# devotions

devotion:
<i> The living know that they shall die. - <a href='B:250 9:5'>Ecc 9:5</a>. </i><p>BUT there are limits to this knowledge: let us consider these. &ldquo;The living know that they shall die,&rdquo; but they know not when. If there are persons who have seemed to have some kind of apprehensions or intimations previously of the time of their dissolution, these were casual and not prophetic; events alone rendered them predictions. &ldquo;There is an appointed time to man upon the earth; his days also are like the days of an hireling;&rdquo; God has appointed his bounds, which he cannot pass; it is he who has filled our glass, and he knows how many sands there are to run out.<p>But he communicates not this knowledge to any man; and therefore every man must say, with Isaac, &ldquo;I know not the day of my death,&rdquo; nor the week, nor the year. &ldquo;The living know that they shall die,&rdquo; but they know not where, -whether at home in the bosom of the family, or among unconcerned strangers,-in the garden, in the field, or on the road. Where have not persons died? Some have died in the house of God; some have died at the card-table; some have died in the playhouse. Ehud died in his summer parlour, and Pharaoh in the Red Sea. There seems hardly to be a place which has not, at one time or other, been a door of entrance into eternity. &ldquo;The living know that they shall die,&rdquo; but they know not how, -whether suddenly or slowly, whether by fever or by dropsy, whether by accident or by the hands and device of wicked and unreasonable men. &ldquo;One dieth,&rdquo; says Job, &ldquo;in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet; his breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow. Another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure. They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them.&rdquo; &ldquo;The living know that they shall die,&rdquo; but not what it is to die.<p>Thus Joshua said to the Jews, &ldquo;Ye are going a way that ye have not gone heretofore.&rdquo; It will be a new path to all of us. Here is a case in which no information can be derived from experience, -none from our own experience, none from the experience of others; for no one, however charged or importuned, ever returned to let <p>&ldquo;the fatal secret out, <p> And tell us what it is to die.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. - <a href='B:230 90:12'>Psa 90:12</a>. </i><p>A KNOWLEDGE of the frailty of life and the certainty of death, one would imagine, would be very powerful, very efficient, and very operative. But what is the fact? We do not find any thing that is really less impressive and less influential than death! How was it in the days of Job? Eliphaz says, &ldquo;They are destroyed from morning to night; they perish forever.&rdquo; And it is the same now. Sometimes the sudden dissolution, the sight of a dying bed, or the passage of a funeral, will produce a temporary impression: but it is little more than a momentary one; men soon go on again as before; one returns to his farm, and another to his merchandise; one is mad after honour, another after money, and another after the dissipations of the world. Men do not live as those who know they must die. They do know it; and yet what a slight influence it has over them!<p>Here we see the inefficacy of mere knowledge. Some people seem to think that knowledge is to do every thing. Why, this, like any other truth, may lie in the mind uninfluential. Some imagine that all truth must necessarily be influential according to the nature and importance of the thing believed. It ought to be so, and it would be so if we were in a proper state of mind. We are fallen creatures, and much of the effect of the fall is apparent in the derangement of the operation of the powers of the mind, so that it is now an undeniable fact, that the clearest convictions can be counteracted, that men may see and approve better things and follow the worse. But is it not strange that such knowledge, so immediately and eternally interesting to man, should be uninfluential? Is it not a proof of the depravity of human nature that he can be insensible and indifferent here? But why is it so desirable to consider our latter end, and what influence should the knowledge we have of our mortality have over us? It should lead us to abhor and forsake sin, which has &ldquo;brought death into the world, and all our woe.&rdquo; How should this knowledge loosen our. hold of the earthly things which we must certainly, and which we may so soon, be deprived of! It was a good reflection of Esau, so far, when he said, &ldquo;Behold, I am at the point to die, and what profit shall this birthright do to me?&rdquo; And so we may say with regard to various things which would entice us and engross our supreme attention.<p>The ancients made use of this fact when they were accustomed to place before their guests at their feasts a skeleton, in order to excite them to the more mirth while they could enjoy it, for they could not enjoy it long. But how much better use does the apostle make of it, when, writing to the Corinthians, he says, &ldquo;Brethren, the time is short: it remaineth that both they that have wives should be as those that have none.&rdquo; So it should lead us immediately and earnestly to say, with Paul, &ldquo;That I may win Christ, and be found in him.&rdquo; He has destroyed death as to its sting now, and will as to its state hereafter; and the voice from heaven cries, &ldquo;Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord,&rdquo; and only such; that is, all who die in a state of union and communion with him, having his righteousness to justify them and to give them a title to heaven, and his Spirit to sanctify them and make them &ldquo;meet for the inheritance of the saints in light.&rdquo;<p>It is important for us to know that we must shortly die, in order that we may turn this knowledge to the most advantageous account. We shall, therefore, be concerned to do with our might whatsoever our hand findeth to do, &ldquo;for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave whither we are going.&rdquo; Let us then pray with Moses, &ldquo;Lord, make me to know mine end and the measure of my days, what it is, that I may know how frail I am.&rdquo; &ldquo;So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. - <a href='B:540 5:4'>2Co 5:4</a>. </i><p>WE here see what Christians do desire, and what they do not desire. What we really desire, and what we must desire, if we are Christians, is here called life. Life is one of the common representations given of the heavenly state in the Scriptures. Skin for skin-&ldquo;yea, all that a man hath-will he give for his life.&rdquo; Now, because men are so attached to life, and because life is the foundation of every enjoyment, therefore it comes to be used by the sacred writers for happiness itself; and hence our Saviour says, &ldquo;A man&rsquo;s life [that is, his happiness] consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.&rdquo; Such blessedness is reserved for the Christian, therefore: &ldquo;eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.&rdquo; Dr. Watts expresses himself very boldly when he says,- <p>&ldquo;Could I command the spacious land, <p> And the more houndless sea, <p> For one blest hour at thy right hand <p> I&rsquo;d give them both away.&rdquo; </i><p>What, then, will be an eternity of such bliss,-an eternity of health, an eternity of wealth, an eternity of honour, an eternity of friendship! And life, too, is often called &ldquo;eternal,&rdquo; and &ldquo;eternal in the heavens.&rdquo; He will have &ldquo;a crown of glory that fadeth not away.&rdquo; Eternity will only be the commencement of his blessedness.<p>But observe, Secondly, What they do not desire. We groan, being burdened, &ldquo;not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.&rdquo; The apostle expresses the same thing with a little variation in the preceding verse:-&ldquo;In this we groan, earnestly desiring,&rdquo; (what?)-earnestly desiring &ldquo;to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven, if so be that, being clothed, we shall not be found naked.&rdquo; They wish to be adorned, but not previously stripped; they wish to be clothed, but not to be found naked; they wish this corruptible to put on incorruption, and this mortal to put on immortality. They do not desire, death except for the results of it. They wish to resemble those who will he alive at the last day, who will not fall asleep,-that is, die,-but be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. They wish to be favoured in their admission into heaven, as Enoch and Elias were, who were glorified without dying.<p>They wish that mortality might be swallowed up of life, not as the sea swallows up the rivers that fall into it, and turns them into brine, but as the finished picture swallows up the outline, and as the day swallows up the dawn, and as manhood swallows up infancy that is, by perfecting it. That is, in other words, they wish to enter their completeness easily, gradually, insensibly, without being taken all to pieces in such a way as death implies. 


devotion:
<i> The trumpet shall sound, and the dead, shall be raised. - <a href='B:530 15:52'>1Co 15:52</a>. </i><p>ERE long shall be heard the voice of the archangel and the trump of God. &ldquo;For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised.&rdquo; Oh that we now could realize that awful scene! When the dead are slumbering in their graves, and the living are regardless of eternity; while the scoffer asks, &ldquo;Where is the promise of his coming?&rdquo; when there is no more appearance of its approach than there was of the destruction of Sodom, or of the general deluge; when many are asleep in their beds, dreaming of happiness and peace; while some are forming plans of avarice, and others parties of pleasure; while some are marrying and given in marriage, and others have just sat down to the card-table; when one has just taken up a pen to write to a friend, the pen drops, the hand becomes immortalized, the clangor of the trump of God, louder than ten thousand trumpets, announces that God himself has come! Ah, he is come, then!<p>Some rejoice at the sound, but all must hear it. Oh, if we could realize this scene now! What manner of persons should we then be, in all holy conversation and godliness looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of the Lord, &ldquo;when the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and all the works that are therein, shall be burnt up.&rdquo; He that will then be on a throne of wrath is now on a throne of mercy. &ldquo;Blessed are our eyes, for they see; and our ears, for they hear.&rdquo; Some have heard the sound of the jubilee-trumpet, and have come: they have dedicated themselves to God; they have found,- <p>&ldquo;There is no joy compared to this, <p> To serve and please the Lord.&rdquo; </i><p>What are they doing? Surely they are giving thanks unto him who hath called them out of darkness into light, who hath made them meet to be partakers with the saints in light. Surely they are endeavouring to bring others into the same condition. They know what the meaning of distance from God is, seeing they were once in that state and ready to perish. They know what it is to come to God by Jesus Christ. They, therefore, are the people to whom we look. They can speak with confidence, with feeling, with effect. Surely they will speak. &ldquo;Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.&rdquo; <p>&ldquo;Oh, &rsquo;tis a godlike privilege to save.&rdquo; </i><p>And the Apostle James says, &ldquo;If any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him, let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Fulness of joy. - <a href='B:230 16:11'>Psa 16:11</a>. </i><p>IT has been asked, Are there degrees in glory? We are persuaded there are. All analogy countenances the conclusion. Diversities and inequalities pervade all the works of God. There are gradations among the angels, for we read of thrones and dominions, principalities and powers; and, though all believers are redeemed by the same blood and justified by the same righteousness, we know there are degrees in grace. The good ground brought forth in some places thirty, in some sixty, and in some a hundred-fold. And the apostle tells us that every man shall receive according to his own labour. But here we approve of the old illustration: however unequal in size the vessels afore prepared unto glory may be, when plunged into this ocean they shall all be equally filled.<p>It has also been asked, Shall we know one another in heaven? Whether there be mutual recognition or not, we may be assured of this,-that nothing will be wanting to our happiness. But we may cease our anxiety respecting recognising the dear departed. Memory cannot be annihilated. Did not Peter, James, and John recognise Moses and Elias? and does not Paul tell the Thessalonians that they are his hope, and joy, and crown at the coming of the Lord Jesus?<p>Another inquires, Where is heaven? What part of the vast universe hath God assigned for the abode of the blessed? This it is impossible to determine: most probably it will be our present system renovated. May we not infer this from the words of the Apostle Peter?- &ldquo;Looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; nevertheless we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.&rdquo; But is it a place? Our Lord has a body like our own, and this cannot be omnipresent; and wherever he is corporeally, there is heaven. As he himself hath said, &ldquo;Where I am, there shall also my servants be.&rdquo; Enoch and Elias have bodies, all the saints have bodies, and these cannot be everywhere.<p>We read of the hope laid up for us in heaven; of &ldquo;entering into the holy place.&rdquo; &ldquo;And I go,&rdquo; says Jesus to his disciples, &ldquo;to prepare a place for you.&rdquo; But, though heaven is really a place, we must chiefly consider it as a state. Even now, happiness does not essentially depend on what is without us. What was Eden to Adam and Eve after sin had filled them with shame and sorrow and fear? And Paul in prison was infinitely happier than Caesar on the throne of the nations. Oh, says the soul, when enjoying communion with the Saviour,- <p>&ldquo;&rsquo;Tis heaven to rest in thine embrace, <p> And nowhere else but there.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> When ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God. - <a href='B:590 2:13'>1Th 2:13</a>. </i><p>DO we thus receive the Scriptures? What have we realized of God in them? and what do we owe to these Scriptures in a way of duty? Surely, in the first place, we owe nothing less than to peruse them. David said, &ldquo;The law of thy mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver;&rdquo; and the celebrated Robert Boyle said, &ldquo;I would prefer a single twig of the tree of life to all the riches of the world.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, We should believe them. The Scriptures will not profit unless they are mixed with faith in them that hear and read them. Are not many practical unbelievers? Could those trifle with its hallowed pages as sometimes they do, making them only a subject of curiosity, if they really believed the Scriptures?<p>Thirdly, And what less can this duty be than to understand them? It is a sad thing that many professors of religion are so shamefully ignorant of the Scriptures, in consequence of which they are so liable to err,-so liable to be led away with the error of the wicked, and carried away by every wind of doctrine, so as not to know the way wherein they should walk, or the things which they should do. Let us then &ldquo;search the Scriptures,&rdquo; and seek after more acquaintance with &ldquo;Jesus Christ and him crucified.&rdquo;<p>Fourthly, We should practise what the Scriptures teach. &ldquo;If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.&rdquo; We shall never regard the Scriptures properly till we find them a &ldquo;light unto our feet and a lamp unto our path.&rdquo; There is nothing in the Bible but has a practical aim and tendency. Its &ldquo;doctrines are according to godliness;&rdquo; its exceeding great and precious promises are given us, that &ldquo;by these we might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption of the world through lust.&rdquo;<p>Fifthly, This duty cannot include less than our distributing them. The Scriptures were designed for all; they have not reached their end when they reached only us. As we have become possessors, we are also to become dispensers of them. The Scriptures are not given us as a legacy only to enjoy, but as a talent also to employ. We have them not for ourselves only, but also for others; therefore, as the apostle says, &ldquo;Their debtors ye are.&rdquo; And those professors are dishonest who withhold from them their rights, and embezzle what was only intrusted to them for the sake of others. 


