December—31 The Poor Man’s Evening Portion

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.—2 Cor. 13:14.

Here, my soul, set up thy pillar. Baptized as thou hast been into the joint name, love, praise, and adoration, of the holy Three in One; and blessed as thou hast been, and art, in their joint mercies, grace, and favour; here every day, and all the day, seek thy portion and blessing, as the united source of all thy salvation. End the year, and begin the year, under those precious tokens of God in Christ; and daily keep up a lively communion and friendship with each, as the blessed cause of all thine happiness. Jehovah, in his Trinity of Persons, is engaged to perfect what he hath begun; and it is, and should be thy happiness to be for ever viewing the testimonies of it, in the holy scriptures of truth. God thy Father hath so loved the Church in Jesus, as to give him to the Church, and the Church to him: and God the Son hath so loved the Church, as to give himself for it; zeal for his Father’s honour, and longing for the salvation of his people, led him through all the work of redemption, and now engageth his heart until he hath brought home all his redeemed to glory; and God the Holy Ghost is unceasingly engaged to render the whole effectual, by taking of the things of Christ, and showing them to his people. See to it, then, my soul, that every day, and all the day, thou hast the love-tokens of each person of the Godhead; for this will make thee blessed upon earth, and blessed to all eternity. Hail! holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. Bless both him that writes, and him that reads, with thy grace, and open and close the year with grace, until grace be consummated in everlasting glory. Amen and Amen.^[1]

 

^[1] Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Evening Portion (A New Edition, p. 355). Philadelphia: Thomas Wardle.

December 31 The Poor Man’s Morning Portion

31.—And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, The Lord bless thee, and keep thee. The Lord make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them. Numbers 6:22 to 27.

Pause, my soul, and in these sweet words behold thine almighty Aaron, even Jesus, in his everlasting priesthood, day by day, thus blessing his people. Observe, the blessing in the name of the Lord Jehovah is thrice pronounced, as if to teach the plurality of persons in the Godhead. And observe also, after this blessing thrice pronounced, Jehovah, as if to intimate the unity of the divine essence, declares, I will bless them. My soul, mark each. The First may be considered as the personal blessing of God the Father, whose gracious office it is in the work of redemption to bless and keep his people. The Second is the peculiar mercy of Jesus, whose face is always upon his people, and his grace their portion. And the Third is the work of God the Holy Ghost, when his blessed influences are shed abroad upon the soul, in the light of his divine countenance. And, my soul, observe further, how personally this blessing from the Holy Three in One is to each individual: it is to thee, even to thee. And, my soul, do not forget nor overlook this vast privilege in the blessing. Aaron the great high-priest of the church, could only pray for the people that these mercies might be upon them; but thy great High-priest, the Lord Jesus, confirms them. His language is, Father I will. And God having raised up his Son Jesus, hath sent him to bless us. Here then, blessed, precious Jesus! thou Great High-priest of my soul! close the day, every day, close the year, close my life, whenever thou shalt be pleased to call me home, in thus blessing me. Lord! put thy name upon me, and upon all thy church and people, and we shall be most blessed indeed, in life, in death, and for evermore, Amen: Hallelujah: Amen!^[1]

 

^[1] Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Morning Portion (pp. 314–315). New York; Pittsburg: Robert Carter.

December—30 The Poor Man’s Evening Portion

A building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.—2 Cor. 5:1.

My soul! after thy last evening’s meditation on the shortness and unsatisfying nature of life, let thy present thoughts be occupied in beholding, with steady faith, the great contrast to it: and see whether thy confidence be as strong, and well-founded, as the apostle’s. His was not a mere hope only, but an assurance in Jesus. “We know (saith he) that if this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Dost thou know this? Is Jesus thy foundation? Hath God thy Father built for thee? And doth the Holy Ghost set his almighty hand to the work, in sweetly witnessing to the writings, and sealing the deed, that it is thine? Oh! the blessedness to know this, to live already in the enjoyment of it; and while the pins of thy earthly tabernacle are daily loosening, and taking out, to be looking with full assurance of an entrance into this house “not made with hands, eternal in the heavens!”^[1]

 

^[1] Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Evening Portion (A New Edition, pp. 354–355). Philadelphia: Thomas Wardle.

