Divine Treasures from Thoughts
of God by John McDuff, 1864 How precious are your thoughts unto
me, O God! They shall be mine, says the
Lord Almighty. in that day when I make up my
jewels. And I will spare them as a man
spares his own son that serves him. Malachi chapter 3 verse
17 The preceding context tells us of a book of remembrance that
was written before him for those who feared the Lord and who thought
upon his name. That book of remembrance was
a record of the believer's thoughts towards God. We have here the
wondrous counterpart, God's thoughts towards the believer. We have
two beautiful pictures of earth and heaven. On earth his children
are gathered together, speaking often one to another of the great
and glorious being they delight to serve. In heaven, he who sees
in secret hearkens and thus records his own gracious thoughts, respecting
them in the book of life. They shall be mine, says the
Lord Almighty. in that day when I make up my
jewels, or my precious treasure. With what eager thoughts, ardent
aspirations, do men look forward to the attainment of some cherished
hope, or prize, or treasure, for which, as the case may be,
they have wisely or unwisely toiled? The money-seeker longs
for the day when he shall collect and store his coveted heaps.
The historian longs for the day when his hoarded backs, his lettered
wisdom, shall be compiled into a volume. The architect longs
for the hour when the last plank of scaffolding shall be removed
from the building on which he expects his renown to rest. The
sculptor longs for the last touch, being put on the lifelike marble,
that he may set it among his finished works. The Great God, here as elsewhere,
is represented as anticipating with joy and satisfaction the
day of the consummation of all things, the day on which the
topstone of his temple shall be brought forth with shouting
when the now compiling volume of remembrance shall be finished,
when the now filling treasure box shall be complete, and he
shall display his jewels before an admiring and adoring world. And what does he say is to form,
amid these lustrous jewels, his most prized treasure, that on
which his eye seems most lovingly and fondly to rest? They, says
he, my believing people, the trembling band that feared me
and spoke of me on earth, they, on that day, shall be mine. O most precious, most wondrous
thought of God, can it be that he can think of treasuring me,
a poor, unworthy, contemptible piece of clay, in his treasure-box
now, and at last of setting me a jewel in his crown? Yes, what
has he given for that jewel? Estimate its worth by the purchase
price. You were not redeemed with corruptible
things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of
Christ. And, as if this one exquisite
figure were not enough, he adds, And I will spare them as a man
spares his own son that serves him. Jewels are precious. But what are they compared to
a loved and dutiful son? If jewels were in a burning house,
a man would rush to save them. But if the alternative lay between
saving them and a precious child, would he for a moment hesitate?
I will spare my believing people, says God, as a man would rush
heedless of the flames to rescue his darling son. When the heavens,
being on fire, shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat, not a hair of their heads shall perish. I will save
them with a great salvation. They are mine now. Mine, justified
in Christ. Mine, adopted into my family. Mine, they shall be, acknowledged
and acquitted in the day of judgment. Yes, mine, forever and ever. All who are victorious will inherit
all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be
my children. you