devotion:
<i> Ye rejoice with joy unspeakable. - <a href='B:670 1:8'>1Pe 1:8</a>. </i><p>SOME suppose the apostle means to intimate that there is such a peculiarity in this joy that it is so inexplicable that it cannot be communicated to others so as to be properly understood. And this is very true; therefore the apostle says, in another place, &ldquo;The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.&rdquo;<p>There are many expectations that are very unreasonable, and there are persons who look for evidence which it is not in our power to communicate, nor in their competency at present to receive. They witness our rejoicing, wish to know what we have that makes us so happy, and when we make as fair and full a report as we can, they are unable to understand either the nature or the sources of our joy. They must know and feel these for themselves. &ldquo;He that believeth hath the witness in himself,&rdquo; and it is only by experience that it can be known. They must taste and see that the Lord is good. But there is nothing peculiar in this: we know that we cannot communicate the pleasures of learning to the illiterate, or the pleasures of melody and harmony to a man who has no ear for music.<p>Hence it is that the Christian talks so little of his hidden life, and the deeper, richer parts of his experience, to the people of the world; it would be only &ldquo;casting pearls before swine.&rdquo; They say, with David, &ldquo;Come unto me, all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what he hath done for my soul.&rdquo; But when the apostle says that this joy is &ldquo;unspeakable,&rdquo; he means to intimate the greatness of it, so that words are very inadequate properly and fully to express it. Worldly joy is easily expressed and described; much more is always said of it than it deserves, and it never, in any instance, realizes the expectations which it excites; we therefore often find that the successful votary of the world, even when he has seized his prey, sighs over it; I thought I should be happier when I had obtained such a possession, when I had reached such an elevation, and when I had acquired such a position. And when most successful, are they happy now? Is it not still their cry, &ldquo;Who will show me any good?&rdquo; But oh, how different is it with the Christian!<p>This joy is always worthy the name, and above every other joy, however highly it may be recommended and prized. If we had the tongue of angels as well as men, we should only beggar the subject by speaking of it. It is &ldquo;unspeakable,&rdquo; says the apostle. Who can describe it? Who can describe properly the efficiency of it,-how it will bear up the poor mind under every pressure, and enable its possessor to rejoice-under every deprivation? It can tranquillize the soul in the midst of tribulation, and fill it with holy confidence amidst the most alarming changes and revolutions, so as to enable it to say, with the church, &ldquo;God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble; therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swellings thereof.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory. - <a href='B:670 1:8'>1Pe 1:8</a>. </i><p>WHAT is heaven? There is no term by which heaven is so frequently expressed in the Scriptures as the word glory. The radical idea of glory is brilliancy; the second idea is excellency displayed. Heaven is called glory, because it is a state of brilliancy, and because it is calculated to develop and display every kind of excellency,-natural excellency, moral excellency, spiritual excellency, divine excellency. It is, therefore, preeminently called glory. And here we are told that this joy is &ldquo;full&rdquo; of it. Christians are not yet, indeed, arrived at heaven,-that is, locally and personally; yet the apostle makes no scruple to say, &ldquo;Ye are come unto the heavenly Jerusalem;&rdquo; and he says to the Ephesians, &ldquo;Ye are quickened together with Christ, and raised up together, and made to sit together in heavenly places.&rdquo; Christians are not in heaven as yet, but they know that they are sometimes by their own enjoyments reminded of the experience of Jacob:-&ldquo;This is none other than the gate of heaven.&rdquo; Before they live there, they are rejoicing in hope of the glory of God. <p>&ldquo;The men of grace have found <p> Glory begun below.&rdquo; </i><p>They have heaven in the taste, they have heaven in their eye, they have heaven in the first-fruits, they have heaven in their Forerunner who has gone, and as he entered heaven said, &ldquo;I am come, and all my people are coming after me,&rdquo; and so took possession of it in our name and holds it for our sakes. Hear David: &ldquo;Let the saints,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud upon their beds.&rdquo; How can they &ldquo;be joyful in glory&rdquo; while they are here on earth? Christians can explain this. And let us refer this for a moment to the dying experience of believers, for it is indeed in the dying chamber that we have most peculiarly witnessed this joy, which is so &ldquo;full of glory.&rdquo;<p>It would not have been safe for the Christian to have been indulged with it earlier: it would have unhinged him too much from all his present connections, and have rendered him too indifferent to things around, which had various claims upon him. But now he can bear to be raised above the love of life and the fear of death; now his apprehensions have no purpose further to answer, and therefore they are allowed to die away; and now through the crevices of the falling tabernacle some rays of glory beam in; now he is near enough that blessed world to hear some of the songs and shoutings there; now he can turn round his pallid countenance, and say to the friend who is by,- <p>&ldquo;Jesus can make a dying bed <p> Feel soft as downy pillows are, <p> While on his breast I lean my head <p> And breathe my life out sweetly there.&rdquo; </i><p>And he can even sing,- <p>&ldquo;As I hare tasted Canaan&rsquo;s grapes, <p> So now I long to go <p> Where my dear Lord the vineyard keeps, <p> And all the clusters grow.&rdquo; </i><p>We have witnessed an elevation of sentiment and a strength of language in persons in their dying hours, far beyond their ordinary feelings and speech,-even in persons who have been entirely destitute of education, and whose low, grovelling, enslaving employments have hardly allowed them to rise up into any thing intellectual, or to exercise the power of reflection; we have witnessed in them a refinement of taste such as never was inspired by learning or philosophy; even these we have heard to say,- <p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d part with all the joys of sense, <p> To gaze upon thy throne.&rdquo; </i><p>&ldquo;As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in thy likeness.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> I will not leave you comfortless. - <a href='B:500 14:18'>Joh 14:18</a>. </i><p>WHATEVER be the number or nature of the Christian&rsquo;s trials, here is a gracious assurance that God does not leave his people to suffer without affording them comfort and support. If their tribulations abound, so also do their consolations. He who thus assures to them the comfort of his presence is the &ldquo;God of all comfort;&rdquo; and he answers to his name, for he says, &ldquo;I am he that comforteth you.&rdquo; Nor can he deny himself. His people have many fears. Zion said, &ldquo;The Lord hath forsaken me; my God hath forgotten me.&rdquo; But no; he does not, he cannot, forget his afflicted people.<p>No, he will not leave his people comfortless. His relations forbid it. He is their Shepherd; therefore they may say, &ldquo;I shall not want; thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.&rdquo; He is their Friend, who loveth at all times. Their Father:-&ldquo;And like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.&rdquo; Their Husband:-&rsquo;&rdquo;And as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.&rdquo; His perfections forbid it. He knows all their sorrows. He knows all their walking through this great wilderness. He is able to relieve and deliver them. His promises forbid it:-&ldquo;I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably to her,&rdquo; there in the wilderness; &ldquo;and I will give her her vineyards from thence,&rdquo; when nothing of the kind could be there looked for, and the &ldquo;valley of Achor for a door of hope.&rdquo; Yea, &ldquo;the Lord shall comfort Zion;&rdquo; and the best way to realize this, is to apply unto him for these spiritual consolations.<p>But in what way does the Lord comfort his people in their afflictions? Does he speak of deliverance? Does he say that they shall no more eat the bread of adversity and drink of the water of affliction?-that in future they shall spend their days in ease and prosperity? There is not a word of this. But he leads them to himself, to the throne of grace, to the Scriptures of truth, to the &ldquo;comforts of the Holy Ghost,&rdquo; and to the &ldquo;joys of God&rsquo;s salvation.&rdquo; Our Saviour said to the sick of the palsy, &ldquo;Be of good cheer.&rdquo; Why? Because thou art made whole? No; but &ldquo;because thy sins are forgiven thee.&rdquo;<p>It is thus the Lord affords spiritual comforts to his people under temporal troubles and afflictions, and this is the kind of relief they chiefly want and desire. Thus, Gaius had a weak body while his soul prospered and was in health. Thus Job in his deepest sorrows said, &ldquo;I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and not for another.&rdquo; Thus David at Ziglag, when greatly distressed, &ldquo;encouraged himself in the Lord his God;&rdquo; and when drawing near the grave, having much trouble in his family, he said, &ldquo;Although my house be not so with God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure: this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he maketh it not to grow.&rdquo;<p>Thus Paul was comforted when the thorn was rankling in his flesh and he cried to God for deliverance; but, instead of immediate deliverance, he was assured, &ldquo;My grace is sufficient for thee;&rdquo; and with this he was satisfied. 


