
Morning and Evening with Charles Spurgeon
Over the last century, countless Christians have started and ended their day with Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon. The author’s command of the English language, Biblical wisdom, and practical guidance through life’s ups and downs remains timeless and relevant to the modern day. The elegance of his prose is further brought to life now in this podcast form while retaining the beautiful language of the original King James Version, as it was originally written. From time to time, you will also hear Spurgeon experts and additional resources to add further insight and commentary on this clas
All episodes(240)
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 18th Evening
Published Aug 18, 2026
“And they gave Him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but He received it not.” — Mark 15:23 A golden truth is couched in the fact that the Saviour put the myrrhed wine-cup from His lips. On the heights of heaven the Son of God stood of old, and as He looked down upon our globe He measured the long descent to the utmost depths of human misery; He cast up the total of all the agonies which expiation would require, and abated not a jot. He solemnly determined that to offer a sufficient atoning sacri
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 18th Morning
Published Aug 18, 2026
“Strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the Lord’s house.” — Jeremiah 51:51 In this account the faces of the Lord’s people were covered with shame, for it was a terrible thing that men should intrude into the Holy Place reserved for the priests alone. Everywhere about us we see like cause for sorrow. How many ungodly men are now educating with the view of entering into the ministry! What a crying sin is that solemn lie by which our whole population is nominally comprehended in a National Chu
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 17th Evening
Published Aug 17, 2026
“This sickness is not unto death.” — John 11:4 From our Lord’s words we learn that there is a limit to sickness. Here is an “unto” within which its ultimate end is restrained, and beyond which it cannot go. Lazarus might pass through death, but death was not to be the ultimatum of his sickness. In all sickness, the Lord saith to the waves of pain, “Hitherto shall ye go, but no further.” His fixed purpose is not the destruction, but the instruction of His people. Wisdom hangs up the thermometer a
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 17th Morning
Published Aug 17, 2026
“The mercy of God.” — Psalm 52:8 Meditate a little on this mercy of the Lord. It is tender mercy. With gentle, loving touch, He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He is as gracious in the manner of His mercy as in the matter of it. It is great mercy. There is nothing little in God; His mercy is like Himself — it is infinite. You cannot measure it. His mercy is so great that it forgives great sins to great sinners, after great lengths of time, and then gives great favours a
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 16th Evening
Published Aug 16, 2026
“Ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit.” — Romans 8:23 Present possession is declared. At this present moment we have the first fruits of the Spirit. We have repentance, that gem of the first water; faith, that priceless pearl; hope, the heavenly emerald; and love, the glorious ruby. We are already made “new creatures in Christ Jesus,” by the effectual working of God the Holy Ghost. This is called the firstfruit because it comes first. As the wave-sheaf was the first of the ha
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 16th Morning
Published Aug 16, 2026
“Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name.” — Psalm 29:2 God’s glory is the result of His nature and acts. He is glorious in His character, for there is such a store of everything that is holy, and good, and lovely in God, that He must be glorious. The actions which flow from His character are also glorious; but while He intends that they should manifest to His creatures His goodness, and mercy, and justice, He is equally concerned that the glory associated with them should be given only t
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 15th Evening
Published Aug 15, 2026
“And I will give you an heart of flesh.” — Ezekiel 36:26 A heart of flesh is known by its tenderness concerning sin. To have indulged a foul imagination, or to have allowed a wild desire to tarry even for a moment, is quite enough to make a heart of flesh grieve before the Lord. The heart of stone calls a great iniquity nothing, but not so the heart of flesh. “If to the right or left I stray, That moment, Lord, reprove; And let me weep my life away, For having grieved thy love” The heart of fles
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 15th Morning
Published Aug 15, 2026
“Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide.” — Genesis 24:63 Very admirable was his occupation. If those who spend so many hours in idle company, light reading, and useless pastimes, could learn wisdom, they would find more profitable society and more interesting engagements in meditation than in the vanities which now have such charms for them. We should all know more, live nearer to God, and grow in grace, if we were more alone. Meditation chews the cud and extracts the real nutr
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 14th Evening
Published Aug 14, 2026
“I know their sorrows.” — Exodus 3:7 The child is cheered as he sings, “This my father knows”; and shall not we be comforted as we discern that our dear Friend and tender soul-husband knows all about us? 1. He is the Physician, and if He knows all, there is no need that the patient should know. Hush, thou silly, fluttering heart, prying, peeping, and suspecting! What thou knowest not now, thou shalt know hereafter, and meanwhile Jesus, the beloved Physician, knows thy soul in adversities. Why ne
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 14th Morning
Published Aug 14, 2026
“Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through Thy work.” — Psalm 92:4 Do you believe that your sins are forgiven, and that Christ has made a full atonement for them? Then what a joyful Christian you ought to be! How you should live above the common trials and troubles of the world! Since sin is forgiven, can it matter what happens to you now? Luther said, “Smite, Lord, smite, for my sin is forgiven; if Thou hast but forgiven me, smite as hard as Thou wilt”; and in a similar spirit you may say, “Send si
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 13th Evening
Published Aug 13, 2026
“And I will remember My covenant.” — Genesis 9:15 Mark the form of the promise. God does not say, “And when ye shall look upon the bow, and ye shall remember My covenant, then I will not destroy the earth,” but it is gloriously put, not upon our memory, which is fickle and frail, but upon God’s memory, which is infinite and immutable. “The bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant.” Oh! it is not my remembering God, it is God’s remembering m
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 13th Morning
Published Aug 13, 2026
“The cedars of Lebanon which He hath planted.” — Psalm 104:16 Lebanon’s cedars are emblematic of the Christian, in that they owe their planting entirely to the Lord. This is quite true of every child of God. He is not man-planted, nor self-planted, but God-planted. The mysterious hand of the divine Spirit dropped the living seed into a heart which He had Himself prepared for its reception. Every true heir of heaven owns the great Husbandman as his planter. Moreover, the cedars of Lebanon are not
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 12th Evening
Published Aug 12, 2026
“The bow shall be seen in the cloud.” — Genesis 9:14 The rainbow, the symbol of the covenant with Noah, is typical of our Lord Jesus, who is the Lord’s witness to the people. When may we expect to see the token of the covenant? The rainbow is only to be seen painted upon a cloud. When the sinner’s conscience is dark with clouds, when he remembers his past sin, and mourneth and lamenteth before God, Jesus Christ is revealed to him as the covenant Rainbow, displaying all the glorious hues of the d
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 12th Morning
Published Aug 12, 2026
“The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice.” — Psalm 97:1 Causes for disquietude there are none so long as this blessed sentence is true. On earth the Lord’s power as readily controls the rage of the wicked as the rage of the sea; His love as easily refreshes the poor with mercy as the earth with showers. Majesty gleams in flashes of fire amid the tempest’s horrors, and the glory of the Lord is seen in its grandeur in the fall of empires, and the crash of thrones. In all our conflicts and tribula
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 11th Evening
Published Aug 11, 2026
“Everlasting consolation.” — 2 Thessalonians 2:16 “Consolation.” There is music in the word: like David’s harp, it charms away the evil spirit of melancholy. It was a distinguished I honour to Barnabas to be called “the son of consolation”; nay, it is one of the illustrious names of a greater than Barnabas, for the Lord Jesus is “the consolation of Israel.” “Everlasting consolation” — here is the cream of all, for the eternity of comfort is the crown and glory of it. What is this “everlasting co
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 11th Morning
Published Aug 11, 2026
“Oh that I were as in months past.” — Job 29:2 Numbers of Christians can view the past with pleasure, but regard the present with dissatisfaction; they look back upon the days which they have passed in communing with the Lord as being the sweetest and the best they have ever known, but as to the present, it is clad in a sable garb of gloom and dreariness. Once they lived near to Jesus, but now they feel that they have wandered from Him, and they say, “O that I were as in months past!” They compl
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 10th Evening
Published Aug 10, 2026
“The Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins.” — Matthew 9:6 Behold one of the great Physician’s mightiest arts: He has power to forgive sin! While here He lived below, before the ransom had been paid, before the blood had been literally sprinkled on the mercy-seat, He had power to forgive sin. Hath He not power to do it now that He hath died? What power must dwell in Him who to the utmost farthing has faithfully discharged the debts of His people! He has boundless power now that He has f
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 10th Morning
Published Aug 10, 2026
“Christ, who is our life.” — Colossians 3:4 Paul’s marvellously rich expression indicates, that Christ is the source of our life. “You hath He quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins.” That same voice which brought Lazarus out of the tomb raised us to newness of life. He is now the substance of our spiritual life. It is by His life that we live; He is in us, the hope of glory, the spring of our actions, the central thought which moves every other thought. Christ is the sustenance of our l
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 9th Evening
Published Aug 9, 2026
“He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven devils.” — Mark 16:9 Mary of Magdala was the victim of a fearful evil. She was possessed by not one devil only, but seven. These dreadful inmates caused much pain and pollution to the poor frame in which they had found a lodging. Hers was a hopeless, horrible case. She could not help herself, neither could any human succour avail. But Jesus passed that way, and unsought, and probably even resisted by the poor demoniac, He uttere
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 9th Morning
Published Aug 9, 2026
“The city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it.” —Revelation 21:23 Yonder in the better world, the inhabitants are independent of all creature comforts. They have no need of raiment; their white robes never wear out, neither shall they ever be defiled. They need no medicine to heal diseases, “for the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick.” They need no sleep to recruit their frames — they rest not day nor night, but unweariedly praise Him in His temple. They need no social
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 8th Evening
Published Aug 8, 2026
“All things are possible to him that believeth.” — Mark 9:23 Many professed Christians are always doubting and fearing, and they forlornly think that this is the necessary state of believers. This is a mistake, for “all things are possible to him that believeth”; and it is possible for us to mount into a state in which a doubt or a fear shall be but as a bird of passage flitting across the soul, but never lingering there. When you read of the high and sweet communions enjoyed by favoured saints,
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 8th Morning
Published Aug 8, 2026
“They weave the spider’s web.” — Isaiah 59:5 See the spider’s web, and behold in it a most suggestive picture of the hypocrite’s religion. It is meant to catch his prey: the spider fattens himself on flies, and the Pharisee has his reward. Foolish persons are easily entrapped by the loud professions of pretenders, and even the more judicious cannot always escape. Philip baptized Simon Magus, whose guileful declaration of faith was so soon exploded by the stern rebuke of Peter. Custom, reputation
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 7th Evening
Published Aug 7, 2026
“Satan hindered us.” — 1 Thessalonians 2:18 Since the first hour in which goodness came into conflict with evil, it has never ceased to be true in spiritual experience, that Satan hinders us. From all points of the compass, all along the line of battle, in the vanguard and in the rear, at the dawn of day and in the midnight hour, Satan hinders us. If we toil in the field, he seeks to break the ploughshare; if we build the wall, he labours to cast down the stones; if we would serve God in sufferi
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 7th Morning
Published Aug 7, 2026
“The upright love Thee” — Song of Solomon 1:4 Believers love Jesus with a deeper affection then they dare to give to any other being. They would sooner lose father and mother then part with Christ. They hold all earthly comforts with a loose hand, but they carry Him fast locked in their bosoms. They voluntarily deny themselves for His sake, but they are not to be driven to deny Him. It is scant love which the fire of persecution can dry up; the true believer’s love is a deeper stream than this.
