Good Morning
Luke 9:10 And the apostles, when they were returned, told him all that they had done. And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.
In order to grow in grace, we must be much alone.
It is not in society that the soul grows most vigorously.
In one single quiet hour of prayer
it will often make more progress
than in days of company with others.
It is in the desert that the dew falls freshest and the air is purest.
~~Andrew Bonar
“Come ye yourselves apart and rest awhile,
Weary, I know it , of the press and throng,
Wipe from your brow the seat and dust of toil,
And in My quiet strength again be strong.
“Come ye aside from all the world holds dear,
For converse which the world has never known,
Alone with Me, and with My Father here,
With Me and with My Father not alone.
“Come, tell Me all that ye have said and done,
Your victories and failures, hopes and fears,
I know how hardly souls are wooed and won;
My choicest wreaths are always wet with tears.
“Come ye and rest; the journey is too great.
And ye will faint beside the way and sink;
The bread of life is here for you to eat,
And here for you the wine of love to drink.
“Then fresh from converse with your Lord return
And work till daylight softens into even;
The brief hours are not lost in which ye learn
More of your Master and His rest in Heaven.”
Rest . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie
Ask for the Old Paths
from my Bible reading this morning:
Jeremiah 6:16
Thus saith the LORD,
Stand ye in the ways, and see,
and ask for the old paths,
where is the good way,
and walk therein,
and ye shall find rest for your souls.
But they said, We will not walk therein.
Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see –
Let us observe the metaphor.
A traveler is going to a particular city;
he comes to a place where the road divides into several paths,
he is afraid of going astray;
he stops short, – endeavors to find out the right path:
he cannot fix his choice.
At last he sees another traveler;
he inquires of him, gets proper directions –
proceeds on his journey –
arrives at the desired place –
and reposes after his fatigue.
. . .
The soul needs rest;
it can only find this by walking in the good way.
The good way is that which has been trodden
by the saints from the beginning:
it is the old way,
the way of faith and holiness.
Believe,
Love,
Obey;
be holy,
and be happy.
This is the way;
let us inquire for it,
and walk in it.
But these bad people said,
We will not walk in it.
Then they took another way,
walked over the precipice,
and fell into the bottomless pit;
where, instead of rest,
they find: –
– a fiery deluge, fed
With ever-burning sulfur, unconsumed.
Clarke’s Commentary
Tags: Jeremiah 6:16, The Old Paths