June 19 Daily Devotional

Bible Verse

"I shall be anointed with fresh oil" (Ps. 92:10 KJV).

Devotional

Who can doubt that the Lord re-anoints his people? Alas for us, if he did not! The ample provision that he has made for the need proves it. There is much precious oil in the sacred vessel!

Oh blessed, holy, comforting truth to those who, mournfully conscious of their loss, earnestly desire their recovery. In the Lord Jesus Christ all fullness of anointing dwells. He gives "the Spirit without measure" (John 3:34). "He gives more grace" (Jas. 4:6). He is prepared to impart more grace to those who have lost grace, or who desire to add an increase to their present state.

Oh, seek this increase. New supplies of grace from Christ are implied in these fresh anointings. New grace to subdue new corruptions, perpetually rising to the surface. New grace to meet new temptations, through the ever-shifting ways of the subtle enemy. New grace to overcome new difficulties, perpetually occurring in the path to heaven. New grace to bear up under new trials, ever transpiring in a world of tribulation.

The renewed joys and comforts of the Holy Spirit are also found in these fresh anointings. The joys which had evaporated are replaced by others. The peace which had been interrupted flows back again. Consolations, which had fled, are restored. And confidence in God, which seemed shaken, is once more established in the soul.

Do not be content with the anointing that you once received. It is essential to a more holy and happy life, as well as to a peaceful and cloudless death, that you seek to be anointed with fresh oil. Do not be satisfied with past experiences. You may at one time have possessed the clear witness of the Spirit; you may have enjoyed the love of God in your heart; you may have lived so near to Christ as to have found "Wisdom's ways, ways of pleasantness, and her paths, paths of peace:" but the old anointing ceases to afford you now the high delight which you once experienced.

Seek, then, the fresh anointing of the Spirit. Seek to have a new disclosure of Christ to your soul. Seek the renewed application of his precious blood to your conscience. Oh, seek the fresh oil! There is a fresh supply in Christ; a fresh supply in the Spirit; a fresh supply in the heart of God; a fresh supply in the covenant of grace. Jesus is prepared to pour it upon your soul more abundantly. The Holy Spirit is prepared to lead you to the source where this costly treasure dwells. Even though you are a vessel of clay—your capacity small, your unworthiness great—yet the Triune God is ready to recognize your exalted dignity and rank as a king and a priest, by shedding more copiously than ever the oil of gladness upon your head.

Let aged Christians especially look to the state of their souls, and seek this renewed anointing. In nearing the end of their journey, in looking into their graves, and beyond them, to the meeting with their God and Savior, they will need to be anointed with fresh oil. One drop—oh, how will it insinuate itself through the whole inner life, diffusing energy and might!—the soul thus renewing its strength, and composing its ruffled pinions for its heavenly flight.

Come, pilgrim of many a weary stage! Come, soldier of many a hard-fought battle! Come, voyager of many a storm and tempest, and sit down at the Savior's feet, and receive of the fresh oil! Come, gather up the trailing garments, shake off the gathered dust from your sandals, wipe the sweat from your brow, and rest awhile upon the bosom of your Lord, while he anoints you with fresh oil for your burial. Is it not time for you to give up this poor world's pursuit, and lay aside in some measure its needless anxiety and care, and allow a holy pause, a solemn calm, to intervene—before you unclasp your helmet, lay down your staff, and are gathered to your fathers?

More about Jesus would I know,
more of his grace to others show,
more of his saving fullness see,
more of his love who died for me.

(Eliza E. Hewitt, 1851)

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.