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March 16
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Yes, O Lord, with
Thee, but not to Thee. All my natural alienation from Thee, Thy grace
has effectually removed; and now, in fellowship with Thyself, I walk
through this sinful world as a pilgrim in a foreign country. Thou art
a stranger in Thine own world. Man forgets Thee, dishonours Thee, sets
up new laws and alien customs, and knows Thee not. When Thy dear Son
came unto His own, His own received Him not. He was in the world, and
the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. Never was foreigner
so speckled a bird among the denizens of any land as Thy beloved Son
among His mother's brethren. It is no marvel, then, if I who live the
life of Jesus, should be unknown and a stranger here below. Lord, I
would not be a citizen where Jesus was an alien. His pierced hand has
loosened the cords which once bound my soul to earth, and now I find
myself a stranger in the land. My speech seems to these Babylonians
among whom I dwell an outlandish tongue, my manners are singular, and
my actions are strange. A Tartar would be more at home in Cheapside
than I could ever be in the haunts of sinners. But here is the sweetness
of my lot: I am a stranger with Thee. Thou art my fellow-sufferer, my
fellow-pilgrim. Oh, what joy to wander in such blessed society! My heart
burns within me by the way when thou dost speak to me, and though I
be a sojourner, I am far more blest than those who sit on thrones, and
far more at home than those who dwell in their ceiled houses.
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