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 6th Evening
Published Aug 6, 2026
“Let the whole earth be filled with His glory; amen, and amen.” — Psalm 72:19 This is a large petition. To intercede for a whole city needs a stretch of faith, and there are times when a prayer for one man is enough to stagger us. But how far-reaching was the psalmist’s dying intercession! How comprehensive! How sublime! “Let the whole earth be filled with His glory.” It doth not exempt a single country however crushed by the foot of superstition; it doth not exclude a single nation however barb
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 6th Morning
Published Aug 6, 2026
“Watchman, what of the night?” — Isaiah 21:11 What enemies are abroad? Errors are a numerous horde, and new ones appear every hour: against what heresy am I to be on my guard? Sins creep from their lurking places when the darkness reigns; I must myself mount the watch-tower, and watch unto prayer. Our heavenly Protector foresees all the attacks which are about to be made upon us, and when as yet the evil designed us is but in the desire of Satan, He prays for us that… our faith fail not, when we
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 5th Evening
Published Aug 5, 2026
“Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?” — Numbers 32:6 Kindred has its obligations. The Reubenites and Gadites would have been unbrotherly if they had claimed the land which had been conquered, and had left the rest of the people to fight for their portions alone. We have received much by means of the efforts and sufferings of the saints in years gone by, and if we do not make some return to the church of Christ by giving her our best energies, we are unworthy to be enrolled in h
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 5th Morning
Published Aug 5, 2026
“We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” — Romans 8:28 Upon some points a believer is absolutely sure. He knows, for instance, that God sits in the stern-sheets of the vessel when it rocks most. He believes that an invisible hand is always on the world’s tiller, and that wherever providence may drift, Jehovah steers it. That re-assuring knowledge prepares him for everything. He looks over the raging waters and sees the spirit of Jesus treading the billows, and he h
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 4th Evening
Published Aug 4, 2026
“I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands.” — Haggai 2:17 How destructive is the hail to the standing crops, beating out the precious grain upon the ground! How grateful ought we to be when the corn is spared so terrible a ruin! Let us offer unto the Lord thanksgiving. Even more to be dreaded are those mysterious destroyers — smut, bunt, rust, and mildew. These turn the ear into a mass of soot, or render it putrid, or dry up the grain, and all in a
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 4th Morning
Published Aug 4, 2026
“The people that do know their God shall be strong.” — Daniel 11:32 Every believer understands that to know God is the highest and best form of knowledge; and this spiritual knowledge is a source of strength to the Christian. It strengthens his faith. Believers are constantly spoken of in the Scriptures as being persons who are enlightened and taught of the Lord; they are said to “have an unction from the Holy One,” and it is the Spirit’s peculiar office to lead them into all truth, and all this
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 3rd Evening
Published Aug 3, 2026
“But as He went.” — Luke 8:42 Jesus is passing through the throng to the house of Jairus, to raise the ruler’s dead daughter; but He is so profuse in goodness that He works another miracle while upon the road. While yet this rod of Aaron bears the blossom of an unaccomplished wonder, it yields the ripe almonds of a perfect work of mercy. It is enough for us, if we have some one purpose, straightway to go and accomplish it; it were imprudent to expend our energies by the way. Hastening to the res
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 3rd Morning
Published Aug 3, 2026
“The Lamb is the light thereof.” — Revelation 21:23 Quietly contemplate the Lamb as the light of heaven. Light in Scripture is the emblem of joy. The joy of the saints in heaven is comprised in this: Jesus chose us, loved us, bought us, cleansed us, robed us, kept us, glorified us: we are here entirely through the Lord Jesus. Each one of these thoughts shall be to them like a cluster of the grapes of Eshcol. Light is also the cause of beauty. Nought of beauty is left when light is gone. Without
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 2nd Evening
Published Aug 2, 2026
“So she gleaned in the field until even.” — Ruth 2:17 Let me learn from Ruth, the gleaner. As she went out to gather the ears of corn, so must I go forth into the fields of prayer, meditation, the ordinances, and hearing the word to gather spiritual food. The gleaner gathers her portion ear by ear; her gains are little by little: so must I be content to search for single truths, if there be no greater plenty of them. Every ear helps to make a bundle, and every gospel lesson assists in making us
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 1st Evening
Published Aug 1, 2026
“Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness.” — Psalm 65:11 All the year round, every hour of every day, God is richly blessing us; both when we sleep and when we wake His mercy waits upon us. The sun may leave us a legacy of darkness, but our God never ceases to shine upon His children with beams of love. Like a river, His lovingkindness is always flowing, with a fulness inexhaustible as His own nature. Like the atmosphere which constantly surrounds the earth, and is always ready to support the l
- StandardSummaries onlyAugust 1st Morning
Published Aug 1, 2026
“Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn.” — Ruth 2:2 Downcast and troubled Christian, come and glean to-day in the broad field of promise. Here are abundance of precious promises, which exactly meet thy wants. Take this one: “He will not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax.” Doth not that suit thy case? A reed, helpless, insignificant, and weak, a bruised reed, out of which no music can come; weaker than weakness itself; a reed, and that reed bruised, yet, He will not
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 31st Evening
Published Jul 31, 2026
“And these are the singers… they were employed in that work day and night.” — 1 Chronicles 9:33 Well was it so ordered in the temple that the sacred chant never ceased: for evermore did the singers praise the Lord, whose mercy endureth for ever. As mercy did not cease to rule either by day or by night, so neither did music hush its holy ministry. My heart, there is a lesson sweetly taught to thee in the ceaseless song of Zion’s temple, thou too art a constant debtor, and see thou to it that thy
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 31st Morning
Published Jul 31, 2026
“I in them.” — John 17:23 If such be the union which subsists between our souls and the person of our Lord, how deep and broad is the channel of our communion! This is no narrow pipe through which a thread-like stream may wind its way, it is a channel of amazing depth and breadth, along whose glorious length a ponderous volume of living water may roll its floods. Behold He hath set before us an open door, let us not be slow to enter. This city of communion hath many pearly gates, every several g
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 30th Morning
Published Jul 30, 2026
“And when he thought thereon, he wept.” — Mark 14:72 It has been thought by some that as long as Peter lived, the fountain of his tears began to flow whenever he remembered his denying his Lord. It is not unlikely that it was so, (for his sin was very great, and grace in him had afterwards a perfect work. This same experience is common to all the redeemed family according to the degree in which the Spirit of God has removed the natural heart of stone. We, like Peter, remember our boastful promis
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 29th Evening
Published Jul 29, 2026
“All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me.” — John 6:37 This declaration involves the doctrine of election: there are some whom the Father gave to Christ. It involves the doctrine of effectual calling: these who are given must and shall come; however stoutly they may set themselves against it, yet they shall be brought out of darkness into God’s marvellous light. It teaches us the indispensable necessity of faith; for even those who are given to Christ are not saved except they come to Jes
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 29th Morning
Published Jul 29, 2026
“Nevertheless I am continually with Thee.” — Psalm 73:23 “Nevertheless,” — As if, notwithstanding all the foolishness and ignorance which David had just been confessing to God, not one atom the less was it true and certain that David was saved and accepted, and that the blessing of being constantly in God’s presence was undoubtedly his. Fully conscious of his own lost estate, and of the deceitfulness and vileness of his nature, yet, by a glorious outburst of faith, he sings “nevertheless I am co
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 28th Evening
Published Jul 28, 2026
“Who went about doing good.” — Acts 10:38 Few words, but yet an exquisite miniature of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are not many touches, but they are the strokes of a master’s pencil. Of the Saviour and only of the Saviour is it true in the fullest, broadest, and most unqualified sense. “He went about doing good.” From this description it is evident that He did good personally. The evangelists constantly tell us that He touched the leper with His own finger, that He anointed the eyes of the bli
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 28th Morning
Published Jul 28, 2026
“So foolish was I, and ignorant; I was as a beast before Thee.” — Psalm 73:22 Remember this is the confession of the man after God’s own heart; and in telling us his inner life, he writes, “So foolish was I, and ignorant.” The word “foolish,” here, means more than it signifies in ordinary language. David, in a former verse of the Psalm, writes, “I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked,” which shows that the folly he intended had sin in it. He puts himself down as bei
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 27th Evening
Published Jul 27, 2026
“Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?” — Romans 8:33 Most blessed challenge! How unanswerable it is! Every sin of the elect was laid upon the great Champion of our salvation, and by the atonement carried away. There is no sin in God’s book against His people: He seeth no sin in Jacob, neither iniquity in Israel; they are justified in Christ for ever. When the guilt of sin was taken away, the punishment of sin was removed. For the Christian there is no stroke from God’s angry hand
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 27th Morning
Published Jul 27, 2026
“Exceeding great and precious promises.” — 2 Peter 1:4 If you would know experimentally the preciousness of the promises, and enjoy them in your own heart, meditate much upon them. There are promises which are like grapes in the wine-press; if you will tread them the juice will flow. Thinking over the hallowed words will often be the prelude to their fulfillment. While you are musing upon them, the boon which you are seeking will insensibly come to you. Many a Christian who has thirsted for the
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 26th Evening
Published Jul 26, 2026
“That He may set him with princes.” — Psalm 113:8 Our spiritual privileges are of the highest order. “Among princes” is the place of select society. “Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.” Speak of select society, there is none like this! “We are a chosen generation, a peculiar people, a royal priesthood.” “We are come unto the general assembly and church of the first-born, whose names are written in heaven.” The saints have courtly audience: princes have admitt
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 26th Morning
Published Jul 26, 2026
“Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge, etc.” — 2 Peter 1:5, 6 If thou wouldest enjoy the eminent grace of the full assurance of faith, under the blessed Spirit’s influence, and assistance, do what the Scripture tells thee, “Give diligence.” Take care that thy faith is of the right kind — that it is not a mere belief of doctrine, but a simple faith, depending on Christ, and on Christ alone. Give diligent heed to thy courage. Plead with God that He would give the
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 25th Evening
Published Jul 25, 2026
“In their affliction they will seek Me early.” — Hosea 5:15 Losses and adversities are frequently the means which the great Shepherd uses to fetch home His wandering sheep; like fierce dogs they worry the wanderers back to the fold. There is no making lions tame if they are too well fed; they must be brought down from their great strength, and their stomachs must be lowered, and then they will submit to the tamer’s hand; and often have we seen the Christian rendered obedient to the Lord’s will b
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 25th Morning
Published Jul 25, 2026
“He left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.” — Genesis 39:12 In contending with certain sins there remains no mode of victory but by flight. The ancient naturalists wrote much of basilisks, whose eyes fascinated their victims and rendered them easy victims; so the mere gaze of wickedness puts us in solemn danger. He who would be safe from acts of evil must haste away from occasions of it. A covenant must be made with our eyes not even to look upon the cause of temptation, for su
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 24th Evening
Published Jul 24, 2026
“His camp is very great.” — Joel 2:11 Consider, my soul, the mightiness of the Lord who is thy glory and defence. He is a man of war, Jehovah is His name. All the forces of heaven are at His beck, legions wait at His door, cherubim and seraphim;, watchers and holy ones, principalities and powers, are all attentive to His will. If our eyes were not blinded by the ophthalmia of the flesh, we should see horses of fire and chariots of fire round about the Lord’s beloved. The powers of nature are all
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 23rd Evening
Published Jul 23, 2026
“The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” — 1 John 1:7 “Cleanseth,” says the text — not “shall cleanse.” There are multitudes who think that as a dying hope they may look forward to pardon. Oh! how infinitely better to have cleansing now than to depend on the bare possibility of forgiveness when I come to die. Some imagine that a sense of pardon is an attainment only obtainable after many years of Christian experience. But forgiveness of sin is a present thing — a privilege
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 23rd Morning
Published Jul 23, 2026
“Even thou wast as one of them.” — Obadiah 1:11 Brotherly kindness was due from Edom to Israel in the time of need, but instead thereof, the men of Esau made common cause with Israel’s foes. Special stress in the sentence before us is laid upon the word thou; as when Caesar cried to Brutus, “and thou Brutus”; a bad action may be all the worse, because of the person who has committed it. When we sin, who are the chosen favorites of heaven, we sin with an emphasis; ours is a crying offence, becaus
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 22nd Evening
Published Jul 22, 2026
“Behold the Man!” — John 19:5 If there be one place where our Lord Jesus most fully becomes the joy and comfort of His people, it is where He plunged deepest into the depths of woe. Come hither, gracious souls, and behold the Man in the garden of Gethsemane; behold His heart so brimming with love that He cannot hold it in — so full of sorrow that it must find a vent. Behold the bloody sweat as it distils from every pore of His body, and falls upon the ground. Behold the Man as they drive the nai
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 22nd Morning
Published Jul 22, 2026
“I am married unto you.” — Jeremiah 3:14 Christ Jesus is joined unto His people in marriage-union. In love He espoused His Church as a chaste virgin, long before she fell under the yoke of bondage. Full of burning affection He toiled, like Jacob for Rachel, until the whole of her purchase-money had been paid, and now, having sought her by His Spirit, and brought her to know and love Him, He awaits the glorious hour when their mutual bliss shall be consummated at the marriage-supper of the Lamb.
