Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
Grace Gems!
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June 6.

"I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the LORD's anointed." 1 Samuel 24:10

David seemed now to have a short, quick way to the kingdom—but he would not dare to take it. Now the throne was Saul's—he was the Lord's anointed. David would not lift a finger to hurry God's providence, and to become king before God made him king. There often are things that God intends to give us—but which we must wait to receive in his way. Short-cuts in life's paths are always mistakes in the end. Jacob's mother knew that Jacob was to have the blessing of the firstborn—but if she had waited it would have come to him without being stained, as it was by her own and Jacob's deception.

Young men are ambitious, and their ambition may be right; but too often they are in such feverish haste to reach what they wish—that they take the shortcut of dishonesty to get the sooner to the coveted place. It never pays.

David could have been on the throne the next day—but he would have left stains of guilt on the steps as he ascended; it was better far for him to wander on in exile for a time longer, and then reach the throne by a clean path. It is pleasant to see young men get on in life; but we must always ask how they have gotten on, to know whether their elevation is really an honor. The only way to true success—is God's way. We must learn to wait for God.

 

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
Grace Gems!
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June 7.

"May the LORD judge between you and me. And may the LORD avenge the wrongs you have done to me—but my hand will not touch you." 1 Samuel 24:12

There are apt to be wrong views about bearing injuries. People ask, "Is there to be no justice in cases like David's? Must we quietly bear wrong? and must the person who does the wrong never receive any punishment?" Our sense of right is sometimes so outraged, that our soul cries out in remonstrance, when we are told that we never should resent nor resist—but turn the other cheek when one cheek has been smitten. The Bible teaching is, that it is not our part to punish those who wrong us. Our clumsy hands are not skillful enough to adjust such delicate matters.

We are not required to say that a certain person's treatment of us was right, when it was manifestly wrong—but we are to recognize the truth that the question of justice is God's matter, not ours; that our part is to be patient and meek, leaving in God's hands the whole adjustment of right and wrong.

Two Scripture passages help to make this plain: "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord." Romans 12:19. "When reviled, He did not revile in return; when suffering, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to the One who judges justly." 1 Peter 2:23.

 

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
Grace Gems!
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June 8.

"Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and prayed." 2 Samuel 7:18

We can get before the Lord anywhere—by shutting our eyes to the world and looking up into our Father's face. Even in a crowd we can be really alone with God.

We can commune with him, too, in his works:

Sweet wayside flowers whisper to us tender thoughts of God.

The sea tells us of his power.

The deep blue sky has its suggestions of God's peace.

The mountains speak of his stability and unchangeableness.

But there are other ways of going in before God.

We open our Bible, and look into its pages with reverent heart and with open ear; and as we read the sacred words, God talks to us.

When we enter into our closet of prayer and shut the door—we are in a very real sense sitting before him. We bow in prayer; and we are lying at Christ's very feet, so close to him that we can reach the hem of his garment, and feel the touch of his hand upon our fevered hearts. How near we get to our Savior in such moments, and how his touch thrills us!

 

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
Grace Gems!
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June 9.

"I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are innocent—what have they done? Let your anger fall against me and my family." 2 Samuel 24:17

It is human and very common to try to lay the blame on others—when we have sinned. Compare Saul's conduct when Samuel accused him of disobedience in sparing the king and the best spoil of the Amalekites: he charged the blame on the people. How much nobler is David's behavior in this case! The sin had not been his alone—but he sees only his own share in it. He sees the people suffering under a heavy stroke which he feels he ought to be bearing himself, and he cries to God to lift his hand from them—and let it fall upon him.

The lesson is for all of us. We should never try to shift the blame of our sins or mistakes upon others—but should take it upon ourselves. If penalties or sufferings come through our mis-doings we should bear them, and not allow them to fall upon innocent people while we escape.

Another thing to notice here is, that David's penitence deepened under the divine judgment. Some people grow rebellious when chastened; but the true way, when we have sinned and when punishment comes, is to creep closer to God, and to get down lower before him. This is the spirit that pleases God and receives blessing from his hand.

 

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
Grace Gems!
___________________________________________​

June 10.

"The Lord ... who had appeared unto him twice." I Kings 11:9

Matthew Henry says: "God keeps account of the gracious visits he makes to us, whether we do or not. He knows how often he has appeared to us, and for us, and will remember it against us, if we turn from him." Every such gracious visit to us, adds to our responsibility for obedience and holy service.

