May 24 Daily Devotional

Bible Verse

"Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.' " (John 8:58).

Devotional

Dear reader, what a wondrous declaration this is! What a glorious and precious truth it involves!

Are you a believer in Jesus? Is he all your salvation, all your acceptance, all your hope, and all your desire? Then cast the anchor of your faith deeply and firmly here. You shall find it an eternal rock.

You may have weak faith. It may be full of doubts. But here is the ground of faith concerning which there can be neither weakness nor doubt.

Is it an Almighty Savior that you need? Behold him! "Before Abraham was, I AM."

Oh, what a foundation for a poor sinful worm of the dust to build upon! What a stable truth for faith in its weakest form to deal with—to have the glorious incarnate "I AM" for an atoning sacrifice! To have the "I AM" for a Redeemer! To have the "I AM" for a Surety! To have the "I AM" as a Mediator between God and the soul! To have the "I AM" as an Advocate, an unceasing Intercessor at the court of heaven, pleading each moment his own atoning merits! To have the "I AM" as the center in whom all God's promises are "yes and amen" (2 Cor. 1:20)! To have the "I AM" as a "Brother born for adversity" (Prov. 17:17)! To have the "I AM" as "a very present help in trouble" (Ps. 46:1)!

This is the answer that faith receives to its trembling and anxious questions. To each and all touching his faithfulness, his tenderness, his long-suffering, his fullness, and his all-sufficiency, Jesus answers, "I AM."

"Enough, Lord," replies the believer, "on this I can live; on this I can die."

Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!"
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
join the triumph of the skies;
with th'angelic host proclaim,
"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King."

Christ, by highest heav'n adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold him come,
offspring of the Virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail th'incarnate Deity,
pleased as man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King."

Hail, the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
ris'n with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that man no more may die,
born to raise the sons of earth,
born to give them second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King."

(Charles Wesley, 1739, alt.)

Be sure to read the Preface by Octavius Winslow and A Note from the Editor by Larry E. Wilson.

Larry Wilson is an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. In addition to having served as the General Secretary of the Committee on Christian Education of the OPC (2000–2004) and having written a number of articles and booklets (such as God's Words for Worship and Why Does the OPC Baptize Infants) for New Horizons and elsewhere, he has pastored OPC churches in Minnesota, Indiana, and Ohio. We are grateful to him for his editing of Morning Thoughts, the OPC Daily Devotional for 2025.