"Hath Jesus Done Great Things for Thee and Art Thou Proclaiming It Abroad?"

"And he that had been possessed with the devil, prayed him that he might be with him. Howbeit, Jesus suffered him not; but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee."—Mark 5:18-19.

Blessed Lord! give grace to every exercised child of thine to think of this; that when, under the various trials with which thy wisdom and love see fit to try their graces, they long to be home with thee, and are sending forth the. cry of the soul for dismission, they may hear thy voice speaking, as to this poor man, "Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee." But pause, my soul—is this thy case? Hath Jesus done great things for thee, and art thou proclaiming it abroad to call others to partake? Suppose one from the throng was to ask thee, "What is thy Beloved, more than another beloved?" what would be thy answer? Wouldest thou say, how he hath blest thee in health, or wealth, or worldly success, or prosperity; in friends, and relations, and the like? And are these all the things, or the chief of them, that thou couldest speak of? If so, what are these more than carnal men can, and do speak of?

- excerpt from Robert Hawker's The Poor Man's Morning and Evening Portions, May 16, Evening