devotion:
<i> Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. - <a href='B:670 4:12'>1Pe 4:12</a>. </i><p>AS if the apostle had said, in an enemy&rsquo;s country opposition is to be looked for; in a vale of tears, weeping is to be reckoned upon. &ldquo;Man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward;&rdquo; and Christians are born again to trouble, for &ldquo;Many are the afflictions of the righteous.&rdquo; To how many accidents and diseases, disappointments and mortifications, are we liable! In what part are we not vulnerable! Our possessions render us capable of losses, and our enjoyments of sorrow!<p>All through life our affections feed our afflictions. And we suffer much more, on the whole, from friends than from foes. Our roses grow on thorns, and our honey wears a sting! And we need not wonder at this with regard to Christians, when we consider how necessary these exercises are for their spiritual and eternal welfare. Does not the vine, if it bear fruit, require pruning, &ldquo;that it may bring forth more fruit&rdquo;? Does not the ground require ploughing to prepare it for the reception of the seed? And do not the materials for the temple require hewing before they are fixed in their places? As said a good man one day, &ldquo;Sir, I see that God cannot trust me either with health or wealth, and therefore keeps me sick and poor.&rdquo; &ldquo;The prosperity of fools destroys them.&rdquo; And the prosperity of good men often injures them.<p>There is nothing, therefore, to be viewed as peculiar in our trials; there is nothing in them but what is common to men. Our brethren before us in the world were all afflicted in the same way. Perhaps we think that some believers are exempted from afflictions, and we are ready almost to envy them, for, while some afflictions are visible enough, others are more invisible. Yes, said a good woman one&rdquo; day, when a person was mentioning to her her advantages,-&ldquo;Ah,&rdquo; said she, &ldquo;you see my sails, but you do not see my ballast.&rdquo; Whatever advantages any of us have, we must have proportionable ballast. &ldquo;The heart knoweth its own bitterness, and a stranger intermeddleth not with its joys.&rdquo; In some way or other the language of the Scripture must be fulfilled. &ldquo;If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what so is he whom the Father chasteneth not?&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Happy art thou, O Israel. - <a href='B:50 33:29'>Deu 33:29</a>. </i><p>THIS may be surprising to some, for they are accustomed to think that religion is unfriendly to happiness, or at least to present happiness: though they may concede that it is essential to our safety in another world, they conclude that it only brings self-denial, and privations, and restraints, and trials in this. While, therefore, they allow it to be necessary, we find they are always disposed to postpone, which is a clear proof that they suppose it does not yield present happiness, for happiness is the pursuit of all, and none suppose that they can be happy too soon. It is easy to see that such a notion as this must be very injurious, especially to the young, whose thirst for pleasure is so keen and powerful; but it is as easy to prove that it is entirely a groundless notion. Let us appeal to the three tribunals.<p>Let us appeal to the bar of reason. All must acknowledge that God is able to make a man happy or miserable; and it is unreasonable to suppose that God will suffer us to be more happy while hating and opposing him, than in loving and serving him; that he will smile upon his enemies and frown upon his friends. But we are assured that &ldquo;The righteous Lord loveth righteousness, his countenance doth behold the upright;&rdquo; while &ldquo;The wicked shall not stand in his sight; he hateth all workers of iniquity.&rdquo;<p>Let us appeal to the bar of Revelation. Here we could quote half the Scriptures. We could say, with David, &ldquo;Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound; they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance, in thy name shall they rejoice all the day, and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.&rdquo; We could bring forward God himself, saying again, &ldquo;Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed; behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.&rdquo;<p>Let us appeal to the bar of Experience. There are some who have never made the trial; but there are others who have tried, and they are able to compare the service of sin and the service of Christ together, as they have been engaged in both. We are sure that these, even in their most trying moments, of whomsoever they complain, they will speak well of his name; they will acknowledge, with David, &ldquo;Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord.&rdquo; They will tell us that they were strangers to satisfaction as long as they were unacquainted with their Saviour; but that since they have &ldquo;taken his yoke upon them,&rdquo; and have been &ldquo;learning of him,&rdquo; they have found &ldquo;his yoke easy and his burden light,&rdquo; and &ldquo;his service is perfect freedom,&rdquo; and they are &ldquo;walking at liberty, because they keep his statutes.&rdquo;<p>It is not, therefore, surprising that Christians should rejoice: it is rather wonderful that ever they should be found walking &ldquo;mournfully before the Lord.&rdquo; From their own experience they are disposed almost to address others when they meet them, even in their vain and sinful pursuits, and to say, &ldquo;Forsake the foolish, and live and go in the way of understanding.&rdquo; &ldquo;Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.&rdquo; They know this from experience.<p>Joy belongs to them, and it belongs to them only, in this lower world. Joy is their duty, joy is their privilege, joy is commanded, joy is promised them, their joy is insured, their joy is begun. And, though we cannot go so far as Dr. Young when he says,- <p>&ldquo;&rsquo;Tis impious in a good man to be sad,&rdquo; </i><p>yet it is a very suspicious circumstance, and should awaken alarm in all our bosoms if we can live from week to week strangers to life and pleasure in the ways of religion. 


devotion:
<i> Be diligent. - <a href='B:680 3:14'>2Pe 3:14</a>. </i><p>THIS exhortation will apply not only to our spiritual engagements, but also to the duties of relative and secular life. Hear Solomon:-&ldquo;Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. For riches are not forever; and doth the crown endure to every generation?&rdquo; And says the apostle to the Romans, &ldquo;Be not slothful in business.&rdquo; And says he, better still, in his address to the Thessalonians, &ldquo;When we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some among you which walk disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now, them that are such, we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ that with quietness they work and eat their own bread.&rdquo; If a man thinks he is called to give up his profession or his business, very well; but, while he remains in it, let him not be a mere blank. To how many is the Grand Husbandman continually saying, &ldquo;Why stand ye here all the day idle?&rdquo; Has no one hired you? Is there nothing for you to do? Seneca said he would rather be sick in bed than appear to be idle. To whom did God of old appear in a way of privilege and honour, that was not at the time actively engaged? Another being is more likely to appear to the disengaged and idle. As Watts says,- <p>&ldquo;Satan finds some mischief still <p> For idle hands to do.&rdquo; </i><p>David was loitering on the housetop instead of being at the head of his army, when he entered into temptation. There are dangers in business unquestionably, but there are greater dangers in solitude, unless we can leave Satan and our own hearts behind us. Cotton Mather therefore says, &ldquo;I am always glad when I am fully employed, for when the enemy comes to me with his toys and temptations, then I say to him, I am not able to attend to thee now.&rdquo; God never intended that any man in this world should live in a state of independence, if by independence we mean inaction and un-usefulness. If a man be free from the toils and cares of business, he is under the more obligation to glorify God and to serve his generation according to his will.<p>Wherefore, let us &ldquo;be diligent that we may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> A glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. - <a href='B:560 5:27'>Eph 5:27</a>. </i><p>HERE we see wherein the glory of the church will, in the day of Christ, consist, and concerning which we may remark four things. First, We see they have their imperfections now. For though they possess in their hearts gracious principles, yet there are other principles there, which are endeavouring to counteract them continually, so that there is within them an internal war,- &ldquo;the flesh lusting against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and these being contrary the one to the other,&rdquo; so that Christians cannot do the things that they would. Something is wanting in the exercise of every grace and defective in the performance of every duty now. Even the apostle, who had made such progress, says, &ldquo;I have not attained; I am not already perfect.&rdquo; &ldquo;Yea,&rdquo; says James, &ldquo;in many things we offend all.&rdquo; And, indeed, Christians know that the sins of their holy things are such as not only to humble them, but even to sink them in despondency, were it not that they have an Advocate with the Father, &ldquo;whose blood cleanseth from all sin.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, We see how these imperfections are metaphorically expressed. They are held forth as spots and wrinkles. We cannot notice spots in black, and we never do notice spots in coarse and repulsive visages. No; spots suppose comeliness and loveliness upon the whole. Spots are consistent with beauty, but they detract from it. We read in Scripture of those spots which &ldquo;are not the spots of God&rsquo;s children,&rdquo; but there are spots, therefore, that may be found in them. There are deficiencies which are compatible with sincerity and the life of God in the soul. Wrinkles are one of the common symptoms of age or weakness. They remind us of the decay of life, health, vigour, and declension in some measure, and failure of comeliness. By these the apostle means declensions from our religious character. This very church to whom this text was addressed soon left her first love and ceased her first works. Our Saviour notices in another of these churches, &ldquo;Thy works are ready to die.&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, We see that from all these blemishes and defects they are to be effectually and completely freed, when they are &ldquo;presented before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,&rdquo; yea, &ldquo;without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing.&rdquo; They are now complete in their justification, for they are found in the righteousness of Christ; but soon they will be as complete in their holiness as they are in their justification. Now they are delivered from the penalty of sin, but then they will be freed from all the pollution of it. Now sin is dethroned in them, but then it will be destroyed. Now sin has no more dominion over them, but then it will have no more being in them.<p>Then we see, Lastly, What it is that achieves and finishes their glory. Why, it is this:-that they will no more have any &ldquo;spot or wrinkle, or any such thing.&rdquo; Sin, as long as it remains in the believer, is the source not only of his misery, but of his dishonour. What is the glory of God? He is &ldquo;glorious in holiness.&rdquo; Our glory must be like God&rsquo;s glory; and we shall never be completely glorified till we are holy even as he is holy. 


devotion:
<i> Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe thou shouldest see the glory of God? - <a href='B:500 11:40'>Joh 11:40</a>. </i><p>LET us, therefore, learn to confide in the Saviour. First, With regard to ourselves. Our state may be desperate as to relief from creatures, yet that is no reason why we should despair. Our case is not hopeless if he is nigh. If he comes our blind eyes shall be opened, our heart of stone shall be turned to flesh; he will make all things new. Do we feel our misery and danger? Through ail our perils he can bring us safe. Oh that we did more fully and implicitly believe in his all-sufficiency and goodness!<p>Secondly, With regard to others. There are parents whose children go astray. They are ready to despond. But they should never be tempted to give up praying and counselling the objects of their affectionate solicitude. Let us do all things in the name of Jesus; let us bring him in to our aid by faith. He can of stones raise up children to Abraham. Let us think of Manasseh, of Paul, of Bunyan. &ldquo;Strong is his arm, and mighty.&rdquo; But, says some, my case is desperate. My wound cannot be healed. The grave has received my father, my mother, my sister. Well, if he comes not to their grave, it is not because his arm has lost its power, but because his power is under the control of wisdom. But the fact is, he will go to that grave. The time is coming when he will look down from that elevation, and say to angels, &ldquo;Our friend Lazarus sleepeth, and I go that I may awake him out of sleep.&rdquo; And down he comes with the voice of the archangel, and changes the vile body,- <p>&ldquo;And every face, and every form, <p> Looks heavenly and divine.&rdquo; </i><p>And this is what Christians are all looking for. This subject is interesting to all, for he will visit every tomb and call all forth. But mark the result:-&ldquo;All that are in the graves shall hear his voice and come forth, some to the resurrection of everlasting life, some to the resurrection of damnation. The benefit is peculiar. The butler and the baker were both brought out of prison; but one was restored to the favour of Pharaoh, the other was hanged. That can scarcely be called a change which brings persons out of a bad condition to place them in a worse.<p>The sons and daughters of vice, who pamper the body, who nourish it in sickness, who spend so much time in dressing it, should remember that death will deliver those idolized bodies to the worm, and those neglected souls to the curse of God. Oh, what a dreadful bondage are thousands under! If they die in the vanity of their minds, they will rise in all the seeds of anguish, deformity, and pain which they have sown on earth, all rendered immortal! Immortal pain! immortal anguish! immortal sorrows! Oh, there is something so dreadful in all this, that we turn from it to the language of the apostle, and say, &ldquo;That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> My garden. - <a href='B:260 5:1'>Son 5:1</a>. </i><p>THE church is here compared to a garden. A garden has a very interesting aspect; and there are four gardens which may furnish us with ample materials for reflection and meditation. First, The garden of Eden, where man was formed, and where man fell.<p>Second, The garden of Gethsemane, where the Saviour oft resorted with his disciples, where he was &ldquo;sore amazed and very heavy,&rdquo; and &ldquo;his soul was exceeding sorrowful even unto death,&rdquo; &ldquo;his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground;&rdquo; where his favoured disciples &ldquo;could not watch with him one hour,&rdquo; where an &ldquo;angel from heaven appeared strengthening him,&rdquo; where he healed the ear of Malchus, and where he caused the soldiers, and Roman soldiers too, to &ldquo;go backward and fall to the ground.&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, The garden of Calvary, belonging to Joseph of Arimathea, where the Saviour was buried in a new tomb, wherein was never man laid, and from which he arose the third day, &ldquo;the Resurrection and the Life.&rdquo;<p>Fourthly, The Church. Now, the three former gardens were real gardens; the latter is a garden metaphorically considered only;-a spiritual garden, a garden for the soul and for eternity.<p>Observe, therefore, that a garden is a place selected, enclosed and fenced to keep it from intrusion; and that this is ordinarily compared with the surrounding common ground. And so we sing, and sing truly, too,- <p>&ldquo;Zion&rsquo;s a garden wall&rsquo;d around, <p> Chosen and made peculiar ground,- <p> A little spot enclosed by grace <p> Out of the world&rsquo;s wide wilderness.&rdquo; </i><p>A garden is a spot formed and arranged by labour and skill in distinction from what is natural; for there is nothing in the natural soil but weeds: all in it besides is sown or planted. And in the church we have the fruits of the Spirit, which &ldquo;are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.&rdquo; &ldquo;We are,&rdquo; says the apostle, &ldquo;his workmanship, created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.&rdquo;<p>A garden requires much careful attention. Something is always required to be done, in planting, or sowing, or weeding, or pruning, or propping, or preserving, or watering. And says God of his church, under this image, &ldquo;I the Lord do keep it;&rdquo; so that it has divine care. &ldquo;I will water it every moment.&rdquo; And, lest any hurt it, &ldquo;I will keep it night and day:&rdquo; nor will he ever relax his vigilance over it. And herein is the safety of believers, who are &ldquo;kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.&rdquo; A garden is a place of pleasure and delight. We are told that &ldquo;the Lord God taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in them that hope in his mercy;&rdquo; that &ldquo;the prayer of the upright is his delight;&rdquo; that their prayers are sacrifices with which he is &ldquo;well pleased:&rdquo; that their service is the odour of a sweet smell. In a word, it is also a place of profit too. It yields not only flowers but fruits.<p>The church is always &ldquo;filled with all the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God.&rdquo; Some gardens yield the owner his chief income. God derives his principal revenue of honour from his church. He has, therefore, said, &ldquo;I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory, the people from whom I derive my glory principally.&rdquo; And indeed God is more honoured by the ordinary actions of real Christians than by all the religious services of all the unregenerate men upon the earth. 