December 30 The Poor Man’s Morning Portion

30.—Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto the Lord hath helped us.—1 Sam. 7:12.

Did Samuel do this? Was that servant of the Lord, who lived not to see Christ in the flesh, so full of faith in the coming Saviour, and in the experiences of Jehovah’s faithfulness in what was past, that he set up his Ebenezer? Surely, my soul, thou wilt blush to be outdone by the prophet, when thou hast not only seen the day of the Son of man completed, but felt his power. Oh, my soul! let thine Ebenezer be Jesus! Let the stone thou settest up, be indeed the Rock of ages. Yes, my soul! set up Jesus indeed, in all places, at all times, upon all occasions. And oh, Lord! do thou by thy blessed Spirit set up thyself in my heart, and enthrone thyself there, and reign and rule there foreever. Surely, my soul! Jesus is thine every day Ebenezer; for he not only hath hitherto helped, but he doth help, and will help, and be himself thine Help, thy God, thy Portion, thy Jesus, for evermore.^[1]

 

^[1] Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Morning Portion (p. 314). New York; Pittsburg: Robert Carter.

December—29 The Poor Man’s Evening Portion

Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been.—Genesis 47:9.

My soul! in looking back upon thy life, mayest thou not well take up the same language as the patriarch, and confess that “few and evil have thy days been?” Surely the review appears like the heath of a desert, “that knoweth not when good cometh!” Out of Jesus, and considered without an eye to him, there is not a single circumstance of real merit or of real happiness to be seen. The whole of life, from the days of childhood, through all its intermediate stages, presents but one view “of vanity and vexation of spirit!” Precious Jesus! what would the arithmetic of life have been in the now departing year, or in the departure of myself from the world, but for thee? Hadst not thou graciously sought me, when I sought not thee: hadst thou not opened to me “the good old way,” trodden by the patriarchs, and guided and held up my feet in following them; had not Jesus been my way, and truth, and life; what a sad conclusion should I now have had to make of the “few and evil days of my pilgrimage?” Blessed Lord! go before me all the remainder of the untrodden paths, and be thou to me “the pillar of cloud by day,” and “the pillar of fire by night.” Bring me, Lord, to the inns of thine ordinances, and to thine house of prayer, and cause me to drink out of “the wells of salvation.” Oh! for increasing knowledge of thee, my Lord, and for the increasing enjoyment of thee, that I may “go from strength to strength, until my pilgrimage be over, and I come to appear before my God in Zion!”^[1]

 

^[1] Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Evening Portion (A New Edition, p. 354). Philadelphia: Thomas Wardle.

December 29 The Poor Man’s Morning Portion

29.—Not one thing hath failed, of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you.—Joshua 23:14.

Say, my soul, in looking back the past year, canst thou set thy seal to this truth? Is there a promise which thy God hath not fulfilled? Is there an instance in which God hath forfeited his word? Canst thou point to the time, or place, in any one trial, or under any one affliction, in which thou hast not found God faithful? Give then the Lord the honour due unto his name. If not one thing hath failed, proclaim his glory, set forth his praise, declare his truth, let the father to the children make known that God is faithful. And oh! let thine heart bear testimony to what must be said of all his Israel, in all ages, What hath God wrought!^[1]

 

^[1] Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Morning Portion (p. 313). New York; Pittsburg: Robert Carter.

December—28 The Poor Man’s Evening Portion

The end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober and watch unto prayer.—1 Peter 4:7.

My soul! how hath the year been hastening from thee, and thou hastening in it from the world! Where are the days fled? They are gone to be numbered with the years beyond the flood: and thou art now standing as on the isthmus of time. “The end of all things is at hand.” Friends are dying around thee, thou art dying thyself: yea, the world is dying: and the end of all things is at hand. In this state, my Lord, well may I look up to thee! Circumstances so very solemn may well induce soberness, and watchfulness unto prayer. Yes! blessed Jesus! I would pray thee to induce in me every suited state, that every faculty may be on the watch-tower, waiting my Lord’s coming. Thou hast said: “Yet a little while, and he that shall come, will come, and will not tarry.” Oh! then for grace to live by faith on thee; and so to live, that when I change worlds, I may not change my company. For if in time I live with Christ, and enjoy Christ, I shall not live less with Christ, nor enjoy Christ less, when I exchange time for eternity! Lord Jesus! be thou my watchfulness unto prayer, and thou wilt be both now and then, in life and death, my portion for ever!^[1]

 

^[1] Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Evening Portion (A New Edition, pp. 353–354). Philadelphia: Thomas Wardle.

