“They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.”

TEXT: Joshua 5:12
Israel’s weary wanderings were all over, and the promised rest was attained. No more moving
tents, fiery serpents, fierce Amalekites, and howling wildernesses: they came to the land which
flowed with milk and honey, and they ate the old corn of the land. Perhaps this year, beloved
Christian reader, this may be thy case or mine. Joyful is the prospect, and if faith be in active
exercise, it will yield unalloyed delight. To be with Jesus in the rest which remaineth for the people
of God, is a cheering hope indeed, and to expect this glory so soon is a double bliss. Unbelief
shudders at the Jordan which still rolls between us and the goodly land, but let us rest assured that
we have already experienced more ills than death at its worst can cause us. Let us banish every
fearful thought, and rejoice with exceeding great joy, in the prospect that this year we shall begin
to be “forever with the Lord.”
A part of the host will this year tarry on earth, to do service for their Lord. If this should fall to
our lot, there is no reason why the New Year’s text should not still be true. “We who have believed
do enter into rest.” The Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance; he gives us “glory begun
below.” In heaven they are secure, and so are we preserved in Christ Jesus; there they triumph over
their enemies, and we have victories too. Celestial spirits enjoy communion with their Lord, and
this is not denied to us; they rest in his love, and we have perfect peace in him: they hymn his praise,
and it is our privilege to bless him too. We will this year gather celestial fruits on earthly ground,
where faith and hope have made the desert like the garden of the Lord. Man did eat angels’ food
of old, and why not now? O for grace to feed on Jesus, and so to eat of the fruit of the land of
Canaan this year