Chapter 2

"All things." All the things you really need, and a great many more besides. All the things that will do you good, a great many more than you would ever have thought of. All the things that He can fill your little hands with, and trust you to carry without stumbling and falling. _All_ things, everything that you have at all!

"To enjoy." Now how kind this is! not only "to do us good," but "to enjoy." So you see He means you to be happy with what He gives you, to smile and laugh and be glad, not to be dismal and melancholy. If you do not enjoy what He "giveth," that is your own fault, for He meant you to enjoy it. Look up to Him with a bright smile, and thank Him for having given you richly all things to enjoy!

"My joys to Thee I bring, The joys Thy love hath given, That each may be a wing To lift me nearer heaven. I bring them, Saviour, all to Thee, For Thou hast purchased all for me."

12. Twelfth Day.

Much more than this.

"The Lord is able to give thee much more than this."--2 Chron. xxv. 9.

Amaziah, king of Judah, was going to war against the Edomites. He thought he would make sure of victory by hiring a hundred thousand soldiers from the King of Israel, and he paid them beforehand a hundred talents, which was about £34,218.15s. of our money. But a man of God warned him not to let the army of Israel go with him, for Israel had forsaken the Lord, and so He was not with them. It seemed a great pity to waste all that money, and so Amaziah said, "But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The Lord is able to give thee much more than this." So Amaziah simply obeyed, and sent the soldiers away, and trusted God to help him to do without them. Was it any wonder that he gained a great victory over the Edomites?

Does not this teach us that we should simply do the right thing, and trust God at any cost? When you do this, you will find that, in hundreds of ways which you never thought of, "the Lord is able to give thee much more." The trial comes in many different ways. One may be tempted to hurry over prayer and Bible, because there is something else that she very much wants to get done before breakfast, and she is afraid of not having time enough. Another shuts up her little purse when a call comes to give something for God's work, because she is afraid she will not have enough left for another purpose. Another is tempted to look at a key, or to glance over another's shoulder at a lesson, because without it he would not get the marks he is trying for. Another is tempted not to tell the exact truth, or to conceal something which he ought to tell, because he would lose something by it. Oh, resist the devil, and do what you know is right, and trust God for all the rest! For "the Lord is able to give thee much more than this," whatever your "_this_" may be. And His smile and His blessing will always be "more than this," more than anything else!

"Be brave to do the right, And scorn to be untrue; When fear would whisper 'yield!' Ask, 'What would Jesus do?'"

13. Thirteenth Day.

The Doings of the King.

"Whatsoever the king did pleased all the people."--2 Sam. iii. 36.

David had been giving a proof of his love for one who had long been his enemy, but whom he had received into friendship; and he had been giving a proof of his tender-heartedness and sympathy with the people, by weeping with them at the grave of Abner. "And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them: as whatsoever the king did pleased all the people."

This was because they loved their king. They watched him, not as the wicked Pharisees watched the Lord Jesus that they might find something against Him; but with the watching of admiration and love, taking notice of the kind and gracious things he did and said. Do you thus take notice of what your King does? Does it please you to hear and read of what He has done and what He is doing? It must be so if He really is your King.

But the "whatsoever" is a little harder; and yet, if it is once really learnt, it makes everything easy. For if we learn to be pleased with _whatsoever_ our King Jesus does, nothing can come wrong to us.

Suppose something comes to-day which is not quite what you would have liked; heavy rain, for instance, when you wanted to go out,--recollect that your King Jesus has done it, and that will hush the little murmur, and make you quite content. Ask Him this morning to make you so loving and loyal to Him, that _whatsoever_ He does, all day long, may please you, because it has pleased Him to do it. I think He loves us so much, that He always gives us as much happiness as He can possibly trust us with, and does what is pleasantest for His dear children whenever He sees it will not hurt them; so, when He does something which at first does not seem so pleasant, we may still trust our beloved King, and learn by His grace to be pleased with _whatsoever_ He does.

"I hear a sweet voice ringing clear, 'All is well!' It is my Father's voice I hear, All is well! Where'er I walk that voice is heard, It is my God, my Father's word-- 'Fear not, but trust; I am the Lord, All is well!'"

14. Fourteenth Day.

The New Heart.

"A new heart also will I give you."--Ezek. xxxvi. 26.

Why does God promise this? Because our old hearts are so evil that they can not be made any better; and so nothing will do any good but giving us a quite new heart.

Because we can not make a new heart for ourselves; the more we try, the more we shall find we can not do it; so God, in His great pity and kindness, says He will give it us.

Because unless we have a new heart we can not enter the kingdom of God, we can not even see it! Without this gift we must be left outside in the terrible darkness when "the door is shut."

