October 20—Morning Devotion
“Christ is all, and in all.”—Colossians 3:11
Hail, thou great, thou glorious, thou universal Lord. To thee, blessed Jesus, every knee shall bow. Thou art all in all in creation, redemption, providence, grace, glory. Thou art all in all in thy church, and in the hearts of thy people: in all their joys, all their happiness, all their exercises, all their privileges. Thou art the all in all in thy word, ordinances, means of grace, the sum and substance of the whole bible. Speak we of promises?—Thou art the first promise in the sacred word, and the whole of every promise that follows- for all in thee are yea and amen. Speak we of the law? “Thou art the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” Speak we of sacrifices? “By thy one sacrifice thou hast for ever perfected them that are sanctified.” Speak we of the prophecies?—”To thee give all the prophets witness, that whosoever believeth in thee shall receive remission of sins.” Yes, blessed, blessed Jesus, thou art the all in all. Be thou to me, Lord, the all in all I need in time, and then surely thou wilt be my all in all to all eternity.
Robert Hawker (1753-1827) was an Anglican (High-Calvinist) preacher who served as Vicar of Charles Church, Plymouth. John Hazelton wrote of him:
“The prominent features…in Robert Hawker's testimony…was the Person of Christ….Dr. Hawker delighted to speak of his Lord as "My most glorious Christ.” What anxious heart but finds at times in the perusal of the doctor's writings a measure of relief, a softening, and a mellowing? an almost imperceptible yet secret and constraining power in leading out of self and off from the misery and bondage of the flesh into a contemplation of the Person and preciousness of Christ as "the chiefest among ten thousand and the altogether lovely." Christ and Him crucified was emphatically the burden of his song and the keynote of his ministry. He preached his last sermon in Charles Church on March 18th, 1827, and on April 6th he died, after being six years curate and forty-three years vicar of the parish. On the last day of his life he repeated a part of Ephesians 1, from the 6th to the 12th verses, and as he proceeded he enlarged on the verses, but dwelt more fully on these words: "To the praise of His glory Who first trusted in Christ." He paused and asked, "Who first trusted in Christ?" And then made this answer: "It was God the Father Who first trusted in Christ."
Robert Hawker on the Biblical Covenants (Complete)
Robert Hawker's Poor Man's Morning Portions
