“Gather not my soul with sinners.” — Psalm 26:9 Fear made David pray thus, for something whispered, “Perhaps, after all, thou mayst be gathered with the wicked.” That fear, although marred by unbelief, springs, in the main, from holy anxiety, arising from the recollection of past sin. Even the pardoned man will enquire, “What if […]

“I will rejoice over them to do them good.” — Jeremiah 32:41 How heart-cheering to the believer is the delight which God has in His saints! We cannot see any reason in ourselves why the Lord should take pleasure in us; we cannot take delight in ourselves, for we often have to groan, being burdened; […]

“In the evening withhold not thy hand.” — Ecclesiastes 11:6 In the evening of the day opportunities are plentiful: men return from their labour, and the zealous soul-winner finds time to tell abroad the love of Jesus. Have I no evening work for Jesus? If I have not, let me no longer withhold my hand […]

“For this child I prayed.” — 1 Samuel 1:27 Devout souls delight to look upon those mercies which they have obtained in answer to supplication, for they can see God’s especial love in them. When we can name our blessings Samuel, that is, “asked of God,” they will be as dear to us as her […]

“And they follow me.” — John 10:27 We should follow our Lord as unhesitatingly as sheep follow their shepherd, for He has a right to lead us wherever He pleases. We are not our own, we are bought with a price — let us recognize the rights of the redeeming blood. The soldier follows his […]

“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” — Galatians 5:25 The two most important things in our holy religion are the life of faith and the walk of faith. He who shall rightly understand these is not far from being a master in experimental theology, for they are vital […]

“Encourage him.” — Deuteronomy 1:38 God employs His people to encourage one another. He did not say to an angel, “Gabriel, my servant Joshua is about to lead my people into Canaan — go, encourage him.” God never works needless miracles; if His purposes can be accomplished by ordinary means, He will not use miraculous […]

“Bring him unto me.” — Mark 9:19 Despairingly the poor disappointed father turned away from the disciples to their Master. His son was in the worst possible condition, and all means had failed, but the miserable child was soon delivered from the evil one when the parent in faith obeyed the Lord Jesus’ word, “Bring […]

“am I a sea, or a whale, that Thou settest a watch over me?” — Job 7:12 This was a strange question for Job to ask of the Lord. He felt himself to be too insignificant to be so strictly watched and chastened, and he hoped that he was not so unruly as to need […]

“Partakers of the divine nature.” — 2 Peter 1:4 To be a partaker of the divine nature is not, of course, to become God. That cannot be. The essence of Deity is not to be participated in by the creature. Between the creature and the Creator there must ever be a gulf fixed in respect […]