December 28 The Poor Man’s Morning Portion

28.—The eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon thee, from the beginning of the year, even unto the end of the year.—Deut. 11:12.

Oh for grace to live always under an abiding sense of this most blessed truth. My soul, never forget it, if possible, but always possess in recollection an abiding apprehension of Jesus’ gracious presence. And do thou, dearest Lord, when thou art coming forth in mercies, give me grace to be going forth to meet thee with praises; and while thou art bartering thy riches for my poverty, let all thy bounties be doubly sweetened in coming from thine own hand, and being sanctified by thy blessing, that I may receive all to my soul’s joy, and to the praise of the Father’s grace in Christ Jesus. Amen.^[1]

 

^[1] Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Morning Portion (p. 313). New York; Pittsburg: Robert Carter.

December—27 The Poor Man’s Evening Portion

For he that is entered in his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.—Hebrews 4:10.

My soul! see to it, that among other blessed evidences of thine union and rest in Christ thou hast this also: “We which have believed,” the apostle saith, “do enter into rest.” Our dependence on, and knowledge of Jesus, are such, that we really and truly enjoy the blessings of redemption. And as God the Father, when he had finished creation, rested from all his works which he had made; and as Jesus, when he had finished redemption, entered into his glory; so true believers, when they have once found Christ, and redemption in his blood, no longer weary themselves in the works of sin, or the works of self-righteousness, by way of justification before God; but cease from every thing in self, and rest with complacency and delight in the rich, free, and full salvation that is by Christ. My soul! what sayest thou to this blessed testimony of thine interest in Jesus? Is Jesus to thee the resting place from sin, from sorrow, from guilt, and the wrath to come? As God the Father rests in him, well pleased for his righteousness’ sake, dost thou rest in him? Oh! the felicity of such a rest! Jesus is indeed the rest, wherewith the Lord causeth the weary to rest, and this is the refreshing! “Return to thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee!”^[1]

 

^[1] Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Evening Portion (A New Edition, p. 353). Philadelphia: Thomas Wardle.

December 27 The Poor Man’s Morning Portion

27.—For the mountains shall depart, and the hills shall be removed: but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.—Isaiah 54:10.

What a rest is here, for a poor redeemed sinner to stand firm upon, in time and to all eternity! Well may he cry out concerning Jesus, and his great salvation in him, He is a rock, and his work is perfect. Yes! yes, thou Lord God of my salvation: thou art my dwelling-place in all generations. My soul, look all around thee, look within thee, look every where about thee. Search, behold, examine diligently, what else will or can afford thee any security. And think what a dying world it is in which thou art dwelling, or rather travelling through. What friend, what brother, what child, what relation, can give thee help of soul, or even of body, when thou most shalt need it? Think what a day, a week, an hour, may bring forth! Amidst all these changes, is Jesus thine? Doth he tell thee, that though mountains depart, and hills be removed, his salvation and the Father’s covenant of peace is the same? Shout, shout, my soul, and begin the song, which in a dying hour will only swell louder: Salvation to God and the Lamb!^[1]

 

^[1] Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Morning Portion (pp. 312–313). New York; Pittsburg: Robert Carter.

December—26 The Poor Man’s Evening Portion

A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence.—1 Peter 2:8.

O my Lord! how wonderful it is, that thy coming should have given such offence to thy people? The prophet, indeed, said it should be so, and thereby gave one among the many testimonies to thy character. “He,” saith the prophet, (Isaiah 8:14,) “that shall be for a sanctuary, shall be but a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel.” But what was there, my Lord, in thee, and the gracious purpose for which thou came, that could have furnished occasion for stumbling? Thy birth, indeed, was humble, thy life marked with sorrow, thy death ignominious, and every thing about thee debased. But under all these things, did not the Godhead burst forth in acts which none but God could perform? And is the offence of the cross ceased in the present hour? Alas! what multitudes of sinners now, as much as then, still live to despise salvation by thy blood and righteousness? Precious Jesus! who made me to differ from another? Why was I constrained to look unto thee as the Rock of Ages, the precious stone that Jehovah hath laid in Zion for salvation, while thousands refuse that thou shouldst reign over them? Oh! for grace to praise thee, and to love thee! Now, Lord, do I discover a preciousness in that divine scripture, and thank thee for it as my own; “Blessed is he (thou hast said) whosoever is not offended in me!”^[1]

 

^[1] Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Evening Portion (A New Edition, pp. 352–353). Philadelphia: Thomas Wardle.