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 21st Evening
Published Jul 21, 2026
“Why go I mourning?” — Psalm 42:9 Canst thou answer this, believer? Canst thou find any reason why thou art so often mourning instead of rejoicing? Why yield to gloomy anticipations? Who told thee that the night would never end in day? Who told thee that the sea of circumstances would ebb out till there should be nothing left but long leagues of the mud of horrible poverty? Who told thee that the winter of thy discontent would proceed from frost to frost, from snow, and ice, and hail, to deeper
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 20th Evening
Published Jul 20, 2026
“And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor?” — Jeremiah 2:18 By sundry miracles, by divers mercies, by strange deliverances Jehovah had proved Himself to be worthy of Israel’s trust. Yet they broke down the hedges with which God had enclosed them as a sacred garden; they forsook their own true and living God, and followed after false gods. Constantly did the Lord reprove them for this infatuation, and our text contains one instance of God’s expostulating with
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 20th Morning
Published Jul 20, 2026
“The earnest of our inheritance.” — Ephesians 1:14 Oh! what enlightenment, what joys, what consolation, what delight of heart is experienced by that man who has learned to feed on Jesus, and on Jesus alone. Yet the realization which we have of Christ’s preciousness is, in this life, imperfect at the best. As an old writer says, “‘Tis but a taste!” We have tasted “that the Lord is gracious,” but we do not yet know how good and gracious He is, although what we know of His sweetness makes us long f
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 19th Evening
Published Jul 19, 2026
“A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He not quench.” — Matthew 12:20 What is weaker than the bruised reed or the smoking flax? A reed that groweth in the fen or marsh, let but the wild duck light upon it, and it snaps; let but the foot of man brush against it, and it is bruised and broken; every wind that flits across the river moves it to and fro. You can conceive of nothing more frail or brittle, or whose existence is more in jeopardy, than a bruised reed. Then look at th
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 19th Morning
Published Jul 19, 2026
“The Lord our God hath shewed us His glory.” — Deuteronomy 5:24 God’s great design in all His works is the manifestation of His own glory. Any aim less than this were unworthy of Himself. But how shall the glory of God be manifested to such fallen creatures as we are? Man’s eye is not single, he has ever a side glance towards his own honour, has too high an estimate of his own powers, and so is not qualified to behold the glory of the Lord. It is clear, then, that self must stand out of the way,
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 18th Evening
Published Jul 18, 2026
“Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path.” — Joel 2:8 Locusts always keep their rank, and although their number is legion, they do not crowd upon each other, so as to throw their columns into confusion. This remarkable fact in natural history shows how thoroughly the a Lord has infused the spirit of order into His universe, since the smallest animate creatures are as much controlled by it as are the rolling spheres or the seraphic messengers. It would be wise for
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 18th Morning
Published Jul 18, 2026
“They shall go hindmost with their standards.” — Numbers 2:31 The camp of Dan brought up the rear when the armies of Israel were on the march. The Danites occupied the hindmost place, but what mattered the position, since they were as truly part of the host as were the foremost tribes; they followed the same fiery cloudy pillar, they ate of the same manna, drank of the same spiritual rock, and journeyed to the same inheritance. Come, my heart, cheer up, though last and least; it is thy privilege
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 17th Evening
Published Jul 17, 2026
“Let not one of them escape.” — 1 Kings 18:40 When the prophet Elijah had received the answer to his prayer, and the fire from heaven had consumed the sacrifice in the presence of all the people, he called upon the assembled Israelites to take the priests of Baal, and sternly cried, “Let not one of them escape.” He took them all down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. So must it be with our sins — they are all doomed, not one must be preserved. Our darling sin must die. Spare it not for i
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 17th Morning
Published Jul 17, 2026
“Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.” — 1 Thessalonians 1:4 Many persons want to know their election before they look to Christ, but they cannot learn it thus, it is only to be discovered by “looking unto Jesus.” If you desire to ascertain your own election; — after the following manner, shall you assure your heart before God. Do you feel yourself to be a lost, guilty sinner? go straightway to the cross of Christ, and tell Jesus so, and tell Him that you have read in the Bible, “Him
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 16th Evening
Published Jul 16, 2026
“Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time is come. For Thy servants rake pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof.” — Psalm 102:13, 14 A selfish man in trouble is exceedingly hard to comfort, because the springs of his comfort entirely within himself, and when he is sad all his springs are dry. But a large-hearted man full of Christian philanthropy, has other springs from which to supply himself with comfort beside those which lie withi
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 16th Morning
Published Jul 16, 2026
“They gathered manna every morning.” — Exodus 16:21 Labour to maintain a sense of thine entire dependence upon the Lord’s good will and pleasure for the continuance of thy richest enjoyments. Never try to live on the old manna, nor seek to find help in Egypt. All must come from Jesus, or thou art undone for ever. Old anointings will not suffice to impart unction to thy spirit; thine head must have fresh oil poured upon it from the golden horn of the sanctuary, or it will cease from its glory. To
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 15th Evening
Published Jul 15, 2026
“He appeared first to Mary Magdalene.” — Mark 16:9 Jesus “appeared first to Mary Magdalene,” probably not only on account of her great love and persevering seeking, but because, as the context intimates, she had been a special trophy of Christ’s delivering power. Learn from this, that the greatness of our sin before conversion should not make us imagine that we may not be specially favoured with the very highest grade of fellowship. She was one who had left all to become a constant attendant on
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 14th Evening
Published Jul 14, 2026
“As it began to dawn, came Magdalene, to see the sepulchre.” — Matthew 28:1 Let us learn from Mary Magdalene how to obtain fellowship with the Lord Jesus. Notice how she sought. She sought the Saviour very early in the morning. If thou canst wait for Christ, and be patient in the hope of having fellowship with Him at some distant season, thou wilt never have fellowship at all; for the heart that is fitted for communion is a hungering and a thirsting heart. She sought Him also with very great bol
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 14th Morning
Published Jul 14, 2026
“If thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.” — Exodus 20:25 God’S altar was to be built of unhewn stones, that no trace of human skill or labour might be seen upon it. Human wisdom delights to trim and arrange the doctrines of the cross into a system more artificial and more congenial with the depraved tastes of fallen nature; instead, however, of improving the gospel carnal wisdom pollutes it, until it becomes another gospel, and not the truth of God at all. All alterations and am
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 13th Evening
Published Jul 13, 2026
“When I cry unto Thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.” — Psalm 56:9 It is impossible for any human speech to express the full meaning of this delightful phrase, “God is for me.” He was “for us” before the worlds were made; He was “for us,” or He would not have given His well-beloved son; He was “for us” when He smote the Only-begotten, and laid the full weight of His wrath upon Him — He was “for us,” though He was against Him; He was “for us,” when we were rui
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 13th Morning
Published Jul 13, 2026
“God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry?” — Jonah 4:9 Anger is not always or necessarily sinful, but it has such a tendency to run wild that whenever it displays itself, we should be quick to question its character, with this enquiry, “Doest thou well to be angry?” It may be that we can answer, “YES.” Very frequently anger is the madman’s firebrand, but sometimes it is Elijah’s fire from heaven. We do well when we are angry with sin, because of the wrong which it commits against our good
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 12th Evening
Published Jul 12, 2026
“His heavenly kingdom.” — 2 Timothy 4:18 Yonder city of the great King is a place of active service. Ransomed spirits serve Him day and night in His temple. They never cease to fulfil the good pleasure of their King. They always “rest,” so far as ease and freedom from care is concerned; and never “rest,” in the sense of indolence or inactivity. Jerusalem the golden is the place of communion with all the people of God. We shall sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in eternal fellowship. We shall h
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 12th Morning
Published Jul 12, 2026
“Sanctified by God the Father.” — Jude 1 “Sanctified in Christ Jesus.” — 1 Corinthians 1:2 “Through sanctification of the Spirit.” — 1 Peter 1:2 Mark the union of the Three Divine Persons in all their gracious acts. How unwisely do those believers talk who make preferences in the Persons of the Trinity; who think of Jesus as if He were the embodiment of everything lovely and gracious, while the Father they regard as severely just, but destitute of kindness. Equally wrong are those who magnify th
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 11th Morning
Published Jul 11, 2026
“After that ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” — 1 Peter 5:10 You have seen the arch of heaven as it spans the plain: glorious are its colours, and rare its hues. It is beautiful, but, alas, it passes away, and lo, it is not. The fair colours give way to the fleecy clouds, and the sky is no longer brilliant with the tints of heaven. It is not established. How can it be? A glorious show made up of transitory sun-beams and passing rain-drops, how can it a
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 10th Evening
Published Jul 10, 2026
“And the evening and the morning were the first day.” — Genesis 1:5 The evening was “darkness” and the morning was “light,” and yet the two together are called by the name that is given to the light alone! This is somewhat remarkable, but it has an exact analogy in spiritual experience. In every believer there is darkness and light, and yet he is not to be named a sinner because there is sin in him, but he is to be named a saint because he possesses some degree of holiness. This will be a most c
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 10th Morning
Published Jul 10, 2026
“Fellow citizens with the saints.” — Ephesians 2:19 What is meant by our being citizens in heaven? It means that we are under heaven’s government. Christ the king of heaven reigns in our hearts; our daily prayer is, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The proclamations issued from the throne of glory are freely received by us: the decrees of the Great King we cheerfully obey. Then as citizens of the New Jerusalem, we share heaven’s honours. The glory which belongs to beatified saints
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 9th Evening
Published Jul 9, 2026
“And God divided the light from the darkness.” — Genesis 1:4 A believer has two principles at work within him. In his natural estate he was subject to one principle only, which was darkness; now light has entered, and the two principles disagree. Mark the apostle Paul’s words in the seventh chapter of Romans: “I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law o
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 9th Morning
Published Jul 9, 2026
“Forget not all His benefits.” — Psalm 103:2 It is a delightful and profitable occupation to mark the hand of God in the lives of ancient saints, and to observe His goodness in delivering them, His mercy in pardoning them, and His faithfulness in keeping His covenant with them. But would it not be even more interesting and profitable for us to remark the hand of God in our own lives? Ought we not to look upon our own history as being at least as full of God, as full of His goodness and of His tr
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 8th Evening
Published Jul 8, 2026
“Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me: for Thou art the God of my salvation; on Thee do I wait all the day.” — Psalm 25:5 When the believer has begun with trembling feet to walk in the way of the Lord, he asks to be still led onward like a little child upheld by its parent’s helping hand, and he craves to be further instructed in the alphabet of truth. Experimental teaching is the burden of this prayer. David knew much, but he felt his ignorance, and desired to be still in the Lord’s school: four
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 8th Morning
Published Jul 8, 2026
“Tell me I pray thee wherein thy great strength lieth.” — Judges 16:6 Where lies the secret strength of faith? It lies in the food it feeds on; for faith studies what the promise is — an emanation of divine grace, an overflowing of the great heart of God; and faith says, “My God could not have given this promise, except from love and grace; therefore it is quite certain His Word will be fulfilled.” Then faith thinketh, “Who gave this promise?” It considereth not so much its greatness, as, “Who i
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 7th Evening
Published Jul 7, 2026
“When I passed by thee, I said unto thee, Live.” — Ezekiel 16:6 Saved one, consider gratefully this mandate (of mercy. Note that this fiat of God is majestic. In our text, we perceive a sinner with nothing in him but sin, expecting nothing but wrath; but the eternal Lord passes by in His glory; l He looks. He pauses, and He pronounces the solitary but royal word, “Live.” There speaks a God. Who but He could venture thus to deal with life and dispense it with a single syllable? Again, this fiat i
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 7th Morning
Published Jul 7, 2026
“Brethren, pray for us.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:25 This one morning in the year we reserved to refresh the reader’s memory upon the subject of prayer for ministers, and we do most earnestly implore every Christian household to grant the fervent request of the text first uttered by an apostle and now repeated by us. Brethren, our work is Solemnly momentous, involving weal or woe to thousands; we treat with souls for God on eternal business, and our word is either a savour of life unto life, or of de
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 6th Evening
Published Jul 6, 2026
“How many are mine iniquities and sins?” — Job 13:23 Have you ever really weighed and considered how great the sin of God’s people is? Think how heinous is your own transgression, and you will find that not only does a sin here and there tower up like an alp, but that your iniquities are heaped upon each other, as in the old fable of the giants who piled Pelian upon Ossa, mountain upon mountain. What an aggregate of sin there is in the life of one of the most sanctified of God’s children! Attemp
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 6th Morning
Published Jul 6, 2026
“Whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.” — Proverbs 1:33 Divine love is rendered conspicuous when it I shines in the midst of judgments. Fair is that lone star which smiles through the rifts of the thunder clouds; bright is the oasis which blooms in the wilderness of sand; so fair and so bright is love in the midst of wrath. When the Israelites provoked the Most High by their continued idolatry, He punished them by withholding both dew and rain, so tha
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 5th Evening
Published Jul 5, 2026
“Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.” — Isaiah 26:4 Seeing that we have such a God to trust to, let us rest upon Him with all our weight; let us resolutely drive out all unbelief, and endeavour to get rid of doubts and fears, which so much mar our comfort; since there is no excuse for fear where God is the foundation of our trust. A loving parent would be sorely grieved if his child could not trust him; and how ungenerous, how unkind is our conduct whe
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 5th Morning
Published Jul 5, 2026