What is the difference? The old heart _likes_ to be naughty in some way or other; either it likes to be idle, or it likes to let out sharp words, or to go on being sulky or fretful instead of clearing up and saying, "I am sorry!" The new heart _wants_ to be good; and is grieved when a temptation comes, and does not wish to yield to it; and would like to be always pleasing the Saviour.

The old heart is afraid of God, and does not love Him, and would much rather He were not always seeing us. And it does not care to hear about Jesus, but would rather be just let alone. The new heart loves God and trusts what He says, and likes to know that He is always watching it. And it is glad to hear about Jesus, and wants to come closer to Him.

The old heart is a little slave of Satan, taking his orders, and doing what he wishes. The new heart is a happy little servant of Christ, listening to His orders, and doing what He wishes.

Oh how happy and blessed to have this new heart! All God's own children receive it, for He has said, "I will give them one heart;" that is, all the same new heart. Do you not want to have it too? Then "ask, and you _shall_ receive;" for He hath said, "A new heart also _will_ I give you!"

"Oh for a heart to praise my God, A heart from sin set free! A heart that always feels Thy blood, So freely shed for me.

"A heart resigned, submissive, meek, My dear Redeemer's throne; Where only Christ is heard to speak, Where Jesus reigns alone."

15. Fifteenth Day.

The Gift of the Holy Spirit.

"I will put my Spirit within you."--Ezek. xxxvi. 27.

Many years ago a good clergyman wrote a tiny prayer, so short that no one could help remembering it if they once heard it. God seemed to set that little prayer "upon wheels," so that it might run everywhere. It was printed on large cards and hung up, and it was printed on small ones and kept in Bibles and pocket-books. It was taught to classes and schools and whole congregations, and now thousands upon thousands pray it constantly. It is a prayer which must be heard, because it asks for what God has promised to give; and it asks for this through Him whom the Father heareth always. It is this: "O God, give me Thy Holy Spirit, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen." Will you not pray it too? Begin this morning, and go on, not just _saying_ it, but _praying_ it, till you get a full answer. For you are quite sure to get it; here is God's own promise, "I _will_ put my Spirit within you;" and He has promised it over and over again in other places. Perhaps you will not know at first when the answer comes. Can you see the dew fall? No one ever saw a single drop come down, and yet as soon as the sun rises, you see that it has come, and is sparkling all over the fields. It came long before you saw it, falling sweetly and silently in the twilight and in the dark. So do not fancy God is not hearing you because you have not felt anything very sudden and wonderful. He is hearing and answering all the time. You would not go on asking unless the dew of His Spirit were already falling upon your heart, and teaching you to pray. The more He gives you of His blessed Spirit, the more you will ask for; and the more you ask, the more He will give.

"Thou gift of Jesus, now descend, And be my Comforter and Friend; O Holy Spirit, fill my heart, That I from Christ may ne'er depart!

"Show me my soul all black within, And cleanse and keep me pure within; Oh, show me Jesus! let me rest My heart upon His loving breast!"

16. Sixteenth Day.

How to Conquer.

"The Lord shall fight for you."--Ex. xiv. 14.

How glad the children of Israel must have been when Moses said these words to them on the shores of the Red Sea! For when they "lifted up their eyes, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid."

The Egyptians had been cruel masters to them; and they had horses and chariots to pursue them with; and there was the sea close before them, and no boats! Perhaps some of the Israelites thought it was no use trying to escape, they would only be overtaken and conquered and be worse off than before.

And so, left to themselves, they would have been; but God fought for them in a way they never thought of. For "the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore."

What about your Egyptians?--the angry tempers or sulky looks, the impatient words, the vain and foolish thoughts, the besetting sins that master you so often. Have you tried so often to fight against them, and failed, that it seems almost no use, and you do not see how to conquer them or to escape them? Are you very tired of fighting, and "sore afraid" of being always overcome just the same as ever? Now hear God's true, strong promise to you. "The Lord shall fight for you!" "Will He really?" Yes, really, and He will conquer for you too, if you will only believe His Word and trust the battle to Him, and _let_ Him fight for you.

How? First, watch! and then the very instant you see the enemy coming, look up and say, "Come, Lord, and fight for me;" and keep on looking up and _expecting_ Him to fight for you. And _you will find_ that He does fight for you and gives you the victory; and you too will be "saved that day," and will see "the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore." Try Him, and trust Him; and you, even you, will be "more than conqueror through Him that loved you."

"So, when you meet with trials, And know not what to do; Just cast the care on Jesus, And He will fight for you. Gird on the heavenly armor Of faith, and hope, and love; And when the conflict's ended, You'll reign with Him above."

17. Seventeenth Day.

The Master's Voice.

"I will watch to see what He will say unto me."--Hab. ii. 1.

