God. 

The last meeting of Christ and Caesar was in the judgment hall. "And Pilate saith unto Jesus, Art thou a king? He answered, Thou sayest it; to this end was I born and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness of the truth. And Pilate brought Jesus forth and sat down in the judgment seat in the place that is called Gabbatha; and he said, Behold your king! But they cried out, Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him! Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your king? They answered, We have no king but Caesar. Then delivered he him unto them to be crucified. And Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." 

Thus the issue was fairly drawn; they would have no king but Caesar. And Jesus submitted. He bowed his head to the powers that be. For three mortal hours, hung up between heaven and earth, he bore the shame and agony; then with a fluttering sigh yielded up the ghost. 

Defeat! Manifest defeat! Nay; he did but stoop to conquer. Had he not said, "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit"? Wait. Today, tomorrow and the day following, and then he will be perfected! He breaks the bands of death and ascends on high, taking captivity captive. The veil is drawn and, lo, yonder he sits upon his throne high and lifted up, saying, "Fear not; I am he that liveth and was dead, and, behold, I am alive forevermore!"  Alive? Ay, witness the nineteen centuries of Christian progress. He is alive, as no other historic personage is alive, in the councils of nations and of men. As the white plume of Henry of Navarre was ever to be seen in the forefront of battle, so are the presence and power of Jesus manifest in the conflicts of the ages. 

And now at the end of the years we stand again at the watch-tower calling, "Watchman, what of the night?" 

And the watchman answers, "The night lingers, but the shadows flee!" 

"And what of Csesar?" 

"An empty name!" 

"What of Rome and the Great Powers?" 

"One by one they flourish and are gone!" 

"What of the Church?" 

"Glorious things of thee are spoken, Zion, city of our God !" 

"And, watchman, what of Christ?" 

"He goeth forth conquering and to conquer! The head that once was crowned with thorns is crowned with glory now. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and his dominion is for ever and ever." 

The end should have been seen from the beginning. It is vain to fight against God. The Child sits upon his throne of power and the hearts of the mighties are in his hands as the rivers of water. He came to establish his king dom on earth; and he will not forbear until he reigns universally. 

Can we read history in the light of the Incarnation? If not, the lines are blurred before our eyes. The logic of events is as meaningless as were the scars and fissures on the rocks until a scientist came, saying, "Once upon a time a glacier passed this way." So the philosophy of history clears up when men look toward Bethlehem and say, "Behold, the invasion!" In the light of that stupendous event we are able not only to read old chronicles, but to discern the signs of the times. All the incidents of these nineteen centuries array themselves in lines converging toward the final conquest of the world by Christ.

What then? The part of reason is manifestly to fall in with the advance. The silver trumpet calls. The Rider on the white horse leads his militant host to victory. Armageddon is near. Gog and Magog to the fray! It is Christ against Caesar. It is truth against error. It is light against darkness. It is freedom against tyranny. It is the Golden Age against the dark 
ages. It is heaven against hell. 

Where do we stand? Under what King, the Child or the Emperor? 

An Easy Way to Serve God? (and other devotionals)

Are You Looking for an Easy Way to Serve God?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“…and run with patience the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1c

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

The word “patience” here doesn’t mean the ability to thread a needle, but literally means “endurance.” It means bearing up under some load, some challenge.

Are you looking for an easy way, a cheap way, a lazy way to serve God? All honey and no bees? A life of ease? You just want to say, “O, I’m so happy in Jesus.” Listen, this business of running this race means that you’re going to be at it with all of your heart.

You may be on a sick bed or in a wheelchair. But none is excluded. We are to run with endurance. When you watch someone running, do you notice how intense he is? If you’re in this race, you need to pray over it, you need to weep over it, you need to study over it, you need to work over it.

ACTION POINT:

This matter of being saved and running the race is a full-time occupation. God does business with those who mean business. 

~Adrian Rogers~

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The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? (John 18:11)

This was a greater thing to say and do than to calm the seas or raise the dead. Prophets and apostles could work wondrous miracles, but they could not always do and suffer the will of God. To do and suffer God's will is still the highest form of faith, the most sublime Christian achievement.

To have the bright aspirations of a young life forever blasted; to bear a daily burden never congenial and to see no relief; to be pinched by poverty when you only desire a competency for the good and comfort of loved ones; to be fettered by some incurable physical disability; to be stripped bare of loved ones until you stand alone to meet the shocks of life--to be able to say in such a school of discipline, "The cup which my Father has given me, shall I not drink it?'--this is faith at its highest and spiritual success at the crowning point.

