A reading of Anglican priest Robert Hawker’s (1753–1827) morning devotional writings from “The Poor Man’s Morning and Evening Portion.”
The music for this reading is “Double-crested Cormorant” by Chad Crouch and was adapted for length under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
“He will be very gracious unto thee: at the voice of thy cry, when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.”—Isaiah 30:19.
Mark, my soul, what is here said; for every word in this sweet Scripture tells. Thy God, thy Saviour, thy Jesus, knows thy voice, hears thy cry, and will assuredly answer. He will not only be gracious, but very gracious. He waits to be gracious: waits the most suited time, the best time, the praying time, the crying time; for he times his grace, his mercy, to thy need. And though thou knowest it not, yet so it is: when his time is near at hand, which is always the best time, he puts a cry in thine heart; so that the time of thy cry, and the time for the manifestation of his glory, shall come together. Is not this to be gracious — yea, very gracious. So that, while thou art looking after him, he is looking upon thee. And before thou callest upon him, he is coming forth to bless thee. Is not this very gracious ? Now then, my soul, make a memorandum of this for any occasions which may hereafter occur. Put it down as a sure unerring truth:—thy Jesus will be very gracious unto thee. Never allow this promise to be called in question any more. Next, bring it constantly into use. Faith, well- grounded faith in Jesus, should always bring down general rules to particular cases and circumstances, as the souls experience may require. Hence, when God saith he will be very gracious unto thee, it is the act of faith to answer—If God hath said it, so it shall certainly be. And therefore, as that gracious God, who giveth the promise, giveth also the grace of faith to depend upon the promise, the mercy is already done, and faith enters upon the enjoyment of it. God’s faithfulness and truth become the believer’s shield and buckler.
