Milo

May 23

“At their wit’s end, they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out.” (Psalm 107:27, 28.)

Are you standing at “Wit’s End Corner,”
  Christian, with troubled brow?
Are you thinking of what is before you,
  And all you are bearing now?
Does all the world seem against you,
  And you in the battle alone?
Remember—at “Wit’s End Corner”
  Is just where God’s power is shown.

Are you standing at “Wit’s End Corner,”
  Blinded with wearying pain,
Feeling you cannot endure it,
  You cannot bear the strain,
Bruised through the constant suffering,
  Dizzy, and dazed, and numb?
Remember—at “Wit’s End Corner”
  Is where Jesus loves to come.

Are you standing at “Wit’s End Corner”?
  Your work before you spread,
All lying begun, unfinished,
  And pressing on heart and head,
Longing for strength to do it,
  Stretching out trembling hands?
Remember—at “Wit’s End Corner”
  The Burden-bearer stands.


Are you standing at “Wit’s End Corner”?
  Then you’re just in the very spot
To learn the wondrous resources
  Of Him who faileth not
No doubt to a brighter pathway
  Your footsteps will soon be moved,
But only at “Wit’s End Corner”
  Is the “God who is able” proved.

—Antoinette Wilson.

Do not get discouraged; it may be the last key in the bunch that opens the door.—Stansifer.

23 MAY

The promise

‘And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.’ Genesis 12:2–3
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Galatians 3:1–18

From the consideration of God’s command [in verse 1] we are led to the promise. For when the Lord calls his people out of the world, he does not bid them forsake all for nothing. A mistake in this point is the reason why they are pitied because they no longer run in the same excess of riot. So children might affect to pity grown people because they are no longer pleased with their childish sports. A part of this promise was personally to Abraham, that he should be the father of a great nation, and that in him—that is to say, as it is elsewhere expressed, in his seed—all the families of the earth should be blessed. This St Paul applies to Christ (Galatians 3). Here the promise first given in general terms, of a seed of the woman, is restrained to One of Abraham’s posterity and it was his especial honour and privilege to be the head of God’s chosen people and the root from whence, according to the flesh, the Saviour of men should spring. Here Abraham began to see the day of Christ, and it was by faith in him, who in the fullness of time was to descend from him, that the covenant was established to Abraham himself.

FOR MEDITATION: ‘A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah, … Jesse was the father of David the king, … the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ’ (Matthew 1:1–2, 16, NIV).
‘Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all’ (Romans 4:16 NIV).

SERMON SERIES: GENESIS, NO. 23 [1/3], GENESIS 12:2

May 22nd

Now this explains it

That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us. John 17:21.

If you are going through a solitary way, read John 17, it will explain exactly why you are where you are—Jesus has prayed that you may be one with the Father as He is. Are you helping God to answer that prayer, or have you some other end for your life? Since you became a disciple you cannot be as independent as you used to be.
The purpose of God is not to answer our prayers, but by our prayers we come to discern the mind of God, and this is revealed in John 17. There is one prayer God must answer, and that is the prayer of Jesus—“that they may be one, even as We are one.” Are we as close to Jesus Christ as that?
God is not concerned about our plans; He does not say—‘Do you want to go through this bereavement; this upset?’ He allows these things for His own purpose. The things we are going through are either making us sweeter, better, nobler men and women; or they are making us more captious and fault-finding, more insistent upon our own way. The things that happen either make us fiends, or they make us saints; it depends entirely upon the relationship we are in to God. If we say—“Thy will be done,” we get the consolation of John 17, the consolation of knowing that our Father is working according to His own wisdom. When we understand what God is after we will not get mean and cynical. Jesus has prayed nothing less for us than absolute oneness with Himself as He was one with the Father. Some of us are far off it, and yet God will not leave us alone until we are one with Him, because Jesus has prayed that we may be.

May 22

“He worketh.” (Psalm 37:5.)

THE translation that we find in Young of “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass,” reads: “Roll upon Jehovah thy way; trust upon him: and he worketh.”
It calls our attention to the immediate action of God when we truly commit, or roll out of our hands into His, the burden of whatever kind it may be; a way of sorrow, of difficulty, of physical need, or of anxiety for the conversion of some dear one.
“He worketh.” When? Now. We are so in danger of postponing our expectation of His acceptance of the trust, and His undertaking to accomplish what we ask Him to do, instead of saying as we commit, “He worketh.” “He worketh” even now; and praise Him that it is so.
The very expectancy enables the Holy Spirit to do the very thing we have rolled upon Him. It is out of our reach. We are not trying to do it any more. “He worketh!”
Let us take the comfort out of it and not put our hands on it again. Oh, what a relief it brings! He is really working on the difficulty.
But someone may say, “I see no results.” Never mind. “He worketh,” if you have rolled it over and are looking to Jesus to do it. Faith may be tested, but “He worketh”; the Word is sure!—V. H. F.

“I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.” (Psalm 57:2.)
The beautiful old translation says, “He shall perform the cause which I have in hand.” Does not that make it very real to us today? Just the very thing that “I have in hand”—my own particular bit of work today, this cause that I cannot manage, this thing that I undertook in miscalculation of my own powers—this is what I may ask Him to do “for me,” and rest assured that He will perform it. “The wise and their works are in the hands of God.”—Havergal.

The Lord will go through with His covenant engagements. Whatever He takes in hand He will accomplish; hence past mercies are guarantees for the future and admirable reasons for continuing to cry unto Him.—C. H. Spurgeon.

22 MAY

Called to leave

‘Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee.’ Genesis 12:1
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Matthew 10:32–39

The Lord called Abraham to leave his father’s house. By this is signified the effect of a gracious call: it will suffer a person no longer to remain in the love and practices of a wicked world, but to separate in these things from their nearest and dearest friends if they walk not in the Lord’s ways—not literally to forsake their houses, but to hold no more communion with them in sin. This is the first visible effect of his call. A change appears in their conversation and conduct. He gives them a sight of the evil and danger of sin, and of his own glory, and thus he makes them willing in the day of his power [Psalm 110:3]. It was doubtless a trial to Abraham’s natural affections to forsake his family, and many of his people have no less trial while they live with them. When a person’s foes begin to be of their own household, when parents or children, the wife of the bosom, or a friend who is as one’s own soul, shall employ all their influence, persuasions, promises, threats, kindness, unkindness, pity and surly turns, to persuade the soul whom the Lord has called, to disobey his call, this is very hard to flesh and blood.
Abraham knew not particulars, but he might be well assured that as the Lord called him he should gain by the exchange. He knew not wither he went, but he knew whom he followed, and therefore he consulted not with flesh and blood. Do you likewise. The Lord whom you serve is able to make you amends.… Go you forth at his command, live upon him for today, trust in him for tomorrow.…
FOR MEDITATION:
His call we obey
No strength of our own,
Like Abram of old,
Or goodness we claim,
Not knowing our way,
Yet since we have known
But faith makes us bold;
The Saviour’s great name;
For though we are strangers
In this our strong tower
We have a good Guide,
For safety we hide,
And trust in all dangers,
The LORD is our power,
The LORD will provide.
The LORD will provide.

SERMON SERIES: GENESIS, NO. 22 [3/3], GENESIS 12:1ff.