“Called to be saints.” — Romans 1:7 We are very apt to regard the apostolic saints as if they were “saints” in a more especial manner than the other children of God. All are “saints” whom God has called by His grace, and sanctified by His Spirit; but we are apt to look upon the apostles as extraordinary beings, scarcely subject to the same weaknesses and temptations as ourselves. Yet in so doing we are forgetful of this truth, that the nearer a man lives to God the more intensely has he to mourn
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 4th Evening
Published Jul 4, 2026
“He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.” — Psalm 24:4 Outward practical holiness is a very precious mark of grace. It is to be feared that many professors have perverted the doctrine of justification by faith in such a way as to treat good works with contempt; if so, they will receive everlasting contempt at the last great day. If our hands are not clean, let us wash them in Jesus’ precious blood, and so let us lift up pure
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 4th Morning
Published Jul 4, 2026
“Sanctify them through Thy truth.” — John 17:17 Sanctification begins in regeneration. The Spirit of God infuses into man that new living principle by which he becomes “a new creature” in Christ Jesus. This work, which begins in the new birth, is carried on in two ways — mortification, whereby the lusts of the flesh are subdued and kept under; and vivification, by which the life which God has put within us is made to be a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. This is carried on every
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 3rd Evening
Published Jul 3, 2026
“If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him.” — 2 Timothy 2:12 We must not imagine that we are suffering for Christ, and with Christ, if we are not in Christ. Beloved friend, are you trusting to Jesus only? If not, whatever you may have to mourn over on earth, you are not “suffering with Christ,” land have no hope of reigning with Him in heaven. Neither are we to conclude that all a Christian’s sufferings are sufferings with Christ, for it is essential that he be called by God to suffer. If we a
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 3rd Morning
Published Jul 3, 2026
“The illfavoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven wellfavoured and fat kine.” — Genesis 41:4 Pharaoh’s dream has too often been my waking experience. My days of sloth have ruinously destroyed all that I had achieved in times of zealous industry; my seasons of coldness have frozen all the genial glow of my periods of fervency and enthusiasm; and my fits of worldliness have thrown me back from my advances in the divine life. I had need to beware of lean prayers, lean praises, lean duties,
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 2nd Evening
Published Jul 2, 2026
“Unto Thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if Thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.” — Psalm 28:1 A cry is the natural expression of sorrow, and a suitable utterance when all other modes of appeal fail us; but the cry must be alone directed to the Lord, for to cry to man is to waste our entreaties upon the air. When we consider the readiness of the Lord to hear, and His ability to aid, we shall see good reason for directing all our appeals at
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 2nd Morning
Published Jul 2, 2026
“Our heart shall rejoice in Him.” — Psalm 33:21 Blessed is the fact that Christians can rejoice even in the deepest distress; although trouble may surround them, they still sing; and, like many birds, they sing best in their cages. The waves may roll over them, but their souls soon rise to the surface and see the light of God’s countenance; they have a buoyancy about them which keeps their head always above the water, and helps them to sing amid the tempest, “God is with me still.” To whom shall
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 1st Evening
Published Jul 1, 2026
“The voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.” — Genesis 3:8 My soul, now that the cool of the day has come, retire awhile and hearken to the voice of thy God. He is always ready to speak with thee when thou art prepared to hear. If there be any slowness to commune it is not on His part, but altogether on thine own, for He stands at the door and knocks, and if His people will but open He rejoices to enter. But in what state is my heart, which is my Lord’s garden? May I
- StandardSummaries onlyJuly 1st Morning
Published Jul 1, 2026
“In summer and in winter shall it be.” — Zechariah 14:8 The streams of living water which flow from Jerusalem are not dried up by the parching heats of sultry midsummer any more than they were frozen by the cold winds of blustering winter. Rejoice, O my soul, that thou art spared to testify of the faithfulness of the Lord. The seasons change and thou changest, but thy Lord abides evermore the same, and the streams of His love are as deep, as broad and as full as ever. The heats of business cares
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 30th Evening
Published Jun 30, 2026
“Ah Lord God, behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee.” — Jeremiah 32:17 At the very time when the Chaldeans surrounded Jerusalem, and when the sword, famine and pestilence had desolated the land, Jeremiah was commanded by God to purchase a field, and have the deed of transfer legally sealed and witnessed. This was a strange purchase for a rational man to make. Prudence could not justify it, for it was buyin
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 29th Evening
Published Jun 29, 2026
“Howbeit, in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that He might know all that was in his heart.” — 2 Chronicles 32:31 Hezekiah was growing so inwardly great, and priding himself so much upon the favour of God, that self-righteousness crept in, and through his carnal security, the grace of God was for a time, in its more active operations, withdrawn. Here is quite enough to accoun
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 29th Morning
Published Jun 29, 2026
“Them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.” — 1 Thessalonians 4:14 Let us not imagine that the soul sleeps in insensibility. “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise,” is the whisper of Christ to every dying saint. They “sleep in Jesus,” but their souls are before the throne of God, praising Him day and night in His temple, singing hallelujahs to Him who washed them from their sins in His blood. The body sleeps in its lonely bed of earth, beneath the coverlet of grass. But what is
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 28th Evening
Published Jun 28, 2026
“But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.” — Exodus 7:12 This incident is an instructive emblem of the sure victory of the divine handiwork over all opposition. Whenever a divine principle is cast into the heart, though the devil may fashion a counterfeit, and produce swarms of opponents, as sure as ever God is in the work, it will swallow up all its foes. If God’s grace takes possession of a man, the world’s magicians may throw down all their rods; and every rod may be as cunning and poisonous
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 28th Morning
Published Jun 28, 2026
“Looking unto Jesus.” — Hebrews 12:2 It is ever the Holy Spirit’s work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan’s work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, “Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of His children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus.” All these are thoughts about self, and we
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 27th Evening
Published Jun 27, 2026
“Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.” — 1 Corinthians 7:20 Some persons have the foolish notion that the only way in which they can live for God is by becoming ministers, missionaries, or Bible women. Alas! how many would be shut out from any opportunity of magnifying the Most High if this were the case. Beloved, it is not office, it is earnestness; it is not position, it is grace which will enable us to glorify God. God is most surely glorified in that cobbler’s stall
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 27th Morning
Published Jun 27, 2026
“Only ye shall not go very far away.” — Exodus 8:28 This is a crafty word from the lip of the arch-tyrant Pharaoh. If the poor bondaged Israelites must needs go out of Egypt, then he bargains with them that it shall not be very far away; not too far for them to escape the terror of his arms, and the observation of his spies. After the same fashion, the world loves not the non-conformity of nonconformity, or the dissidence of dissent, it would have us be more charitable and not carry matters with
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 26th Evening
Published Jun 26, 2026
“Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” — 2 Peter 1:4 Vanish for ever all thought of indulging the flesh if you would live in the power of your risen Lord. It were ill that a man who is alive in Christ should dwell in the corruption of sin. “Why seek ye the living among the dead?” said the angel to Magdalene. Should the living dwell in the sepulchre? Should divine life be immured in the charnel house of fleshly lust? How can we partake of the cup of the Lord and yet dr
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 26th Morning
Published Jun 26, 2026
“Art thou become like unto us?” — Isaiah 14:10 What must be the apostate professor’s doom when his naked soul appears before God? How will he bear that voice, “Depart, ye cursed; thou hast rejected me, and I reject thee; thou hast played the harlot, and departed from Me: I also have banished thee for ever from my presence, and will not have mercy upon thee.” What will be this wretch’s shame at the last great day when, before assembled multitudes, the apostate shall be unmasked? See the profane,
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 25th Evening
Published Jun 25, 2026
“The dove found no rest for the sole of her foot.” — Genesis 8:9 Reader, can you find rest apart from the ark, Christ Jesus? Then be assured that your religion is vain. Are you satisfied with anything short of a conscious knowledge of your union and interest in Christ? Then woe unto you. If you profess to be a Christian, yet find full satisfaction in worldly pleasures and pursuits, your profession is false. If your soul can stretch herself at rest, and find the bed long enough, and the coverlet
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 25th Morning
Published Jun 25, 2026
“Get thee up into the high mountain.” — Isaiah 40:9 Our knowledge of Christ is somewhat like climbing one of our Welsh mountains. When you are at the base you see but little: the mountain itself appears to be but one-half as high as it really is. Confined in a little valley, you discover scarcely anything but the rippling brooks as they descend into the stream at the foot of the mountain. Climb the first rising knoll, and the valley lengthens and widens beneath your feet. Go higher, and you see
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 24th Evening
Published Jun 24, 2026
“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said… Be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods.” — Daniel 3:16, 18 The narrative of the manly courage and marvellous deliverance of the three holy children, or rather champions, is well calculated to excite in the minds of believers firmness and steadfastness in upholding the truth in the teeth of tyranny and in the very jaws of death. Let young Christians especially learn from their example, both in matters of faith in religio
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 24th Morning
Published Jun 24, 2026
“A certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto Him, Blessed is the womb that bare Thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But He said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” — Luke 11:27, 28 It is fondly imagined by some that it must have involved very special privileges to have been the mother of our Lord, because they supposed that she had the benefit of looking into His very heart in a way in which we cannot hope to do. There may be an app
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 23rd Evening
Published Jun 23, 2026
“Waiting for the adoption.” — Romans 8:23 Even in this world saints are God’s children, but men cannot discover them to be so, except by certain moral characteristics. The adoption is not manifested, the children are not yet openly declared. Among the Romans a man might adopt a child, and keep it private for a long time: but there was a second adoption in public; when the child was brought before the constituted authorities its former garments were taken off, and the father who took it to be his
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 23rd Morning
Published Jun 23, 2026
“Ephraim is a cake not turned.” — Hosea 7:8 A cake not turned is uncooked on one side; and so Ephraim was, in many respects, untouched by divine grace: though there was some partial obedience, there was very much rebellion left. My soul, I charge thee, see whether this be thy case. Art thou thorough in the things of God? Has grace gone through the very centre of thy being so as to be felt in its divine operations in all thy powers, thy actions, thy words, and thy thoughts? To be sanctified, spir
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 22nd Evening
Published Jun 22, 2026
“That those things which cannot be shaken may remain.” — Hebrews 12:27 We have many things in our possession at the present moment which can be shaken, and it ill becomes a Christian man to set much store by them, for there is nothing stable beneath these rolling skies; change is written upon all things. Yet, we have certain “things which cannot be shaken,” and I invite you this evening to think of them, that if the things which can be shaken should all be taken away, you may derive real comfort
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 22nd Morning
Published Jun 22, 2026
“He shall build the temple of the Lord; and He shall bear the glory.” — Zechariah 6:13 Christ Himself is the builder of His spiritual temple, and He has built it on the mountains of His unchangeable affection, His omnipotent grace, and His infallible truthfulness. But as it was in Solomon’s temple, so in this; the materials need making ready. There are the “Cedars of Lebanon,” but they are not framed for the building; they are not cut down, and shaped, and made into those planks of cedar, whose
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 21st Evening
Published Jun 21, 2026
“The foundation of God standeth sure.” — 2 Timothy 2:19 The foundation upon which our faith rests is this, that “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.” The great fact on which genuine faith relies is, that “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us,” and that “Christ also hath suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God”; “Who Himself bare our sins in His own body on the tree”; “For the chastisement of our pea
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 21st Morning
Published Jun 21, 2026
“Thou art fairer than the children of men.” — Psalm 45:2 The entire person of Jesus is but as one gem, and His life is all along but one impression of the seal. He is altogether complete; not only in His several parts, but as a gracious all-glorious whole. His character is not a mass of fair colours mixed confusedly, nor a heap of precious stones laid carelessly one upon another; He is a picture of beauty and a breastplate of glory. In Him, all the “things of good repute” are in their proper pla
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 20th Evening
Published Jun 20, 2026
“Straightway they forsook their nets, and followed Him.” — Mark 1:18 When they heard the call of Jesus, Simon and Andrew obeyed at once without demur. If we would always, punctually and with resolute zeal, put in practice what we hear upon the spot, or at the first fit occasion, our attendance at the means of grace, and our reading of good books, could not fail to enrich us spiritually. He will not lose his loaf who has taken care at once to eat it, neither can he be deprived of the benefit of t
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 20th Morning
Published Jun 20, 2026
“For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.” — Amos 9:9 Every sifting comes by divine command and permission. Satan must ask leave before he can lay a finger upon Job. Nay, more, in some sense our siftings are directly the work of heaven, for the text says, “I will sift the house of Israel.” Satan, like a drudge, may hold the sieve, hoping to destroy the corn; but the overru
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 19th Evening
Published Jun 19, 2026
“My Beloved is mine, and I am His: He feedeth among the lilies. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my Beloved, and be Thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.” — Song of Solomon 2:16, 17 Surely if there be a happy verse in the Bible it is this — ”My Beloved is mine, and I am His.” So peaceful, so full of assurance, so overrunning with happiness and contentment is it, that it might well have been written by the same hand which penned the twenty-third Psalm.
