Week Forty-One

But who, Thy path of service,

Thy steps removed from ill,

Thy patient love to serve us,

With human tongue can tell?

O’er all, Thy perfect goodness

Rose blessedly divine;

Poor hearts oppressed with sadness,

Found ever rest in Thine!

He can pity with the utmost tenderness for He came into the very centre of our misery.

If man had no heart for Christ, Christ had a heart for man.

There is heart enough in Jesus to open the heart of the vilest sinner. The sinner finds he has a title in God’s heart when he can find none in his own. The woman that was a sinner loved much because much was forgiven her. It was a broken heart that met the heart of God, and the heart of God met a broken heart. It is wonderful when the heart of man really meets the heart of God.

The hand of God never deals but in concert with His heart of infinite love towards us. … And even if He sees good to allow a sorrow to arise—yea, to send it—it is from a hand which never mistakes, nor fails in answering to a heart whose love is perfect.

Jesus … could say, “I have glorified thee.” The more evil there was done here, the more the Father was glorified. Never did irritation enter into Him; no contradiction ever prevented His having the same heart for man and for God.

Ah! when we study Christ’s life down here, and what His heart and motives were, how shallow we are, … and how deep and far beyond our view the sufferings of His soul down here!

A broken heart is suited to a heart-healing God.

Whatever produces a care in us produces God’s care for us.

There is much more reality in a living loving care of us than we are aware of. The Lord takes pains to assure us of His love, to persuade us of His love. “Ye are of more value than many sparrows.”

Let us trust Him more; let us seek to get more from Him; we cannot look for too much of His favour who has not spared His Son for us.

Christ will be a sure friend, and even if we begin to sink in the water, will stretch out His hand and lift us up. It is sweet to have His hand in any case, even if our failing foot has led Him to stretch it out.