NOVEMBER 15.

"Oh, man of desires" (margin) (Dan. x. 11).

This was the divine character given to Daniel of old. It is translated in our version, "O man, greatly beloved." But it literally means "O man of desires!" This is a necessary element in all spiritual forces. It is one of the secrets of effectual prayer, "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them." The element of strong desire gives momentum to our purposes and prayers. Indifference is an unwholesome condition; indolence and apathy are offensive both to G.o.d and nature.

And so in our spiritual life, G.o.d often has to wake us up by the presence of trying circ.u.mstances, and push us into new places of trust by forces that we must subdue, or sink beneath their power. There is no factor in prayer more effectual than love. If we are intensely interested in an object, or an individual, our pet.i.tions become like living forces, and not only convey their wants to G.o.d, but in some sense convey G.o.d's help back to them.

May G.o.d fill us to-day with the heart of Christ that we may glow with the Divine fire of holy desire.

NOVEMBER 16.

"Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day" (Matt. xxv. 13).

Jesus ill.u.s.trates the unexpectedness of His coming by the figure of a thief entering a house when the master was not there. Life, like the old Jewish night, may be divided into three watches, youth, maturity, old age.

The summons to meet G.o.d may come to us in either of these watches. A writer tells us of his experience with a camping party, of which he was a member, and which, he tells us, always arranged to have watches at night.

"We became especially careful after what I am about to narrate happened.

During the first night, from sunset to sunrise, we had in turn carefully guarded our camp. But when the next night came, so impressed were we with the orderly character of the neighborhood, that we concluded that no guard was needed until bedtime. Within our main tent the evening was spent in story-telling, singing and general amus.e.m.e.nt. When the hour to retire arrived, it was discovered that our other tents had been robbed and everything of value stolen. The work was done before we thought a guard necessary." It is never too soon to begin watching against sin.

NOVEMBER 17.

"The ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them" (Num. x. 33).

G.o.d does give us impressions but not that we should act on them as impressions. If the impression be from G.o.d, He will Himself give sufficient evidence to establish it beyond the possibility of a doubt.

How beautifully we read, in the story of Jeremiah, of the impression that came to him respecting the purchase of the field of Anathoth, but Jeremiah did not act upon this impression until after the following day, when his uncle's son came to him and brought him external evidence by making a proposal for the purchase. Then Jeremiah said: "I knew this was the word of the Lord."

He waited until G.o.d seconded the impression by a providence, and then he acted in full view of the open facts, which could bring conviction unto others as well as himself.

G.o.d wants us to act according to His mind.

We are not to ignore the Shepherd's personal voice, but like Paul and his companions at Troas, we are to listen to all the voices that speak, and "gather" from all the circ.u.mstances, as they did, the full mind of the Lord.

NOVEMBER 18.

"And He that sat upon the throne said, It is done" (Rev. xxi. 5, 6).

Great is the difference between action and transaction. We may be constantly acting without accomplishing anything, but a transaction is action that pa.s.ses beyond the point of return, and becomes a permanent committal. Salvation is a transaction between the soul and Christ in which the matter pa.s.ses beyond recall. Sanctification is a great transaction in which we are utterly surrendered, irrevocably consecrated and wholly committed to the Holy Ghost, and then He comes and seals the transaction and undertakes the work. Our covenant for our Lord's healing should be just as explicit, definite and irrevocable. And so of the covenants to which G.o.d is leading His children from time to time in regard to other matters of obedience and service. G.o.d grant that during this hallowed day many a consecrated life may be able to say with new significance and permanence, "'Tis done, the great transaction's done."

For the living Vine is Jesus, In whose fulness we may hide; And find our life and fruitfulness As we in Him abide.

NOVEMBER 19.

"We would see Jesus" (John xii. 21).

When any great blessing is awaiting us, the devil is sure to try and make it so disagreeable to us that we shall miss it. It is a good thing to know him as a liar, and remember, when he is trying to prejudice us strongly against any cause, that very likely the greatest blessing of our life lies there. Spurgeon once said that the best evidence that G.o.d was on our side is the devil's growl, and we are generally pretty safe in following a thing according to Satan's dislike for it. Beloved, take care, lest in the very line where your prejudices are setting you off from G.o.d's people and G.o.d's truth, you are missing the treasures of your life. Take the treasures of heaven no matter how they come to you, even if it be as earthly treasures generally are, like the kernel inside the rough sh.e.l.l, or the gem in the bosom of the hard rock.

I have seen Jesus and my heart is dead to all beside, I have seen Jesus, and my wants are all, in Him, supplied.

I have seen Jesus, and my heart, at last, is satisfied, Since I've seen Jesus.

NOVEMBER 20.

"The disciple whom Jesus loved leaned on His breast" (John xxi. 20).

An American gentleman once visited the saintly Albert Bengel. He was very desirous to hear him pray. So one night he lingered at his door, hoping to overhear his closing devotions. The rooms were adjoining and the doors ajar. The good man finished his studies, closed his books, knelt down for a moment and simply said: "Dear Lord Jesus, things are still the same between us," and then sweetly fell asleep. So close was his communion with his Lord that labor did not interrupt it, and prayer was not necessary to renew it. It was a ceaseless, almost unconscious presence, like the fragrance of the summer garden, or the presence of some dear one by our side whose presence we somehow feel, even though the busy hours pa.s.s by and not a word is exchanged.

"O blessed fellowship, divine, O joy, supremely sweet, Companionship with Jesus here, Makes life with joy replete; O wondrous grace, O joy sublime, I've Jesus with me all the time."

NOVEMBER 21.

"Consider the lilies how they grow" (Matt. vi. 28).

It is said that a little fellow was found one day by his mother, standing by a tall sunflower, with his feet stuck in the ground. When asked by her, "What in the world are you doing there?" he naively answered, "Why, I am trying to grow to be a man."

His mother laughed heartily at the idea of his getting planted in the ground in order to grow, like the sunflower, and then, patting him gently on the head, "Why, Harry, that is not the way to grow. You can never grow bigger by trying. Just come right in, and eat lots of good food, and have plenty of play, and you will soon grow to be a man without trying so hard."