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 19th Morning
Published Jun 19, 2026
“And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.” — Acts 2:4 Rich were the blessings of this day if all of us were filled with the Holy Ghost. The consequences of this sacred filling of the soul it would be impossible to overestimate. Life, comfort, light, purity, power, peace; and many other precious blessings are inseparable from the Spirit’s benign presence. As sacred oil, He anoints the head of the believer, sets him apart to the priesthood of saints, and gives him grace to execute his office
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 18th Evening
Published Jun 18, 2026
“I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse.” — Song of Solomon 5:1 The heart of the believer is Christ’s garden. He bought it with His precious blood, and He enters it and claims it as His own. A garden implies separation. It is not the open common; it is not a wilderness; it is walled around, or hedged in. Would that we could see the wall of separation between the church and the world made broader and stronger. It makes one sad to hear Christians saying, “Well, there is no harm in this; th
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 18th Morning
Published Jun 18, 2026
“Thy Redeemer.” — Isaiah 54:5 Jesus, the Redeemer, is altogether ours and ours for ever. All the offices of Christ are held on our behalf. He is king for us, priest for us, and prophet for us. Whenever we read a new title of the Redeemer, let us appropriate Him as ours under that name as much as under any other. The shepherd’s staff, the father’s rod, the captain’s sword, the priest’s mitre, theprince’s sceptre, the prophet’s mantle, all are ours. Jesus hath no dignity which He will not employ f
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 17th Evening
Published Jun 17, 2026
“Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it.” — Numbers 21:17 Famous was the well of Beer in the wilderness, because it was the subject of a promise: “That is the well whereof the Lord spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.” The people needed water, and it was promised by their gracious God. We need fresh supplies of heavenly grace, and in the covenant the Lord has pledged Himself to give all we require. The well next became the cause of a s
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 17th Morning
Published Jun 17, 2026
“Help, Lord.” — Psalm 12:1 The prayer itself is remarkable, for it is short, but seasonable, sententious, and suggestive. David mourned the fewness of faithful men, and therefore lifted up his heart in supplication — when the creature failed, he flew to the Creator. He evidently felt his own weakness, or he would not have cried for help; but at the same time he intended honestly to exert himself for the cause of truth, for the word “help” is inapplicable where we ourselves do nothing. There is m
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 16th Evening
Published Jun 16, 2026
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” — Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” Here is personal interest, “my light,” “my salvation”; the soul is assured of it, and therefore declares it boldly. Into the soul at the new birth divine light is poured as the precursor of salvation; where there is not enough light to reveal our own darkness and to make us long for the Lord Jesus, there is no evidence o
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 16th Morning
Published Jun 16, 2026
“And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish.” — John 10:28 The Christian should never think or speak lightly of unbelief. For a child of God to mistrust His love, His truth, His faithfulness, must be greatly displeasing to Him. How can we ever grieve Him by doubting His upholding grace? Christian! it is contrary to every promise of God’s precious Word that thou shouldst ever be forgotten or left to perish. If it could be so, how could He be true who has said, “Can a woman for
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 15th Evening
Published Jun 15, 2026
“He openeth, and no man shutteth.” — Revelation 3:7 Jesus is the keeper of the gates of paradise and before every believing soul He setteth an open door, which no man or devil shall be able to close against it. What joy it will be to find that faith in Him is the golden key to the everlasting doors. My soul, dost thou carry this key in thy bosom, or art thou trusting to some deceitful pick-lock, which will fail thee at last? Hear this parable of the preacher, and remember it. The great King has
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 15th Morning
Published Jun 15, 2026
“And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.” — Genesis 21:6 It was far above the power of nature, and even contrary to its laws, that the aged Sarah should be honoured with a son; and even so it is beyond all ordinary rules that I, a poor, helpless, undone sinner, should find grace to bear about in my soul the indwelling Spirit of the Lord Jesus. I, who once despaired, as well I might, for my nature was as dry, and withered, and barren, and accursed as a
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 14th Evening
Published Jun 14, 2026
“O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face… because we have sinned against Thee.” — Daniel 9:8 A deep sense and clear sight of sin, its heinousness, and the punishment which it deserves, should make us lie low before the throne. We have sinned as Christians. Alas! that it should be so. Favoured as we have been, we have yet been ungrateful: privileged beyond most, we have not brought forth fruit in proportion. Who is there, although he may long have been engaged in the Christian warfare, that wil
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 14th Morning
Published Jun 14, 2026
“Delight thyself also in the Lord.” — Psalm 37:4 The teaching of these words must seem very surprising to those who are strangers to vital godliness, but to the sincere believer it is only the inculcation of a recognized truth. The life of the believer is here described as a delight in God, and we are thus certified of the great fact that true religion overflows with happiness and joy. Ungodly persons and mere professors never look upon religion as a joyful thing; to them it is service, duty, or
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 13th Evening
Published Jun 13, 2026
“Remove far from me vanity and lies.” — Proverbs 30:8 “O my God, be not far from me.” Psalm 38:21. Here we have two great lessons — what to deprecate and what to supplicate. The happiest state of a Christian is the holiest state. As there is the most heat nearest to the sun, so there is the most happiness nearest to Christ. No Christian enjoys comfort when his eyes are fixed on vanity — he finds no satisfaction unless his soul is quickened in the ways of God. The world may win happiness elsewher
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 13th Morning
Published Jun 13, 2026
“Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” — Revelation 22:17 Jesus says, “take freely.” He wants no payment or preparation. He seeks no recommendation from our virtuous emotions. If you have no good feelings, if you be but willing, you are invited; therefore come! You have no belief and no repentance, — come to Him, and He will give them to you. Come just as you are, and take “Freely,” without money and without price. He gives Himself to needy ones. The drinking fountains at the c
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 12th Evening
Published Jun 12, 2026
“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling.” — 2 Timothy 1:9 The apostle uses the perfect tense and says, “Who hath saved us.” Believers in Christ Jesus are saved. They are not looked upon as persons who are in a hopeful state, and may ultimately be saved, but they are already saved. Salvation is not a blessing to be enjoyed upon the dying bed, and to be sung of in a future state above, but a matter to be obtained, received, promised, and enjoyed now. The Christian is perfectly saved
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 12th Morning
Published Jun 12, 2026
“Thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting.” — Daniel 5:27 It is well frequently to weigh ourselves in the scale of God’s Word. You will find it a holy exercise to read some psalm of David, and, as you meditate upon each verse, to ask yourself, “Can I say this? Have I felt as David felt? Has my heart ever been broken on account of sin, as his was when he penned his penitential psalms? Has my soul been full of true confidence in the hour of difficulty as his was when he sang of God’s
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 11th Evening
Published Jun 11, 2026
“There brake He the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle.” — Psalm 76:3 Our Redeemer’s glorious cry of “It is finished,” was the death-knell of all the adversaries of His people, the breaking of “the and the battle.” Behold the hero of Golgotha using His cross as an anvil, and His woes as a hammer, dashing to shivers bundle after bundle of our sins, those poisoned “arrows of the bow”; trampling on every indictment, and destroying every accusation. What glorious blows the
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 10th Evening
Published Jun 10, 2026
“They are they which testify of Me.” — John 5:39 Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega of the Bible. He is the constant theme of its sacred pages; from first to last they testify of Him. At the creation we at once discern Him as one of the sacred Trinity; we catch a glimpse of Him in the promise of the woman’s seed; we see Him typified in the ark of Noah; we walk with Abraham, as He sees Messiah’s day; we dwell in the tents of Isaac and Jacob, feeding upon the gracious promise; we hear the venerab
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 10th Morning
Published Jun 10, 2026
“We live unto the Lord.” — Romans 14:8 If God had willed it, each of us might have entered heaven at the moment of conversion. It was not absolutely necessary for our preparation for immortality that we should tarry here. It is possible for a man to be taken to heaven, and to be found meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light, though he has but just believed in Jesus. It is true that our sanctification is a long and continued process, and we shall not be perfected till we l
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 9th Evening
Published Jun 9, 2026
“Search the Scriptures.” — John 5:39 The Greek word here rendered search signifies a strict, close, diligent, curious search, such as men make when they are seeking gold, or hunters when they are in earnest after game. We must not rest content with having given a superficial reading to a chapter or two, but with the candle of the Spirit we must deliberately seek out the hidden meaning of the word. Holy Scripture requires searching — much of it can only be learned by careful study. There is milk
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 9th Morning
Published Jun 9, 2026
“The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad.” — Psalm 126:3 Some Christians are sadly prone to look on the dark side of everything, and to dwell more upon what they have gone through than upon what God has done for them. Ask for their impression of the Christian life, and they will describe their continual conflicts, their deep afflictions, their sad adversities, and the sinfulness of their hearts, yet with scarcely any allusion to the mercy and help which God has vouchsafed the
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 8th Evening
Published Jun 8, 2026
“Thou shalt see now whether My word shall come to pass unto thee or not.” — Numbers 11:23 God had made a positive promise to Moses that for the space of a whole month He would feed the vast host in the wilderness with flesh. Moses, being overtaken by a fit of unbelief, looks to the outward means, and is at a loss to know how the promise can be fulfilled. He looked to the creature instead of the Creator. But doth the Creator expect the creature to fulfil His promise for Him? No; He who makes the
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 8th Morning
Published Jun 8, 2026
“There fell down many slain, because the war was of God.” — 1 Chronicles 5:22 Warrior, fighting under the banner of the Lord Jesus, observe this verse with holy joy, for as it was in the days of old so is it now, if the war be of God the victory is sure. The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh could barely muster five and forty thousand fighting men, and yet in their war with the Hagarites, they slew “men, an hundred thousand,” “for they cried to God in the battle, an
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 7th Morning
Published Jun 7, 2026
“Ye that love the Lord hate evil.” — Psalm 97:10 Thou hast good reason to “hate evil,” for only consider what harm it has already wrought thee. Oh, what a world of mischief sin has brought into thy heart! Sin blinded thee so that thou couldst not see the beauty of the Saviour; it made thee deaf so that thou couldst not hear the Redeemer’s tender invitations. Sin turned thy feet into the way of death, and poured poison into the very fountain of thy being; it tainted thy heart, and made it “deceit
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 6th Evening
Published Jun 6, 2026
“Are they Israelites? so am I.” — 2 Corinthians 11:22 We have here A PERSONAL CLAIM, and one that needs proof. The apostle knew that His claim was indisputable, but there are many persons who have no right to the title who yet claim to belong to the Israel of God. If we are with confidence declaring, “So am I also an Israelite,” let us only say it after having searched our heart as in the presence of God. But if we can give proof that we are following Jesus, if we can from the heart say, “I trus
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 5th Evening
Published Jun 5, 2026
“He that loveth not knoweth not God.” — 1 John 4:8 The distinguishing mark of a Christian is his confidence in the love of Christ, and the yielding of his affections to Christ in return. First, faith sets her seal upon the man by enabling the soul to say with the apostle, “Christ loved me and gave Himself for me.” Then love gives the countersign, and stamps upon the heart gratitude and love to Jesus in return. “We love Him because He first loved us.” In those grand old ages, which are the heroic
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 5th Morning
Published Jun 5, 2026
“The Lord shut him in.” — Genesis 7:16 Noah was shut in away from all the world by the hand of divine love. The door of electing purpose interposes between us and the world which lieth in the wicked one. We are not of the world even as our Lord Jesus was not of the world. Into the sin, the gaiety, the pursuits of the multitude we cannot enter; we cannot play in the streets of Vanity Fair with the children of darkness, for our heavenly Father has shut us in. Noah was shut in with his God. “Come t
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 4th Evening
Published Jun 4, 2026
“Received up into glory.” — 1 Timothy 3:16 We have seen our well-beloved Lord in the days of His flesh, humiliated and sore vexed; for He was “despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” He whose brightness is as the morning, wore the sackcloth of sorrow as His daily dress: shame was His mantle, and reproach was His vesture. Yet now, inasmuch as He has triumphed over all the powers of darkness upon the bloody tree, our faith beholds our King returning with dyed ga
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 4th Morning
Published Jun 4, 2026
“The kindness and love of God our Saviour.” — Titus 3:4 How sweet it is to behold the Saviour communing with His own beloved people! There can be nothing more delightful than, by the Divine Spirit, to be led into this fertile field of delight. Let the mind for an instant consider the history of the Redeemer’s love, and a thousand enchanting acts of affection will suggest themselves, all of which have had for their design the weaving of the heart into Christ, and the intertwisting of the thoughts
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 3rd Evening
Published Jun 3, 2026
“He humbled Himself.” — Philippians 2:8 Jesus is the great teacher of lowliness of heart. We need daily to learn of Him. See the Master taking a towel and washing His disciples’ feet! Follower of Christ, wilt thou not humble thyself? See Him as the Servant of servants, and surely thou canst not be proud! Is not this sentence the compendium of His biography, “He humbled Himself”? Was He not on earth always stripping off first one robe of honour and then another, till, naked, He was fastened to th
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 3rd Morning
Published Jun 3, 2026
“These were potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work.” — 1 Chronicles 4:23 Potters were the very highest grade of workers, but “the king” needed potters, and therefore they were in royal service, although the material upon which they worked was nothing but clay. We, too, may be engaged in the most menial part of the Lord’s work, but it is a great privilege to do anything for “the king”; and therefore we will abide in our calling, hoping t
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 2nd Evening
Published Jun 2, 2026
“Good Master.” — Matthew 19:16 If the young man in the gospel used this title in speaking to our Lord, how much more fitly may I thus address Him! He is indeed my Master in both senses, a ruling Master and a teaching Master. I delight to run upon His errands, and to sit at His feet. I am both His servant and His disciple, and count it my highest honour to own the double character. If He should ask me why I call Him “good,” I should have a ready answer. It is true that “there is none good but one
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 2nd Morning
Published Jun 2, 2026
