Evening, May 17
Go To Morning Reading
“Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee.”
Isaiah 41:9
If we have received the grace of God in our hearts, its practical
effect has been to make us God’s servants . We may be unfaithful servants, we certainly are unprofitable ones,
but yet, blessed be his name, we are his servants, wearing his livery, feeding at his table, and obeying
his commands. We were once the servants of sin, but he who made us free has now taken us into his family and taught us obedience
to his will. We do not serve our Master perfectly, but we would if
we could. As we hear God’s voice saying unto us, “Thou art my servant,” we can answer with David, “I am thy servant; thou hast loosed my bonds.” But the Lord calls us not only his servants , but his chosen ones—“I have chosen thee.” We have not chosen him first, but he hath chosen us. If we be God’s servants, we were not always so; to sovereign grace the change must
be ascribed. The eye of sovereignty singled us out, and the voice
of unchanging grace declared, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” Long ere time began or space was created God had written upon his
heart the names of his elect people, had predestinated them to be
conformed unto the image of his Son, and ordained them heirs of all
the fulness of his love, his grace, and his glory. What comfort is
here! Has the Lord loved us so long, and will he yet cast us away?
He knew how stiffnecked we should be; he understood that our hearts
were evil, and yet he made the choice. Ah! our Saviour is no fickle
lover. He doth not feel enchanted for awhile with some gleams of beauty
from his church’s eye, and then afterwards cast her off because of her unfaithfulness.
Nay, he married her in old eternity; and it is written of Jehovah,
“He hateth putting away.” The eternal choice is a bond upon our gratitude and upon his faithfulness which neither can disown.