RESTORER

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. (Ps 23:3)


We wander from God and from the paths of righteousness—from following Him beside the still waters—till we lose the way, lose joy, lose the sound of His voice. Then the Master "restores [the only use of this form in the Old Testament] our soul"; "brings us back into His way," into the paths of righteousness.

O, gracious "Restorer," bring back my wandering soul as a straying sheep and lead me on in the paths of righteousness "for Your name's sake." Lead me in the everlasting way as Your obedient servant. Amen.



THE LORD MIGHTY IN BATTLE

Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. (Ps 24:


No life can be lived for God in these difficult days without terrific conflict. Foes within and foes without assail each saint continuously. Principalities and powers are arrayed against the child of God who seeks to serve his Master. We have no might with which to meet "this great host that comes out against us," but Jehovah, Mighty in Battle, is our Saviour, our Intercessor, Our Elder Brother, our ever-present Friend.

I must fight if I would win; increase my courage, Lord, and save me from the massive array of foes. Protect me from all evil and harm and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Amen.





KING OF GLORY

Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. (Ps 24:10)


Jehovah Jesus, the glorious King! Not merely a king, but glorious, excelling all others in mighty truth and power, grace and love. We almost forget for a time His absolute sovereignty as we bow in humble worship before His matchless glory, and cry again and again, "Thy kingdom come," O Glorious King.

Lord Jesus, let us open the gates of our heart so that the King of Glory might come in. You are our hope of glory. Prepare us to be glorified with You. Amen.





MY STRONG ROCK

Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me. (Ps 31:2)


No sorrow of men is so deep and dark and bitter as to be without a refuge, a rock, a safe retreat. However deep our sorrow, however dark our sin, however hopeless our lot among men, the Man of Sorrows bore our sin in His own body on the tree. He carried all our grief. He is our "Strong Rock." A strong, safe house, in which I am defended from flesh, the world, the devil.

Lord, You are the rock on which we have our testimony. We shall not be moved because You are our solid foundation, a house no one can destroy. Amen.






THE HEAD STONE OF THE CORNER

The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. (Ps 118:22)


Men may reject "The Head Stone of the Corner" and seek to erect a building that shall stand, without the Living Christ. But God has laid aside all human plans and made our Lord and Saviour "The Head Stone of the Corner." When all human buildings crumble and every earthly architect has failed, all hearts bow before that perfect building, that eternal temple, worshiping Him who is its crown of grace.

You alone, Lord, can erect that building being joined together as the true house of God. Build each of us upon the Chief Stone as a solid house of God.





MY HIGH TOWER

My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me. (Ps 144:2)


"My High Tower" is a vision of our glorious Saviour as the Most High—high above our trials; high above our temptations; high above our foes; high above our failures and losses; high above the fret and care of our earthward life. A place of holy calm and peace and stillness. The door is open.

Lord Jesus, our High Tower, let us enter in today. Only then can we escape the defeat that will result from a lack of Your protection. Let us look down from that High Tower on our enemies and struggles. Amen

THE LAMB OF GOD (John 1:29)

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)


How shall we say in a few words that which springs up in our hearts and would break forth from our lips? "The Lamb which bears away our sin" is a better rendering, for He takes it away by bearing it. He bore the sins of those who received Him while here on the earth and He bore them away when He paid the penalty on the cross and shed His atoning blood. God's Lamb! No one else could be God's Lamb. He was the voluntary offering. What can we do? Believe it, accept it, take our place with Him.

Let us behold You every day—Jesus, Lamb of God—counting nothing too good to give to You or too much to do for You. Amen.





THE SON OF GOD (John 1:34)

And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. (John 1:34)


John the Baptist had not known Him as the Messiah although he did know Him to be Mary's Son. But when the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at His baptism, John knew Him as the Son of God and bore record to that fact. The testimony of John the Baptist is clear! Jesus is God's Son. He is the Promised One. Not a Son of God, as some of our learned critics condescendingly say, but the Son of God. We should seek to be like John the Baptist—a sign-post pointing to Him and saying, "Behold! The Son of God." John laid down his life for his loyalty to the Son of God. May we be willing to suffer anything so that our testimony shall be clear and clean always for Him.

Lord, help us to point someone to You today and like John the Baptist to prepare the way of the Lord in all we do. Amen.





