Morning Bells Part 3

14. Fourteenth Day.

The New Heart.

"A new heart also will I give you."--Ezek. x.x.xvi. 26.

Why does G.o.d promise this? Because our old hearts are so evil that they can not be made any better; and so nothing will do any good but giving us a quite new heart.

Because we can not make a new heart for ourselves; the more we try, the more we shall find we can not do it; so G.o.d, in His great pity and kindness, says He will give it us.

Because unless we have a new heart we can not enter the kingdom of G.o.d, we can not even see it! Without this gift we must be left outside in the terrible darkness when "the door is shut."

What is the difference? The old heart _likes_ to be naughty in some way or other; either it likes to be idle, or it likes to let out sharp words, or to go on being sulky or fretful instead of clearing up and saying, "I am sorry!" The new heart _wants_ to be good; and is grieved when a temptation comes, and does not wish to yield to it; and would like to be always pleasing the Saviour.

The old heart is afraid of G.o.d, and does not love Him, and would much rather He were not always seeing us. And it does not care to hear about Jesus, but would rather be just let alone. The new heart loves G.o.d and trusts what He says, and likes to know that He is always watching it. And it is glad to hear about Jesus, and wants to come closer to Him.

The old heart is a little slave of Satan, taking his orders, and doing what he wishes. The new heart is a happy little servant of Christ, listening to His orders, and doing what He wishes.

Oh how happy and blessed to have this new heart! All G.o.d's own children receive it, for He has said, "I will give them one heart;" that is, all the same new heart. Do you not want to have it too? Then "ask, and you _shall_ receive;" for He hath said, "A new heart also _will_ I give you!"

"Oh for a heart to praise my G.o.d, A heart from sin set free!

A heart that always feels Thy blood, So freely shed for me.

"A heart resigned, submissive, meek, My dear Redeemer's throne; Where only Christ is heard to speak, Where Jesus reigns alone."

15. Fifteenth Day.

The Gift of the Holy Spirit.

"I will put my Spirit within you."--Ezek. x.x.xvi. 27.

Many years ago a good clergyman wrote a tiny prayer, so short that no one could help remembering it if they once heard it. G.o.d seemed to set that little prayer "upon wheels," so that it might run everywhere. It was printed on large cards and hung up, and it was printed on small ones and kept in Bibles and pocket-books. It was taught to cla.s.ses and schools and whole congregations, and now thousands upon thousands pray it constantly.

It is a prayer which must be heard, because it asks for what G.o.d has promised to give; and it asks for this through Him whom the Father heareth always. It is this: "O G.o.d, give me Thy Holy Spirit, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen." Will you not pray it too? Begin this morning, and go on, not just _saying_ it, but _praying_ it, till you get a full answer. For you are quite sure to get it; here is G.o.d's own promise, "I _will_ put my Spirit within you;" and He has promised it over and over again in other places. Perhaps you will not know at first when the answer comes. Can you see the dew fall? No one ever saw a single drop come down, and yet as soon as the sun rises, you see that it has come, and is sparkling all over the fields. It came long before you saw it, falling sweetly and silently in the twilight and in the dark. So do not fancy G.o.d is not hearing you because you have not felt anything very sudden and wonderful. He is hearing and answering all the time. You would not go on asking unless the dew of His Spirit were already falling upon your heart, and teaching you to pray. The more He gives you of His blessed Spirit, the more you will ask for; and the more you ask, the more He will give.

"Thou gift of Jesus, now descend, And be my Comforter and Friend; O Holy Spirit, fill my heart, That I from Christ may ne'er depart!

"Show me my soul all black within, And cleanse and keep me pure within; Oh, show me Jesus! let me rest My heart upon His loving breast!"

16. Sixteenth Day.

How to Conquer.

"The Lord shall fight for you."--Ex. xiv. 14.

How glad the children of Israel must have been when Moses said these words to them on the sh.o.r.es of the Red Sea! For when they "lifted up their eyes, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid."

The Egyptians had been cruel masters to them; and they had horses and chariots to pursue them with; and there was the sea close before them, and no boats! Perhaps some of the Israelites thought it was no use trying to escape, they would only be overtaken and conquered and be worse off than before.

And so, left to themselves, they would have been; but G.o.d fought for them in a way they never thought of. For "the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-sh.o.r.e."

What about your Egyptians?--the angry tempers or sulky looks, the impatient words, the vain and foolish thoughts, the besetting sins that master you so often. Have you tried so often to fight against them, and failed, that it seems almost no use, and you do not see how to conquer them or to escape them? Are you very tired of fighting, and "sore afraid"

of being always overcome just the same as ever? Now hear G.o.d's true, strong promise to you. "The Lord shall fight for you!" "Will He really?"

Yes, really, and He will conquer for you too, if you will only believe His Word and trust the battle to Him, and _let_ Him fight for you.

How? First, watch! and then the very instant you see the enemy coming, look up and say, "Come, Lord, and fight for me;" and keep on looking up and _expecting_ Him to fight for you. And _you will find_ that He does fight for you and gives you the victory; and you too will be "saved that day," and will see "the Egyptians dead upon the sea-sh.o.r.e." Try Him, and trust Him; and you, even you, will be "more than conqueror through Him that loved you."

"So, when you meet with trials, And know not what to do; Just cast the care on Jesus, And He will fight for you.

Gird on the heavenly armor Of faith, and hope, and love; And when the conflict's ended, You'll reign with Him above."

17. Seventeenth Day.

The Master's Voice.

"I will watch to see what He will say unto me."--Hab. ii. 1.

When the Lord Jesus said to Simon the Pharisee, "Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee;" he answered, "Master, say on!" When G.o.d was going to speak to Samuel, he said, "Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth." Has the Lord Jesus said anything like this for us? He says, "I have yet many things to say unto you." What things? They will be strong, helpful, life-giving words, for He says, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life." They will be very loving words, for He says, "I will speak comfortably to her" (margin, "I will speak to her heart"). And they will be very kind and tender words, and spoken just at the right moment, for He says that He knows "how to speak a word in season to him that is weary." "Will He really speak to me?" says the little heart. Yes, really, if you will only watch to see what He will say to you. For it will be "a still, small voice," and you will not hear it at all if you do not listen for it. "How will He speak to me?" If I had something very nice to tell you, and instead of saying it out loud, I wrote it down on a piece of paper, and gave it you to look at, would not that be exactly the same as if I had told it you with my lips? And you would take the paper eagerly to see what it was that I had to say to you. So to-day, when you read your Bible, either alone or at your Bible-lesson, watch to see what Jesus will say to you in it. You will never really watch in vain. You will see some word that seems to come home to you, and that you never noticed so much before. Oh, listen lovingly to it, for _that_ is what He says to you! Or if you are really watching and wishing for a word from Him, some sweet text will come into your mind, and you wonder what made you think of it!

That is the voice of Jesus speaking to your heart. Listen to it, and treasure it up, and follow it; and then watch to see what else He will say to you. Say to Him, "Master, say on!"

"Master, speak! and make me ready, When Thy voice is truly heard, With obedience glad and steady, Still to follow every word.

I am listening, Lord, for Thee; Master, speak, oh, speak to me!"

18. Eighteenth Day

Who will take care of me?