Milo

July 15

“This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4.)

It is easy to love Him when the blue is in the sky,
When summer winds are blowing, and we smell the roses nigh;
There is little effort needed to obey His precious will
When it leads through flower-decked valley, or over sun-kissed hill.

It is when the rain is falling, or the mist hangs in the air,
When the road is dark and rugged, and the wind no longer fair,
When the rosy dawn has settled in a shadowland of gray,
That we find it hard to trust Him, and are slower to obey.

It is easy to trust Him when the singing birds have come,
And their canticles are echoed in our heart and in our home;
But ’tis when we miss the music, and the days are dull and drear,
That we need a faith triumphant over every doubt and fear.

And our blessed Lord will give it; what we lack He will supply;
Let us ask in faith believing—on His promises rely;
He will ever be our Leader, whether smooth or rough the way,
And will prove Himself sufficient for the needs of every day.

To trust in spite of the look of being forsaken; to keep crying out into the vast, whence comes no returning voice, and where seems no hearing; to see the machinery of the world pauselessly grinding on as if self-moved, caring for no life, nor shifting a hair-breadth for all entreaty, and yet believe that God is awake and utterly loving; to desire nothing but what comes meant for us from His hand; to wait patiently, ready to die of hunger, fearing only lest faith should fail—such is the victory that overcometh the world, such is faith indeed.
—George MacDonald.

15 JULY

Prayer from the heart

‘And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!’ Genesis 17:18
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Genesis 17:1–22

The Lord was now confirming his covenant to Abraham and assuring him of the promised son, in whom he should be a father of many nations. But he had another son, and embraces the occasion of speaking for him likewise.
Observe from the occasion: faith takes encouragement, when much is given or promised, to ask the more. So he gains upon the Lord, as it were, in the next chapter, every time he speaks. We are not straitened in the Lord; were we not in ourselves, we should see great things. What lies near the heart will be spread before the Lord in prayer in an hour of liberty. It is our duty to pray—and too often believers have little else to prompt them to it. Their spirits are dry, and they deal mostly in generals, but there are favoured seasons when the soul comes near to the Lord and then can open all its particular desires. These are golden hours; one such is preferable to a thousand. The sun in its course beholds nothing more honourable than this: a worm of dust holding conference with the great God.

And dost thou say, ‘Ask what thou wilt’?
More of thy presence, LORD, impart,
LORD, I would seize the golden hour;
More of thine image let me bear;
I pray to be released from guilt,
Erect thy throne within my heart,
And freed from sin and Satan’s power.
And reign without a rival there.

FOR MEDITATION: He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Go then with this promise to the throne of grace—pray first to know your own state and wants and to have your desires moulded by his Word and will, and then be careful about nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication make your request known unto God. And you shall not pray in vain. He that spared not his own Son will freely give you every thing else—grace, peace, wisdom, provision and protection.
Sermon on Romans 8:32, The Searcher of Hearts

SERMON SERIES: GENESIS, NO. 36 [1/1], GENESIS 17:18

July 14th

The account with persecution

But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. Matthew 5:39, etc.

These verses reveal the humiliation of being a Christian. Naturally, if a man does not hit back, it is because he is a coward; but spiritually if a man does not hit back, it is a manifestation of the Son of God in him. When you are insulted, you must not only not resent it, but make it an occasion to exhibit the Son of God. You cannot imitate the disposition of Jesus; it is either there or it is not. To the saint personal insult becomes the occasion of revealing the incredible sweetness of the Lord Jesus.
The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is not—Do your duty, but—Do what is not your duty. It is not your duty to go the second mile, to turn the other cheek, but Jesus says if we are His disciples, we shall always do these things. There will be no spirit of—‘Oh well, I cannot do any more, I have been so misrepresented and misunderstood.’ Every time I insist upon my rights, I hurt the Son of God; whereas I can prevent Jesus from being hurt if I take the blow myself. That is the meaning of filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ. The disciple realizes that it is his Lord’s honour that is at stake in his life, not his own honour.
Never look for right in the other man, but never cease to be right yourself. We are always looking for justice; the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is—Never look for justice, but never cease to give it.