THE JUST ONE (Acts 7:52)

Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers. (Acts 7:52)


The words "Just (righteous) One" burst from the lips of Stephen, the first martyr, in the wonderful message which he gave before the council in defending the name and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. He paid with his life for his loyalty to his Lord, and he will receive his reward. It was through his testimony that the Spirit of God brought conviction to Saul of Tarsus, resulting in his conversion. How much would we be willing to suffer for Him?

O blessed Saviour of our souls, warm our hearts in devotion to You. Make us sturdy and strong as defenders of the faith. Amen.




LORD JESUS (Acts 7:59)

And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. (Acts 7:59)


Stephen is passing through the fire of Jewish hatred. But God is faithful to His faithful servant and martyr and opens the heavens to him, showing him Jesus standing at the right hand of His glory. The cry of Stephen was "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." His prayer was like that of Jesus who said, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit" (Luke 23:46). What a testimony to the deity of our Lord! Only He who gave the spirit could receive it. To depart and be with Christ was far better for Stephen, and it will be for us when in His own good time He calls us.

Lord Jesus, help us to make a good confession, gladly facing any foe, even death that, like Stephen, we may glorify You whether in life or death. Amen.





LORD OF ALL (Acts 10:36)

The word by which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all). (Acts 10:36)


Jesus Christ is Lord of all men. Peter was a Jew and did not want to depart from Jewish tradition, but God sent him a vision from heaven to make clear to him that He was no respecter of persons. "While Peter yet spoke the Holy Ghost fell upon all that heard the Word." Our Lord loves all; He died for all; He commissions us to go and preach to all. The world is the field, and every soul living has a claim upon us, which we must meet and answer for. What a wond

KING OVER ALL THE EARTH (Zechariah 14:4-9)

And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives....And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee....And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one. (Zech 14:4-9)


Some day, God grant it may be soon, "His feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives" and all the earth shall know that He is King. Can any flight of swift imagination exceed that picture? Through all the strife of nations, all the pride and rivalry of kings, what peace, what glory, what undreamed of wonders shall be seen when He, "the King of kings," shall reign "over all the earth." Does that day not draw you mightily? Does not the Spirit-given cry fill all your soul—"Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"

Even today Lord, we know You rule over the whole earth. Rule in the deepest places of our hearts for Your glory. Amen.




THE KING (Zechariah 14:16)

And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. (Zech 14:16)


He is King. It matters not that earth refused to crown Him and to acknowledge His right to reign. He only awaits the Father's day and hour to receive the kingdom which is His. The world waits and weeps, the whole creation groans in pain for lack of the conditions that shall be when men have crowned Him King. We join that grief, but have we truly crowned Him in our lives? Does He reign supremely every day, in every act, and over all our words and thoughts? There will be joy in His heart, joy in heaven, and joy in your heart, when you shall fully and with no reserve crown Jesus King and Lord of All.

O King of all that is, restore Your dominion in our hearts, today and forever. Amen.





GOOD MASTER (Mark 10:17)

Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? (Mark 10:17)

This question was asked of our Lord by a young man with great possessions, as recorded in Matt 19:17. This is the concrete question of the soul of man, "What shall I do to secure a right to heaven?" The theme of religion is do; but the theme of our Lord was just the opposite: "Follow Me." Eternal life is a gift. Those who accept and follow Him find that He is the "Good Master" because He provided for us a salvation—simple to accept but costing Him a price which involved His own life. How gracious is our God, and how we should love and adore Him!
Lord, may we walk in the sunshine of Your love today. Amen.




THE SON OF MAN (Mark 10:33)

The Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death. (Mark 10:33)


In the ninth chapter Jesus had said, "The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him." How earnestly He sought to stress the fact of His approaching sacrifice upon His disciples, and how He longed for their sympathy; but, alas, alas, how hard is the human heart! How difficult it is for Him to win us to Himself! "The Son of man must suffer many things," He had said, but the saddest of all was the failure of His own beloved disciples to enter into the burden He bore as He approached the cross.

O Holy Son of man, give unto us the loving hearts that will enter into fellowship with You in all things. Amen.





A RANSOM (Mark 10:45)

The Son of man came...to give his life a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)


"A ransom for many!" Here Christ is set forth as the penalty paid for the sins of the world. He saw that we were sinners under the judgment wrath of God, and He took our place and paid the penalty and price for our deliverance with His own blood. Listen to the drops of blood as they fall from hands and feet and wounded side! They voice the words, "The ransom price for my sins and for the sins of the whole world." We wish that men everywhere would bel