September 21—Morning—Acts 11:16
"You shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit." — Acts 11:16

Blessed promise! May it be fulfilled, O Holy Spirit, day by day, in and upon my soul. Bring me under the continuous baptisms of Your sovereign influence, and cause me to experience all the sweet anointings of the Spirit, sent down upon the hearts and minds of the redeemed, as the fruits and effects of Jesus's exaltation and the promise of God the Father. Yes, blessed Spirit, cause me to know You in Your person, work, and power—in all Your offices, characteristics, and relationships.

I need You every day as my Comforter. I need You as the Spirit of truth, to guide me into all truth. I need You as the Remembrancer of the Lord Jesus, to bring to my forgetful heart all the blessed things He has revealed to me. I need You as the witness of my Jesus, to testify of my needs and His fullness to supply them. I need You as my Advocate and Helper, in all my weaknesses in prayer. I need You as the guarantee of the promised inheritance, that I may not faint, nor lack the faith to endure in all dark seasons.

I need You, Lord; in fact, I cannot do without You for a single moment. I cannot act in faith, believe a promise, or exercise grace without Your constant and unceasing work upon my soul. Come, Lord, I beseech You, and bring me under Your unceasing baptisms. Pour the love of God my Father into my heart, and guide me into the patient waiting for Jesus Christ.
 

September 21—Evening—Esther 1:3, 4
"He made a feast for all his officials and servants—the powers of Persia and Media, the nobles, and the princes of the provinces being before him—when he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the splendor of his excellent majesty for many days, one hundred and eighty days in all." — Esther 1:3, 4

Who can read this account of the royalty and generosity of the Persian king without being reminded to look to the Lord Jesus in His royalty and grace and to consider both the extent of His bounty and the honor of His excellent majesty? Compared to Him, this earthly monarch's glory fades into insignificance. Even though his kingdom stretched over 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia, what is this compared to Him, whose dominion is "from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth," who holds "all power in heaven and on earth" and possesses "the keys of hell and the grave"?

And what is a feast that lasts 180 days, which, once ended, likely left nothing but exhaustion or regret, when compared to the eternal and everlasting day to which Jesus invites us? In this day, He entertains all His people, whom He has made "kings and priests to God and the Father," where they shall not only feast with Him but sit down with Him on His throne, as He has overcome and sat down with His Father on His throne.

In this eternal, never-ending feast of the Lord Jesus, from which His guests will never depart, there is nothing to make one weary, nothing unpleasant, but only light, joy, peace, and unspeakable happiness. Here, Jesus openly displays the riches of His glorious kingdom and the honor of His excellent majesty! Here, He brings His redeemed into a perfect knowledge of Himself and opens to their unending amazement and joy the wonders of His person and love, filling their souls with "joy unspeakable and full of glory," in the understanding of "the mystery of God, of the Father, and of Christ."

Hail, You glorious King of kings and Lord of lords! Here You are making a feast of grace on Your holy mountain for all Your poor, needy, halt, and blind, whom You have made princes of Your kingdom, and whom You will bring, in Your own perfect time, to the everlasting feast of glory in Your kingdom above! Grant me, blessed Jesus, to be one of the happy ones who partake of Your gifts of grace here, and I am sure that one day I shall sit down to the everlasting enjoyment of You in the glories of heaven forever!

- Robert Hawler