Great faith is exhibited not so much in ability to do as to suffer.
--Dr. Charles Parkhurst

To have a sympathizing God we must have a suffering Saviour, and there is no true fellow-feeling with another save in the heart of him who has been afflicted like him. We cannot do good to others save at a cost to ourselves, and our afflictions are the price we pay for our ability to sympathize. He who would be a helper, must first be a sufferer. He who would be a saviour must somewhere and somehow have been upon a cross; and we cannot have the highest happiness of life in succoring others without tasting the cup which Jesus drank, and submitting to the baptism wherewith He was baptized.

The most comforting of David's psalms were pressed out by suffering; and if Paul had not had his thorn in the flesh we had missed much of that tenderness which quivers in so many of his letters.

The present circumstance, which presses so hard against you (if surrendered to Christ), is the best shaped tool in the Father's hand to chisel you for eternity. Trust Him, then. Do not push away the instrument lest you lose its work.

Strange and difficult indeed
We may find it,
But the blessing that we need
Is behind it.

The school of suffering graduates rare scholars.

~L. B. Cowman~

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Heavy-Duty Shoes

"Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be"   (Deuteronomy 33:25).

Here are two things provided for the pilgrim: shoes and strength.

As for the shoes: they are very needful for traveling along rough ways and for trampling upon deadly foes. We shall not go barefoot -- this would not be suitable for princes of the blood royal. Our shoes shall not be at all of the common sort, for they shall have soles of durable metal, which will not wear out even if the journey be long and difficult. We shall have protection proportionate to the necessities of the road and the battle. Wherefore let us march boldly on, fearing no harm even though we tread on serpents or set our foot upon the dragon himself.

As for the strength: it shall be continued as long as our days shall continue, and it shall be proportioned to the stress and burden of those days. The words are few, "as thy days thy strength," but the meaning is full. This day we may look for trial, and for work which will require energy, but we may just as confidently look for equal strength. This word given to Asher is given to us also who have faith wherewith to appropriate it. Let us rise to the holy boldness which it is calculated to create within the believing heart.

~Charles Spurgeon~

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Climbing out of the Mire

Our souls cannot climb out of the mire of sin because they are dead. Salvation comes not to those who cry out, "Show me the way to heaven," but to those who cry, "Take me there for I cannot."

Lest we see the sinner's prayer as mere technique, we must remember that Christ raises the dead that they might walk. We do not mumble the magic words and then wait to die. Christianity is about spiritual growth as well. It is about work, the hard work of sanctification. Regeneration is monergistic, God's work alone. Sanctification, the process by which we are made holy, is synergistic, God's work with us.

God's part is easy for Him. He needs no shortcuts because He never tires. We, though, must ever fight the temptation to seek the shortcut. No technique will make us holy. No technique of the Devil's, though, can stop the process of Christ making us into His image. Those whom He calls He sanctifies.

Our sanctification requires the Spirit of God and, because He has so ordered His world, sanctification requires the disciplined and repeated use of the means of grace. Five minutes a day of Bible study smells like technique. Arid, it is sure to fail. We must immerse ourselves in the Word of God. Then, as Jesus promised, we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. Then we will be His disciples (John 8:31-32).

Coram Deo: Living in the Presence of God

Remember, God is at work in you. He never tires. Give thanks for the process that is underway.

For Further Study 

John 8:31-32: "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'"
John 8:36: "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."
Psalm 40:2: "He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps."

~R. C. Sproul~

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Deuteronomy 5:24

The Lord our God hath shewed us His glory.

God's great design in all His works is the manifestation of His own glory. Any aim less than this were unworthy of Himself. But how shall the glory of God be manifested to such fallen creatures as we are? Man's eye is not single, he has ever a side glance towards his own honour, has too high an estimate of his own powers, and so is not qualified to behold the glory of the Lord. It is clear, then, that self must stand out of the way, that there may be room for God to be exalted; and this is the reason why He bringeth His people ofttimes into straits and difficulties, that, being made conscious of their own folly and weakness, they may be fitted to behold the majesty of God when He comes forth to work their deliverance. He whose life is one even and smooth path, will see but little of the glory of the Lord, for he has few occasions of self-emptying, and hence, but little fitness for being filled with the revelation of God. They who navigate little streams and shallow creeks, know but little of the God of tempests; but they who "do business in great waters," these see His "wonders in the deep." Among the huge Atlantic-waves of bereavement, poverty, temptation, and reproach, we learn the power of Jehovah, because we feel the littleness of man. Thank God, then, if you have been led by a rough road: it is this which has given you your experience of God's greatness and lovingkindness. Your troubles have enriched you with a wealth of knowledge to be gained by no other means: your trials have been the cleft of the rock in which Jehovah has set you, as He did His servant Moses, that you might behold His glory as it passed by. Praise God that you have not been left to the darkness and ignorance which continued prosperity might have involved, but that in the great fight of affliction, you have been capacitated for the outshinings of His glory in His wonderful dealings with you.

~Charles Spurgeon~