December 26 The Poor Man’s Morning Portion

26.—Jesus Christ of the seed of David.—2 Timothy 2:2.

Sweet thought! Jesus will have regard to both sexes, in his incarnation. He will be of the seed of the woman; he will be also truly and properly man. As both the man and woman had sinned, so redemption shall be for both. But in the holy nature, in which as Redeemer he will come, he will partake of none of their sins. The man shall have no hand in his generation. And the womb of the woman shall be but the deposit of “that holy thing” so called, (Luke 1:35,) by the miraculous conception of the Holy Ghost. So that the body which God the Father prepared him, belonged to both, but was unconnected with either. He must be truly man; for the law had said, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called Holy unto the Lord. He must be a priest; and no woman could minister in that office. He must be a prophet; and no woman could exercise that province, for it is not permitted for a woman to speak in the church. He must be a king; and the kingly office belongeth not to the weaker vessel. But both sexes shall be equally at the same time concerned in the blessed event of his incarnation. The woman is saved in the child-bearing of this Redeemer, and the man brought into favour and reconciliation; for as by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. So that, as the Apostle strongly and satisfactorily concludes, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, but ye are all one in Christ Jesus.^[1]

 

^[1] Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Morning Portion (p. 312). New York; Pittsburg: Robert Carter.

December—25 The Poor Man’s Evening Portion

And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.—1 Timothy 3:16.

My soul! sit down this memorable evening, and in commemorating the great event of Christ’s nativity, listen to what the Holy Ghost here speaks, by his servant the apostle, concerning the mystery of godliness! Here are so many wonders branched out into so many chapters; they hang like a rich and full cluster upon the vine. Gather them one by one, mark their beauties, and taste their sweetness. The first is, “God manifest in the flesh:” here is a meditation for thee to live upon, and to feast upon for ever. Thy God, thy Jesus, thy Holy One, the Son of God, was made flesh! Go on to the second: he was “justified in the Spirit:” a matter that would never have taken place, had he not fully, by his righteousness and death, satisfied his Father’s law, and brought in an everlasting righteousness for his people. Take down the third blessed character: He was “seen of angels.” Yes! they worshipped him also: for angels, principalities, and powers, were made subject unto him. Look, my soul, at thy Lord, under the fourth description which the Holy Ghost hath here given of him: He was “preached unto the Gentiles:” and this was as great a mystery to the Jewish Church as any: that God should “grant to the Gentiles also, through Christ, repentance unto life.” And how dear this part of Jesus’s character should be to thee, my soul, who wast by nature a poor Gentile, an alien to the commonwealth of Israel, having no hope, and without God in the world, thou needest not to be told. Mark another, and the fifth, particularity of thy Jesus; he is said to be “believed on in the world;” and how should this have been done, even in a single instance, but for the sovereignty of God’s grace? Surely this is no less a mystery also. Remark, my soul, how great, how very great in thy case. Lastly, the account closeth: “Jesus was received up into glory;” and there, my soul, do thou follow him, by faith, until the Lord come to take thee home with him in absolute enjoyment, that “where he is, there thou mayest be also.” Amen.^[1]

 

^[1] Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Evening Portion (A New Edition, pp. 351–352). Philadelphia: Thomas Wardle.

December 25 The Poor Man’s Morning Portion

25.—And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.—John 1:14.