When the Lord Jesus said to Simon the Pharisee, "Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee;" he answered, "Master, say on!" When God was going to speak to Samuel, he said, "Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth." Has the Lord Jesus said anything like this for us? He says, "I have yet many things to say unto you." What things? They will be strong, helpful, life-giving words, for He says, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life." They will be very loving words, for He says, "I will speak comfortably to her" (margin, "I will speak to her heart"). And they will be very kind and tender words, and spoken just at the right moment, for He says that He knows "how to speak a word in season to him that is weary." "Will He really speak to me?" says the little heart. Yes, really, if you will only watch to see what He will say to you. For it will be "a still, small voice," and you will not hear it at all if you do not listen for it. "How will He speak to me?" If I had something very nice to tell you, and instead of saying it out loud, I wrote it down on a piece of paper, and gave it you to look at, would not that be exactly the same as if I had told it you with my lips? And you would take the paper eagerly to see what it was that I had to say to you. So to-day, when you read your Bible, either alone or at your Bible-lesson, watch to see what Jesus will say to you in it. You will never really watch in vain. You will see some word that seems to come home to you, and that you never noticed so much before. Oh, listen lovingly to it, for _that_ is what He says to you! Or if you are really watching and wishing for a word from Him, some sweet text will come into your mind, and you wonder what made you think of it! That is the voice of Jesus speaking to your heart. Listen to it, and treasure it up, and follow it; and then watch to see what else He will say to you. Say to Him, "Master, say on!"

"Master, speak! and make me ready, When Thy voice is truly heard, With obedience glad and steady, Still to follow every word. I am listening, Lord, for Thee; Master, speak, oh, speak to me!"

18. Eighteenth Day

Who will take care of me?

"He careth for you."--I Pet. v. 7.

It is so pleasant to be cared for; to have kind relations and friends who show that they love you by their care of you, and their care for you. What would you do if no one cared for you, like the poor little children in London who are turned out to "do for themselves" before they are as old as you are? What would you do if there was no one to get anything for you to eat, or to see to your clothes, or to keep a home for you to live in? No one to take any notice if you hurt yourself ever so badly, or if you were ever so ill? You would feel then what a difference being cared for makes to your life. But all the earthly care for you comes because "He careth for you." He planned and arranged everything, without your having anything to do with it, so that you shall be cared for. And He did not arrange it once for all, and then leave things to go on as might happen. No! Every day, every moment, He careth, _goes on_ caring, for you. Not only thinking of you and watching you, but working for you; making things come right, so that everything should be just the best that could happen to you. Not managing the great things, and leaving the little things to arrange themselves; but giving loving care to the least, the very least things that concern you. Even in some tiny little trouble which no one else seems to care about, "He careth;" or when every one else is too much taken up with other things to attend to you, "He careth for you."

You can never get beyond God's care, for it always reaches you; you can never be outside of it, for it is always enfolding you.

"'Who will take care of me?' darling, you say, Lovingly, tenderly watched as you are? Listen! I give you the answer to-day, One who is never forgetful or far.

"He will take care of you! All through the year Crowning each day with His kindness and love, Sending you blessings and shielding from fear, Leading you on to His bright home above."

19. Nineteenth Day.

Under His Wings.

"Under His wings shall thou trust."--Ps. xci. 4.

That means to-day, not some other time! Under His wings, the shadowing wings of the Most High, you, poor little helpless one, are to trust to-day.

When the little eaglets, that have not yet a feather to fly with, are under the great wings of the parent eagle, how safe they are! Who would dare touch them? If a bold climber put his hand into the nest then, those powerful wings would beat him in a minute from his hold, and he would fall down the rocks and be dashed to pieces. So safe shall you be "under His wings," "nothing shall by any means hurt you" there.

When the wild snow-storms rage round the eyrie, and the mountain cold is felt, that is death to an unprotected sleeper, how warm the little eaglets are kept! Not an arrow of the keen blast reaches them, poor little featherless things, not a snowflake touches them. So warm shall you be kept "under His wings," when any cold and dark day of trouble comes, or even any sudden little blast of unkindness or loneliness.

"Under His wings shall thou _trust_!" Not "shall thou _see_!" If one of the eaglets wanted to see for itself what was going on, and thought it could take care of itself for a little while, and hopped from under the shadow of the wings, it would be neither safe nor warm. The sharp wind would chill it, and the cruel hand might seize it then. So you are to _trust_, rest quietly and peacefully, "under His wings;" stay there, not be peeping out and wondering whether God really is taking care of you! You may be always safe and happy there. Safe, for "in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge." Happy, for "in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice."

Remember, too, that it is a command as well as a promise; it is what you are to do to-day, all day long: "Under His wings _shalt_ thou trust!"

"I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus, Trusting only Thee! Trusting Thee for full salvation, Great and free.

"I am trusting Thee to guide me, Thou alone shalt lead! Every day and hour supplying All my need."