“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.” — Galatians 5:17 In every believer’s heart there is a constant struggle between the old nature and the new. The old nature is very active, and loses no opportunity of plying all the weapons of its deadly armoury against newborn grace; while on the other hand, the new nature is ever on the watch to resist and destroy its enemy. Grace within us will employ prayer, and faith, and hope, and love, to cast out the evil; it t
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 1st Evening
Published Jun 1, 2026
“He will make her wilderness like Eden.” — Isaiah 51:3 Methinks, I see in vision a howling wilderness, a great and terrible desert, like to the Sahara. I perceive nothing in it to relieve the eye, all around I am wearied with a vision of hot and arid sand, strewn with ten thousand bleaching skeletons of wretched men who have expired in anguish, having lost their way in the pitiless waste. What an appalling sight! How horrible! a sea of sand without a bound, and without an oasis, a cheerless grav
- StandardSummaries onlyJune 1st Morning
Published Jun 1, 2026
“The evening and the morning were the first day.” — Genesis 1:5 Was it so even in the beginning? Did light and darkness divide the realm of time in the first day? Then little wonder is it if I have also changes in my circumstances from the sunshine of prosperity to the midnight of adversity. It will not always be the blaze of noon even in my soul concerns, I must expect at seasons to mourn the absence of my former joys, and seek my Beloved in the night. Nor am I alone in this, for all the Lord’s
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 31st Evening
Published May 31, 2026
“Who healeth all thy diseases.” — Psalm 103:3 Humbling as is the statement, yet the fact is certain, that we are all more or less suffering under the disease of sin. What a comfort to know that we have a great Physician who is both able and willing to heal us! Let us think of Him awhile to-night. His cures are very speedy — there is life in a look at Him; His cures are radical — He strikes at the centre of the disease; and hence, His cures are sure and certain. He never fails, and the disease ne
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 31st Morning
Published May 31, 2026
“The king also himself passed over the brook Kidron.” — 2 Samuel 15:23 David passed that gloomy brook when flying with his mourning company from his traitor son. The man after God’s own heart was not exempt from trouble, nay, his life was full of it. He was both the Lord’s Anointed, and the Lord’s Afflicted. Why then should we expect to escape? At sorrow’s gates the noblest of our race have waited with ashes on their heads, wherefore then should we complain as though some strange thing had happe
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 30th Evening
Published May 30, 2026
“That henceforth we should not serve sin.” — Romans 6:6 Christian, what hast thou to do with sin? Hath it not cost thee enough already? Burnt child, wilt thou play with the fire? What! when thou hast already been between the jaws of the lion, wilt thou step a second time into his den? Hast thou not had enough of the old serpent? Did he not poison all thy veins once, and wilt thou play upon the hole of the asp, and put thy hand upon the cockatrice’s den a second time? Oh, be not so mad! so foolis
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 30th Morning
Published May 30, 2026
“Take us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines.” — Song of Solomon 2:15 A little thorn may cause much suffering. A little cloud may hide the sun. Little foxes spoil the vines; and little sins do mischief to the tender heart. These little sins burrow in the soul, and make it so full of that which is hateful to Christ, that He will hold no comfortable fellowship and communion with us. A great sin cannot destroy a Christian, but a little sin can make him miserable. Jesus will not walk wi
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 29th Evening
Published May 29, 2026
“Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho.” — Joshua 6:26 Since he was cursed who rebuilt Jericho, I much more the man who labours to restore Popery among us. In our fathers’ days the gigantic walls of Popery fell by the power of their faith, the perseverance of their efforts, and the blast of their gospel trumpets; and now there are some who would rebuild that accursed system upon its old foundation. O Lord, be pleased to thwart their unrighteous endeavou
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 29th Morning
Published May 29, 2026
“Thou hatest wickedness.” — Psalm 45:7 “Be ye angry, and sin not.” There can hardly be goodness in a man if he be not angry at sin; he who loves truth must hate every false way. How our Lord Jesus hated it when the temptation came! Thrice it assailed Him in different forms, but ever He met it with, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” He hated it in others; none the less fervently because He showed His hate oftener in tears of pity than in words of rebuke; yet what language could be more stern, more Eli
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 28th Evening
Published May 28, 2026
“This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.” — Lamentations 3:21 Memory is frequently the bondslave of despondency. Despairing minds call to remembrance every dark foreboding in the past, and dilate upon every gloomy feature in the present; thus memory, clothed in sackcloth, presents to the mind a cup of mingled gall and wormwood. There is, however, no necessity for this. Wisdom can readily transform memory into an angel of comfort. That same recollection which in its left hand brings so m
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 28th Morning
Published May 28, 2026
“Whom He justified, them He also glorified.” — Romans 8:30 Here is a precious truth for thee, believer. Thou mayest be poor, or in suffering, or unknown, but for thine encouragement take a review of thy “calling” and the consequences that flow from it, and especially that blessed result here spoken of. As surely as thou art God’s child today, so surely shall all thy trials soon be at an end, and thou shalt be rich to all the intents of bliss. Wait awhile, and that weary head shall wear the crown
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 27th Evening
Published May 27, 2026
“What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?” — 2 Samuel 9:8 If Mephibosheth was thus humbled by David’s kindness, what shall we be in the presence of our gracious Lord? The more grace we have, the less we shall think of ourselves, for grace, like light, reveals our impurity. Eminent saints have scarcely known to what to compare themselves, their sense of unworthiness has been so clear and keen. “I am,” says holy Rutherford, “a dry and withered branch, a piece of
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 27th Morning
Published May 27, 2026
“So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king’s table; and was lame on both his feet.” — 2 Samuel 9:13 Mephibosheth was no great ornament to a royal table, yet he had a continual place at David’s board, because the king could see in his face the features of the beloved Jonathan. Like Mephibosheth, we may cry unto the King of Glory, “What is Thy servant, that Thou shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am?” but still the Lord indulges us with most familiar intercour
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 26th Evening
Published May 26, 2026
“Continue in the faith.” — Acts 14:22 Perseverance is the badge of true saints. The Christian life is not a beginning only in the ways of God, but also a continuance in the same as long as life lasts. It is with a Christian as it was with the great Napoleon: he said, “Conquest has made me what I am, and conquest must maintain me.” So, under God, dear brother in the Lord, conquest has made you what you are, and conquest must sustain you. Your motto must be, “Excelsior.” He only is a true conquero
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 26th Morning
Published May 26, 2026
“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee.” — Psalm 55:22 Care, even though exercised upon legitimate objects, if carried to excess, has in it the nature of sin. The precept to avoid anxious care is earnestly inculcated by our Saviour, again and again; it is reiterated by the apostles; and it is one which cannot be neglected without involving transgression: for the very essence of anxious care is the imagining that we are wiser than God, and the thrusting ourselves into His place
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 25th Evening
Published May 25, 2026
“And they rose up the same hour, and returned Jerusalem… and they told what things were done in the way, and how He was known of them.” — Luke 24:33,35 When the two disciples had reached Emmaus, and were refreshing themselves at the evening meal, the mysterious stranger who had so enchanted them upon the road, took bread and brake it, made Himself known to them, and then vanished out of their sight. They had constrained Him to abide with them, because the day was far spent; but now, although it
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 24th Evening
Published May 24, 2026
“Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ.” — Philippians 1:27 The word “conversation” does not merely mean our talk and converse with one another, but the whole course of our life and behaviour in the world. The Greek word signifies the actions and the privileges of citizenship: and thus we are commanded to let our actions, as citizens of the New Jerusalem, be such as becometh the gospel of Christ. What sort of conversation is this? In the first place, the gospel is ver
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 24th Morning
Published May 24, 2026
“Blessed be God, which hath nor turned away my prayer.” — Psalm 66:20 In looking back upon the character of our prayers, if we do it honestly, we shall be filled with wonder that God has ever answered them. There may be some who think their I prayers worthy of acceptance — as the Pharisee did; but the true Christian, in a more enlightened retrospect, weeps over his prayers, and if he could retrace his steps he would desire to pray more earnestly. Remember, Christian, how cold thy prayers have be
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 23rd Evening
Published May 23, 2026
“Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money.” — Isaiah 43:24 Worshippers at the temple were wont to bring presents of sweet perfumes to be burned upon the altar of God: but Israel, in the time of her backsliding, became ungenerous, and made but few votive offerings to her Lord: this was an evidence of coldness of heart towards God and His house. Reader, does this never occur with you? Might not the complaint of the text be occasionally, if not frequently, brought against you? Those who are poo
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 23rd Morning
Published May 23, 2026
“The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me.” — Psalm 138:8 Most manifestly the confidence which the Psalmist here expressed was a divine confidence. He did not say, “I have grace enough to perfect that which concerneth me — my faith is so steady that it will not stagger — my love is so warm that it will never grow cold — my resolution is so firm that nothing can move it; no, his dependence was on the Lord alone. If we indulge in any confidence which is not grounded on the Rock of ages, our
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 22nd Evening
Published May 22, 2026
“Behold, Thou art fair, my Beloved.” — Song of Solomon 1:16 From every point our Well-beloved is most fair. Our various experiences are meant by our heavenly Father to furnish fresh standpoints from which we may view the loveliness of Jesus; how amiable are our trials when they carry us aloft where we may gain clearer views of Jesus than ordinary life could afford us! We have seen Him from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, and He has shone upon us as the sun in his strength; b
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 22nd Morning
Published May 22, 2026
“He led them forth by the right way.” — Psalm 107:7 Changeful experience often leads the anxious believer to enquire “Why is it thus with me?” I looked for light, but lo, darkness came; for peace, but behold trouble. I said in my heart, my mountain standeth firm, I shall never be moved. Lord, thou dost hide Thy face, and I am troubled. It was but yesterday that I could read my title clear; to-day my evidences are bedimmed, and my hopes are clouded. Yesterday I could climb to Pisgah’s top, and vi
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 21st Evening
Published May 21, 2026
“There is corn in Egypt.” — Genesis 42:2 Famine pinched all the nations, and it seemed inevitable that Jacob and his family should suffer great want; but the God of providence, who never forgets the objects of electing love, had stored a granary for His people by giving the Egyptians warning of the scarcity, and leading them to treasure up the grain of the years of plenty. Little did Jacob expect deliverance from Egypt, but there was the corn in store for him. Believer, though all things are app
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 21st Morning
Published May 21, 2026
“If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” — 1 Peter 2:3 If: — then, this is not a matter to be taken for granted concerning every one of the human race. “If:” — then there is a possibility and a probability that some may not have tasted that the Lord is gracious. “If:” — then this is not a general but a special mercy; and it is needful to enquire whether we know the grace of God by inward experience. There is no spiritual favour which may not be a matter for heart-searching. But while
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 20th Evening
Published May 20, 2026
“I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love.” — Hosea 11:4 Our heavenly Father often draws us with the cords of love; but ah! how backward we are to run towards Him! How slowly do we respond to His gentle impulses! He draws us to exercise a more simple faith in Him; but we have not yet attained to Abraham’s confidence; we do not leave our worldly cares with God, but, like Martha, we cumber ourselves with much serving. Our meagre faith brings leanness into our souls; we do not open our m
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 20th Morning
Published May 20, 2026
“Marvellous lovingkindness.” — Psalm 17:7 When we give our hearts with our alms, we give well, but we must often plead to a failure in this respect. Not so our Master and our Lord. His favours are always performed with the love of His heart. He does not send to us the cold meat and the broken pieces from the table of His luxury, but He dips our morsel in His own dish, and seasons our provisions with the spices of His fragrant affections. When He puts the golden tokens of His grace into our palms
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 19th Evening
Published May 19, 2026
“And he requested for himself that he might die.” — 1 Kings 19:4 It was a remarkable thing that the man who was never to die, for whom God had ordained an infinitely better lot, the man who should be carried to heaven in a chariot of fire, and be translated, that he should not see death — should thus pray, “Let me die, I am no better than my fathers.” We have here a memorable proof that God does not always answer prayer in kind, though He always does in effect. He gave Elias something better tha
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 19th Morning
Published May 19, 2026
“I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.” — Ecclesiastes 10:7 Upstarts frequently usurp the highest places, while the truly great pine in obscurity. This is a riddle in providence whose solution will one day gladden the hearts of the upright; but it is so common a fact, that none of us should murmur if it should fall to our own lot. When our Lord was upon earth, although He is the Prince of the kings of the earth, yet He walked the footpath of weariness
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 18th Evening
Published May 18, 2026
“Afterward.” — Hebrews 12:11 How happy are tried Christians, afterwards. No calm more deep than that which succeeds a storm. Who has not rejoiced in clear shinings after rain? Victorious banquets are for well-exercised soldiers. After killing the lion we eat the honey; after climbing the Hill Difficulty, we sit down in the arbour to rest; after traversing the Valley of Humiliation, after fighting with Apollyon, the shining one appears, with the healing branch from the tree of life. Our sorrows,
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 18th Morning
Published May 18, 2026
“In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him.” — Colossians 2:9, 10 All the attributes of Christ, as God and man, are at our disposal. All the fulness of the Godhead, whatever that marvellous term may comprehend, is ours to make us complete. He cannot endow us with the attributes of Deity; but He has done all that can be done, for He has made even His divine power and Godhead subservient to our salvation. His omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, immutabil
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 17th Evening
Published May 17, 2026
“Thou art My servant; I have chosen thee.” — Isaiah 41:9 If we have received the grace of God in our hearts, its practical effect has been to make us God’s servants. We may be unfaithful servants, we certainly are unprofitable ones, but yet, blessed be His name, we are His servants, wearing His livery, feeding at His table, and obeying His commands. We were once the servants of sin, but He who made us free has now taken us into His family and taught us obedience to His will. We do not serve our
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 17th Morning
Published May 17, 2026
“So to walk even as He walked.” — 1 John 2:6 Why should Christians imitate Christ? They should do it for their own sakes. If they desire to be in a healthy state of soul — if they would escape the sickness of sin, and enjoy the vigour of growing grace, let Jesus be their model. For their own happiness’ sake, if they would drink wine on the lees, well refined; if they would enjoy holy and happy communion with Jesus; if they would be lifted up above the cares and troubles of this world, let them w