When Solomon had seen the Lord in vision, he should have been forever a consecrated man. The eyes which had looked upon the Lord, should never have lusted after earth's pleasures. The hands which had fashioned a temple for God, should never have built chapels and altars for heathen deities. Solomon's sins were far greater, because of the special favors God had granted to him. Seeing Christ should set us apart forever for holy living.

 

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
Grace Gems!
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June 11.

"But for the sake of your father, David, I will not do this while you are still alive. I will take the kingdom away from your son." 1 Kings 11:12

In this Word of God, we have a double illustration of the way our lives cast shadows. A godly man transmits blessings to his children; and godless man robs his children of blessings that ought to be theirs. David's godly life kept from Solomon, the visitation of the full consequences of Solomon's sin.

There are many of us who are enjoying blessings, which have come through the faithfulness of our fathers. But there are many who, like Solomon, live so as to rob their children of the honors and privileges which they ought to transmit to them.

Solomon's son did not get the kingdom of all Israel. He received but a fragment of it, and it was his father's fault that the kingdom was divided. The man who by indolence or extravagance wastes the fortune which God has given him, and transmits poverty or beggary to his children, is guilty of a like sin. Still more guilty is he who by wrong or shameful living, brings dishonor upon his own name, and thus bequeaths a heritage of dishonor to his descendants. It is not merely our own life which is affected by our conduct; we are so tied up in bundles that others are made or unmade, by our making or unmaking of ourselves. We are under the most sacred obligations to live worthily, so that we hurt not—but bless those coming after us.

 

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
Grace Gems!
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June 12.

"I will sing a new song unto you, O God!" Psalm 144:9

Ruskin says, "Many mighty harmonies have been discoursed by instruments that had been dumb or discordant." This is very true, and is most encouraging to those who are conscious of the imperfection of their own lives. One says, "I never can live a truly sweet or beautiful life, for sin has so marred my soul and jangled all its chords." True—but God can take the instrument with the broken keys and the discordant strings—and put it in perfect repair. "He restores my soul;" and under his touch and his breath—it may give out music that will thrill men's hearts, and delight the angels and God himself.

Some of the worst tempered people may be made gentle and loving in speech, act, and disposition, by the transforming power of divine grace. The selfish nature may be tuned into sweetest unselfishness and charity. So with all jangled life-keys. God can put them in tune—if we will but leave them in his skillful hands. The possibilities of beautiful living, in even the most marred and imperfect souls—are almost infinite. None need ever despair, who will accept the divine grace, and profit by the divine teaching and discipline.

 

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
Grace Gems!
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June 13.

"The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul." Psalm 19:7

The works of God declare his glory—but not his will. We could never learn—by studying the stars, the flowers, or the rocks—how we ought to live, what is right, and what is wrong. We could never learn what God himself is, what his attributes are, how he feels toward us. We may learn from his works—that he is great, wise, unchanging, good; but we could not learn that he loves us with a tender, personal affection. We could never find a gospel of salvation for lost sinners—in the works of God.

How thankful we should be for his Word, which tells us all these things! It teaches us how to live. It is a perfect law; not perfect only in that it is without flaw or mistake—but also in that it is complete as a revelation, containing all we need to know to be saved and to reach the full stature of godly men. We may turn to the law of the Lord with every question of duty, and we shall always find the right answer.

 

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
Grace Gems!
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June 14.

"The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart." Psalm 19:8

Many people think that a godly life—must be a sad and gloomy life. They suppose that Christians have no joy. They have to deny themselves many pleasures. They have to live strictly and soberly. They have to follow the Scriptures. Life must be dreary and joyless to Christians.

So the people talk, who boast of being free from the restraints of the Bible. But, as a matter of fact, the happiest people in this world are those who are keeping God's commandments. Who ever heard of sin "rejoicing the heart"? Disobedience never made anyone happy—but obedience always gives peace.

There are fresh-water springs in the sea, which continually pour out sweet water beneath all the brackish tides. So in the obedient heart, under all self-denials, there is a spring of joy ever flowing. It is the peace of God which nothing can disturb, a holy fountain whose flow nothing can ever check.

 

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
Grace Gems!
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June 15.

"Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done."