20. Twentieth Day

Always Near.

"I am with you alway."--Matt. xxvlii. 20.

How nice it would be if we could always have the one we loved best in all the world with us; never away from us night or day, and no fear that they ever possibly would or could leave us; never a good-bye even for ever such a little while, and never, never the long farewell of death!

Can this ever be for you? Yes, for you; for to every one who is a disciple of the Lord Jesus (that is, who learns of Him and owns Him as Master), He says, "I am with you alway." He does not even say, "I will be with you;" so that you might be wondering when He meant to come, when He would begin to be "with you;" but He says, "I _am_ with you." Yes, even now, though perhaps your eyes are holden, like those of the two who walked to Emmaus when Jesus was beside them and they did not know it. Your feeling or not feeling that He is there has nothing at all to do with it, because His word must be true and _is_ true, and He has said, "I _am_ with you alway." All you have to do is to be happy in believing it to be true. And if you go on believing it, you will soon begin to realize it; that is, to find that it is a real thing, and that Jesus really is with you.

How long will He be with you? Always, "all the days!" He hath said, "I will never leave thee." "Never" means really _never_, not for one moment. You can not get beyond "never." It goes on all through your life, and all through God's great "forever." And "always" means really _always_, every single moment of all your life, so that you need never ask again, "Is Jesus with me now?" Of course He is! the answer will always be "yes," because He hath said, "I am with you alway." How safe, how sweet, how blessed!

"O Jesus, make Thyself to me A living, bright reality! More present to faith's vision keen Than any outward object seen; More dear, more intimately nigh, Than even the sweetest earthly tie."

21. Twenty-first Day.

Doing God's Will.

"Teach me to do Thy will."--Ps. cxliii. 10.

When you see some one doing with very great delight some beautiful and pleasant piece of work, have you not thought, "I should like to be able to do that!" and perhaps you have said, "Please, teach me how to do it."

Can you think of anything pleasanter to do than what the very angels are full of delight in doing? Can you think of anything more beautiful to do than what is done in the "pleasant land," the beautiful home above? Can you fancy anything more interesting to do than what the dwellers there will never get tired of doing for thousands of millions of years? Would you not like to be taught to do it too?--to begin the pleasant and beautiful and most interesting work now, instead of waiting till you are grown up, and then perhaps never learning it at all, because it was put off now? Then pray this little prayer this morning with all your heart, "Teach me to do Thy will." For it is His will that is the happiest work above, and the very happiest thing to do here below.

What is His will? The Prayer-Book version of this Psalm tells you very simply and sweetly. It says, "Teach me to do the thing that pleaseth Thee." So doing God's will is just doing the things, one by one, that please Him.

Why did David ask this? He goes on to say why--"For Thou art my God." If God is really _our_ God, we too shall wish to do the thing that pleaseth Him. David did not think he could do it of himself, for he says next, "Let Thy loving Spirit lead me." That loving Spirit will lead you too, dear child, and show you how beautiful and grand God's will is, and make you long to do it always, and teach you to do it. So that even on earth you may begin to do what the angels are doing in heaven!

"It is but very little For Him that I can do, Then let me seek to serve Him, My earthly journey through; And, without sigh or murmur, To do His holy will; And in my daily duties His wise commands fulfill."

22. Twenty-second Day.

Working for Jesus.

"Ye have done it unto me." "Ye did it not to me."--Matt. xxv., xl., and xlv.

Our Lord Jesus Christ has given us opportunities of showing whether we love Him or not. He tells us that what we try to do for any one who is poor, or hungry, or sick, or a lonely stranger, is just the same as doing it to Him. And when the King says, "Come, ye blessed," He will remember these little things, and will say, "Ye have done it unto me." But He tells us that if we do nothing for them, it is just the same as if He were standing there and we would do nothing for Him. And He will say, "Ye did it not to me."

One of these two words will be spoken to you in the great day when you see the King on the throne of His glory. Which shall it be? What are you doing for Jesus? Are you doing anything at all for Him? Perhaps you say, "I have no opportunity." Did you ever try to find one? Did you ever ask Him to give you opportunities of doing something for Him? Or is it only that you have never yet cared or tried to do anything for Him? Be honest about it. He knows. And He will forgive.

But now, what is to be done? Begin by asking Him to show you. And then keep a bright, sharp look-out, and see if you can not find an opportunity very soon (and perhaps many) of doing something kind for His sake to some poor or sick or lonely one. Set to work to _think_ what you could do!

It seems to me so very kind of the Lord Jesus to have told us this. For He knew that those who really love Him would _want_ to do something for Him, and what could we do for the King of glory in His glorious heaven? So it was wonderfully thoughtful of Him to give us His poor people to care for, and to say, if we have only been kind to a sick old woman or hungry little child, "Ye have done it unto me!"