July

IF any man lack wisdom, let Mm ask of God... and it shall he given Mm. — James 1: 5.

And that is the only place where this kind of wisdom can be found. God gives ideas. He guides the mind in judgment. He inspires our decisions. He leads us to the meanings of things, unveiling the secrets of the Lord.

0 Lord my God, I pray for Thy wisdom. Enlighten my mind by Thy counsels. Give me Thy thoughts about things. Help me to look at everything with the eyes of Jesus Christ. For His sake. Amen.

3UIS 2.

AND they sang the song of Moses and the Lamb.

—Revelation 15: 3.

Moses signifies emancipation from social bondage. The Lamb signifies emancipation from spiritual bondage. Moses stands for deliverance from wrong. The Lamb stands for deliverance from sin. Moses delivers from the Pharaoh outside man, the Lamb delivers from the devil within man.

0 Lord my God, let me not sing the song of Moses and be silent about the Lamb. Let me not be satisfied with outer reform when there is chaos within. Graciously liberate me from the secret tyranny in my soul. Endow me with the liberty of the glory of the children of God. For the Saviour’s sake. Amen.

5UIB 3.

ANB the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand. — Isaiah 8: 11.

That is one method of the divine leading, a grip like that of a powerful constable. This was the kind of leading that came to Saul as he journeyed to Damascus. It was the kind of violent arrest that lay hold of John Bunyan as he played on Elstow Green. Sometimes the violent leading takes the shape of a startling ministry of disappointment or affliction. The Lord grips and He shakes, but the ministry is governed by infinite mercy and love.

My Father God, I pray that Thy strong hand may lead me when I am in spiritual danger. Grip me even with violence if I am going astray. Let not the enemy snatch me to destruction. Speak to me with a hand that cannot be resisted, and keep my feet in the way of life. For Christ’s sake. Amen.

3uls 4.

THEY looked unto Him and were lightened, and

their faces were not ashamed. — Psalm 34: 5.

Whilst they worshipped they received light. Their minds were illumined while they gazed. They caught the ways of God, and they had a certain radiance of spirit which assured them that they had found the King’s will. Who can describe the gentle communion of souls in love with God?

0 Lord my God, I pray that my life may be lit up with Thy glory. Let me catch something of Thy brightness and reflect it in my daily life. Let every power shine in sacred consecration. Let every courtesy shine like a lamp along the road. Let Thy holy light be a secret grace in every part of my life. For the Saviour’s sake. Amen.

BnlV 5.

AFTER they were come to Mysia, they essayed to go into Bithynia, hut the Spirit suffered them not. — Acts 16: 7.

What kind of leading was this? It was leading by impediment. It was guidance by prohibition. It was the ministry of the closed door. There came to the apostle what the Quakers describe as a” Stop in the Mind.” God sometimes leads us by negations. The closed door is the indication of His will.

My Father in Heaven, help me to be sensitive to Thy restraints. Teach me how to interpret the closed door, get Thy divine prohibition in my mind when the way is barred. Graciously keep my feet in the line of Thy purpose, and lead me in the way everlasting. For Christ’s sake. Amen.

THE bruised reed He will not break.

—Isaiah 42: 3.

A sSiepherd boy cuts a reed and turns it into a flute. But if some beast steps upon it with heavy, heedless foot, it lies there splintered and riven and worthless. Bruised reeds! And there are men and women who are just like these broken flutes. Their souls are breathed upon by the breath of God, but they are like a splintered reed, and they give no musical response. The Lord will not discard and abandon them. He will not fling them away. He can restore the bruised reed.

Almighty God, I praise Thee for Thy boundless love. It can heal the bruised reed and make it again an instrument of music. Heal my broken powers and let them resound with holy praise. Take the broken lives of Thy children and mercifully make them whole. For Christ’s sake. Amen.

5ul8 7. TEE go’d of this world hatJi blinded the minds of them that believe not.

—2 Corinthians 4: 4.

That is the effect of worldliness. Worldliness is life without ideals, life without moral vistas, life devoid of vision. It is imprisonment within the material, no windows opening out upon, the spiritual world. It is the five senses without the moral sense. The world destroys the eyes of the soul.

0 Lord my God, deliver me from the power of this evil world. Keep me awake by Thy quickening and sustaining breath. Help me to master the world, and at the end of the day to be more than conqueror. For Christ’s sake. Amen,

5ul 8.

I, JOHN, was in the isle that is called Patmos,

for the word of God, and for the testimony of

Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s

day, and heard a great voice as of a trumpet.

—Revelation 1: 9, 10.

This is surely worth noting. The bright vision is given to the captive. The place of travail becomes the very door of hope. A more radiant apprehension of the Heavenly city is the reward of fidelity to truth. This man is imprisoned in Patmos, and in prison

he saw the heavens open, and he beheld the holy city.

