Evening, February 11
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“Thou hast left thy first love.”
Revelation 2:4
Ever to be remembered is that best and brightest of hours, when first
we saw the Lord, lost our burden, received the roll of promise, rejoiced
in full salvation, and went on our way in peace. It was spring time
in the soul; the winter was past; the mutterings of Sinai’s thunders were hushed; the flashings of its lightnings were no more
perceived; God was beheld as reconciled; the law threatened no vengeance,
justice demanded no punishment. Then the flowers appeared in our heart;
hope, love, peace, and patience sprung from the sod; the hyacinth
of repentance, the snowdrop of pure holiness, the crocus of golden
faith, the daffodil of early love, all decked the garden of the soul.
The time of the singing of birds was come, and we rejoiced with thanksgiving;
we magnified the holy name of our forgiving God, and our resolve was,
“Lord, I am thine, wholly thine; all I am, and all I have, I would
devote to thee. Thou hast bought me with thy blood—let me spend myself and be spent in thy service. In life and in death
let me be consecrated to thee.” How have we kept this resolve ? Our espousal love burned with a holy flame of devoutedness to Jesus—is it the same now ? Might not Jesus well say to us, “I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love”? Alas! it is but little we have done for our Master’s glory. Our winter has lasted all too long. We are as cold as ice
when we should feel a summer’s glow and bloom with sacred flowers. We give to God pence when he
deserveth pounds, nay, deserveth our heart’s blood to be coined in the service of his church and of his truth.
But shall we continue thus? O Lord, after thou hast so richly blessed
us, shall we be ungrateful and become indifferent to thy good cause
and work? O quicken us that we may return to our first love, and do
our first works! Send us a genial spring, O Sun of Righteousness.