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 16th Evening
Published May 16, 2026
“And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches. For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye and your cattle, and your beasts.” — 2 Kings 3:16,17 The armies of the three kings were famishing for want of water: God was about to send it, and in these words the prophet announced the coming blessing. Here was a case of human helplessness: not a drop of water could all the valiant
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 16th Morning
Published May 16, 2026
“Who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” — 1 Timothy 6:17 Our Lord Jesus is ever giving, and does not for a solitary instant withdraw His hand. As long as there is a vessel of grace not yet full to the brim, the oil shall not be stayed. He is a sun ever-shining; He is manna always falling round the camp; He is a rock in the desert, ever sending out streams of life from His smitten side; the rain of His grace is always dropping; the river of His bounty is ever-flowing, and the well-spring of H
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 15th Evening
Published May 15, 2026
“Made perfect.” — Hebrews 12:23 Recollect that there are two kinds of perfection which the Christian needs — the perfection of justification in the person of Jesus, and the perfection of sanctification wrought in him by the Holy Spirit. At present, corruption yet remains even in the breasts of the regenerate — experience soon teaches us this. Within us are still lusts and evil imaginations. But I rejoice to know that the day is coming when God shall finish the work which He has begun; and He sha
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 15th Morning
Published May 15, 2026
“All that believe are justified.” — Acts 13:39 The believer in Christ receives a present justification. Faith does not produce this fruit by-and-by, but now. So far as justification is the result of faith, it is given to the soul in the moment when it closes with Christ, and accepts Him as its all in all. Are they who stand before the throne of God justified now? — so are we, as truly and as clearly justified as they who walk in white and sing melodious praises to celestial harps. The thief upon
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 14th Evening
Published May 14, 2026
“He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom.” — Isaiah 40:11 Who is He of whom such gracious words are spoken? He is THE GOOD SHEPHERD. Why doth He carry the lambs in His bosom? Because He hath a tender heart, and any weakness at once melts His heart. The sighs, the ignorance, the feebleness of the little ones of His flock draw forth His compassion. It is His office, as a faithful High Priest, to consider the weak. Besides, He purchased them with blood, they are His prop
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 14th Morning
Published May 14, 2026
“Joint heirs with Christ.” — Romans 8:17 The boundless realms of His Father’s universe are Christ’s by prescriptive right. As “heir of all things,” He is the sole proprietor of the vast creation of God, and He has admitted us to claim the whole as ours, by virtue of that deed of joint-heir-ship which the Lord hath ratified with His chosen people. The golden streets of paradise, the pearly gates, the river of life, the transcendent bliss, and the unutterable glory, are, by our blessed Lord, made
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 13th Evening
Published May 13, 2026
“Thou art my portion, O Lord.” — Psalm 119:57 Look at thy possessions, O believer, and compare thy portion with the lot of thy fellowmen. Some of them have their portion in the field; they are rich, and their harvests yield them a golden increase; but what are harvests compared with thy God, who is the God of harvests? What are bursting granaries compared with Him, who is the Husbandman, and feeds thee with the bread of heaven? Some have their portion in the city; their wealth is abundant, and f
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 13th Morning
Published May 13, 2026
“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” — Psalm 30:5 Christian! If thou art in a night of trial, think of the morrow; cheer up thy heart with the thought of the coming of thy Lord. Be patient, for “Lo! He comes with clouds descending.” Be patient! The Husbandman waits until He reaps His harvest. Be patient; for you know who has said, “Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give to every man according as his work shall be.” If you are never so wretched now,
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 12th Morning
Published May 12, 2026
“And will manifest myself to him.” — John 14:21 The Lord Jesus gives special revelations of Himself to His people. Even if Scripture did not declare this, there are many of the children of God who could testify the truth of it from their own experience. They have had manifestations of their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in a peculiar manner, such as no mere reading or hearing could afford. In the biographies of eminent saints, you will find many instances recorded in which Jesus has been pleased
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 11th Morning
Published May 11, 2026
“I am with you alway.” — Matthew 28:20 It is well there is One who is ever the same, and who is ever with us. It is well there is one stable rock amidst the billows of the sea of life. O my soul, set not thine affections upon rusting, moth-eaten, decaying treasures, but set thine heart upon Him who abides for ever faithful to thee. Build not thine house upon the moving quicksands of a deceitful world, but found thy hopes upon this rock, which, amid descending rain and roaring floods, shall stand
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 10th Evening
Published May 10, 2026
“The only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” — John 1:14 Believer, YOU can bear your testimony that Christ is the only begotten of the Father, as well as the first begotten from the dead. You can say, “He is divine to me, if He be human to all the world beside. He has done that for me which none but a God could do. He has subdued my stubborn will, melted a heart of adamant, opened gates of brass, and snapped bars of iron. He hath turned for me my mourning into laughter, and my des
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 10th Morning
Published May 10, 2026
“But now is Christ risen from the dead.” — 1 Corinthians 15:20 The whole system of Christianity rests upon the fact that “Christ is risen from the dead;” for, “If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain: ye are yet in your sins.” The divinity of Christ finds its surest proof in His resurrection, since He was “Declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” It would not be unreasonable to doubt
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 9th Evening
Published May 9, 2026
“Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field… let us see if the vine flourish.” — Song of Solomon 7:11,12 The church was about to engage in earnest labour, and desired her Lord’s company in it. She does not say, “I will go,” but “let us go.” It is blessed working when Jesus is at our side! It is the business of God’s people to be trimmers of God’s vines. Like our first parents, we are put into the garden of the Lord for usefulness; let us therefore go forth into the field. Observe that the
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 9th Morning
Published May 9, 2026
“Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings.” — Ephesians 1:3 All the goodness of the past, the present, and the future, Christ bestows upon His people. In the mysterious ages of the past the Lord Jesus was His Father’s first elect, and in His election He gave us an interest, for we were chosen in Him from before the foundation of the world. He had from all eternity the prerogatives of Sonship, as His Father’s only-begotten and well-beloved Son, and He has, in the riches of His grace, by a
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 8th Evening
Published May 8, 2026
“Acquaint now thyself with Him.” — Job 22:21 If we would rightly “acquaint ourselves with God, and be at peace,” we must know Him as He has revealed Himself, not only in the unity of His essence and subsistence, but also in the plurality of His persons. God said, “Let us make man in our own image” — let not man be content until he knows something of the “us” from whom his being was derived. Endeavour to know the Father; bury your head in His bosom in deep repentance, and confess that you are not
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 8th Morning
Published May 8, 2026
“She that was healed wist not who it was.” — 1 John 5:13 Years are short to the happy and healthy; but thirty-eight years of disease must have dragged a very weary length along the life of the poor impotent man. When Jesus, therefore, healed him by a word, while he lay at the pool of Bethesda, he was delightfully sensible of a change. Even so the sinner who has for weeks and months been paralyzed with despair, and has wearily sighed for salvation, is very conscious of the change when the Lord Je
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 7th Morning
Published May 7, 2026
“Great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.” — Matthew 12:15 What a mass of hideous sickness must have thrust itself under the eye of Jesus! Yet we read not that He was disgusted, but patiently waited on every case. What a singular variety of evils must have met at His feet! What sickening ulcers and putrefying sores! Yet He was ready for every new shape of the monster evil, and was victor over it in every form. Let the arrow fly from what quarter it might, He quenched its fiery powe
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 6th Evening
Published May 6, 2026
“All the days of my appointed time will I wait.” — Job 14:14 A little stay on earth will make heaven more heavenly. Nothing makes rest so sweet as toil; nothing renders security so pleasant as exposure to alarms. The bitter quassia cups of earth will give a relish to the new wine which sparkles in the golden bowls of glory. Our battered armour and scarred countenances will render more illustrious our victory above, when we are welcomed to the seats of those who have overcome the world. We should
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 6th Morning
Published May 6, 2026
“We dwell in Him.” — 1 John 4:13 Do you want a house for your soul? Do you ask, “What is the purchase?” It is something less than proud human nature will like to give. It is without money and without price. Ah! you would like to pay a respectable rent! You would love to do something to win Christ? Then you cannot have the house, for it is “without price.” Will you take my Master’s house on a lease for all eternity, with nothing to pay for it, nothing but the ground-rent of loving and serving Him
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 5th Evening
Published May 5, 2026
“He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.” — Proverbs 16:20 Wisdom is man’s true strength; and, under its guidance, he best accomplishes the ends of his being. Wisely handling the matter of life gives to man the richest enjoyment, and presents the noblest occupation for his powers; hence by it he finds good in the fullest sense. Without wisdom, man is as the wild ass’s colt, running hither and thither, wasting strength which might be profitab
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 5th Morning
Published May 5, 2026
“I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” — 2 Corinthians 6:16 What a sweet title: “My people!” What a cheering revelation: “Their God!” How much of meaning is couched in those two words, “My people!” Here is speciality. The whole world is God’s; the heaven, even the heaven of heavens is the Lord’s, and He reigneth among the children of men; but of those whom He hath chosen, whom He hath purchased to Himself, He saith what He saith not of others — ”My people” In this word there is the
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 4th Evening
Published May 4, 2026
“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible.” — 1 Peter 1:23 Peter most earnestly exhorted the scattered saints to love each other “with a pure heart fervently” and he wisely fetched his argument, not from the law, from nature, or from philosophy, but from that high and divine nature which God hath implanted in His people. Just as some judicious tutor of princes might labour to beget and foster in them a kingly spirit and dignified behaviour, finding arguments in their posit
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 4th Morning
Published May 4, 2026
“Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods.” —Jeremiah 16:20 One great besetting sin of ancient Israel was idolatry, and the spiritual Israel are vexed with a tendency to the same folly. Remphan’s star shines no longer, and the women weep no more for Tammuz, but Mammon still intrudes his golden calf, and the shrines of pride are not forsaken. Self in various forms struggles to subdue the chosen ones under its dominion, and the flesh sets up its altars wherever it can find space fo
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 3rd Evening
Published May 3, 2026
“A very present help.” — Psalm 46:1 Covenant blessings are not meant to be looked at only, but to be appropriated. Even our Lord Jesus is given to us for our present use. Believer, thou dost not make use of Christ as thou oughtest to do. When thou art in trouble, why dost thou not tell Him all thy grief? Has He not a sympathizing heart, and can He not comfort and relieve thee? No, thou art going about to all thy friends, save thy best Friend, and telling thy tale everywhere except into the bosom
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 3rd Morning
Published May 3, 2026
“In the world ye shall have tribulation.” — John 16:33 Art thou asking the reason of this, believer? Look upward to thy heavenly Father, and behold Him pure and holy. Dost thou know that thou art one day to be like Him? Wilt thou easily be conformed to His image? Wilt thou not require much refining in the furnace of affliction to purify thee? Will it be an easy thing to get rid of thy corruptions, and make thee perfect even as thy Father which is in heaven is perfect? Next, Christian, turn thine
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 2nd Evening
Published May 2, 2026
“These all died in faith.” — Hebrews 11:13 Behold the epitaph of all those blessed saints who fell asleep before the coming of our Lord! It matters nothing how else they died, whether of old age, or by violent means; this one point, in which they all agree, is the most worthy of record, “they all died in faith.” In faith they lived — it was their comfort, their guide, their motive and their support; and in the same spiritual grace they died, ending their life-song in the sweet strain in which th
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 1st Evening
Published May 1, 2026
“I am the rose of Sharon.” — Song of Solomon 2:1 Whatever there may be of beauty in the material world, Jesus Christ possesses all that in the spiritual world in a tenfold degree. Amongst flowers the rose is deemed the sweetest, but Jesus is infinitely more beautiful in the garden of the soul than the rose can in the gardens of earth. He takes the first place as the fairest among ten thousand. He is the sun, and all others are the stars; the heavens and the day are dark in comparison with Him, f
- StandardSummaries onlyMay 1st Morning
Published May 1, 2026
“His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers.” — Song of Solomon 5:13 Lo, the flowery month is come! March winds and April showers have done their work, and the earth is all bedecked with beauty. Come my soul, put on thine holiday attire and go forth to gather garlands of heavenly thoughts. Thou knowest whither to betake thyself, for to thee “the beds of spices” are well known, and thou hast so often smelt the perfume of “the sweet flowers,” that thou wilt go at once to thy well-beloved
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 30th Evening
Published Apr 30, 2026
“How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God.” — Psalm 139:17 Divine omniscience affords no comfort to the ungodly mind, but to the child of God it overflows with consolation. God is always thinking upon us, never turns aside His mind from us, has us always before His eyes; and this is precisely as we would have it, for it would be dreadful to exist for a moment beyond the observation of our heavenly Father. His thoughts are always tender, loving, wise, prudent, far-reaching, and they brin
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 30th Morning
Published Apr 30, 2026
“And all the children of Israel murmured.” — Numbers 14:2 There are murmurers amongst Christians now, as there were in the camp of Israel of old. There are those who, when the rod falls, cry out against the afflictive dispensation. They ask, “Why am I thus afflicted? What have I done to be chastened in this manner?” A word with thee, O murmurer! Why shouldst thou murmur against the dispensations of thy heavenly Father? Can He treat thee more hardly than thou deservest? Consider what a rebel thou
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 29th Evening
Published Apr 29, 2026
“The Lord taketh pleasure in His people.” — Psalm 149:4 How comprehensive is the love of Jesus! There is no part of His people’s interests which He does not consider, and there is nothing which concerns their welfare which is not important to Him. Not merely does He think of you, believer, as an immortal being, but as a mortal being too. Do not deny it or doubt it: “The very hairs of your head are all numbered.” “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in His way” It w
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 29th Morning
Published Apr 29, 2026
