There is no permanent rest for the believer on earth; here briars and thorns will be with him; and a voice is daily sounding in his ears, "ARISE YE, AND DEPART." Here you are not to loll at ease, or to idle on your journey; here you are not to expect to find satisfaction, for it is an enemy's land; and you are only passing through it to your heavenly home.
If your march is quick and your conduct scriptural, be not surprised if the dogs bark at you; they know you not, nor did they know your Master. He was pursued, annoyed, and at last put to death by them; and in agony of soul He cried out, "Dogs have compassed Me; the assembly of the wicked have inclosed Me; they have pierced My hands and My feet."
Lay not up treasures for yourselves upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but set your affections on things above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Use the world, but do not abuse it; pass through it, but never seek a home in it; remember it is peopled by the enemies of your God.
When snares and dangers line my way, Jesus is all my strength and stay; Cheerful I'll walk the desert through, Nor fear what earth or hell can do: Jesus will ease my troubled breast, And shortly bring my soul to rest.
Written by James Smith for his own flock around 1840, but such was the demand that by 1846 over thirty thousand copies where in circulation.
James Smith was a predecessor of Charles Spurgeon at New Park Street Chapel in London from 1841-1850. He also ministered with great blessing in Cheltenham. His devotional, The Believer's Daily Remembrancer, subtitled Pastor's Morning and Evening Visit, was very popular in its own day, and has received a new lease of life through recent republication.
There is no permanent rest for the believer on earth; here briars and thorns will be with him; and a voice is daily sounding in his ears, "ARISE YE, AND DEPART." Here you are not to loll at ease, or to idle on your journey; here you are not to expect to find satisfaction, for it is an enemy's land; and you are only passing through it to your heavenly home.
If your march is quick and your conduct scriptural, be not surprised if the dogs bark at you; they know you not, nor did they know your Master. He was pursued, annoyed, and at last put to death by them; and in agony of soul He cried out, "Dogs have compassed Me; the assembly of the wicked have inclosed Me; they have pierced My hands and My feet."
Lay not up treasures for yourselves upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but set your affections on things above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Use the world, but do not abuse it; pass through it, but never seek a home in it; remember it is peopled by the enemies of your God.
When snares and dangers line my way, Jesus is all my strength and stay; Cheerful I'll walk the desert through, Nor fear what earth or hell can do: Jesus will ease my troubled breast, And shortly bring my soul to rest.