Morning
"Take us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines."
Song of Solomon 2:15
A little thorn may cause much suffering. A little cloud may hide the sun. Little foxes spoil
the vines; and little sins do mischief to the tender heart. These little sins burrow in the soul, and make it so full of that
which is hateful to Christ, that he will hold no comfortable fellowship and communion with us. A great sin cannot destroy
a Christian, but a little sin can make him miserable. Jesus will not walk with his people unless they drive out every known
sin. He says, "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments and
abide in his love." Some Christians very seldom enjoy their Saviour's presence. How is this? Surely it must be an affliction
for a tender child to be separated from his father. Art thou a child of God, and yet satisfied to go on without seeing thy
Father's face? What! thou the spouse of Christ, and yet content without his company! Surely, thou hast fallen into a sad state,
for the chaste spouse of Christ mourns like a dove without her mate, when he has left her. Ask, then, the question, what has
driven Christ from thee? He hides his face behind the wall of thy sins. That wall may be built up of little pebbles, as easily
as of great stones. The sea is made of drops; the rocks are made of grains: and the sea which divides thee from Christ may
be filled with the drops of thy little sins; and the rock which has well nigh wrecked thy barque, may have been made by the
daily working of the coral insects of thy little sins. If thou wouldst live with Christ, and walk with Christ, and see Christ,
and have fellowship with Christ, take heed of "the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes."
Jesus invites you to go with him and take them. He will surely, like Samson, take the foxes at once and easily. Go with him
to the hunting.
Evening
"That henceforth we should not serve
sin."
Romans 6:6
Christian, what hast thou to do with sin? Hath it not cost thee enough already? Burnt child,
wilt thou play with the fire? What! when thou hast already been between the jaws of the lion, wilt thou step a second time
into his den? Hast thou not had enough of the old serpent? Did he not poison all thy veins once, and wilt thou play upon the
hole of the asp, and put thy hand upon the cockatrice's den a second time? Oh, be not so mad! so foolish! Did sin ever yield
thee real pleasure? Didst thou find solid satisfaction in it? If so, go back to thine old drudgery, and wear the chain again,
if it delight thee. But inasmuch as sin did never give thee what it promised to bestow, but deluded thee with lies, be not
a second time snared by the old fowler--be free, and let the remembrance of thy ancient bondage forbid thee to enter the net
again! It is contrary to the designs of eternal love, which all have an eye to thy purity and holiness; therefore run not
counter to the purposes of thy Lord. Another thought should restrain thee from sin. Christians can never sin cheaply; they
pay a heavy price for iniquity. Transgression destroys peace of mind, obscures fellowship with Jesus, hinders prayer, brings
darkness over the soul; therefore be not the serf and bondman of sin. There is yet a higher argument: each time you "serve
sin" you have "Crucified the Lord afresh, and put him to an open shame." Can you bear that thought? Oh! if
you have fallen into any special sin during this day, it may be my Master has sent this admonition this evening, to bring
you back before you have backslidden very far. Turn thee to Jesus anew; he has not forgotten his love to thee; his grace is
still the same. With weeping and repentance, come thou to his footstool, and thou shalt be once more received into his heart;
thou shalt be set upon a rock again, and thy goings shall be established.
