“With thee is the fountain of life.”
— Psalms 36:9
There are times in our spiritual experience when human counsel or
sympathy, or religious ordinances, fail to comfort or help us. Why does
our gracious God permit this? Perhaps it is because we have been living
too much without him, and he therefore takes away everything upon which
we have been in the habit of depending, that he may drive us to
himself. It is a blessed thing to live at the fountain head. While our
skin- bottles are full, we are content, like Hagar and Ishmael, to go
into the wilderness; but when those are dry, nothing will serve us but
“Thou God seest me.” We are like the prodigal, we love the
swine-troughs and forget our Father’s house. Remember, we can make
swine-troughs and husks even out of the forms of religion; they are
blessed things, but we may put them in God’s place, and then they are
of no value. Anything becomes an idol when it keeps us away from God:
even the brazen serpent is to be despised as “Nehushtan,” if we worship
it instead of God. The prodigal was never safer than when he was driven
to his father’s bosom, because he could find sustenance nowhere else.
Our Lord favours us with a famine in the land that it may make us seek
after himself the more. The best position for a Christian is living
wholly and directly on God’s grace-still abiding where he stood at
first-“Having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” Let us never for
a moment think that our standing is in our sanctification, our
mortification, our graces, or our feelings, but know that because
Christ offered a full atonement, therefore we are saved; for we are
complete in him. Having nothing of our own to trust to, but resting
upon the merits of Jesus-his passion and holy life furnish us with the
only sure ground of confidence. Beloved, when we are brought to a
thirsting condition, we are sure to turn to the fountain of life with
eagerness.
On this day...
- April 1, 2014 - 2014
- 1 John 4:14 - 2011
- INTERCESSORY INTROSPECTION - 2009
- No Little Failures - 2009
- Stand for Christ - 2008
- THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE EXECUTIVE APOCALYPSE - 2008
- VISION BY PERSONAL PURITY - 2008
- COULD THIS BE TRUE OF ME? - 2008
- Love Rules - 2007
- Proverb 16:21 - 2007
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