July 14

“Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.” (Psalm 118:27.)

IS not this altar inviting thee? Shall we not ask to be bound to it, that we may never be able to start back from our attitude of consecration? There are times when life is full of roseate light, and we choose the Cross; at other times, when the sky is grey, we shrink from it. It is well to be bound.
Wilt Thou bind us, most blessed Spirit, and enamor us with the Cross, and let us never leave it? Bind us with the scarlet cord of redemption, and the golden cord of love, and the silver cord of Advent-hope, so we will not go back from it, or wish for another lot than to be the humble partners with our Lord in His pain and sorrow!
The horns of the altar invite thee. Wilt thou come? Wilt thou dwell ever in a spirit of resigned humility, and give thy self wholly to the Lord?—Selected.
The story is told of a colored brother who, at a camp meeting, tried to give himself to God. Every night at the altar he consecrated himself; but every night before he left the meeting, the devil would come to him and convince him that he did not feel any different and therefore he was not consecrated.
Again and again he was beaten back by the adversary. Finally, one evening he came to the meeting with an axe and a big stake. After consecrating himself, he drove the stake into the ground just where he had knelt. As he was leaving the building, the devil came to him as usual and tried to make him believe that it was all a farce.
At once he went back to the stake and, pointing to it, said, “Look here, Mr. Devil, do you see that stake? Well, that’s my witness that God has forever accepted me.” Immediately the devil left him, and he had no further doubts on the subject.
—The Still Small Voice.
Beloved, if you are tempted to doubt the finality of your consecration, drive a stake down somewhere and let it be your witness before God and even the devil that you have settled the question forever.

Are you groping for a blessing,
  Never getting there?
Listen to a word in season,
  Get somewhere.

Are you struggling for salvation
  By your anxious prayer?
Stop your struggling, simply trust, and—
  Get somewhere.

Does the answer seem to linger
  To your earnest prayer?
Turn your praying into praise, and—
  Get somewhere.

You will never know His fulness
  Till you boldly dare
To commit your all to Him, and—
  Get somewhere.

—Songs of the Spirit.

14 JULY (VERSE 32 PREACHED 13 JULY 1777)

Drawn through the cross

‘And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.’ John 12:32–33
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: John 6:35–51

If … I will draw all men unto me. On this clause a few remarks—much is implied in it:
(i) that men are by nature at a distance from God (for in drawing to himself he draws to God—there is no other way to the Father). We are far from the knowledge of God, from his love, from communion with him.
(ii) that men are unable to come to God of themselves—they must be drawn, as in Song of Solomon 1:4; unable in every sense, but especially because unwilling—their carnal hearts are enmity.
(iii) the knowledge of Christ crucified is the effectual and only effectual means to draw sinners to God. The heart will stand it out against every other motive and argument, but not against this, which is spiritually revealed.
(iv) multitudes who call themselves Christians, though they know as a fact that Christ was crucified, yet have not the knowledge of it aright, because they are not drawn to him.
(v) the Lord’s people are drawn, that is, made willing; they do not serve him by constraint. Their hearts are won by the display of love, wisdom and grace manifested in his lifting up upon the cross. This gives them right views of God, of sin, of themselves.
(vi) they whom Christ draws, he draws to himself. This precious promise looks not only to the beginning, but the accomplishment of the work. His love will persevere till it has drawn them safe through all dangers and difficulties and brought them home to his kingdom.

FOR MEDITATION: The expression all men denotes not all universally, but some of all sorts—not the Jews only, but Gentiles also—young and old, rich and poor, of many nations, in various circumstances—so that none who feel their need of him and look to him as lifted up, have reason to think themselves excluded. They are invited without exception, with an assurance that he will in no wise cast them out.

SERMON: JOHN 12:32–33 [2/2]