August 18

Morning

“We are ashamed because we have heard reproach; disgrace has covered our faces, because foreigners have entered the holy places of the LORD’s house.” — Jer 51:51 BSB

In this account, the faces of the Lord’s people were covered with shame because men intruded into the Holy Place, which was reserved for priests alone. We see similar reasons for sorrow all around us. How many ungodly people are now being trained for the ministry? How grievous is it that our entire nation is nominally part of a national church, even when many hearts are far from God? How tragic it is that ordinances are pushed upon the unconverted, and that even within more enlightened churches, discipline is often lax. If all who read this reflect on these matters before the Lord today, He will surely intervene and prevent the harm that otherwise threatens His church.

To corrupt the church is like polluting a well, dousing a fire with water, or scattering stones across a fertile field. May we all be given grace to preserve, in our own ways, the purity of the church as an assembly of believers, not a national or unsaved community of unconverted people. Our zeal for the church’s purity, however, must begin with ourselves. Let us examine our own hearts before we partake of the Lord’s Table. Let us be sure we are wearing the wedding garment of Christ’s righteousness, so we are not intruders in the Lord’s sanctuary. Many are called but few are chosen; the way is narrow, and the gate is small. O, for the grace to come to Jesus rightly, with the faith of God’s elect!

The same God who struck Uzzah for touching the ark is deeply protective of His two ordinances. As true believers, we may approach them confidently but as strangers, we dare not touch them, lest we die. Heart-searching is the duty of all who are baptized or who come to the Lord’s Table. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts!”

Evening

There they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it. — Mark 15:23 BSB

There is a profound truth in the fact that Jesus refused the myrrh-laced wine offered to Him at the cross. Long before, from His seat in heaven, the Son of God had looked down upon our fallen world, measured the full depth of human misery, and determined what was necessary to make atonement for sin. He did not hold back or shrink from the cost. He knew that to offer a perfect sacrifice, He must descend from the highest glory to the lowest depths of suffering. The myrrh-laced wine, with its numbing effects, would have dulled His agony, stopping Him just short of complete suffering. And so He refused it. He would not fall short of fulfilling every bit of the suffering He had undertaken for His people.

How many of us have longed for relief from grief, only to find that it would not have been best for us? Have you ever prayed desperately for an end to your struggles, with a restless, willful spirit? Perhaps God has taken from you the person or thing most precious to you. Have you, like Christ, been able to say, “May Your will be done”? Oh, how sweet it is to declare, “Lord, if there is any reason I must suffer—if my suffering can bring You more glory—then let it be. I will refuse comfort if it hinders Your honor.”

May we walk more closely in the footsteps of our Savior, willingly enduring suffering for His sake, putting aside our comfort when it would keep us from completing the work He has given us. Great grace is needed for this, but great grace is also provided!