November 19
Life's Golden LampThe Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation. — 2 PETER ii. 9.
Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. — REV. iii. 10.
FAITHFUL adherence to the Word of God, — which is the expression of the divine patience, forbearance, and love toward mankind, — exposes the believer to great temptations. The world, the flesh, and the Devil use their most seductive arts to compass his fall; but here is the assurance of sufficient grace. He who says, "I also will keep thee from this hour," prayed for Peter the very instant he knew that Satan desired to sift him as wheat; and in like manner the prayer of our great High-Priest and Intercessor precedes the temptations of every saint.
How comforting to know that our sorrows and complaints, which the world treats with such indifference, enter the heart of our Father in heaven, and bring us unfailing relief!
The church in Philadelphia was the only one in Asia that escaped unscathed from the bitter persecutions of Trajan; and this is an earnest and an assurance of our Lord's protecting presence to every soul who keeps "the word of his patience."
W. S. Bowman,
O Lamb of God, who cam'st to take
The sin of man away,
Fast hold me for thy mercy's sake,
And I shall never stray!
THOMAS MACKELLAR.