Morning, January 1
Go To Evening Reading
“They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.”
Joshua 5:12
Israel’s weary wanderings were all over, and the promised rest was attained.
No more moving tents, fiery serpents, fierce Amalekites, and howling
wildernesses: they came to the land which flowed with milk and honey,
and they ate the old corn of the land. Perhaps this year, beloved
Christian reader, this may be thy case or mine. Joyful is the prospect,
and if faith be in active exercise, it will yield unalloyed delight.
To be with Jesus in the rest which remaineth for the people of God,
is a cheering hope indeed, and to expect this glory so soon is a double
bliss. Unbelief shudders at the Jordan which still rolls between us
and the goodly land, but let us rest assured that we have already
experienced more ills than death at its worst can cause us. Let us
banish every fearful thought, and rejoice with exceeding great joy,
in the prospect that this year we shall begin to be “forever with the Lord.”
A part of the host will this year tarry on earth, to do service for
their Lord. If this should fall to our lot, there is no reason why
the New Year’s text should not still be true. “We who have believed do enter into rest.” The Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance; he gives us “glory begun below.” In heaven they are secure, and so are we preserved in Christ Jesus;
there they triumph over their enemies, and we have victories too.
Celestial spirits enjoy communion with their Lord, and this is not
denied to us; they rest in his love, and we have perfect peace in
him: they hymn his praise, and it is our privilege to bless him too.
We will this year gather celestial fruits on earthly ground, where
faith and hope have made the desert like the garden of the Lord. Man
did eat angels’ food of old, and why not now? O for grace to feed on Jesus, and so
to eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan this year!