Milo

July 5

“I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness … And I will give her her vineyards from thence.”
(Hosea 2:14, 15.)

A STRANGE place to find vineyards—in the wilderness! And can it be that the riches which a soul needs can be obtained in the wilderness, which stands for a lonely place, out of which you can seldom find your way? It would seem so, and not only that, but the “Valley of Achor,” which means bitterness, is called a door of hope. And she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth!
Yes, God knows our need of the wilderness experience. He knows where and how to bring out that which is enduring. The soul has been idolatrous, rebellious; has forgotten God, and with a perfect self-will has said, “I will follow after my lovers.” But she did not overtake them. And, when she was hopeless and forsaken, God said, “I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.” What a loving God is ours!—Crumbs.
We never know where God hides His pools. We see a rock, and we cannot guess it is the home of the spring. We see a flinty place, and we cannot tell it is the hiding place of a fountain. God leads me into the hard places, and then I find I have gone into the dwelling place of eternal springs.—Selected.

5 JULY

Heart failure

‘And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.’ Genesis 4:3–5
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Acts 5:1–11

You see, Cain’s religion was a bargain. He thought it no small matter that he would submit to bring a little of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. He expected to be highly commended and rewarded for it. And when he found that the Lord did not think so well of him as he did of himself, he was wroth, as if some great injury had been done. He disdained that Abel should be preferred to him, and upon this account he hated him and at length embraced his hands in his blood. You see then, under the appearance of Cain’s religion there was hid disobedience and pride in the sight of God, and hatred and malice against his brother. What wonder then, that it should be said of the Lord, who searcheth the heart, that to Cain and his offering he had not respect. This is the very picture of the spirit of self-righteousness in all ages—thus it acts towards God, opposing his will and yet expecting his favour—and thus it acts towards man, who dare not offer a service or allow themselves in a hope, but through the blood and mediation of Jesus. Be assured that the principles of Cain and Abel divide this assembly. If you are of Cain’s religion you have Cain’s spirit—you never found comfort in your way, and you are angry with those who hold to it in another way. Therefore you despise, perhaps revile, and probably if all restraints were taken away, you would think to do God service by putting those to death whom he loves.
But happy are you who are seeking salvation in Abel’s way, by blood—the blood of Jesus. It cleanseth from all sin [1 John 1:7]. He is able to save to the uttermost [Hebrews 7:25]. Believe and you shall be saved [Luke 8:12].
FOR MEDITATION:
The sacrifice the Lord ordained
Yet rage and envy filled his mind,
In type of the Redeemer’s blood,
When, with a sullen, downcast look,
Self-righteous reasoning Cain disdained,
He saw his brother favour find,
And thought his own first-fruits as good.
Who GOD’S appointed method took.

SERMON SERIES: GENESIS, NO. 11 [4/4], GENESIS 4:3–5

July 4th

One of God’s great don’ts

Fret not thyself, it tendeth only to evil doing. Psalm 37:8 (R.V.).

Fretting means getting out at elbows mentally or spiritually. It is one thing to say ‘Fret not,’ but a very different thing to have such a disposition that you find yourself able not to fret. It sounds so easy to talk about “resting in the Lord” and “waiting patiently for Him” until the nest is upset—until we live, as so many are doing, in tumult and anguish, is it possible then to rest in the Lord? If this ‘don’t’ does not work there, it will work nowhere. This ‘don’t’ must work in days of perplexity as well as in days of peace, or it never will work. And if it will not work in your particular case, it will not work in anyone else’s case. Resting in the Lord does not depend on external circumstances at all, but on your relationship to God Himself.
Fussing always ends in sin. We imagine that a little anxiety and worry are an indication of how really wise we are; it is much more an indication of how really wicked we are. Fretting springs from a determination to get our own way. Our Lord never worried and He was never anxious, because He was not ‘out’ to realize His own ideas; He was ‘out’ to realize God’s ideas. Fretting is wicked if you are a child of God.
Have you been bolstering up that stupid soul of yours with the idea that your circumstances are too much for God? Put all ‘supposing’ on one side and dwell in the shadow of the Almighty. Deliberately tell God that you will not fret about that thing. All our fret and worry is caused by calculating without God.

July 4

“For the vision is yet for an appointed time … though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” (Hab. 2:3.)

IN the charming little booklet, Expectation Corner, Adam Slowman was led into the Lord’s treasure houses, and among many other wonders there revealed to him was the “Delayed Blessings Office,” where God kept certain things, prayed for, until the wise time came to send them.
It takes a long time for some pensioners to learn that delays are not denials. Ah, there are secrets of love and wisdom in the “Delayed Blessings Department,” which are little dreamt of! Men would pluck their mercies green when the Lord would have them ripe. “Therefore will the Lord WAIT, that He may be gracious unto you” (Isa. 30:18). He is watching in the hard places and will not allow one trial too many; He will let the dross be consumed, and then He will come gloriously to your help.
Do not grieve Him by doubting His love. Nay, lift up your head, and begin to praise Him even now for the deliverance which is on the way to you, and you will be abundantly rewarded for the delay which has tried your faith.

O Thou of little faith,
  God hath not failed thee yet!
When all looks dark and gloomy,
  Thou dost so soon forget—

Forget that He has led thee,
  And gently cleared thy way;
On clouds has poured His sunshine,
  And turned thy night to day.

And if He’s helped thee hitherto,
  He will not fail thee now;
How it must wound His loving heart
  To see thy anxious brow!

Oh! doubt not any longer,
  To Him commit thy way,
Whom in the past thou trusted,
  And is “just the same today.”

—Selected.

4 JULY

A more excellent sacrifice

‘And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.’ Genesis 4:3–5
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Matthew 26:17–30

Let us consider Cain’s offering a little more attentively and we shall perhaps see that in the nature of things it was utterly impossible that such an offering and such a worshipper could be accepted by a God of truth and holiness. For we read that God clothed our first parents with the skins of beasts—and here, of Abel’s sacrifices. Bloody sacrifices were doubtless instituted when God gave the promise of a Saviour, and his death was shown forth in type till he appeared in the flesh to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. That without shedding of blood there is no remission [Hebrews 9:22], was a truth taught fallen man from the beginning. To this Abel conformed, and therefore is said by faith to have offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, who seems to have made light of the divine appointment of blood and to have presented his offering rather as a natural homage to God as his Creator, than to come in a prescribed way as a poor sinner to plead for mercy. This should be well considered. We have too many like Cain, who affront God while they pretend to worshipping, making light of the prescriptions of his Word; putting a slight upon the blood of Jesus, they presume to serve him with inventions of their own. God will accept nothing from us, but what has the sanction and warrant of his own Word.

FOR MEDITATION: ‘By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh’ (Hebrews 11:4).
‘And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins’ (Matthew 26:27–28).

SERMON SERIES: GENESIS, NO. 11 [3/4], GENESIS 4:3–5