0 Lord my God, Thou canst make the prison house the home of vision. Thou canst make my gloomy hours the seasons of revelation. At Thy command the dark day becomes the minister of spiritual glory. Misfortune becomes my fortune. Help me to trust Thee when my life is in bonds. For Christ’s sake. Amen.

juls 9.

TEE exceeding riches ol His grace.

—Ephesians 2: 7.

I like that dream of Josephine Butler’s, when her life passed into deep shadow, amid many frowning and threatening besetments. “I thought I was lying flat, with a restful feeling, on a smooth, still sea, a boundless ocean, with no limit or shore on any side. It was strong, and held me up, and there was light and sunshine all around me. And I heard a voice say, ‘Such is the grace of God! ‘”

Most Gracious God, may I feel Thy grace to be round about me like encompassing arms. Let me realize the lifting power of Thy love. By faith in Thee let me be buoyant in the stormiest circumstances. Let nothing make me sink. Let me ride the storm. For the Saviour’s sake. Amen.

5uls 10.

BEHOLD, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with Me. — Revelation 3: 20.

Our strained and restless prayers do not suggest the quiet opening of a door. They rather suggest the frenzied and fearful prisoner haUooing to a guard who has turned away from the door, and the sound of whose retreating footsteps is lessening in the far-away. We must quietly open the door, and the Lord will come in.

My Father in Heaven, let me open the door to Thee now. Let me not make a difficulty out of a simple act. Let me open my mind to Thee. Let me open my heart to Thee. Let me open all the doors in my life, and give Thee perfect control over all I have and all that I say and all that I do. For Christ’s sake. Amen.

5ul XI.

CHRIST also suffered for you. Who, wJien He was reviled, reviled not again, when He suffered, threatened not; hut committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously.

—1 Peter 2: 21-23.

“He reviled not again.” The bitter attack was not creative of bitter retaliation. The hurled venom did not poison

His springs. Amid the environing bitterness the man of Nazareth remained sweet. The milk was not soured.

Most Gracious God, I pray that my experiences may never sour my soul. Save me from the bitterness of the cynic and the scorner. Let me not spoil the peace of others. Rather let me so bear my sufferings that others will take courage, and find my springs of spiritual strength. For the Saviour’s sake. .Amen.

5uls 12.

FOB so is the will of God, that by well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men; as free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of wickedness hut as bondservants of God. — 1Petee2:15, 16.

No freedom is permitted to become license. Every liberty is under the dominion of a refined restraint. License always works to coarseness and injury and waste. In all freedom the element of responsibility to God is the salt that saves it.

0 Lord my God, let my freedom be a part of the consecrated life. Let me never become presumptuous in my liberties. Help me to resist every invitation to a wider life which would paralyze the movements of my soul. Let me walk with Thee in perfect freedom. For Christ ’s sake. Amen.

BELOVED,’now are we the sons of God, and it dotJi not yet appear what we shall fee, hut we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

—1 John 3: 2.

We can only see Him as He is in proportion as we are like Him. As we grow in likeness we increase in spiritual understanding. We share His nature and then we share His secrets. In our growing sonship we enter into the treasures of the holy Fatherhood of God.

0 Grod my Father, I pray for spiritual likeness to Thee. Let me be a partaker in Thy nature. Let me be clothed with the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me become increasingly like Thee, so that on the great day of unveiling I may see Thee as Thou art. For His sake. Amen.

5ul» 14.

THUS saith the high and lofty One,... Whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. — Isaiah 57: 15.

The heaven of heavens cannot contain Him, and yet He will make His home in the heart of a little child. He hastens for entertainment in the humble spirit. He finds great room in the heart of the contrite, and when He dwells with us all heaven is our friend.

0 Lord my God, let me make room for Thee in my life. I would not shut Thee out in self-conceit and unholy pride. Let me not bruise Thee by indifference. Come in and dwell with me and make my life a sacred temple. For Christ’s sake. Amen.

I ENOW whom I Jiave believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day. — 2 Timothy 1: 12.

“When I commit things unto the Lord the deposit is secure. The fruits I gathered yesterday are in His keeping. All my little victories are treasured in His remembrance. Nothing is lost, and the hopes that I have committed to Him will not fail. He holdeth my soul in life and in death.

My Father in Heaven, give me this holy grace of quiet confidence in Thee. Let me share my trusts with Thee. Keep that which I cannot keep. Let me walk upon my way restfully assured that to-morrow will unveil the fidelity of my God. For Christ’s sake. Amen.

5ul8 16.

ALL things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours, and ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

—1 Corinthians 3: 21-23.

