March 10
Morning
"In my prosperity I said I shall never be moved." — Psa_30:6
"Moab settled on his lees, he hath not been emptied from vessel to
vessel." Give a man wealth; let his ships bring home continually rich
freights; let the winds and waves appear to be his servants to bear his vessels
across the bosom of the mighty deep; let his lands yield abundantly: let the
weather be propitious to his crops; let uninterrupted success attend him; let
him stand among men as a successful merchant; let him enjoy continued health; allow
him with braced nerve and brilliant eye to march through the world, and live
happily; give him the buoyant spirit; let him have the song perpetually on his
lips; let his eye be ever sparkling with joy-and the natural consequence of
such an easy state to any man, let him be the best Christian who ever breathed,
will be presumption; even David said, "I shall never be moved;" and
we are not better than David, nor half so good. Brother, beware of the smooth
places of the way; if you are treading them, or if the way be rough, thank God
for it. If God should always rock us in the cradle of prosperity; if we were
always dandled on the knees of fortune; if we had not some stain on the
alabaster pillar; if there were not a few clouds in the sky; if we had not some
bitter drops in the wine of this life, we should become intoxicated with
pleasure, we should dream "we stand;" and stand we should, but it
would be upon a pinnacle; like the man asleep upon the mast, each moment we
should be in jeopardy.
We bless God, then, for our afflictions; we thank him for our changes;
we extol his name for losses of property; for we feel that had he not chastened
us thus, we might have become too secure. Continued worldly prosperity is a
fiery trial.
"Afflictions, though they seem severe,
In mercy oft are sent."
Reference
Verses
Psalms 30:6
And: Job_29:18-20;
Isa_47:7, Isa_56:12;
Dan_4:30; Luk_12:19;
2Co_12:7
I shall: Psa_15:5,
Psa_16:8, Psa_119:117
Daily Devotions.
Extract from
e-Sword- the sword of the LORD with an electronic edge.
Through the Bible Day by Day.(F.B Meyer)
Evening
"Man ... is of few days, and full of trouble." — Job_14:1
It may be of great service to us, before we fall asleep, to remember
this mournful fact, for it may lead us to set loose by earthly things. There is
nothing very pleasant in the recollection that we are not above the shafts of
adversity, but it may humble us and prevent our boasting like the Psalmist in
our morning's portion. "My mountain standeth firm: I shall never be
moved." It may stay us from taking too deep root in this soil from which
we are so soon to be transplanted into the heavenly garden. Let us recollect
the frail tenure upon which we hold our temporal mercies. If we would remember
that all the trees of earth are marked for the woodman's axe, we should not be
so ready to build our nests in them. We should love, but we should love with
the love which expects death, and which reckons upon separations. Our dear
relations are but loaned to us, and the hour when we must return them to the
lender's hand may be even at the door. The like is certainly true of our
worldly goods. Do not riches take to themselves wings and fly away? Our health
is equally precarious. Frail flowers of the field, we must not reckon upon
blooming for ever. There is a time appointed for weakness and sickness, when we
shall have to glorify God by suffering, and not by earnest activity. There is
no single point in which we can hope to escape from the sharp arrows of
affliction; out of our few days there is not one secure from sorrow. Man's life
is a cask full of bitter wine; he who looks for joy in it had better seek for
honey in an ocean of brine. Beloved reader, set not your affections upon things
of earth: but seek those things which are above, for here the moth devoureth,
and the thief breaketh through, but there all joys are perpetual and eternal.
The path of trouble is the way home. Lord, make this thought a pillow for many
a weary head!
Reference
Verses
Job 14:1
born: Job_15:14,
Job_25:4; Psa_51:5;
Mat_11:11
of few days: Heb. short of days, Job_7:1, Job_7:6,
Job_9:25; Gen_47:9;
Psa_39:5
full: Job_5:7;
Ecc_2:17, Ecc_2:23
Daily Devotions.
Extract from
e-Sword- the sword of the LORD with an electronic edge.
Through the Bible Day by Day.(F.B Meyer)
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