The Word of God from The Night
Watches by John McDuff. Your word is a lamp for my feet
and a light for my path. Psalm 119 verse 105. Man's word disappoints. God's
word never. The word of the Lord is tried.
It has been tried by the sinner. He neglected it and perished. It has been tried by the saint.
He has believed it and been saved. What a precious legacy of God
to our world. The volume of nature, much as
it teaches, is dumb on the question of a sinner's acceptance. The
scriptures alone can solve the enigma. How is God to deal with
the guilty? That question unanswered. In
peace, we could not live. In peace, we dared not die. But glad tidings, O precious
messenger from God, have you brought to a doomed earth. God
so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever
believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Were there no more in the divine
communication than that one brief entry, the Bible would still
be better to us than millions in gold and silver. The Word
of God is a vast repository and emporium of heavenly wisdom,
free to all, suited for all, intended for all, offered to
all. The Word of God is an inexhaustible
mine. The deeper you dig, the richer
the ore. It has a word in season for rich
and poor, for young and old, for the wandering, for the doubting,
for the sorrowing, for the believing, for the dying, for the perishing. Reader, sit at the feet of Jesus
in his word, and with the docility of a little child say, Speak,
Lord, for your servant is listening. Always approach it as if it met
you with the living salutation, I have a message from God for
you. There are differences in every
heart chamber, but this key fits every door. Make it a faithful
mirror in which you see a reflection of yourself. The more faithfully
it is held up, the more will the sense of your deficiency
and defilement drive you to the atoning blood. In all your difficulties,
make it your counselor. In all your perplexities, make
it your interpreter and guide. In all your sorrows, make it
your fountain of consolation. In all your temptations, make
it your ultimate court of appeal. When venturing on debatable ground,
let this deter you. What does the scripture say?
When assailed, let this protect and defend you. It is written. Precious at all times, it is
especially precious in the cloudy and dark day. We may do without
our lamp in the day, but where are we without it in the midnight
tempestuous sea? I would have perished in my affliction,
says a sinking castaway, but your word has quickened me. Oft
as I lay me down to rest, O may the reconciling word sweetly
compose my weary breast, while on the bosom of my Lord I sink
in blissful dreams away and visions of eternal day. Be it mine to look forward to
that blessed time when the intervention of that word and all other means
of grace will terminate, for in heaven they need no candle. Meanwhile, pillowing my head
on the word of the eternal God and with these glorious prospects
in view, I will lie down and sleep in peace. For you alone,
O Lord, make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4 verse 8.