March 1
This book...shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night. Joshua 1:8
Go to God by prayer for a key to unlock the mysteries of His word. It is not the plodding but the praying soul, that will get this treasure of scripture knowledge. God often brings a truth to the Christian's hand as a return of prayer, which He had long hunted for in vain with much labour and study: "There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets" (Daniel 2:28); and where does He reveal the secrets of His word but at the throne of grace?
"From the first day," saith the angel, "that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words". (Daniel 10:12) And what was this heavenly messenger's errand to Daniel but to open more fully the Scripture to him? as appears by verse 14 compared with verse 21. This holy man had got some knowledge by his study in the word, and this sets him to praying, and prayer fetched an angel from heaven to give him more light.
- "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee." Psalm 119:11. It was not the Bible in his hand to read it, not the word of his tongue to speak of it; but the hiding it in his heart, that he found effectual against sin.
- "Quench not the Spirit, despise not prophesyings" (1 Thessalonians 5:19,20) They are coupled together; he that despises one loses both. If the scholar is too proud to learn of the usher (guide), he is unworthy to be taught by the master.
- "They shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables" (2 Timothy 4:3,4). Satan commonly stops the ear from hearing sound doctrine, before he opens it to embrace corrupt doctrine. William Gurnall
N.J. Hiebert - 20235
March 2
LONELINESS
I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the housetop. Psalm 102:7
Loneliness is a very unpleasant feeling. Many who have lost loved ones know the emotion, the feeling, even many years after their loss. Such feelings were well understood by the Lord as He too passed through a deep sense of loneliness. In the latter part of Matthew the Lord foretells His coming rejection and crucifixion. He speaks of Judas's betrayal; He tells His disciples they will all forsake Him, and mentions Peter's threefold denial.
In the garden the Lord separates from His disciples to pray. Even though three are invited to follow closer, they are unable to watch with Him as sleep overcomes them, and they are not at the Lord's side either as He prays to His Father. The Lord is alone. Soon afterward, the multitude comes to take Him, and His disciples flee. During all His appearances before the authorities, He has no one at His side. He was rejected by the people, whom He had served so wonderfully--"Crucify Him, crucify Him" was their clamour: "We will not have this Man to reign over us." Those who loved Him, who stood by the cross, stood afar off.
What loneliness He felt. The Psalms very vividly describe the thoughts of His heart: "I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none." (Psalm 69:20) "Lover and friend hast thou put far from Me." (Psalm 88:18) "I am like a pelican of the wilderness...and am as a sparrow alone on the housetop." (Psalm 102:6,7)
Then the climax, the last three hours on the cross, when darkness enshrouded Him and the heart-rending cry echoed forth, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46) Yes, there are times when we are lonely and it hurts, yet there is no loneliness or sorrow comparable to His. But in all our sorrow we have One to whom we can go, One who gives comfort and support in times of deepest need, because He understands. Albert Blok
N.J. Hiebert - 20236
March 3
To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 2 Timothy1:2
The Apostle can address Timothy as his "beloved son (child)." What a comfort that in a day of ruin there are those to whom we can unreservedly express our affection, and to whom in all confidence we can unburden our hearts. Two leading characteristics in Timothy drew forth the love and confidence of Paul.
First, he was mindful of his tears; secondly, he remembered his unfeigned faith. The tears of Timothy proved that he was a man of spiritual depth and affection who felt the low and broken condition of the Christian profession: his unfeigned faith proved that he was able to rise above all the evil in obedience to, and confidence in, God.
Timothy may indeed have been of a timid nature and in danger of being overwhelmed by the evil that was coming into the church; as he was marked by tears and faith, the Apostle was was encouraged to instruct and exhort him knowing that he had qualities which would enable him to answer to his appeal. Nor is it otherwise today.
The instructions of this touching Epistle will find little response unless there are the tears that tell of a tender heart that can mourn over the sorrows of God's people, and the faith that can take God's path of separation in the midst of the ruin.
Paul delighted to remember in his prayers this man of tears and faith. What a cheer to any saint, broken hearted by the condition of God's people, to know that there are devoted and faithful saints by whom he is remembered in prayer. Faithfulness in a day of desertion binds hearts together in the bonds of divine love. 2 Timothy - Expository Outline - Hamilton Smith
N.J. Hiebert - 20237
"All that we can do is to walk with vigilance, but peacefully, thinking of the interests of the Lord Jesus; as to ourselves having nothing to gain and nothing to lose. The path of peace, the place of testimony, is to seek to please God." -John Nelson Darby
March 4
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