Morning, January 22
Go To Evening Reading
“Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch
which is among the trees of the forest?”
Ezekiel 15:2
These words are for the humbling of God’s people; they are called God’s vine, but what are they by nature more than others? They, by God’s goodness, have become fruitful, having been planted in a good soil;
the Lord hath trained them upon the walls of the sanctuary, and they
bring forth fruit to his glory; but what are they without their God?
What are they without the continual influence of the Spirit, begetting
fruitfulness in them? O believer, learn to reject pride, seeing that
thou hast no ground for it. Whatever thou art, thou hast nothing to
make thee proud. The more thou hast, the more thou art in debt to
God; and thou shouldst not be proud of that which renders thee a debtor.
Consider thine origin; look back to what thou wast. Consider what
thou wouldst have been but for divine grace. Look upon thyself as
thou art now. Doth not thy conscience reproach thee? Do not thy thousand
wanderings stand before thee, and tell thee that thou art unworthy
to be called his son? And if he hath made thee anything, art thou
not taught thereby that it is grace which hath made thee to differ?
Great believer, thou wouldst have been a great sinner if God had not
made thee to differ. O thou who art valiant for truth, thou wouldst
have been as valiant for error if grace had not laid hold upon thee.
Therefore, be not proud, though thou hast a large estate—a wide domain of grace, thou hadst not once a single thing to call
thine own except thy sin and misery. Oh! strange infatuation, that
thou, who hast borrowed everything, shouldst think of exalting thyself;
a poor dependent pensioner upon the bounty of thy Saviour, one who
hath a life which dies without fresh streams of life from Jesus, and
yet proud! Fie on thee, O silly heart!