Classic public-domain readings for today from Morning and Evening and Faith's Checkbook.
Faith's Checkbook
Oct. 17 — HOLY FEAR
Prov. 13:13
Oct. 17
HOLY FEAR
"He that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded" Prov. 13:13
Holy awe of God's Word is at a great discount. Men think themselves
wiser than the Word of the Lord, and sit in judgment upon it. "So did
not I, because of the fear of God." We accept the inspired Book as
infallible, and prove our esteem by our obedience. We have no terror
of the Word, but we have a filial awe of it. We are not in fear of its
penalties, because we have a fear of its commands.
This holy fear of the commandment produces the restfulness of
humility, which is far sweeter than the recklessness of pride. It
becomes a guide to us in our movements; a drag when we are going
down-hill, and a stimulus when we are climbing it. Preserved from evil
and led into righteousness by our reverence of the command, we gain a
quiet conscience, which is a well of wine; a sense of freedom from
respon…
Morning, October 17
Go To Evening Reading
“And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand
of Saul.”
1 Samuel 27:1
The thought of David’s heart at this time was a false thought, because he certainly had no ground for thinking that God’s anointing him by Samuel was intended to be left as an empty unmeaning
act. On no one occasion had the Lord deserted his servant; he had
been placed in perilous positions very often, but not one instance
had occurred in which divine interposition had not delivered him.
The trials to which he had been exposed had been varied; they had
not assumed one form only, but many—yet in every case he who sent the trial had also graciously ordained
a way of escape. David could not put his finger upon any entry in
his diary, and say of it, “Here is evidence that the Lord will forsake me,” for the entire tenor of his past life proved the …
Evening, October 17
Go To Morning Reading
“He shall gather the lambs with his arm.”
Isaiah 40:11
Our good Shepherd has in his flock a variety of experiences, some
are strong in the Lord, and others are weak in faith, but he is impartial
in his care for all his sheep, and the weakest lamb is as dear to
him as the most advanced of the flock. Lambs are wont to lag behind,
prone to wander, and apt to grow weary, but from all the danger of
these infirmities the Shepherd protects them with his arm of power.
He finds new-born souls, like young lambs, ready to perish—he nourishes them till life becomes vigorous; he finds weak minds
ready to faint and die—he consoles them and renews their strength. All the little ones he
gathers, for it is not the will of our heavenly Father that one of
them should perish. What a quick eye he must have to see them all!
What a tender heart to care fo…
