February 3

Morning

Therefore, brethren, we are debtors. — Rom 8:12

As God’s creatures, we are all debtors to Him to obey Him with all our body, and soul, and strength. Having broken His commandments, as we all have, we are debtors to His justice, and we owe to Him a vast amount which we are not able to pay. But of the Christian it can be said—that he does not owe God’s justice anything, for Christ has paid the debt His people owed; for this reason the believer owes the more, to love. I am a debtor to God’s grace and forgiving mercy; but I am no debtor to His justice, for He will never accuse me of a debt already paid! Christ said, “It is finished!” and by that He meant, that whatever sin-debt His people owed—was wiped away forever from the book of remembrance. Christ, to the uttermost, has satisfied divine justice; the account is settled; the handwriting is nailed to the cross; the receipt is given, and we are debtors to God’s justice no longer.

But then, because we are not debtors to our Lord in that sense, we become ten times more debtors to God than we would have been otherwise. Christian, pause and ponder for a moment. What a debtor you are to divine sovereignty! How much you owe to His selfless love, for He gave His own Son that He might die for you. Consider how much you owe to His forgiving grace, that after receiving ten thousand affronts from you—He loves you as infinitely as ever! Consider what you owe to His power; how He has raised you from your death in sin; how He has preserved your spiritual life; how He has kept you from falling; and how, though a thousand enemies have beset your path—you have been able to hold on your way. Consider what you owe to His immutability. Though you have changed a thousand times—He has not changed once! You are as deep in debt as you can be to every attribute of God. To God you owe yourself, and all you have—yield yourself as a living sacrifice, it is but your reasonable service.

Evening

Tell me ... where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon. — Song 1:7

These words express the desire of the believer after Christ, and his longing for present communion with Him. Where do You feed Your flock? In Your house? I will go, if I may find You there. In private prayer? Then I will pray without ceasing. In the Word? Then I will read it diligently. In Your ordinances? Then I will walk in them with all my heart. Tell me where You feed, for wherever You stand as the Shepherd, there will I lie down as a sheep; for none but Yourself can supply my need. I cannot be satisfied to be apart from You. My soul hungers and thirsts for the refreshment of Your presence.

“Where do You make Your flock to rest at noon?” for whether at dawn or at noon, my only rest must be where You are and Your beloved flock.

My soul’s rest must be a grace-given rest and can only be found in You. Where is the shadow of that rock? Why should I not repose beneath it? “Why should I be as one who turns aside by the flocks of your companions?” You have companions—why should I not be one? Satan tells me I am unworthy; but I always was unworthy, and yet You have long loved me; and therefore my unworthiness cannot be a bar to my having fellowship with You now. It is true I am weak in faith, and prone to fall but my very feebleness is the reason why I should always be where You feed Your flock, that I may be strengthened, and preserved in safety beside the still waters. Why should I turn aside? There is no reason why I should but there are a thousand reasons why I should not—for Jesus beckons me to come. If He withdrew Himself a little, it is but to make me prize His presence more. Now that I am grieved and distressed at being away from Him—He will lead me yet again to that sheltered nook where the lambs of His fold are sheltered from the burning sun.