Turn aside, my soul, this day, from every vain and worldly thought, as Moses did at the bush, and behold by faith the accomplishment of what he then saw in type and figure, of this great sight which the Lord hath made known unto thee.—The Word, the uncreated Word, even the eternal Son of God, taking upon him the nature of man, and uniting both in one Person, that by the union he might be a suitable Saviour for his people. As God, he was mighty to save, and fully competent to the wonderful act. As man, he was a suitable Saviour, for the right of redemption belonged to him. And as both, He, and He alone, could become a proper Mediator, to reconcile and bring together God and man, which by sin were at variance. This was the glorious news angels posted down from heaven to proclaim. This was the song of heaven, for which they sung, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to men. My soul! canst thou join the song? Yes, if so be thou hast received Christ in those glorious characters; if, as for this divine purpose he was born in our streets, he is born in thy heart also, and formed there the hope of glory. Oh! it is a blessed thing to have true scriptural views of the Lord Jesus, and so to receive him, as Jehovah hath set him forth, the Christ of God. Amen.^[1]

 

^[1] Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Morning Portion (pp. 311–312). New York; Pittsburg: Robert Carter.

December—24 The Poor Man’s Evening Portion

Shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.—Luke 2:8.

My soul! think what a memorable night was that which ushered in the wondrous day, the most momentous ever marked in the annals of time, since reckoning of days or years was made. The unconscious shepherds in the fields had no other thought but of their flock. But what a morning did the angels call them to celebrate! Now, my soul, sit down and take a leisurely survey of the wonderful story of Jesus’s birth. Mark the several volumes in it; for a night, yea, for a whole eternity must end before the subject of God incarnate can be exhausted in the meditation. Let thy evening thoughts on this, be followed by the night contemplation: and let thy midnight only be broken in upon, by the same call that the heavenly host gave to the shepherds. Arise but to sing as they sang, and to go in quest of Jesus, as they went. God and man in one person, one Christ, and God in Christ coming for the purposes of salvation, will furnish out a hymn, which, though begun in life, will never end in eternity: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will towards men!”^[1]

 

^[1] Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Evening Portion (A New Edition, p. 351). Philadelphia: Thomas Wardle.

December 24 The Poor Man’s Morning Portion

24.—God sent forth his Son made of a woman.—Gal. 4:4.

How little did Adam suppose, when he charged God foolishly, (as, by the way, it may be observed all sinners do by this plan,) in attempting to palm off his sin upon God, that the Lord in after ages would put distinguishing honour upon the woman, in which the man should bear no part. The woman, said Adam, whom thou gavest to be with me, she tempted me, and I did eat. Thus endeavouring to throw the whole blame of his transgression upon his gracious Benefactor. It is as if he had said, Hadst thou not given me this woman, I should not have disobeyed thy command. Now observe, my soul, God’s benignity and grace upon this occasion. The seed of the woman, said God, shall bruise the serpent’s head. Not the seed of the man, but of the woman. And when the fulness of the time was come for this promise to be accomplished, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, without the intervention of an human father, but by the miraculous impregnation only of the Holy Ghost. As if to honour the weaker vessel, and to open a source of peculiar comfort in the female breast. As if God had said, in answer to Adam’s daring impiety, Though all the redeemed among men shall partake in this great salvation, yet the woman shall have in it an eminent token of divine favour. And as the accursed enemy of God and man did first beguile the woman, from the woman shall arise Him, that shall destroy the Devil. The blessings of redemption shall begin with the woman, to her peculiar honour, and to the serpent’s everlasting shame. For He that in after ages shall do away more than all the evil of sin and the fall, by the sacrifice of himself, shall be born of a woman. And thus the Lord manifested forth his grace, in silencing Adam’s unbecoming expostulation. Oh! the wonderful way and method of our wonder-working God.^[1]

 

^[1] Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Morning Portion (pp. 310–311). New York; Pittsburg: Robert Carter.

December—23 The Poor Man’s Evening Portion

The day-spring from on high.—Luke 1:78.

