O God my Savior, by Thy Holy Spirit create in me a pure heart—clean, single, and true (Ps 5110; Ps 86:11–12; Heb. 10:22). By the Blood of Christ purge my conscience of dead works to serve Thee, and exercise me always to have a conscience void of offense toward Thee and man—to have a good conscience in all things to live honestly, whose testimony is that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by Thy grace I have had my conduct in the world and toward Thy people; a pure conscience in which to serve Thee (Heb.9:14; Acts 24:16; Heb. 13:18; 2 Cor 1:12; 2 Tim. 1:3). Increase my faith; let me endure the trying of my faith that works patience, that patience may have its perfect work till I am whole, entire, lacking nothing. Grant me to hold fast Thy faithfulness, and have such faith in Thee as works by love, faith filled with love, power and a sound mind (Luke 17:5; James 1:3–4; Mark 11:22; Gal 5:6; 2 Tim. 1:7).
In me, O my covenant Triune God, work the end of the commandment, the end of all Thy commandments; write Thy laws upon my mind, and heart, that in me all may see that the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned (Ezek 36:26–27; Jer 31:33; Heb. 8:10).
7. Lord Jesus, true and living Vine
1 Lord Jesus, true and living Vine,
In Thee I ever would abide;
O let Thy grace my soul entwine!
My faith clings to Thy riven side.
2 O Father, Who as Husbandman
Hast grafted me into Thy Son,
Purge, cleanse me, as Thy love may plan,
Till precious fruit to Thee be won.
3 Come, Holy Spirit, let Thy Word
Dwell richly in my mind and heart,
That I may live in Christ the Lord,
And from His presence ne’er depart!
4 Rooted in love’s most holy ground,
Built up and stablished in the faith,
With joyful thanks I would abound
And walk in all the Scripture saith.
5 As Vine and branch, let me abide
In Christ, and He abide in me!
Lord, may Thy Name be glorified
In worship, work, and witness free.
6 Hear, heed my longing, earnest prayer:
Reveal Thy glory—Christ in me!
With all Thy saints, O let me share
Thy glory when Thy face I see!
7 To Father, Son and Spirit, praise!
To God the Lord, the One in Three
Be glory all the length of days,
Now and to all eternity!
L.M.
Preparatory Reading: Old Testament: Genesis 18; New Testament: Matthew 7 Psalm: 7
1 Timothy 1:6–7
6From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; 7Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
Here is a warning, here is a caution—will I hear it, and heed it? Those perverse men have arisen from the midst of the Church, even as Paul warned the elders of Ephesus at Miletus (Acts 20:20). The wolves raven from outside, seeking to penetrate and pillage; the perverts emerge inside, like mavericks straying and stampeding the flock to destruction. How Paul could say in all truth, “Many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ” (Phil. 3:18). Enemies of Christ—enemies! Men who dare betray the Son of God with their hands upon His Table, His bread in their mouths—worse than Judas Iscariot himself! Am I so blind with conceit, so stupefied with complacency that I cannot think to ask, “Lord, is it I?” Lord Jesus, is it I? (Matt 26:20–25).
Some having swerved have turned aside: They lost their bearing from which—from what? from “the end of the commandment”, from the whole design of Scripture and the mandate of the Gospel ministry; from “charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned” (1:5). Blind men, leading the blind into the ditch! (Matt 15:12–14). No conscience, no faith, no charity, no heart!
Now, do I really know where I am going, how, and why? No clown in the circus, no buffoon on the stage can match the tragicomedy of a preacher whose life has swerved, turned aside and fallen short, filled with popularity, notoriety, ingenuity: a fig tree with nothing but leaves!
Without charity, all knowledge of all mysteries, all gifts of prophecy, all is nothing (1 Cor 13:1–4) so when we having swerved, have turned aside all we have left, all we do is vain jangling.
Lord Jesus! King of glory, Head of the Church, what love and forbearance moves Thy heart and stays Thy hand not to scourge from Thy presence every mercenary, hobby-horsing knave and fool that make merchandise of Thy Word and of souls in Thy courts as a den of thieves! What patience is Thine with this poor wayfaring fool, this unprofitable servant, that Thy children should not fail to be fed with meat! Have I fed them in due season? Is their meat needful, wholesome? Forbid, Savior, that I too should swerve and turn aside to vain jangling!
8. Lord Jesus, take my ransomed life
1 Lord Jesus, take my ransomed life,
And use it to Thy praise
Through sorrow, suffering, strain or strife:
To Thee I yield my days.
2 Send where Thou wilt: there shall I go
In all the vast world wide,
To work, to weep, to wait, to sow
Till comes Thy harvest-tide
3 I hold not dear to live or die,
But to complete my race,
My ministry—to testify
The Gospel of Thy grace
4 “He must increase, I must decrease”
Let me my days thus spend
Till I at last depart in peace,
Enduring to the end.
C.M.
Preparatory Reading: Old Testament: Genesis 19; New Testament: Matthew 8 Psalm: 8
1 Timothy 1:6–7
6From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; 7Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
I put out my hand, and count the fingers. For every finger, I know a name. Each name belongs to a man once active in the Gospel ministry. Every man was better, brighter, more able, more attractive, than ever I could be. I remember them, because I admired them; yes, I loved them. Everyone of them is now out of Christian service. When I think of them, I weep. When I think of myself, I shudder.
Every pastor probably knows such names—more, or less. Every seminarian can expect that one or other class-mate may fall, or depart from the faith.
Paul warned the saints “often” of “many” who had become “enemies of the cross of Christ.” He warned them “even weeping” (Phil. 3:18). He must have known some of them by name, from better days. During his first prison term in Rome, he wrote happily enough about Demas, right alongside Luke (Col.4:14). At his last imprisonment in Rome, he must break the news to Timothy, “Demas hath forsaken me . . . only Luke is with me” (2 Tim. 4:10–11). The Apostle John might have felt the same sorrow of soul as he wrote his