AUGUST 1. Behold, we come unto Thee; for Thou art the I HAVE been a fugitive servant to the most glorious Lord and Master: I have deserted His service, and denied my obedience. But now, Lord, nail my ear to thy door-post, that I may serve Thee for ever; nail my heart to Thy service, that no trouble, temptation, or desertion may drive me away from Thee; nail my eyes to Thy service, that I may never look upon vanity; nail my hands to Thy service, that I may never do an ill turn; nail my feet to Thy way, that I may never turn aside from Thee. Let all the faculties of my soul be nailed to Thy service and obedience. Ralph Erskine, 1765. AUGUST 2. "Unite my heart to fear Thy Name." Psa. lxxxvi. II. MANY small wax lights, which of themselves burn faintly, when put into one torch or taper, send forth a bright and shining flame; many little bells, which tinkle together to the pleasing of children, when melted and cast into one great bell, do affect the ear with a more solemn and awful sound; and many single threads, which snap asunder with the least touch, when twisted together, make a strong cable, which can withstand the fury and violence of a storm. So it is with the mind, the more it is scattered and divided through multiplicity of objects, the more weak it is; and the more it is fixed on one single object, the more masculine and strong are the operations of it, either for good or evil. William Spurstowe, 1659. AUGUST 3. "The knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Pet. i. 8. KNOWLEDGE is the mother of obedience, and obedience is the nurse of knowledge. The more you practise what you know, the more shall you know what to practise. And yet put not off yourselves with every kind of knowledge,-labour for a soul-humbling knowledge. The more the light shines on you, the more you will see your own imperfections. Let your knowledge be applicative: endeavour to possess for thine own, the good of every threatening, command, promise. Let your knowledge be influential into heart and life. Not informing only, but reforming;—not as the light of torches, which scatter no influence where they shine; but as the light of the sun, which makes the earth and plants green and growing. He who is rich in knowledge must be plentiful in holiness. William Jenkin, 1650. AUGUST 4. "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning." Isa. lxi. 3. GOD will have mourners comforted, because they pray much. Mourners in Zion are great prayers; and great prayers shall certainly be great rejoicers. As clouds darken the heavens, and cause lowering weather, but being distilled into drops, then sweet sunshine and fair weather follow; so sorrows and troubles in the hearts of the saints seem to darken them till they be distilled in prayer and tears before the Lord; then the sweet beams of God's love graciously and comfortably shine upon them. Jeremiah Burroughs, 1641. AUGUST 5. "Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy countenance." Psa. lxxxix. 15. How sweet are the discoveries made by Christ to believing souls! What a pleasant thing is it for spiritual eyes to behold the Sun of Righteousness, moving and shining in the spirit of a convert, as in its own proper sphere. Such as are dark, are accounted melancholy rooms: well may they be melancholy souls that want the cheering of Christ! Blessed are the people, O Lord, that walk in the light of Thy countenance; they shall know the joyful sound; they shall enjoy a continual jubilee in their hearts. John Arrowsmith, 1647. AUGUST 6. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 2 Pet. iii. 18. WHILE we are in this world, let it be our growing concern, by the assistance of His grace, to be more and more transformed into His image, and to subserve the purposes of His glory. Let us pass the days of our pilgrimage here, in frequent converse with Him, in continual devotedness to Him, and in the longing expectation of that happy hour which will dismiss us from the labours and sorrows of this mortal state, and raise us to the fullest and brightest visions of that glory, which, even in this distant and imperfect prospect, is sufficient to eclipse all the splendours of life, and to disarm all the terrors of death. Philip Doddridge, 1766. AUGUST 7. Changed into the same image from glory to glory." 2 Cor. iii. 18. THOU hast, O Christian soul, in the life of Christ alone, a most celestial medicine to help thy defects. For what pride is there in thee, that His humility cannot abate? What wrath and anger, that His gentleness cannot lenify? What benumbedness of heart, that His love cannot inflame? And as Christ's life is a most celestial medicine for all the defects of our souls, so is it a most absolute rule or square of most perfect discipline for our lives. For where is true wisdom more to be found than in the doctrine of Christ? Where more true fortitude |