Truly it was so when Jesus came: for a long night of Jewish darkness and ignorance had covered the earth, and gross darkness the people. Look, my soul! at Jesus under this blessed similitude. Though it be evening with thee, this day-spring will give light, and the promise will be fulfilled, “at even-time it shall be light.” Jesus was the day-spring in the everlasting counsel and purposes of Jehovah, when he stood up the light of his people from all eternity. And when, in the fulness of time, he came, it was to fulfil all the shadows of ordinances concerning him. And what is it now, in every individual instance of his visiting his people, but as “the day-spring” on their souls? When first from a state of nature, he calls them to a state of grace, is it not “the day-spring from on high?” And in all the after-stages, during a life of grace leading to glory, is not every renewed manifestation of his love as “the day-spring from on high?” And what will it be after the night of death, when Jesus shall come to be glorified in his saints, and admired in all that believe, but the same? Jesus will then be “the day-spring,” and “the morning-star” of that everlasting day, whose sun shall go down no more. Precious day-spring of my God! arise daily on my poor soul, and fill my heart with light and glory.^[1]

 

^[1] Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Evening Portion (A New Edition, pp. 350–351). Philadelphia: Thomas Wardle.

December 23 The Poor Man’s Morning Portion

23.—Lo, I come!—Psalm 60:7.

What a longing had Old Testament saints for the Lord Jesus’ coming! And what an earnest wish and prayer it is among New Testament believers, for Jesus’ coming by the visits of his grace, and the sweet influences of his Holy Spirit, from day to day! My soul! methinks I would realize by faith this day, even this very day, these words of thy Redeemer, as if he were now standing at the door of thine heart, and asking for admission. And shall I not say, under this sweet impression, Come in, thou blessed of the Lord! wherefore standest thou without? Oh, blessed Jesus! when I consider the many precious instances of thy coming, set up from everlasting in thy goings forth for the salvation of thy chosen—thy anticipation, in thy visits before the season of thy tabernacling in our flesh: thy visits to the patriarchs and prophets: thy manifestation openly to the people: thy secret, sweet, and inexpressibly gracious visits now, and thy promised return in the clouds at the final consummation of all things: oh, Lamb of God! dost thou say, Lo, I come? Oh for the earnestness of faith, in all her devout longings, to cry out with the church of old, and say, Make haste, my Beloved, and come; oh, come quickly, Lord Jesus!^[1]

 

^[1] Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Morning Portion (p. 310). New York; Pittsburg: Robert Carter.

December—22 The Poor Man’s Evening Portion

The promise of life which is in Christ Jesus.—2 Timothy 1:1.

Here is a short portion, but it is a full one. Life, and the promise of life, are great things, and both in Christ Jesus. Observe it, my soul: “life in Christ Jesus,” and “the promise of life in Christ Jesus.” What wouldst thou have more? Nay, what canst thou have more? Life, with all its eventful consequences; grace here, and glory to all eternity, in Christ, as thine head, everlastingly secured by God the Father’s promise in Christ. So that as God the Father is the almighty promiser, and Christ comprehensively so in himself, and all his fulness the promise; so the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of promise, in all his manifold influences, confirms and seals the same to the heart of all true believers, in a life of grace, leading to a life of glory. Say, my soul! what a portion hast thou then to live upon and to rejoice in for ever!^[1]

 

^[1] Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Evening Portion (A New Edition, p. 350). Philadelphia: Thomas Wardle.

December 22 The Poor Man’s Morning Portion

22.—Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself.—Eph. 1:9.

My soul! pause over these volumes of divine truth: for they are not as so many simple words, but contain vast volumes indeed, and such as a whole eternity will not afford space to read over and finish. The first is a large one indeed—even the mystery of God’s will: namely, the mystery of redemption, originating in the divine mind, before all worlds. And this is not the smallest part of it, that it should be made known in any degree or measure to thee, my soul: a poor creature of a day, and that day, a day of nothing but sin. The second volume in this vast subject is another precious part of the same glorious truth, namely, that this mercy of God in Christ is the sole result of God’s good pleasure. No foresight, no merit, no pretensions of thine, my soul; no, nor the merits of archangels, becoming in the least, the cause. For though a gracious God hath taken occasion to make a glorious display of the depths of his grace, from the depths of men’s ruin: yet it was not our state, but his good pleasure, which laid the foundation of our recovery by Jesus Christ. And the third volume in this stupendous subject is, that He that planned, executed and finished it. As none but infinite wisdom could purpose, so none but infinite power could accomplish. Pause, my soul, and contemplate the vast mercy! It comes from a God in Christ, as the first cause; and reverts back again to God in Christ, as the final end. Hallelujah!^[1]

 

^[1] Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Morning Portion (pp. 309–310). New York; Pittsburg: Robert Carter.