devotion:
<i> I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished and the pomegranates budded. - <a href='B:260 6:11'>Son 6:11</a>. </i><p>HE enters his garden to walk there; he enters it to enjoy his pleasant fruits there, for they are all his own. He loves to hold intercourse and communion with his saints. But here he speaks of entering it for another purpose, for the garden is his own, and it is so valuable that he will not treat it with neglect, or overlook it. No; &ldquo;I went down,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;to see the fruits of the valley;&rdquo; for the garden is low, and the church is lowly. &ldquo;I went down to see the fruits of the valley.&rdquo; He comes into his garden especially to examine the state of his church.<p>He looks down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there are any that seek after him. He said to Noah, &ldquo;Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation,&rdquo;- causing them all, as it were, to pass before him. And in the parable of the marriage-feast, we are told the king came in to see the guests, and saw there a man who had not on a wedding-garment. Why, he is continually inspecting his church. And how qualified is he for this! &ldquo;His eyes are as a flame of fire;&rdquo; distance and darkness are nothing to him.. &ldquo;The darkness and the light are both alike to him.&rdquo; &ldquo;The darkness shineth as the light.&rdquo; &ldquo;Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.&rdquo; There is no disguise that can screen from his penetration.<p>And what is his aim when he comes to examine? Not to ascertain who are learned, but who are &ldquo;wise unto salvation;&rdquo; not who are rich, but who &ldquo;are rich towards God;&rdquo; and whether &ldquo;our souls prosper.&rdquo; Yes, he &ldquo;comes down to see the fruits of the valley,&rdquo; to look after the reality of these fruits, to observe the degree of these fruits, whether we &ldquo;grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,&rdquo; according to the time of our standing, and the advantages with which we have been favoured. And our Saviour said, &ldquo;Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit.&rdquo;<p>Observe, it is not said, &ldquo;Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear fruit,&rdquo; but &ldquo;that ye bear much fruit.&rdquo; A husbandman does not call in his neighbours to go out and see and admire his field, or his meadow, if he has only an ordinary crop: no, but it is when he has an unusual one; then he says, &ldquo;Come; did you ever see any thing like this?&rdquo; Well, so it is here; and when his people increase with all the increase of God, when they are &ldquo;filled with all the fulness of God,&rdquo; then their profiting will appear unto all, and &ldquo;herein will their Father be glorified, that they bear much fruit,&rdquo; and so will they abundantly appear &ldquo;to be his disciples.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Cease ye from man whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of? - <a href='B:290 2:22'>Isa 2:22</a>. </i><p>PERHAPS there is nothing to a person of a tender spirit that is more productive of distress than disappointment in friendship; and it is well when the providence of God, as well as Scripture, thus addresses us. We can turn to him, as the church did in the days of Micah, and say, &ldquo;Therefore I will look unto the Lord, I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.&rdquo; Sometimes we lose our friends from infirmity, temper, ignorance, prejudice. Others of them,-who are rotten at the very core,- these were sure to fail us in the hour of distress. They were friends for prosperity.<p>As soon as ever David experienced the affliction which arose from the rebellion and treason of his son, when, with his head uncovered, and barefooted, he walked up the side of the Mount of Olives, where afterwards stood the garden of Gethsemane, in which his son and his Lord agonized, one ran to him and said, &ldquo;Behold, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.&rdquo; It was on this occasion that he said, &ldquo;It was not an enemy that did this; then I could have borne it: but it was thou, -a man mine equal, my guide, and my acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked to the house of God in company.&rdquo; Then it was that he said, &ldquo;Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness.&rdquo; Thus it was with Job. Job therefore says, &ldquo;My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away, which are black by reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid; what time they wax warm they vanish; when it is hot they are consumed out of their place.&rdquo; Thus it was with Paul: when he had appeared unto Cæsar, and when he was going to Home, in order to appear before the emperor, the brethren came down from Rome along the fine Appian Way, as far as Appii Forum and the Three Taverns,-fifty-two miles: when Paul saw this &ldquo;he thanked God, and took courage.&rdquo; Surely he could rely upon these in the evil hour.<p>Alas! no; not even upon one of them; and therefore says he, &ldquo;At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.&rdquo; &ldquo;To him that is afflicted, pity should be shown from his friend, but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.&rdquo; We may meet with cold sympathy, if it deserve the name; but, instead of assisting us in our trouble, many may seem to take advantage of our distress. 


devotion:
<i> God commanded me to make haste. - <a href='B:140 35:21'>2Ch 35:21</a>. </i><p>VIEWING this as applying to Christians now, let us observe on what the command is founded. There is a distinction between moral and positive duties. Positive duties are right because they are commanded; moral duties are commanded because they are right. They are founded on the very nature of things. The apostle therefore says, &ldquo;Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.&rdquo; It is commanded, but it is commanded because it is right. We may, therefore, always be satisfied with the revealed will of God, because we are sure that it is founded on rectitude. And here the commandment of God with regard to the important concerns and interests we have mentioned, &ldquo;to make haste,&rdquo; is founded on three principles.<p>First, He commands us &ldquo;to make haste,&rdquo; because of the importance of the thing itself. It is not a trifle; it is our life. We cannot neglect it without infinite loss, and plunging ourselves into lamentation and mourning and woe. If religion be any thing, it is every thing; and if it is important at all, it is all-important, or, as the Saviour calls it, it is the &ldquo;one thing needful.&rdquo; &ldquo;Godliness is profitable,&rdquo; says the apostle,-profitable unto solitude, profitable unto society, profitable unto prosperity, profitable unto adversity, profitable unto life, profitable unto death. &ldquo;Nay,&rdquo; says he: &ldquo;godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, He commands us to &ldquo;make haste,&rdquo; because of the limitation of our opportunities. We have only one season in which to regard these things; then all is over. &ldquo;There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor repentance, nor wisdom, in the grave whither thou goest;&rdquo; therefore, says Solomon, &ldquo;Whatsoever thine hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.&rdquo; But here several circumstances are to be mentioned in regard to this only season of attention. This only season is short. &ldquo;What is thy life? It is a vapour which appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away.&rdquo; This only season is uncertain as well as short. &ldquo;Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.&rdquo; &ldquo;Man,&rdquo; also, says Solomon, &ldquo;knoweth not his time; as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.&rdquo;<p>Then this only season has also much in it that is not applicable to any serious and important service. This is the case with the whole of infancy, and much of childhood and youth. This is the case very much with lawful business, and allowed recreation, and also necessary sleep. We may also observe that, of this only season for action, many favourable periods may fail before the close of it; and if the time continues, as Jeremiah says, &ldquo;the harvest may be past and the summer ended, while we are not saved.&rdquo; Then of this only season much is already gone. We have only a day, and with some the sun has risen very high. &ldquo;It is high time to awake out of sleep.&rdquo; And if this applies to all, with what force will it apply to those who have reached sixty, or seventy, or more! Thirdly, He commands us &ldquo;to make haste,&rdquo; because of the advantages to be derived from ardour. It is often said (and is literally true) that &ldquo;the lazy take the most pains.&rdquo; They make no progress, because every thing becomes a diversion or a hinderance. They have, therefore, to begin again and again.<p>How often have we succeeded beyond all expectation when we have applied ourselves with decision and vigour! There is a pleasure in acting with vigour, which the listless, and inert, and lounging, and yawning, never know. We are never in such a happy state of mind as when we are in a tone of application. For, say the slothful, &ldquo;See, there is a lion in the way: how shall I advance?&rdquo; But zeal clears the way of the lion, removes these impediments, and even turns them into auxiliaries. 


