Evening, June 13
Go To Morning Reading
“Remove far from me vanity and lies.”
Proverbs 30:8
“O my God, be not far from me.”
—Psalm 38:21
Here we have two great lessons—what to deprecate and what to supplicate. The happiest state of a
Christian is the holiest state. As there is the most heat nearest
to the sun, so there is the most happiness nearest to Christ. No Christian
enjoys comfort when his eyes are fixed on vanity—he finds no satisfaction unless his soul is quickened in the ways
of God. The world may win happiness elsewhere, but he cannot. I do
not blame ungodly men for rushing to their pleasures. Why should I?
Let them have their fill. That is all they have to enjoy. A converted
wife who despaired of her husband was always very kind to him, for
she said, “I fear that this is the only world in which he will be happy, and
therefore I have made up my mind to make him as happy as I can in
it.” Christians must seek their delights in a higher sphere than the insipid
frivolities or sinful enjoyments of the world. Vain pursuits are dangerous
to renewed souls. We have heard of a philosopher who, while he looked
up to the stars, fell into a pit; but how deeply do they fall who look
down . Their fall is fatal. No Christian is safe when his soul is slothful,
and his God is far from him. Every Christian is always safe as to
the great matter of his standing in Christ, but he is not safe as
regards his experience in holiness, and communion with Jesus in this
life. Satan does not often attack a Christian who is living near to
God. It is when the Christian departs from his God, becomes spiritually
starved, and endeavours to feed on vanities, that the devil discovers
his vantage hour. He may sometimes stand foot to foot with the child
of God who is active in his Master’s service, but the battle is generally short: he who slips as he goes
down into the Valley of Humiliation, every time he takes a false step
invites Apollyon to assail him. O for grace to walk humbly with our
God!