“He that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.”
— Ecclesiastes 10:9

Oppressors may get their will of poor and needy men as easily as they
can split logs of wood, but they had better mind, for it is a dangerous
business, and a splinter from a tree has often killed the woodman.
Jesus is persecuted in every injured saint, and he is mighty to avenge
his beloved ones. Success in treading down the poor and needy is a
thing to be trembled at: if there be no danger to persecutors here
there will be great danger hereafter.

To cleave wood is a common every-day business, and yet it has its
dangers; so then, reader, there are dangers connected with your calling
and daily life which it will be well for you to be aware of. We refer
not to hazards by flood and field, or by disease and sudden death, but
to perils of a spiritual sort. Your occupation may be as humble as log
splitting, and yet the devil can tempt you in it. You may be a domestic
servant, a farm labourer, or a mechanic, and you may be greatly
screened from temptations to the grosser vices, and yet some secret sin
may do you damage. Those who dwell at home, and mingle not with the
rough world, may yet be endangered by their very seclusion. Nowhere is
he safe who thinks himself so. Pride may enter a poor man’s heart;
avarice may reign in a cottager’s bosom; uncleanness may venture into
the quietest home; and anger, and envy, and malice may insinuate
themselves into the most rural abode. Even in speaking a few words to a
servant we may sin; a little purchase at a shop may be the first link
in a chain of temptations; the mere looking out of a window may be the
beginning of evil. O Lord, how exposed we are! How shall we be secured!
To keep ourselves is work too hard for us: only thou thyself art able
to preserve us in such a world of evils. Spread thy wings over us, and
we, like little chickens, will cower down beneath thee, and feel
ourselves safe!

On this day...

• Ezra 3 - 2023
• Ezra 2 - 2023
• Begin seeking God's approval - 2011
• 1 Peter 3:21 - 2011
• Galatians 2 - 2011
• The Providence of God In ‘Sudden Alterations’ - 2011
• Behold, He Cometh - 2011
• Look to Christ and meditate on the cross - 2011
• I love to see holy mirth - 2011
• Look to Christ and meditate on the cross. Then, go and set your affections on the world if you can - 2011