devotion:
<i> Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness. - <a href='B:290 32:1'>Isa 32:1</a>. </i><p>THE Saviour is revealed in the Scriptures under various characters, and as sustaining various offices and relations. He is revealed under the character of a Shepherd; and happy is the man who can say, &ldquo;The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.&rdquo; He is revealed as a Prophet, who leads us into all truth. He is revealed as a High-Priest, who puts away sin by the sacrifice of himself, and ever lives to make intercession for us. He is revealed as the King of Zion, who makes his people willing in the day of his power; he did not refuse the title of king even when Pilate pressed him, and said, &ldquo;Art thou a king, then?&rdquo; He said, &ldquo;Thou sayest that I am a king: for this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.&rdquo;<p>This regal view of the Saviour is the least agreeable to many. Some will talk of him as the Prophet of his people, and as their High-Priest; but, while professing to glory in his cross, they dislike his sceptre; and all unrenewed men upon earth unite to say, if not with their lips, yet with their lives, &ldquo;We will not have this man to reign over us.&rdquo; Yet, as a king, he derives a glory from every other character, and he gives a glory to every other character as a king. And the Scriptures, in prospect of his reign, calls upon the universe to exult in it. &ldquo;The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice, let the multitudes of isles be glad.&rdquo; Let us glance at four things with regard to his regal character.<p>The first regards his personal attractions. &ldquo;He is fairer than the children of men; grace is poured into his lips.&rdquo; Oh, how great is his beauty! Every image must be fetched from the lovely creation of God to do him some justice. Oh to see &ldquo;the king in his beauty,&rdquo; as Isaiah says. Those who have had one spiritual glimpse of him would forsake the whole world to gaze upon him, and have said, &ldquo;Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth I desires beside thee.&rdquo;<p>He is &ldquo;higher than the kings of the earth;&rdquo; he is &ldquo;King of kings, and Lord of lords;&rdquo; &ldquo;Of him the whole family in heaven and earth is named.&rdquo; He is the Lord both of the dead and of the living. &ldquo;On his head,&rdquo; said John, &ldquo;were many crowns.&rdquo; Yes, &ldquo;principalities and powers are made subject unto him, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come.&rdquo;<p>The third regards the blessedness of his subjects, all of whom may exclaim, &ldquo;The lines have fallen unto us in pleasant places; yea, we have a goodly heritage.&rdquo; &ldquo;Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.&rdquo; Who are safe compared with those &ldquo;who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation&rdquo;? Who are free like those who are brought into the &ldquo;glorious liberty of the sons of God&rdquo;? Who are rich like those who &ldquo;possess all things and can boast of the unsearchable riches of Christ&rdquo;? Blessed are such a people; yea, blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.<p>The fourth regards his duration. However loved or necessary any other king may be, he is mortal. But &ldquo;He lives, and blessed be our Rook, and let the God of our salvation be exalted;&rdquo; he &ldquo;lives forever and ever, amen; and hath the keys of hell and death.&rdquo; And the life of this King is the life of every one of his subjects too. &ldquo;Because I live, ye shall live also.&rdquo; Therefore Job, though he had been so stricken, and though he was such a sufferer, though he felt that the grave was ready for him, said, &ldquo;I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God, whom I shall see for myself, and not another.&rdquo; He lives,-yes, he lives to preserve his people, to provide for them, to guide them, to make them more than conquerors over all their enemies.<p>It was said to Darius by the courtiers who were round his throne, &ldquo;O king, live forever!&rdquo; We see. this among the Easterns in their adulation; when they address a man whose term of life is not more than threescore and ten years, and who may not live only half his days, we often find them crying out, &ldquo;May the king live millions of years!&rdquo; But here Christians may indulge the wish and be assured of the accomplishment; here every Christian may look at this King, and say,- <p>&ldquo;Millions of years my wandering eyes <p> Shall o&rsquo;er thy beauties rove; <p> And endless ages I&rsquo;ll adore <p> The wonders of thy love.&rdquo; </i><p>&ldquo;For he shall live, his name shall endure forever; his name shall be continued as long as the sun, and men shall be blessed in him; all nations shall call him blessed, and blessed be his glorious name forever and ever; and let the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen, and Amen.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. - <a href='B:730 21:4'>Rev 21:4</a>. </i><p>THE deliverance here assured has four characters. First, It is divine. &ldquo;God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.&rdquo; He alone can do it, and he is able to do it; he is &ldquo;the Father of mercies,&rdquo; &ldquo;the God of all grace,&rdquo; &ldquo;the God of all comfort.&rdquo; &ldquo;When he giveth quietness,&rdquo; says Eliphaz, &ldquo;who can make trouble? And when he hideth his face, who can behold him,- whether it be done against a nation, or a man only?&rdquo; He can pardon the greatest guilt; he can subdue the most fearful corruptions; he can make all things new.<p>Secondly, The deliverance is future. It is not said God does, but &ldquo;God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.&rdquo; Earth will always be distinguished from heaven. Whatever tabernacles we now rear, we shall soon have to take them down again; we shall soon hear a voice saying, &ldquo;Arise and depart ye; this is not your rest.&rdquo; There is a difference between the race and the goal. We are now running the race that is set before us, and we are required to run with patience; the crown is suspended on high. There is a difference between the warfare and the victory. We are now in the conflict; and, though it be the good fight of faith in which we are engaged, it is a trying one, and we often are led to say, &ldquo;So fight I, not as one that beateth the air.&rdquo; It is death that will proclaim the triumph and say the warfare is accomplished. There is a difference between the seed-time and the harvest. We are now sowing, and we are sowing in tears.<p>Thirdly, The deliverance is complete. God shall wipe away ALL tears. He wipes away some now, and, indeed, many now. In the course of our history and experience, how many has he already wiped away! But at what period here can a man say, &ldquo;Well, now my troubles are all over; now the storm has spent all its fury; now serenity has returned&rdquo;? Alas! &ldquo;the clouds return after the rain,&rdquo; and &ldquo;deep calleth unto deep.&rdquo; But then all the sources of distress will be dried up; then there will be &ldquo;no more death, neither sorrow nor sighing, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.&rdquo; Nothing shall be seen but joy and gladness, nothing heard but thanksgiving and the voice of melody; for &ldquo;when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away.&rdquo;<p>Fourthly, It is certain. We are commanded to rejoice in hope. There are thousands who are doing this, whose hope will issue in the bitterest disappointment. But this cannot be the case with the hope of the believer. His &ldquo;hope maketh not ashamed,&rdquo; because it is founded on the word of Him that cannot lie. It is firmer in its basis than the earth or the heaven: heaven and earth may pass away, but his word shall not pass away. &ldquo;God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> In thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. - <a href='B:230 16:11'>Psa 16:11</a>. </i><p>WE may consider this as importing the dignity of the believer&rsquo;s joy. There are many joys that are ignominious. Such are the pleasures so eagerly sought after by the men of the world. They are a shame to their possessors; they, therefore, require darkness; and it will soon be said to them, &ldquo;What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.&rdquo; There are other pleasures that are humiliating. We enjoy them in common with the brutes that perish, and perhaps in a far less perfect degree: the mind loves not to dwell upon them; we make them not the topic of conversation. We speak more highly of some other pleasures,-the pleasures of music, the pleasures of science, the pleasures of kindred and friendship; these are more noble and praiseworthy; but even in much wisdom there is much grief, and he &ldquo;that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow;&rdquo; and the knowledge of many of those things on which we may pride ourselves, and for which we may be admired by others, will soon be useless; for &ldquo;whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.&rdquo;<p>But the apostle speaks of another joy, and says, &ldquo;Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord;&rdquo; and there is not only an excellency in this knowledge, but there is also an excellency in this joy. It will bear examination; it will justify review. An angel may come and look into a Christian while he is rejoicing, and he will not have to blush; and the angel, if he were Gabriel himself, would approve and applaud. It is joy that reaches the noblest part of man; it enters the soul, it makes the soul &ldquo;glad with the light of God&rsquo;s countenance.&rdquo; There is nothing impure, nothing of dross, in this joy; it is as pure as the air of Paradise, it is as &ldquo;clear as crystal,&rdquo; as the water of the &ldquo;river of life&rdquo; proceeding from &ldquo;the throne of God and the Lamb.&rdquo; It ennobles the possessor; and therefore Isaiah says, &ldquo;The redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads.&rdquo;<p>This seems a strange kind of expression. What has joy, it may be asked, to do with the head? joy belongs to the heart. Yes, as to the feeling of it: but Isaiah is speaking of it as an ornament; he is comparing it to a crown that bedecks the brow of a Christian traveller and sparkles in the eyes of beholders, so that when they meet him they say, &ldquo;There is a distinguished character; there goes a great conqueror or a king; you see he is crowned!&rdquo; And there is nothing by which Christians can so recommend the religion of Jesus, and adorn the doctrine of Christ their Saviour, as this. It elevates the possessor. It makes him look down upon and despise the business of sin and the dissipations of the world, and relinquish these, just as a man who is full grown will give up the toys of childhood,-just as a thirsty man will turn away from the filthy puddle when he comes within sight of the fountain of living waters.<p>Those are exceedingly mistaken, therefore, who are ready to pity Christians because they think they are restrained from those amusements and those dissipations which seem essential to their very existence. But let such remember that Christians are not restrained from them: they are weaned from them; and they are weaned from them by the discovery and realization of something infinitely better. 


devotion:
<i> That ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness unto his marvellous light, - <a href='B:670 2:9'>1Pe 2:9</a>. </i><p>OBSERVE the duty enjoined: it is, &ldquo;that they may show forth the praises&rdquo; of their Benefactor and Deliverer. God has always had a grand object in view, and this object must be his own glory, for this reason:-as he is the greatest of beings, and the best of beings, every other end must be infinitely inferior to his own glory and honour. &ldquo;Of him, and to him, and through him, are all things, to whom be glory.&rdquo; All his works praise him, but his highest praise springs from his own redeemed and saved people. He says, &ldquo;This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise.&rdquo;<p>They do this passively and actively. He does not intend their religion to be an invisible thing, but that it is to be displayed. They are to &ldquo;show forth his praises;&rdquo; and they do this even in their sufferings. Therefore says the prophet Isaiah, &ldquo;Glorify the Lord in the fires.&rdquo; They do this when enabled to suffer according to his will. When Christians meet with an accident that lays them by from active services,-when months of affliction are allotted to them, and wearisome nights are appointed them,-they sometimes think their service for God is all over, when perhaps they are approaching the most useful period in all their lives.<p>For nothing strikes like facts; nothing impresses like the passive graces of Christians when in patience they possess their souls, when though they mourn they murmur not. Then what impressions are often made in favour of true godliness on the minds of beholders, when they show forth the praises of the Lord in their songs! Thus the Psalmist says, &ldquo;Sing, ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.&rdquo; &ldquo;Make melody in your hearts, singing praises unto the Lord.&rdquo; That is the way, according to James, to sing praises:-&ldquo;Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.&rdquo;<p>Our Saviour was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief for us, yet we read of his singing at the approach of his greatest agonies:-&ldquo;He sang a hymn with his disciples.&rdquo; We should sing personally, and not by proxy. We shall all sing in heaven, and not depend upon the choir there. &ldquo;That ye should show forth his praises:&rdquo; this is the only part of divine worship in which we resemble the heavenly world: there repentance will be hid from our eyes; there faith will be changed to sight, and hope into enjoyment; there the days of our mourning will be ended. And we are to show forth his praises, not only with our lips, but also in our actions and in our lives, &ldquo;by giving up ourselves to his service, and walking before him in righteousness and holiness all our days.&rdquo; But <p>&ldquo;Our days of praise shall ne&rsquo;er be past, <p> While life, or breath, or being last, <p> Or immortality endures.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> And before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the, goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. - <a href='B:470 25:32-33'>Mat 25:32-33</a>. </i><p>HOW lovely, glorious, and sublime are the appearances of nature! And yet all these are doomed to destruction. &ldquo;The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up.&rdquo; The animals are very superior to all inanimate productions. How remarkable are the qualities of many of them! while some of them surpass man in strength, the sagacity of others seems scarcely distinguishable from reason itself. Yet Solomon says, &ldquo;The spirit of the beast goeth downward, and the spirit of man goeth upward.&rdquo; For they are not moral agents, nor destined to give account of themselves to God. But no man ever perished, or ever will perish: he had a beginning, but he will have no end. He dies indeed, but &ldquo;the spirit returns to God who gave it.&rdquo; He dies indeed, but the body that enters the grave, and even sees corruption, will not remain there. &ldquo;All that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth: they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.