It is a good thing to roam over our
inheritance. It is a heartening thing
to take stock of our possessions. It
puts a new strength into our stride
when we look abroad and say, Mine!
Mine! We are very rich in Christ
Jesus. Let us review our wealth and
glorify our God.

Almighty God, the riches of Thy grace are like an untraversed country. Help me to explore them more and more. Let me have new surprises and discoveries every day. Let every act of obedience disclose some new treasure in Thy love. For the Saviour’s sake. Amen.

Jul? 17.

YE were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold... but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot... manifest in these last times for you who by Him did believe in God. — ^1 Petee 1: 18-21.

It is well to remember my value in the sight of God. I am worth so much to Him that He redeemed me with the precious blood of His only Son. Let me remember my value and never stoop to anything cheap or mean. Let me walk as one who has been purchased at inconceivable sacrifice.

0 Lord my God, fill me with holy awe at the value of my life. Save me from self-despisings. Let me wonder at the glory of Thy purpose concerning me. Let me discover my worth in the worthiness of the Lamb. For Christ’s sake. Amen.

julp 18.

THE night is far spent, the ‘day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

—Romans 13: 12.

If we are expecting the morning we ought even now to reflect the colours of the dawn. There should be a brightness about our spirits which distinguishes us from the world. “We ought to fight our battles with armour of light. Our radiancy should be our witness that we are the children of the day.

Heavenly Father, light up my soul with eternal hope. Let every one of my faculties shine with Thy glory. Let nothing be an instrument of darkness. Drive the night out of my life and make me light in the Lord. For Christ’s sake. Amen.

BTJT the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. — ^Peoveebs 4: 18.

The path begins in conversion; it proceeds by increasing sanctification; it ends in perfect glory. It began in something a little more than a divine spark; it ends in a brightness that eclipses even the light of the sun.

O Lord my God, let my feet be found upon this aspiring road. Let me go from grace to grace, and from strength to strength, and from glory to glory. Let every day have some newvision, let every night discover some new star. For Christ’s sake. Amen.

5ul)? 20.

THE Lord is a God of judgment, blessed are all they that wait for Him.

—Isaiah 30:18.

The strongest soldiers are those who are strongest in the long delays. Our resources are tested in the seasons of waiting. Little souls get very feverish when they have to stand and wait. It is the greater souls that can stand still, in the confident hope that they will see the salvation of their God.

My Father God, let me trustfully wait Thy “COME YB APAET” 143

finished work. Save me from impatience that would mar Thy purpose. Let me accept Thy times and seasons. My times are in Thy hands. Give me this grace for Christ ’s sake. Amen.

3ul» 21.

THE Spirit of the Lord God is upon me.,. to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. — Isaiah 61: 1, 3.

This great word sounds like the evangel of some gracious magician. The beauty which is bestowed is the diadem of the bride, and it is come to a poor wearied drudge of sin. And the oil of joy is coronation oil, consecration oil, the oil significant of regal authority and power, and it is to be given to those who have lost their crowns, and who are bruised and broken. And for heaviness the Lord will give buoyancy, the garment of praise, the joy of the bridal feast in place of heavy footed woe.

O Lord my God, I would that my spirit might wear this winsome raiment of the bride. Kid me of the unclean robe. Graciously restore to me my lost crown. Take away the spirit of heaviness, and inspire me with the spirit of praise. Let Thy transfiguring power fashion a new creation. For the Saviour’s sake. Amen.

5ul 22.

SO that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what men shall do unto me. — Hebrews 13: 6.

FOB who is God save the Lord? Or who is a rock save our God? It is God that girdeth me mth strength, and maketh my way perfect. — Psalm 18: 31, 32.

We are called to be very bold in our confession. Our TOtness is often timid, and hesitant and reluctant. We think and speak as though a lurking doubt were eating the heart out of our faith. God loves boldness. Men are arrested by boldness.

0 Lord my God, I pray for untrembling confidence in Thy grace. I pray that I may speak out of an experience that leaves me in no doubt. Let my witness sound forth like a bugle. Let it stay the hearts of the discouraged and despondent. For His sake. Amen.

5Ull3 23.

IF ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed. — John 8: 31.

HE that shall endure until the end, the same shall ie saved. — Matthew 24: 13.

WATCH ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. — 1 Corinthians 16: 13.

There is no stronger witness for the Lord than the virtue of steadfastness.

Men take note when they see a fellow man standing nobly in a difScult place. “We are messengers of grace when we walk through Vanity Fair without stumbling. Mr. Standfast is a great pilgrim on life’s way.

0 Lord my God, help me to glorify Thee by the strength of endurance. Let not the slippery place cause me to stumble. Let me hold fast that which I have, that no man take my crown. For Christ’s sake. Amen.

5ulB 24.

