January 8
Polluted by Holy Motives?
. . . Guilt from the holy things. - Exodus 28:38
What a veil is lifted up by these words, and what a disclosure is made! It will be humbling and profitable for us to pause awhile and see this sad sight. The iniquities of our public worship, its hypocrisy, formality, lukewarmness, irreverence, wandering of heart, and forgetfulness of God--what a full measure have we there! Our work for the Lord, its emulation, selfishness, carelessness, slackness, unbelief--what a mass of defilement is there! Our private devotions, their laxity, coldness, neglect, sleepiness, and vanity--what a mountain of dead earth is there! If we looked more carefully, we should find this iniquity to be far greater than appears at first sight.
Dr. Payson, writing to his brother, says, "My parish, as well as my heart, very much resembles the garden of the sluggard; and what is worse, I find that very many of my desires for the improvement of both, proceed either from pride or vanity or indolence. I look at the weeds, which overspread my garden, and breathe out an earnest wish that they were eradicated. But why? What prompts the wish? So that I may walk out and say to myself, 'In what fine order is my garden kept!' This is pride. Or, so that my neighbors may look over the wall and say, 'How finely your garden flourishes!' This is vanity. Or I may wish for the destruction of the weeds, because I am weary of pulling them up. This is indolence."
So even our desires after holiness may be polluted by ill motives. Under the greenest sods worms hide themselves; we need not look long to discover them. How cheering is the thought that when the High Priest bore the iniquity of the holy things he wore upon his brow the words, "HOLINESS TO THE LORD," and even so while Jesus bears our sin, He presents before His Father's face not our unholiness, but His own holiness. O for grace to view our great High Priest by the eye of faith!
Family Bible reading plan
verse 1 Genesis 8
verse 2 Matthew 8
Psalms By The Day: A New Devotional Translation
A fresh translation of all 150 Psalms from biblical scholar Alec Motyer, Psalms By The Day takes readers through a wonderful day-by-day study of the Psalms. Translating as closely as possible to the original Hebrew language, Dr. Motyer provides great help navigating the words given to us by the author by providing rich historical insights into the origin and ancient meanings of the text. In this comprehensive, yet easy to read devotional, Psalms By The Day is a treasure that immerses readers in the Christian life laid out in all of its emotional dimensions.
Click here to learn more about Truth For Life
From Morning & Evening revised and edited by Alistair Begg copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org.
