October 20

"And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses had said; and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak."—Judges 1:20.

I CANNOT have Joshua's foremost place; but at least I covet the character of Caleb.

His faith was unfaltering. It knew how to dare for God, as when he told the truth about the good land, though the dastards were ready to stone him. It knew how to wait patiently on God, as when he tarried through eight-and-thirty years for Hebron. My Lord, this is the faith I desire—strong to stand forth with its trumpet testimony on Thy behalf; strong to endure till it please Thee to carry out Thy pledges of love.

His consecration was thorough. I read Thy verdict on him. He hath followed Me faithfully. And again, He hath followed Me wholly. And yet again, He hath followed Me fully. "Faithfully," "wholly," "fully"—how I aspire to the magnificent adverbs! I make too many compromises. I adopt the world's rules, and like its amusements over well, and lower my colours in its society, and suit my very religion to its taste. This morning, my Lord, I pray for whole-heartedness.

His life was woven of one piece throughout. It is a fine picture, the old man claiming his inheritance and expelling the giants. Beginning well, Caleb continued and ended well. My Lord, give me this life—one which starts in youth with Thee; one which, amid the burdens of manhood, knows Whom it has believed; one which, when "the dark hair is turning to grey," brings forth fruit in its age—the old age when others fail.

"Half-way converts," Samuel Rutherford warns me, "make half-way Christians." Therefore, first of all, I shall make sure that I am Thine.