WHEN thou passest through the waters I wUl be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not he burned: neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For

1 am the Lord thy God... thy Saviour.

—Isaiah 43: 2, 3.

Our difficult circumstances only re-Teal resources of grace. God’s might is disclosed according to our necessities. “We are secure in the tempest as in the season when everything is calm. “We are lifted above our circumstances, and we are more than conquerors.

Most mighty God, I would fear neither river nor fire. I would be confident in Thy Presence. Let my difficult circumstance glorify Thy name. Let my necessities reveal my riches in the treasury of grace. For the Saviour’s sake. Amen,

JUl 25,

NOW tJierefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, hut fellow citizens of the saints, and of the household of God.

—Ephesians 2:19.

,>,The foreigner becomes a child of the [family. The one who has been in the field feeding swine is drawn into the intimate home circle of the Lord. He has the liberty of the children. He has the run of the house. We have access by faith into the grace wherein we stand.

My Father in Heaven, I rejoice that I have a place at Thy table. I bless Thee for the grace of adoption into Thy family I glorify Thee that the blood of Jesus makes me of the royal house, a prince in the family of God. I bless Thee for His sake. Amen.

5uli? 26.

MY soul shall make her hoast in the Lord, the humble shall hear thereof and ie glad. 0 magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. — Psalm 34: 2, 3.

Here is a man boasting in the Lord; the audience hears him and is made glad. He tells of the Lord’s exploits and the discouraged take hope again. He sings of the fountains of grace, and the thirsty turn to His springs. He proclaims hia good news, and the wearypilgrims turn to the Father’s door.

0 Lord my God, let me offer praise and glorify Thee. When Thou dost give Thy Spirit let’ it be a minister of inspiration to all my circle. Let the contagion of my faith embolden others. Let me be a minister of life in the ways of sorrow and pain. For the Saviour’s sake. Amen,

5ulg 27.

AND Jabes called on the, God of Israel, saying, 0 that Thou wouldst Hess me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldst keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me. And God granted him that which he requested.

—1 Chkonicles 4: 10.

A life so full of blessing would surely become a river of blessings. It is so deeply related to the eternal springs that it will overflow in spiritual bounty. Much receiving will issue in much giving. Elvers of this Mnd water a whole countryside.

Heavenly Father, fill my soul with blessedness so that it may overflow in blessing. Fill my cup so that it may run over. Let Thy bounty pass through me to my fellow men. Let me be a minister of Thy love and grace. For Christ’s sake. Amen.

5ulS 28. IF the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me, before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. — John 15: 18, 19.

Many of us do not experience the hatred of the world because we do not assail it with a life that is contrary to its own. We do not hit it hard enough for the world to hit back. We are too much like it to be offensive. The world detects its own in us, and it leaves us alone.

My Father God, help me to live a strong life. Let me confront the forces of the world with stern antagonism. Make me unlike the world in spirit and in conduct. Let me bear the marks of the Lord Jesus. For Christ’s sake. Amen.

5ulB 29.

COME now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall he as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. — Tratatt 1: 18,

These colours are in very striking contrast; there is scarlet and there is snow-like whiteness; there is crimson and there is the purity of wool. And God can take sins that are as bold as the most glaring colour, and He can so remove them that the life is clean as virgin snow. My Lord can deal with the presumptuous sin, and erase it as though He were wiping away a tear.

Holy Father, I bring my crimson sins to Thee. Nobody else wants them, nobody else can deal with them. Wash them out of my life and graciously make me pure. Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean! For the Saviour’s sake. Amen.

5uli3 30.

GIVING thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints of light, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son.

—COLOSSIANS 1: 12, 13.

This is a change of citizenship. The soul changes its country, and transfers itself to another Kingdom. It leaves the realm of darkness and acquires kinship with the realm of light. It is supernaturalized into the Kingdom of God.

0 Lord my God, graciously make me a citizen of Thy Kingdom. Let me rejoice in its privileges and delight in its service. Let me live under Thy banner. Father of light and grace, let me boast in my citizenship, and bear Thy gory in my daily life. For His sake. Amen.

5ulS 31.

LET my ‘prayer he set before Thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Set a watch, 0 Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing.

—Psalm 141: 2-4.

How priestly is the psalmist’s exercise! There is incense, and there is sacrifice, and there is supplication. And I too am a priest unto God, and in Christ Jesus I have access to the same incomparable privilege and glory. We can all swing the censer; we can all lay the sacrifice upon the altar; we can all engage in the marvellous ministry of intercession.

Heavenly Father, I would be a consecrated priest in Thy temple. Let my life be fragrant with the incense of prayer. Let it be eager in the spirit of sacrifice. Let it be constant in the service of intercession. Let me be a priest unto Thee, O Lord! For Christ ’s sake. Amen.