&rdquo;<p>Men are not only God&rsquo;s creatures, but they are God&rsquo;s subjects too. He has given them not only appetites, but reason; not only passions, but conscience; he has given them not only blessings to enjoy, but laws to observe. They are capable of knowing his will; they are informed of it; they are bound to obey it. And &ldquo;we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ;&rdquo; for &ldquo;God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.&rdquo; Now, this is the subject here represented; and it is worthy our regard, that He who represents it here will himself occupy the chief place in the proceedings of that day, for &ldquo;he shall come to be our Judge.&rdquo; What a contrast he must have perceived, at the time he uttered these words, between his condition then and his future grandeur! He was then &ldquo;a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;&rdquo; &ldquo;He had not where to lay his head;&rdquo; &ldquo;He was despised and rejected of men;&rdquo; but then he knew, he felt, that &ldquo;before him should be gathered all nations,&rdquo; and that &ldquo;the Son of man should come in his glory.&rdquo;<p>Observe, &ldquo;all nations.&rdquo; It must, therefore, include our own. It must include the young, the old, the rich, the poor, the professor and the profane. These will not only be spectators, but they will be parties concerned. It is a solemn thing for a man to be judged of his own conscience. Oh, how pleasing is the approval of that sentence, of that deputy of God within! but oh, how intolerable its frown! &ldquo;The spirit of a man may sustain his infirmity, but a wounded spirit who can bear?&rdquo; It is a solemn thing for a man to stand before an earthly tribunal with his property, his liberty, and his life at stake, to leave the court acquitted of all charges, to return to the bosom of his family, or to return to be confined again, not for trial, but for execution; but all this is nothing, &ldquo;less than nothing and vanity,&rdquo; compared with the arrangements and decisions here announced. Men are now variously intermingled, and it would not be safe for a mortal to undertake the task of separating&rsquo; them; for, as the Saviour in the parable says, &ldquo;there would be danger lest, while he pulled up the tares, he should root up also the wheat with them; both, therefore, must grow together until the harvest.&rdquo; Many ends are to be answered by this intermixture now,-many with regard to the wicked, many with regard to the godly themselves.<p>And there is another reason to be assigned why the one is now imperfectly punished and the other is imperfectly rewarded; namely, that we are now under an introductory dispensation, that we are now in a state of discipline and trial. But hereafter comes a state of retribution:-&ldquo;And he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. - <a href='B:470 25:41'>Mat 25:41</a>. </i><p>THIS solemn sentence is designed not for declamation, but for belief. It has been given, not to be known, and explained, and comprehended, but to be left in undefined terrors, the forebodings of imagination. Let us, therefore, at once, passing by both the nature and duration of this punishment, briefly notice three things. The first regards its certainty. Let none imagine that these words will be found an idle tale. They are not the offspring of enthusiasm, nor the invention of priest-craft. No; the consciences of sinners often tell them so, notwithstanding all their wishes and endeavours to get rid of it. Such is the misery (however they may explain or soften it) that, if there were only a possibility or a probability of their enduring it, prudence would more than justify their submitting to all the self-denial which the gospel requires in order to avoid it. But before they can suppose that there is only possibility or probability in this case, before they can question the certainty of this sentence, they must prove either that he did not utter these words, or that, if he did utter them, they are unworthy of credence. What a task, then, a sinner imposes upon himself, before he can lay his apprehensions at rest and defy this denunciation! -that is, to prove either that the Bible is untrue, or that Jesus Christ is a deceiver.<p>The second regards the state as not originally designed for man, but &ldquo;prepared for the devil and his angels.&rdquo; But when once prepared we see it will do as well for any other order of rebels, as well as for them. Those who do the works of the devil, having shared his guilt, will also share in his punishment. And thus they make the place their own, as Judas did; who, therefore, it is said, &ldquo;went to his own place.&rdquo;&lsquo;<p>The third regards the conduct of those who fall under this dreadful malediction. And here some may be ready to exclaim, &ldquo;Surely it must consist in crimes too great for human nature often to commit; surely the criminals must be Cains, or Pharaohs, or Belshazzars, or Herods, or Julians, or robbers, or thieves, or murderers,-murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers.&rdquo; No such thing: the criminals are not here so described. They were free from many vices; they lived in easy circumstances; they were approved of by many of their fellow creatures. What were they? They were dry-eyed and close-fisted; they were flint instead of flesh; they lived only for themselves. &ldquo;For I was an-hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in, naked, and ye clothed me not, sick and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an-hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer and say unto them, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this. - <a href='B:250 7:10'>Ecc 7:10</a>. </i><p>&ldquo;REMEMBER,&rdquo; says Moses, &ldquo;the days of old; consider the years of many generations.&rdquo; And he extends this injunction to the beginning of the world:-&ldquo;Ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth.&rdquo; And we can do this; we have some information concerning the very earliest period of the human race. With regard to those who lived before the flood, indeed, our information is very brief and partial, not likely to gratify curiosity; but after the flood, with regard to the new world and the division of nations, and especially the concerns of one particular people, from whom, as concerning the flesh, the Messiah was to come, we have ample materials; and we have the advantage of knowing that these accounts are to be depended upon, because they were written by &ldquo;holy men of God, who wrote as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.&rdquo;<p>Before the close of revelation, however, we have also several useful pieces of uninspired civil history, and in great abundance afterwards, so that we can easily run back through ages and generations. For it is not with us as it is with some countries, where former times are only known by tradition, or by a few rude monuments of earth or stone. With the documents we possess, we can inquire concerning the former days. Only, in doing this, there are three cautious we should be careful to regard. The first is, to see that our aim in this be not only, or principally, mere amusement; but that we endeavour to derive lessons, mental and moral, and religious instruction, from the characters and the events recorded.<p>Secondly, We must be careful how we place implicit confidence in history, and endeavour to distinguish between fiction and truth. We know how hard it is to ascertain facts, even with regard to what occurs in our own day and in our own neighbourhood, and that we must inquire again and again, and how, while we are examining, one thing drops off after another, till at length the reality scarcely bears any correspondence with the report. What then must the greater part of all ancient history be? And in nothing is this caution so necessary as in ecclesiastical history, which was nearly all written by the parties themselves,- that is, churchmen, popish churchmen, who always endeavoured to exalt themselves at the expense of others, and to represent any who differed from them as heretics, schismatics, or infidels. Hence a man familiar with such history has ventured to say, though extravagantly, that &ldquo;all ecclesiastical history is one continued lie.&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, We must relinquish the prejudice which Solomon assails when he says, in our present motto, &ldquo;Say not, What is the cause that the former days were better than these?&rdquo; No, the thing is not true; we ought to be wiser than the ancients, for we are much more ancient than they. Certainly the world is older now than it was ages ago. Surely mankind are not incapable of intellectual or moral progression and social improvement. Were the former days better than these as to benevolence and charity? Where were then the asylums for the blind, and various other institutions which have risen up to meet the necessities of suffering humanity? Were the former days better than these in the administration of justice with regard to civil liberty? How much better understood now are the rights of subjects and the limits of rulers! Were the former days better than these as to religious liberty? How little, formerly, were the rights of private judgment and of conscience understood! And were the former days better than these as to religion? What trammels has religion not thrown off in the fooleries of the past,-in the subtleties of the schools, in the enactments of superstition, in the decrees of councils, and in a thousand useless and silly decrees and controversies!<p>We may, therefore, well say, &ldquo;The lines are fallen unto us,&rdquo; not only in &ldquo;pleasant places,&rdquo; but in pleasant times; &ldquo;and we have a goodly heritage.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord. - <a href='B:230 119:65'>Psa 119:65</a>. </i><p>THE Lord&rsquo;s people will always have a good word to speak concerning their Lord and Saviour. If they are asked whether he has not been a good Master, they will tell us that he has never been unreasonable or severe in any of his demands. Ask them whether they have not had reason to speak well of his name: they will tell us, at the end of twenty, thirty, forty, or sixty years spent in his service, that he never has laid more upon them than he enabled them to bear. Our performances have been very poor, but he has smiled upon them, and has said, &ldquo;She hath done what she could.&rdquo; Some of his servants have been laid by through sickness, and could do nothing; but he has never sent them away to the hospital! No; but he has nourished them kindly at home. Some of them are now grown old, and can expect to do little or nothing for him now; but he has not forsaken them. He does not cast off his servants in the time of old age: he says, &ldquo;I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth.&rdquo;<p>And if we ask them whether he has not been to them a powerful Helper when they went to him pressed down with a sense of weakness, he said, &ldquo;Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.&rdquo; &ldquo;My strength shall be made perfect in thy weakness,&rdquo; and &ldquo;as thy days so shall thy strength be.&rdquo; They thought that such an approaching calamity would entirely overwhelm them, but with the season came the seasonable grace,- &ldquo;Grace to help them in time of need.&rdquo; They can now say, with David, &ldquo;In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.&rdquo;<p>And if we look back and see the stones we have erected all along the journey of life, some of them in secret places, but we know where to find them; some of them, perhaps, are now covered over with nettles and thorns; yet, removing these, we can read them again:- &ldquo;Hitherto,&rdquo; and &ldquo;hitherto,&rdquo; and &ldquo;hitherto, hath the Lord helped me.&rdquo; Yes; and has he not also been our kindest friend? &ldquo;As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you.&rdquo; Has this been too expressive of the tenderness of his consolation? When others have forsaken us, he has been with us even &ldquo;in trouble,&rdquo; and principally then.<p>As our Friend he has reproved us, but &ldquo;faithful are the wounds of a friend;&rdquo; and as Joseph, when he spoke roughly to his brethren, was obliged to turn away and weep, &ldquo;for his bowels yearned within him,&rdquo; so he has said, &ldquo;Is Ephraim, my dear son, is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him.&rdquo; He has corresponded with his people; he has visited them; and, when unable to go to his house, they have found him in the chamber of sickness, comforting them on the bed of languishing, and saying to their souls &ldquo;I am thy salvation.&rdquo;<p>And he has been to his servants, the best of portions. There was a time when we said, &ldquo;The Lord is my portion, therefore will I hope in him;&rdquo; &ldquo;Whom have I in heaven but thee?&rdquo; Our expectations from him, from that hour, were very large; and we were commanded to &ldquo;ask, that we might receive, that our joy might be full.&rdquo; And has he failed us? Has he not said to us, &ldquo;Have I been a barren wilderness, a land of drought?&rdquo;<p>And now, therefore, after so many past days, we are saying, He has done for me &ldquo;exceeding abundantly above all that I could ask or think.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Take therefore no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. - <a href='B:470 6:34'>Mat 6:34</a>. </i><p>PEOPLE are often very anxious about things which they never realize; but death, personal or relative, their own death, or the deaths of others, have shown them the vanity of these apprehensions. Some have dreaded a public calamity; but they were taken away from the evil to come, like Noah&rsquo;s father, a year before the flood. They have been distressed, because they had little or no provision made for old age; but they died before the evil day came. They were concerned because they had not laid up enough for their children; and their dear children only required of them the expenses of their burial. Ah, &ldquo;take no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.&rdquo; All our inquiries concerning the days to come are vain; yea, and these inquiries are improper, for the Saviour says, &ldquo;It is not for you to know the times and the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.&rdquo; No, they are wisely and kindly concealed from us. Three conclusions are derivable from this. The first is, That we should commit ourselves to God by prayer, that we may be prepared for all our future days, whatever may be their complexion.<p>Secondly, That we should beware of presumption, and say, &ldquo;The Lord shall choose mine inheritance for me.&rdquo; &ldquo;Go to, now, ye that say, today or to-morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away.&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, We should equally guard against despondency; for, though we know not what our future days may be, we know that nothing they contain in them will happen by chance. One thing we know:-that &ldquo;all the ways of the Lord&rdquo; towards us will be &ldquo;mercy and truth.&rdquo; One thing we know:-that &ldquo;all things work together for good to them that love God.