"I am poor and needy—yet the Lord thinks upon me." Psalm 40:5, 17

Does the great, glorious, eternal God ever think of us—of us sinful, unworthy beings? We admit that he may think of our earth, for that is something large enough to be worthy of divine thought. He may give thought, too, to some distinguished man, who rises above the masses, as Mont Blanc towers above the common hills of earth. But here am I, a little child, living in a lowly street in a great city with its teeming millions; surely he never thinks of me. Of course my mother thinks of me, because she is my mother, and she has only me; but God has millions more children; it cannot be that he ever gives any particular thought to me, one of the least of these.

The Bible says that he does! Think of a parent's thoughts of his child, a father's, a mother's thought. Just so, does God love, watch, think, plan, and care for each one of his children.

Then, his thoughts are both loving and wise. He says, "I know the thoughts that I think toward you, thoughts of peace and not of evil." There is not a moment when we are not in God's thought. He has plans for each life, taking in its smallest events as well as its greatest. How secure it should make Christians feel at all times—to know that God is thinking of us, caring for us!

 

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
Grace Gems!
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June 16.

"Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts." Psalm 51:6

No doubt being is better than doing; that is, if it were possible to separate the two. The worth of a deed, depends largely upon who does it. The force of a word, depends upon the character and standing of the speaker. We must be good, before we can do good.

Yet to be good is not a sufficient aim in life; there must also be the desire to do good. We are never to live for ourselves alone, even in the seeking of good. We are to desire to be blessed—that we may be a blessing to others. Everything of good we receive from God, should make us able to do more good. It is a new trust from God which we are to hold for him. If our heart is right, then our work, little or much—will have a blessing in it for the world.

 

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
Grace Gems!
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June 17.

"This is how Aaron is to enter the sanctuary area: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering." Leviticus 16:3

The high priest must make an offering for himself—before he could present the sacrifice for the people. The lesson is for all who would intercede with God for sinners, or engage in any way in the Lord's work. They must strive that their own life may be unspotted and their own sins put away—before they go to God for others.

A painter noticed some little blotches on the wall he had painted in delicate tints. Taking a wet cloth he sought to remove the spots; but he only made them worse, for the cloth in his hand was soiled and unclean. So it is when one with spotted hands seeks to remove the faults and blemishes of other lives.

A little child reached out his hand to his mother to receive a present she was about to give him; but his hands were soiled, and his mother said she could not give him what she had for him until they were washed clean. We cannot cleanse the lives of others, nor minister in their behalf, nor can we receive gifts and blessings from God for ourselves or others—if our own hands are foul. We must seek forgiveness first for ourselves.

 

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
Grace Gems!
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June 18.

"Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come." Ecclesiastes 12:1

It is easier to begin a Christian life in youth, than at any other time. It is easy to train the heart's affections around the cross—before they have learned to cling to earth's sordid things. It is easy to teach young fingers to play on the piano or organ—but it is next to impossible to train the stiff fingers of old age to do it. So it is easy for the young to learn to strike the harps of heaven. It is easier to keep the heart pure and tender, than to get back its purity and tenderness when once they have been lost.

 

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
Grace Gems!
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June 19.

"Strengthening the hearts of the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith, and by telling them, 'It is necessary to pass through many troubles on our way into the kingdom of God.'" Acts 14:22

The best things of life—come out of wounding. Wheat is crushed—before it becomes bread. Incense must be cast upon the fire—before its odors are set free. The ground must be broken with the sharp plough—before it is ready to receive the seed. It is the broken heart, which pleases God. The sweetest joys in life—are the fruits of sorrow. Human nature seems to need suffering, to fit it for being a blessing to the world.

 

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
Grace Gems!
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June 20.

"The man who does the will of God lives forever." 1 John 2:17

God's will is always the best; it is always divine love. A stricken wife, standing beside the coffin of her husband, said to a friend: "There lies my husband, my only earthly support, my most faithful human friend, one who has never once failed me; but I must not forget that there lies also the will of God, and that that will is perfect love." By faith she saw good and the blessing, in what appeared to her, to be the wreck of all her happiness. But truly the good and the blessing are in every dark providence which comes into the life of God's child. Our Father never means us harm in anything he does or permits. His word is, "I know the thoughts that I think toward you . . . thoughts of peace."

 

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
Grace Gems!
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June 21.

"Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." James 1:19

We miss a great deal—by not being good listeners. The world is full of sweet music, bird songs, the chirping of insects, the sweet murmur of all nature, the breathing of the wind through the trees, the rippling of the waters; and yet some people never hear one melodious sound as they go through the fields and forests. God is ever speaking in our ears, in conscience, in his Word, in the gentle voice of his Spirit; but many of us miss all this wonderful divine speech. We ought to train ourselves to listen, to hear, to be "quick to listen." We learn by hearing. Truth comes to us from all sides. There is nothing so lowly, that it may not have some message for us.