“Thou art my hope in the day of evil.” — Jeremiah 17:17 The path of the Christian is not always bright with sunshine; he has his seasons of darkness and of storm. True, it is written in God’s Word, “Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace;” and it is a great truth, that religion is calculated to give a man happiness below as well as bliss above; but experience tells us that if the course of the just be “As the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day,”
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 28th Evening
Published Apr 28, 2026
“All the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.” — Ezekiel 3:7 Are there no exceptions? No, not one. Even the favoured race are thus described. Are the best so bad? — then what must the worst be? Come, my heart, consider how far thou hast a share in this universal accusation, and while considering, be ready to take shame unto thyself herein thou mayst have been guilty. The first charge is impudence, or hardness of forehead, a want of holy shame, an unhallowed boldness in evil. Before my c
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 28th Morning
Published Apr 28, 2026
“Remember the word unto Thy servant, upon which Thou hast caused me to hope.” — Psalm 119:49 Whatever your especial need may be, you may readily find some promise in the Bible suited to it. Are you faint and feeble because your way is rough and you are weary? Here is the promise — ”He giveth power to the faint.” When you read such a promise, take it back to the great Promiser, and ask Him to fulfil His own word. Are you seeking after Christ, and thirsting for closer communion with Him? This prom
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 27th Evening
Published Apr 27, 2026
“The Lord is King for ever and ever.” — Psalm 10:16 Jesus Christ is no despotic claimant of divine right, but He is really and truly the Lord’s anointed! “It hath pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell.” God hath given to Him all power and all authority. As the Son of man, He is now head over all things to His church, and He reigns over heaven, and earth, and hell, with the keys of life and death at His girdle. Certain princes have delighted to call themselves kings by the popul
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 27th Morning
Published Apr 27, 2026
“God, even our own God.” — Psalm 67:6 It is strange how little use we make of the spiritual blessings which God gives us, but it is stranger still how little use we make of God Himself. Though He is “our own God,” we apply ourselves but little to Him, and ask but little of Him. How seldom do we ask counsel at the hands of the Lord! How often do we go about our business, without seeking His guidance! In our troubles how constantly do we strive to bear our burdens ourselves, instead of casting the
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 26th Evening
Published Apr 26, 2026
“Blessed is he that watcheth.” — Revelation 16:15 “We die daily,” said the apostle. This was the life of the early Christians; they went everywhere with their lives in their hands. We are not in this day called to pass through the same fearful persecutions: if we were, the Lord would give us grace to bear the test; but the tests of Christian life, at the present moment, though outwardly not so terrible, are yet more likely to overcome us than even those of the fiery age. We have to bear the snee
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 26th Morning
Published Apr 26, 2026
“This do in remembrance of Me.” — 1 Corinthians 11:24 It seems then, that Christians may forget Christ! There could be no need for this loving exhortation, if there were not a fearful supposition that our memories might prove treacherous. Nor is this a bare supposition: it is, alas! too well confirmed in our experience, not as a possibility, but as a lamentable fact. It appears almost impossible that those who have been redeemed by the blood of the dying Lamb, and loved with an everlasting love
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 25th Evening
Published Apr 25, 2026
“If any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him.” — Revelation 3:20 What is your desire this evening? Is it set upon heavenly things? Do you long to enjoy the high doctrine of eternal love? Do you desire liberty in very close communion with God? Do you aspire to know the heights, and depths, and lengths, and breadths? Then you must draw ear to Jesus; you must get a clear sight of Him in His preciousness and completeness: you must view Him in His work, in His offices, in His p
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 25th Morning
Published Apr 25, 2026
“Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away.” — Song of Solomon 2:10 Lo, I hear the voice of my Beloved! He speaks to me! Fair weather is smiling upon the face of the earth, and He would not have me spiritually asleep while nature is all around me awaking from her winter’s rest. He bids me “Rise up,” and well He may, for I have long enough been lying among the pots of worldliness. He is risen, I am risen in Him, why then should I cleave unto the dust? From lower loves, desires, pursuits, and as
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 24th Evening
Published Apr 24, 2026
“The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.” — Song of Solomon 2:12 Sweet is the season of spring: the long and dreary winter helps us to appreciate its genial warmth, and its promise of summer enhances its present delights. After periods of depression of spirit, it is delightful to behold again the light of the Sun of Righteousness; then our slumbering graces rise from their lethargy, like the crocus and the daffo
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 24th Morning
Published Apr 24, 2026
“And because of all this we make a sure covenant.” — Nehemiah 9:38 There are many occasions in our experience when we may very rightly, and with benefit, renew our covenant with God. After recovery from sickness when, like Hezekiah, we have had a new term of years added to our life, we may fitly do it. After any deliverance from trouble, when our joys bud forth anew, let us again visit the foot of the cross, and renew our consecration. Especially, let us do this after any sin which has grieved t
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 23rd Evening
Published Apr 23, 2026
“Lo, in the midst of the throne… stood a Lamb as it had been slain.” — Revelation 5:6 Why should our exalted Lord appear in His wounds in glory? The wounds of Jesus are His glories, His jewels, His sacred ornaments. To the eye of the believer, Jesus is passing fair because He is “white and ruddy” white with innocence, and ruddy with His own blood. We see Him as the lily of matchless purity, and as the rose crimsoned with His own gore. Christ is lovely upon Olivet and Tabor, and by the sea, but o
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 23rd Morning
Published Apr 23, 2026
“Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” — Romans 8:37 We go to Christ for forgiveness, and then too often look to the law for power to fight our sins. Paul thus rebukes us, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” Take your
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 22nd Evening
Published Apr 22, 2026
“Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night.” — Psalm 91:5 What is this terror? It may be the cry of fire, or the noise of thieves, or fancied appearances, or the shriek of sudden sickness or death. We live in the world of death and sorrow, we may therefore look for ills as well in the night-watches as beneath the glare of he broiling sun. Nor should this alarm us, for be the terror what it may, the promise is that the believer shall not be afraid. Why should he? Let us put it more closely
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 22nd Morning
Published Apr 22, 2026
“Him hath God exalted.” — Acts 5:31 Jesus, our Lord, once crucified, dead and buried, now sits upon the throne of glory. The highest place that heaven affords is His by undisputed right. It is sweet to remember that the exaltation of Christ in heaven is a representative exaltation. He is exalted at the Father’s right hand, and though as Jehovah He had eminent glories, in which finite creatures cannot share, yet as the Mediator, the honours which Jesus wears in heaven are the heritage of all the
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 21st Evening
Published Apr 21, 2026
“Who is even at the right hand of God.” — Romans 8:34 He who was once despised and rejected of men, now occupies the honourable position of a beloved and honoured Son. The right hand of God is the place of majesty and favour. Our Lord Jesus is His people’s representative. When He died for them they had rest; He rose again for them, they had liberty; when He sat down at His Father’s right hand, they had favour, and honour, and dignity. The raising and elevation of Christ is the elevation, the acc
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 21st Morning
Published Apr 21, 2026
“I know that my Redeemer liveth.” — Job 19:25 The marrow of Job’s comfort lies in that little word “My” — ”My Redeemer,” and in the fact that the Redeemer lives. Oh! to get hold of a living Christ. We must get a property in Him before we can enjoy Him. What is gold in the mine to me? Men are beggars in Peru, and beg their bread in California. It is gold in my purse which will satisfy my necessities, by purchasing the bread I need. So a Redeemer who does not redeem me, an avenger who will never s
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 20th Evening
Published Apr 20, 2026
“Fight the Lord’s battles.” — 1 Samuel 18:17 The sacramental host of God’s elect is warring still on earth, Jesus Christ being the Captain of their salvation. He has said, “Lo! I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Hark to the shouts of war! Now let the people of God stand fast in their ranks, and let no man’s heart fail him. It is true that just now in England the battle is turned against us, and unless the Lord Jesus shall lift His sword, we know not what may become of the chur
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 20th Morning
Published Apr 20, 2026
“That through death He might destroy him that had the power of death.” — Hebrews 2:14 O child of God, death hath lost its sting, because the devil’s power over it is destroyed. Then cease to fear dying. Ask grace from God the Holy Ghost, that by an intimate knowledge and a firm belief of thy Redeemer’s death, thou mayst be strengthened for that dread hour. Living near the cross of Calvary thou mayst think of death with pleasure, and welcome it when it comes with intense delight. It is sweet to d
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 19th Evening
Published Apr 19, 2026
“The Amen.” — Revelation 3:14 The word AMEN solemnly confirms that which went before; and Jesus is the great Confirmer; immutable, for ever is “the Amen” in all His promises. Sinner, I would comfort thee with this reflection. Jesus Christ said, “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” If you come to Him, He will say “Amen” in your soul; His promise shall be true to you. He said in the days of His flesh, “The bruised reed I will not break.” O thou poor, bro
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 19th Morning
Published Apr 19, 2026
“Behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.” — Matthew 27:51 No mean miracle was wrought in the rending of so strong and thick a veil; but it was not intended merely as a display of power — many lessons were herein taught us. The old law of ordinances was put away, and like a worn-out vesture, rent and laid aside. When Jesus died, the sacrifices were all finished, because all fulfilled in Him, and therefore the place of their presentation was marked with an evid
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 18th Evening
Published Apr 18, 2026
“And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good.” — Genesis 32:12 When Jacob was on the other side of the brook Jabbok, and Esau was coming with armed men, he earnestly sought God’s protection, and as a master reason he pleaded, “And Thou saidst, I will surely do thee good.” Oh, the force of that plea! He was holding God to His word — ”Thou saidst.” The attribute of God’s faithfulness is a splendid horn of the altar to lay hold upon; but the promise, which has in it the attribute and something more
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 18th Morning
Published Apr 18, 2026
“She bound the scarlet line in the window.” — Joshua 2:21 Rahab depended for her preservation upon the promise of the spies, whom she looked upon as the representatives of the God of Israel. Her faith was simple and firm, but it was very obedient. To tie the scarlet line in the window was a very trivial act in itself, but she dared not run the risk of omitting it. Come, my soul, is there not here a lesson for thee? Hast thou been attentive to all thy Lord’s will, even though some of His commands
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 17th Evening
Published Apr 17, 2026
“We would see Jesus.” — John 12:21 Evermore the worldling’s cry is, Who will show us any good?” He seeks satisfaction in earthly comforts, enjoyments, and riches. But the quickened sinner knows of only one good. “O that I knew where I might find HIM!” When he is truly awakened to feel his guilt, if you could pour the gold of India at his feet, he would say, “Take it away: I want to find HIM.” It is a blessed thing for a man, when he has brought his desires into a focus, so that they all centre i
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 17th Morning
Published Apr 17, 2026
“We are come to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” — Hebrews 12:24 Reader, have you come to the blood of sprinkling? The question is not whether you have come to a knowledge of doctrine, or an observance of ceremonies, or to a certain form of experience, but have you come to the blood of Jesus? The blood of Jesus is the life of all vital godliness. If you have truly come to Jesus, we know how you came — the Holy Spirit sweetly brought you there. You came to
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 16th Evening
Published Apr 16, 2026
“And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.” — Exodus 17:12 So mighty was the prayer of Moses, that all depended upon it. The petitions of Moses discomfited the enemy more than the fighting of Joshua. Yet both were needed. No, in the soul’s conflict, force and fervour, decision and devotion, valour and vehemence, must join their forces, and all will be well. You must wrestle with your sin, but the major part of the wrestling must be done alone in private with God. Prayer, like Mo
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 16th Morning
Published Apr 16, 2026
“The precious blood of Christ.” — 1 Peter 1:19 Standing at the foot of the cross, we see hands, and feet, and side, all distilling crimson streams of precious blood. It is “precious” because of its redeeming and atoning efficacy. By it the sins of Christ’s people are atoned for; they are redeemed from under the law; they are reconciled to God, made one with Him. Christ’s blood is also “precious” in its cleansing power; it “cleanseth from all sin.” “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be a
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 15th Evening
Published Apr 15, 2026
“Lift them up for ever.” — Psalm 28:9 God’s people need lifting up. They are very heavy by nature. They have no wings, or, if they have, they are like the dove of old which lay among the pots; and they need divine grace to make them mount on wings covered with silver, and with feathers of yellow gold. By nature sparks fly upward, but the sinful souls of men fall downward. O Lord, “lift them up for ever!” David himself said, “Unto Thee, O God, do I lift up my soul,” and he here feels the necessit
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 15th Morning
Published Apr 15, 2026
“My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” — Psalm 22:1 We here behold the Saviour in the depth of His sorrows. No other place so well shows the griefs of Christ as Calvary, and no other moment at Calvary is so full of agony as that in which His cry rends the air — ”My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” At this moment physical weakness was united with acute mental torture from the shame and ignominy through which He had to pass; and to make His grief culminate with emphasis, He suffered
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 14th Evening
Published Apr 14, 2026
“Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him.” — Isaiah 3:10 It is well with the righteous ALWAYS. If it had said, “Say ye to the righteous, that it is well with him in his prosperity,” we must have been thankful for so great a boon, for prosperity is an hour of peril, and it is a gift from heaven to be secured from its snares: or if it had been written, “It is well with him when under persecution,” we must have been thankful for so sustaining an assurance, for persecution is hard to
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 14th Morning
Published Apr 14, 2026
“All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head.” — Psalm 22:7 Mockery was a great ingredient in our Lord’s woe. Judas mocked Him in the garden; the chief priests and scribes laughed Him to scorn; Herod set Him at nought; the servants and the soldiers jeered at Him, and brutally insulted Him; Pilate and his guards ridiculed His royalty; and on the tree all sorts of horrid jests and hideous taunts were hurled at Him. Ridicule is always hard to bear, but when w
- StandardSummaries onlyApril 13th Evening
Published Apr 13, 2026
“And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.” — Leviticus 1:4 Our Lord’s being made “sin for us” is set forth here by the very significant transfer of sin to the bullock, which was made by the elders of the people. The laying of the hand was not a mere touch of contact, for in some other places of Scripture the original word has the meaning of leaning heavily, as in the expression, “Thy wrath lieth hard upon me” (Psal