&rdquo; And, therefore, this should ease us of a burden too heavy for us to bear; and we should &ldquo;be careful for nothing, but in every thing, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let our requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk even as he walked. - <a href='B:690 2:6'>1Jn 2:6</a>. </i><p>LET us remember that we must &ldquo;bear the image of the heavenly,&rdquo; as we &ldquo;have borne the image of the earthly;&rdquo; that the &ldquo;same mind&rdquo; must &ldquo;be in us that was in him;&rdquo; that we are Christians no further than we are &ldquo;joined to the Lord&rdquo; and &ldquo;of one Spirit;&rdquo; for &ldquo;if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.&rdquo; And are we then imitators of the good One?<p>Are we those who cannot &ldquo;condescend to men of low estate,&rdquo; who answer roughly, who despise the poor? Are these imitators of the good One,-of Him who said, &ldquo;Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls,&rdquo;- &ldquo;of Him who was &ldquo;in the form of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men&rdquo;?<p>Are those who are resentful, who, though it be &ldquo;the glory of a man to pass by a transgression,&rdquo; cannot forgive a trifling, perhaps an unintentional, offence in a fellow-creature or a fellow-Christian? Are these imitators of the good One, who said, &ldquo;Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,&rdquo; even while they were murdering him?<p>Are those who are slothful, who live but to eat, and to drink, and to slumber, and to saunter? Are these imitators of the good One,- of Him who said, &ldquo;I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day: the night cometh wherein no man can work&rdquo;?<p>Are those who are covetous, who join field to field and house to house, who only mind earthly things,-are these imitators of the good One,-of Him who said, &ldquo;Lay not up for yourself treasures upon earth,&rdquo; &ldquo;give alms of such things as ye have,&rdquo; &ldquo;and behold, all these things shall be added unto you&rdquo;?<p>And are the niggardly, who have this world&rsquo;s goods, and their brethren have need, and shut up their bowels of compassion against them, are these imitators of the good One,-of Him who, &ldquo;when he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich,&rdquo; &ldquo;who loved us and gave himself for us&rdquo;?<p>Are those who are prayerless, imitators of the good One,-of Him who rose up early before it was day and went into a certain place and there prayed,-who &ldquo;went up into a mountain and continued all night in prayer to God,&rdquo;-are these imitators of the good One?<p>Are those who mourn and repine under every trial by which they are exercised? Are these imitators of the good One,-of Him who, &ldquo;though a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief,&rdquo; yet in the midst of the church sang praises unto God, and said, &ldquo;The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?&rdquo;<p>Oh, happy is he who is able to say, with dear Bunyan&rsquo;s Pilgrim, &ldquo;I always loved to hear of my Lord; and whenever I saw the print of his shoe I wished to put my foot there.&rdquo; Happy they who can sing, with Dr. Watts,- <p>&ldquo;Such was thy truth, and such thy zeal. <p> Such deference to thy Father&rsquo;s will, <p> Such love, and meekness so divine, <p> I would transcribe and make them mine.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> Now, he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God. - <a href='B:540 5:5'>2Co 5:5</a>. </i><p>THE Christian&rsquo;s present attainments consist in God&rsquo;s work and God&rsquo;s bestowments. God has prepared his people for the whole, and he has given them a part; and this constitutes the present state of indulgence in which the Christian now is. &ldquo;Now, he hath wrought us (says the apostle) for the selfsame thing.&rdquo; This preparation is absolutely necessary. In vain should we have a title to heaven unless we have a meetness for it.<p>If people used the same common sense in religious affairs which guides them in the ordinary concerns of life, they would be preserved from many a mistake; and many of them would immediately see that, according to their present state, there is no probability or possibility of their happiness were they now to die. For common sense surely must tell them that every state and every office requires a qualification for it; and that the higher the state or the office may be, the more important and difficult it is to obtain the qualification becoming it. Common sense would tell them, if they referred to their own feelings, that happiness is not derived from any one thing, without a suitableness for it; it would tell them that happiness depends not upon the excellency of the object, but upon conformity to it. Common sense would tell them, if they appealed to their feelings, that that which is not wanted, which is not desired, which is not valued, would, if attained, afford them no gratification.<p>Therefore, the thing is whether we are now in possession of any thing that would enable us to relish and to enjoy heaven; not the heaven of pagans, nor the heaven of Mohammedans, nor yet the heaven of those who are only looking for exemption from distress and trouble, but the Christian heaven,-the heaven which is derived from the presence, the vision and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to his own prayer:-&ldquo;Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory.&rdquo; Oh, we could trust any Christian here upon this ground. We know his principles and dispositions. He has that in him which would enable him to relish and enjoy such blessedness.<p>But, secondly, He will remember and acknowledge with the apostle that this experience is as divine as it is necessary. He will allow that he has not wrought himself for the &ldquo;selfsame thing;&rdquo; that creatures have not wrought him &ldquo;for the selfsame thing;&rdquo; that the effect was above the production of education, of example, of moral suasion; that it was of divine operation. Hence it arises that it is frequently held forth by the figure of a creation, the figure of a resurrection, in order to remind us not only of the grandeur of the work, but of the ability of Him that hath performed it. Therefore the apostle says, &ldquo;He that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. - <a href='B:530 12:4'>1Co 12:4</a>. </i><p>MEN have always been wishing for uniformity; and, in religious concerns, how many have been sacrificed to that Moloch! While men have always been seeking after uniformity, God has always been producing variety. There is variety in the heaven of heavens,-cherubim and seraphim, angels and archangels, thrones and dominions, principalities and powers. There is variety in the skies:-&ldquo;One star differeth from another star in glory.&rdquo; There is variety in the seasons,-morning and evening, summer and winter, spring and autumn. There is variety in the productions of the earth,-in the forest, the field, and the garden. It would be strange, therefore, indeed, if we had nothing but sameness and equality and uniformity in the church of God. But it is otherwise: there are differences,-numerous differences.<p>If the subjects of divine grace are examined, there will be found differences among them. There are differences in their natural talents: one excels in memory, another in judgment, another in speech. There are differences in their natural tempers: some are sanguine and warm, others are cold and phlegmatic; some are bold as a lion, others are timid as a dove. In this view, what a difference was there between the severe Toplady and the candid Doddridge,-between the rough Knox and the mild Leighton, -between the forward Peter and the retiring John! There are differences in their very graces too: we have more zeal in one, more humility in another, more resignation in a third, more liberality in a fourth, and so of the rest. One is weak in faith, another is strong; one has a trembling hope, another possesses the &ldquo;full assurance of hope:&rdquo; yet all are partakers of His grace.<p>There are differences in their destinations, in their appointments, in their functions. One man is called to do a public work, and a public work requires great talents and strong passions, and he is furnished with them; another is called to move in private and domestic life, and he is fitted by those gentle qualities which embellish and adorn it. Now, let us observe what use the apostle makes of this diversity in the church of God. He applies it to two purposes. The first is to encourage those who feel that they are not what others are, but are yet parts of the same body too. &ldquo;If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, is it therefore not of the body?&rdquo; And then he applied it also to prevent pride and disdain among those who view others as not equal to themselves. &ldquo;The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee; nor, again, the head to the feet, I have no need of you.&rdquo;<p>Let us, then, operate according to our position, according to the functions to which God hath called us, according to our ability and our opportunity. 


devotion:
<i> He hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. - <a href='B:540 5:5'>2Co 5:5</a>. </i><p>AN earnest is a portion of payment, and, therefore, is very distinguishable from a pledge. A pledge is something returnable at the completion of the agreement; but an earnest remains, and goes on as a part of the bargain. Now, this is very instructive, and shows us what a Christian possesses in the agency and influence of the Holy Spirit; and the presence of these not only indicates a heaven, with regard to him, that is to come, but that he has something which partakes of that heaven: he has a part of it already; he has &ldquo;the earnest of the Spirit.&rdquo; &ldquo;We may consider heaven three ways. And in each of these we may see that he who has the Spirit of God has the earnest of it. It is a state of perfect knowledge.<p>The Christian has now the earnest of it in the illumination of the Spirit. The eyes of his understanding are opened, and he begins now to view things as he will view them hereafter in the irradiation of eternity when he enters the inheritance of the saints in light. Heaven is a state of perfect purity, and the Christian has the earnest of it in the sanctification of the Spirit. The Spirit has made him a partaker of God&rsquo;s own holiness. He has delivered him from the dominion and love of sin, he has renewed him in the spirit of his mind, and he has produced in him those principles which enable him to say, &ldquo;My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.&rdquo; Heaven is also a state of perfect enjoyment. It is joy, -&ldquo;a fulness of joy.&rdquo; It consists of &ldquo;pleasures that are for evermore.&rdquo;<p>Well, the Christian has the earnest of all this joy, of all those pleasures in what the Scriptures call &ldquo;the joy of the Holy Ghost.&rdquo; Christians are already blessed. &ldquo;Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day, and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.&rdquo; &ldquo;There remaineth, therefore, a rest to the people of God;&rdquo; but, says the apostle, &ldquo;We which have believed do enter into rest.&rdquo; They will, therefore, &ldquo;enter into peace;&rdquo; but now they have &ldquo;the peace of God, which passeth all understanding.&rdquo; They will, in heaven, dwell in his praise, and be still praising him; but now, even now, they are living, and are realizing the same blessed enjoyments, and can say, with David, &ldquo;I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.&rdquo;<p>Thus heaven, with regard to them, is not an unknown state. They have an acquaintance with it already; and they know more of it from their own experience than from all the sermons they ever heard, than from all the books they ever read in their lives. Heaven to them is not a future distant good only; it is a present indulgence. Heaven has entered them before they have entered heaven. They have everlasting life; they are &ldquo;made partakers&rdquo; of a glory that is to be revealed; and therefore, in the language of the apostle to the Hebrews, they are said to have already &ldquo;come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> From you sounded out the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. - <a href='B:590 1:8'>1Th 1:8</a>. </i><p>AND it sounded out from them in four ways. First, by their acting and living so as to render the gospel noted, remarkable, renowned. They adorn the doctrine of God their Saviour in all things, and ornaments are always noticed by others. As Dr. Watts sings,- <p>&ldquo;Then shall we best proclaim, abroad <p> The honours of our Saviour-God, <p> When his salvation works within, <p> And grace subdues the power of sin.&rdquo; </i><p>It is thus that we are to hold forth the word of life, by our tempers, by our lives, our actions, our sufferings, and our enjoyments.<p>Secondly, They sounded out the word of the Lord by their verbal announcement and recommendation. For this they had opportunities in conversation with individuals, and we have all these opportunities, more or less. They had these opportunities also when they travelled, whether their excursions were those of pleasure, or friendship, or business; for very much trade was carried on by the Thessalonians, owing to the fine port which they had; and so they had intercourse with all the neighbouring countries, and this was, in their case, overruled for good, this gave them opportunities of seeing others and addressing them.<p>There are some persons who travel without their religion: they are afraid or ashamed to have their religious connections known. But these Thessalonians, when they travelled, took their religion along with them. There are others who keep God out of their offices and warehouses and shops; for what business has God there? They are not concerned either to hold forth the spirit of the gospel, or to speak of divine things, while they are dealing with men in worldly concerns. But this was not the case with the Thessalonians: they took opportunities to drop something that might operate on the minds of those who heard them. It was said of the great Archbishop Usher, that when he was in any company he was accustomed to say, &ldquo;Let us not separate without a word of Christ.&rdquo; I wonder how this would be remarked if an archbishop of our day were to say this when surrounded with a company of modern divines.<p>The third way in which they sounded out the word of the Lord in all places was by their letters as well as by their discourses. The sentiment conveyed in a letter is often peculiarly impressive, because it is addressed to and appropriated by the individual.<p>And, Fourthly, They sounded out the word of the Lord by the messengers and missionaries whom they employed and sustained in the work of faith and labour of love. Now, we are not to suppose this was peculiar, or confined to them, though it was very much their practice in those various ways to sound forth the word of the Lord in every place; but we shall find the same disposition in all the partakers of divine grace recorded in the Scriptures. They all added to their personal religion relative zeal. Even David, hero and conqueror as he was, was a kind of preacher and teacher. &ldquo;Then,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;will I teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee.&rdquo; &ldquo;Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.&rdquo; Thus it was with the first Christians, as John tells us:-&ldquo;That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.&rdquo;<p>Thus Andrew, as soon as he had found the Messiah, brought his brother Peter. Peter, as soon he had found him, brought his friend Nathanael; and the woman of Samaria, as soon as she had found him, brought her neighbours to him. 