Unless we go about ever listening—we may miss many a rich lesson, turning away unaware, many an angel who comes from God with a message for us.

 

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
Grace Gems!
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June 22.

"Unto you who believe—He is precious!" 1 Peter 2:7

The close friends of Christ have found no other influence in their life, so strong as his precious friendship, in forming and transforming their lives. Continually before them in all its purity and spotlessness, in all its strength and heroism, in all its gentleness and beauty—that fair life has shone, a pattern in the mount, let down from heaven, brought close to them, and winning them by its loveliness. The vision has hung before them continually, and has lifted them up. No one who has had Christ for a friend, in any true, real, vital sense—has failed to be blessed by him, in the way of growth into nobler, richer life.

Gentle, sympathetic, strong human friendships can do much for us. You can tell me how in your life, in some time of grief, certain friends came to you, and how by their sweet sympathy, their quiet peace, their strong comfort, they helped you through some valley of trouble. But tell me, rather, what Christ did for you, in your hours of sorrow. When the shadows hung over your home, when your heart was bowed in grief, when a life dearer to you than your own hung trembling in the balance, when at last death came and your heart was broken—what was Christ to you then? Was he not precious to you in those dark experiences? We find the best things of Christ's grace and love—only in life's experiences of trial.

 

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
Grace Gems!
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June 23.

"Do you see a man diligent in his work? He will stand in the presence of kings." Proverbs 22:29

Men like to rise in the world; but there are different kinds of elevation. One is that which money gives. Then, there is elevation which comes through social recognition. But true elevation is of character and worth. It can be obtained only by being diligent. We are not to wait idly for promotion—but are to be busy at our lowlier duty until the larger is ready for us. Because Moses could not be an emancipator at once, he did not spend his time in idleness—but was faithful as a shepherd; and when God wanted him, he found him at his work. Jesus found Peter, James, and John fishing. The way to make sure of being needed for a greater work—is to do well your plainer work. Diligence makes men ready to go up higher. Do well today's work, however lowly; perhaps tomorrow God will have something larger for you.

 

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
Grace Gems!
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June 24.

"He summoned the priests and Levites and gave them these instructions: Go at once to all the towns of Judah and collect the required annual offerings, so that we can repair the Temple of your God. Do not delay!" But the Levites did not act right away." 2 Chronicles 24:5

The Levites seem to have been indifferent and negligent. No reason is given for their lack of energy—but we see its consequence. The house of the Lord remained year after year in its condition of decay, a standing dishonor to the name of God, and a reproach to those who had been commanded to repair it.

This is quite an old story; but we may take for ourselves a lesson on the sin of indolence in doing God's work. Whatever we are bidden to do—we should do at once. Promptness is half of obedience. Procrastination is a sad sin. It takes out of life much of its power for good. It grows into a fearful habit, if it is encouraged. A boy who is slow and loitering, will always be behind time, and when he becomes a man will accomplish but little. Many men, even good men, fail to do all that they might do with their life—if only they were always prompt. They lose time, not by being idle—but by loitering, by failing to work intensely.

 

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
Grace Gems!
___________________________________________​

June 25.

"Then He said to Moses—Come up to the Lord." Exodus 24:1

God is always far above us. We can get nearer to him only by rising out of sin and earthliness, into holier, purer life. It was not easy to climb up the steep side of Sinai; it is not easy to rise nearer to God. It costs pain and struggle. We must make stepping-stones of our dead selves—if we would ascend in life and character. We must climb upward step by step.

Jacob saw life visioned before him as a ladder. That is the true vision in every case, not a level path, through grassy meadows—but rocky steps up a mountain-side. We sing:

"Nearer, my God! to you, Nearer to Thee!

E'en though it be a cross, That raises me!"

A child lay dying, and said plaintively, "Lift me higher! Lift me higher!" The father took the little one in his arms, and lifted her up high as he could raise her, as she continued to plead, with failing strength, "Lift me higher!" Soon she was gone, lifted out of her earthly father's trembling arms, into the bosom of her heavenly Father. On the child's grave they cut her name and the words: "Lifted higher!" God wants us all to come up to him, to get closer to him, to be lifted higher into life's better things.