Morning, May 20
Go To Evening Reading
“Marvellous lovingkindness.”
Psalm 17:7
When we give our hearts with our alms, we give well, but we must often
plead to a failure in this respect. Not so our Master and our Lord.
His favours are always performed with the love of his heart. He does
not send to us the cold meat and the broken pieces from the table
of his luxury, but he dips our morsel in his own dish, and seasons
our provisions with the spices of his fragrant affections. When he
puts the golden tokens of his grace into our palms, he accompanies
the gift with such a warm pressure of our hand, that the manner of
his giving is as precious as the boon itself. He will come into our
houses upon his errands of kindness, and he will not act as some austere
visitors do in the poor man’s cottage, but he sits by our side, not despising our poverty, nor
blaming our weakness. Beloved, with what smiles does he speak! What
golden sentences drop from his gracious lips! What embraces of affection
does he bestow upon us! If he had but given us farthings, the way
of his giving would have gilded them; but as it is, the costly alms
are set in a golden basket by his pleasant carriage. It is impossible
to doubt the sincerity of his charity, for there is a bleeding heart
stamped upon the face of all his benefactions. He giveth liberally
and upbraideth not. Not one hint that we are burdensome to him; not
one cold look for his poor pensioners; but he rejoices in his mercy,
and presses us to his bosom while he is pouring out his life for us.
There is a fragrance in his spikenard which nothing but his heart
could produce; there is a sweetness in his honey-comb which could
not be in it unless the very essence of his soul’s affection had been mingled with it. Oh! the rare communion which
such singular heartiness effecteth! May we continually taste and know
the blessedness of it!