Consolation for Sinners

"Now when Jesus was risen early, the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils."—Mark 16:9.

Am I, blessed Lord, authorized by this gracious act of thine, so to construe thy wonderful love? Shall a poor Magdalene, who only ventured, while thou wast upon earth, to fall at thy feet, behind thee, weeping, be first blessed with a sight of thy Person after redemption-work was finished, before the beloved apostle who lay in thy bosom at thy table? Oh! thou dear, thou gracious thou condescending Lord! what am I to interpret of this kind act of thine, but that the heart of Jesus yearns over poor sinners, and can and will administer consolation to them in their most desperate circumstances? Yes! thou dear Lord! such hath been thy mercy, love, and grace, in every act. Rebellious angels are passed by, and fallen man calls forth thy pity! And among men, thy grace is shewn, not to the wise, and noble, and self-sufficient; but to the poor, the needy, the maimed, the, halt, the blind. Yea, Lord! thy grace is frequently manifested to tempers the most unpromising, to stubborn and rebellious persons; whilst those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own conceit, starched in the ceremonies and forms of religion, live, and it is to be feared die, without the knowledge of salvation by Jesus. Hence the young man in the gospel, who thought himself from his own goodness just ripe for heaven, shall go from thee sorrowful, while Jesus will take up his abode in the heart of a Magdalene, which had before been occupied by seven devils! Oh! for grace "to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth and length, and depth and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that I may be filled with all the fulness of God."

- excerpt from Robert Hawker's The Poor Man's Morning and Evening Portions, January 23, Evening