1. “Take ... no thought for the morrow” (Matt 6:34) (February 19 Evening)

“Ye are of more value than many sparrows.” Anxious Christians, give ear to our Lord’s words. If He cares for sparrows, will He not care for you? Let no anxious, perplexing, distressing thoughts flood your mind. You know not that you shall live even until tomorrow, for the Lord may take you home tonight. But if you do, the Lord will be as thoughtful of you, as kind to you, and as watchful of you, as He has always been. There is daily grace as well as daily bread. You cannot be fatherless and you will not be neglected. Whatever your circumstances may be, your Father knows them. He has provided for them and He will bring you through, to His own great glory. Let the peace of God rule in your heart. Stay yourself upon the word of the Lord. Your loving Saviour wishes you to be free from anxiety, to wait upon Him without distraction, to honour Him by the exercise of calm, patient, believing trust. Go to rest this night, obeying your Redeemer’s word, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all temporal things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.” When you awake in the morning your God will still be with you, as He promised, to lead you ever onward unto the perfect day.

By day by night, at home abroad,
Still I am guarded by my God:
By His unfailing bounty fed,
By His unerring counsel led

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2. “He delighteth in mercy” (Micah 7:18) (February 22 Morning)

“Who is a God like unto Thee?” He pardons our iniquity and overlooks our transgression. In our miserable estate, God has revealed Himself as merciful. He delighteth in mercy; it is a pleasure to Him to have mercy upon us; He delights to pardon our sins, relieve our necessities, and save our souls. His own glory being secured, He delights to bless His people. He is styled the Father of mercies; and as a father takes pleasure in his children, so does our God in showing mercy. He always delights in mercy, therefore He does so this morning; go, then, and mourn over thy sins which have grieved Him and made you miserable; go, and plead for mercy at His throne, nor doubt for one moment His pity, His kindness, or His grace. Have you obtained mercy? Be zealous to glorify God in the day of visitation; be honest, and ascribe all to mercy which is her due; and be active to spread the good news abroad, assuring poor, miserable sinners, that God delighteth in mercy. With this, check thy fears, repel thy temptations, and comfort thy heart. Believe it as an undoubted truth, plead it as a powerful argument with God, and daily rejoice in it. It is sweet to be an infinite debtor to mercy.

’Tis mercy in Jesus exempts me from hell;
Its glories I’ll sing, and its wonders I’ll tell;
’Twas Jesus, my Friend, when He hung on the tree,
Who opened the channel of mercy for me.

3. “Consider how great things He hath done for you” (1 Sam 12:24)

(November 14 Morning)

“Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth.” We are all too apt to dwell upon our miseries and forget our mercies. If we are injured by man how long we remember it; but if we are favoured by God how soon we forget! Let us this morning consider how great things the Lord hath done for us. He gave His Son for our ransom, His Spirit to be our guide, and His word to be our directory. He saved us by His grace when we were heading for perdition; wrought a change in our hearts when we were enemies fighting against Him; He pardoned our sins when we deserved His fiercest displeasure. He has given us faith to trust Him, promises to plead with Him, and proofs of His faithfulness without number. He hath supplied us through all our sojourning, corrected our waywardness, conquered our foes: indeed, no good thing hath He withheld from us. Let us ponder and praise Him for the past, and trust Him more for the future. He our God is the God of our salvation; He hath done great things for us, and He will do yet greater things that we may glorify Him forever. My soul, consider His mighty acts and give glory to thy God.

O may I ne’er forget
The mercy of my God;
Nor ever want a tongue to spread
His loudest praise abroad.

4. “Cleave unto the Lord” (Acts 11:23) (February 3 Morning)

Every believer is united to Christ. He is one with Him. Jesus is the vine, he is a branch. Satan’s design is to lure him from the Lord; he knows well he can do little or nothing while the Christian cleaves to Jesus. O then, cleave to Him by faith, in love, with perseverance! Cleave to His truth, to His people, to His ordinances, to His word, and to His throne. Think of Jesus as the obedient disciple thinks of his beloved Master, as the way-worn traveller thinks of his cheerful home. Let Jesus be uppermost in thy thoughts, let His love rule thy heart, and let nothing steal away thy affections from Him. Live upon His fulness, according to His word and in the sunshine of His love, safely and happily, as you cleave unto the Lord. Never let Satan find thee at a distance from Jesus, or he will assuredly be too much for thee. He is ever on the watch to find thee wandering, that he may deceive, stumble and distress thee. Therefore cleave unto the Lord with full resolve of heart. Cleave to Him as the ivy to the oak, or the child to the mother’s breast.

Dear Saviour, let me cleave to Thee,
Thy love the bond of union be;
And lest I ever should depart,
Keep dwelling always in my heart.