devotion:
<i> And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord. - <a href='B:590 1:6'>1Th 1:6</a>. </i><p>LET us view these Thessalonians as followers or imitators, for so is the word rendered in the margin. Observe, they &ldquo;became followers of us,&rdquo; says the apostle; that is, of himself, and his fellow-labourers, and his fellow-Christians; that is, they resembled them in their faith, their hope, their love, their patience, their holiness, and their good works. Let us enter a little into this. Man, as we all know, is an imitative creature. The first voluntary efforts that are made by children are always endeavours to mimic something which they have seen. But as man is a depraved creature, and as he is exposed to bad examples in this world as well as good, and more to bad examples than good, he naturally follows &ldquo;the multitude to do evil;&rdquo; and the question with him, therefore, concerning any thing, is not, Is it true? or, Is this reasonable? or, Is this righteous? but, &ldquo;What will people think or say of me? shall I not be seen? Why, all the Lord&rsquo;s people are &ldquo;a peculiar people,&rdquo; and it argues much more dignity of principle and purity of motive to advance alone than under the applause of thousands.<p>This disposition, we see, was in the case of the Thessalonians sanctified, for it was turned another way. For the men whom they now followed, or imitated, or copied, were few compared with the rest, and had nothing of a worldly kind to recommend them. No, they were esteemed as the very filth and offscouring of all things. Yet, with Moses, these Thessalonians &ldquo;chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.&rdquo; With David they could say, &ldquo;I am a companion of all them that fear thee, of them that keep thy statutes.&rdquo; So it always is when persons are made &ldquo;wise unto salvation:&rdquo; then they immediately see that &ldquo;the righteous is more excellent than his neighbours,&rdquo; and that of them &ldquo;the world is not worthy.&rdquo; They pray, &ldquo;Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.&rdquo; Then they forsake the sons and daughters of folly and vice, and run and take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, &ldquo;We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.&rdquo; But this is not all: &ldquo;Ye became,&rdquo; says the apostle, &ldquo;imitators of us and of the Lord,&rdquo; adding this, &ldquo;and of the Lord,&rdquo; for two reasons.<p>First, to show us their confidence, that they were persuaded that they were fully conformed unto Christ, and that those who followed them thus far would be followers of him. Therefore says the apostle to the Corinthians, &ldquo;Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.&rdquo; Did he mean to place himself upon a level, then, with Christ? By no means; but to assert that he knew he was walking in the same way, that he was influenced by the same principles, that he felt the same sentiments. And we must be conscious of this too; yes, we must remember that &ldquo;if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, To teach us that no men are to be our examples, any further than they resemble him; that we are not to give up ourselves absolutely to any leaders, however distinguished by gifts or graces. We are not to pin our faith upon their sleeve, nor to determine our actions by their practice invariably. No, they are all fallible. The wisest of men have their follies, the best of men have their faults: the wisest and the best of men, therefore, may lead us astray. Abraham denied his wife at Gerah. Moses spake unadvisedly with his lips. Job cursed the day of his birth. Peter said, with an oath, &ldquo;I know not the man.&rdquo; But here we have, in the Lord Jesus, an infallible pattern, and therefore we should give up ourselves entirely to his direction and influence, that it may be said of us also, &ldquo;These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished and the pomegranates budded. - <a href='B:260 6:11'>Son 6:11</a>. </i><p>THERE are three kinds of trees spoken of here. There are, first, nuts: indeed, it is called &ldquo;a garden of nuts.&rdquo; These trees abounded here, and formed rows, shady walks, and yielded fruit. Nuts are a very common and yet a very agreeable fruit, and very nutritious. Some, however, question whether hazel-nuts are here intended, or those of the almond kind. However this may be, here are also vines; and of these there are many species. There is nothing remarkable in the appearance of a vine. It is noticed for weakness; its tendrils always require support and to be sustained, and there they lean and flourish. But it is famous for fruit; and, indeed, but for this it would be good for little, for there is nothing valuable that can be made out of its wood; and, as Ezekiel says, were it not for its fertility it would be only fit for the fire. But nothing can equal its luxuriousness and fertility. And then we have pomegranates, concerning which we may observe, there is nothing of stateliness in its growth, but its blossoms are large, and the apples are exceedingly beautiful, and of a reddish colour without and within; and we may see how these trees were valued by the frequency of the reference to them in this song, and by Moses calling the land of Canaan &ldquo;a land of vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates.&rdquo;<p>The high priests&rsquo; long robe was to have attached to it, alternately, a golden bell and a pomegranate. Thus Moses said, &ldquo;Beneath, upon the hem of it, thou shalt make the pomegranate of blue, and of purple and scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about, a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about.&rdquo; And on the network which covered the two pillars of the temple, Jachin and Boaz, there were no less than two hundred thousand flowers of pomegranate courses. But, without making a comparison between Christians and these trees and vines and pomegranates, though they may all have their appropriate significancy, we find, however these trees may differ from each other, that all of them are actually growing in the same garden, having been placed there by the same Owner; and, however distinguished from each other, they stand in the very same state, and are in the same relation to him and to each other.<p>We learn from hence that we should not look for every kind of fruit from the same individual,-that we are not to go to the nutbush for grapes, or to the vine for the pomegranate. We cannot expect to find all these fruits upon the same tree: it is enough if each bear according to his kind. And we should not envy any, or wish to fill their places or to enjoy their opportunities, but use and improve our own talents; and those who have only one, and use and improve it, God will regard them as approvingly as if they had five. For &ldquo;the Lord looketh to the heart;&rdquo; and, where this is towards him, he accepts us according to what we have, and not according to what we have not.<p>Only we should remember the commendation he bestowed on Mary,-&ldquo;She hath done what she could,&rdquo;-and be concerned to gain the approving sentence which he pronounced upon one of the churches:- &ldquo;Thou hast laboured, and hast not failed. I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works, and the last to be more than the first.&rdquo; <p>&ldquo;Honour and shame from no condition rise: <p> Act well thy part, there all true honour lies.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> I went down to see whether the pomegranates budded. - <a href='B:260 6:11'>Son 6:11</a>. </i><p>OBSERVE, the great Husbandman visits his garden, not only to look after the flourishing of the vine, but the budding of the pomegranates, so that when our Lord comes to examine his garden he looks after the beginnings of grace. We may learn from hence that there are degrees in the divine life. There are in the household of faith babes as well as young men, and young men as well as fathers. There is in the spiritual as well as in the natural husbandry, &ldquo;first the blade, then the ear, and after that the full corn in the ear.&rdquo; There is in the shining of the sun the dawn and then the day. There is a difference between the bud and the blossom, and between the blossom and the fruit. But he looks after even the buddings of piety.<p>What are these buddings? Oh, that is a fine bud when a man no longer restrains prayer before God, but cries, &ldquo;God be merciful to me, a sinner!&rdquo; When his tear drops upon his Bible, and he says, &ldquo;Lord, save, or I perish!&rdquo; When he comes with weeping and supplication, and is led to the throne of grace, (for the Spirit of grace is always a Spirit of supplication,) oh, that is a fine bud, when the Saviour is no longer despised and rejected as having no form, nor comeliness, nor any beauty that we should desire him; but when the man begins to discern his loveliness, he begins to exclaim, &ldquo;Thou art fairer than the children of men, yea, altogether lovely.&rdquo; Oh that I could once call him mine! One of the earliest buddings of religion is love to the Lord&rsquo;s people, and tenderness towards them, and delight in them; when they are viewed by them as a sacred people, longing above all to have fellowship with them on earth and in heaven,-oh, this is a hopeful sign! It is a fine bud when a man begins to love the Lord&rsquo;s day, to call the Sabbath a delight, to long for it to return. It is a fine bud when a man begins to love the house of God as &ldquo;the place where his honour dwelleth,&rdquo; and when he begins also to love his Bible, and to read it as a new book, (for it is so now to him,) as a book that tells him what he has never thought of asking that book before,- &ldquo;What must I do to be saved?&rdquo;-though he had read it again and again; telling him &ldquo;how to come before the Lord and bow himself before the high God,&rdquo; and where he can find wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and redemption, and be &ldquo;blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.&rdquo;<p>But why does the Saviour look after the very buddings of grace, and value these? We answer, because they are his own producing, the work of his own Spirit in the heart. And because they are necessary; for, though there may be buds without fruit, there can be no fruit without buds; though there may be a beginning without advancing or finishing, there can be no advancing or finishing without a beginning. These things, therefore, are essentially necessary. And because also they are sure pledges of something more. They are not like other buds: other buds may fall, and they often do fall, without bringing forth any fruit unto perfection; but it is not the case here. &ldquo;We are confident of this very thing,&rdquo; says the apostle, &ldquo;that he that hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.&rdquo; And, says David, &ldquo;Thou wilt perfect that which concerneth me; thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever; forsake not the work of thine own hands.&rdquo; Then he does it because he sees perfectly what these buds will produce in good time.<p>What does he see in them? He sees in them the peace of God, sees in them pardon, sees in them the comforts of the Holy Ghost. Oh, there is heaven in that bud! There is an immensity, an eternity of glory and blessedness, in that bud! It will bring forth fruit unto life eternal. 


devotion:
<i> Most men will proclaim, every one his own goodness. - <a href='B:240 20:6'>Pro 20:6</a>. </i><p>LET us attend to this assertion, which expresses the commonness of self-applause. We may see it in this nation. What exultation and vanity! What extolling of our own laws, our own fashions, our own customs!-not to bless the Giver of all good, but to run down and disparage others. Thus the Jews called the Greeks &ldquo;dogs;&rdquo; and the Greeks accounted all besides themselves &ldquo;barbarians.&rdquo; We may see it also in churches. The Papists call themselves &ldquo;The Catholic and Apostolic Church,&rdquo; and admit of no salvation out of it. And how strangely do we hear Protestants speaking of other churches, (forgetting that by going back we can prove all are Dissenters!) With what arrogancy do some religious denominations speak of themselves! How do they censure those who cannot pronounce their shibboleth! How do they say, in the language of their early predecessors, &ldquo;Stand by thyself; I am holier than thou.&rdquo;<p>But let us pursue this subject more personally, lest we ourselves should escape; and, instead of regarding the faults of nations and of churches, let us be more forward to self-application. In the first class of those who proclaim their own goodness, we may place the profane. These tell us that they mean well; that their hearts are good,-as if the tree could be good and the fruit bad, or the streams be pure if the fountain were defiled.<p>Secondly, The Pharisees and the formalists. What attempts do these make to recommend themselves to others! Our Saviour gives an account of one of these. And, after all, what did this man say? Only that he was not so bad as one who was very bad,-that he was free from scandalous vices, and performed duties in which, perhaps, his heart had no concern! And it is amazing what a slender foundation some rest their hope of eternal life upon. Where there is no faith, no repentance, no spirituality, no walking with God, persons entertain a full persuasion of their safety, nay, of the excellence of their character.<p>Thirdly, The Orthodox Bigot,- those who have received their doctrines from men, while they are entire strangers to grace; whose religious opinions consist entirely in notions.<p>Fourthly, The Godly. Even these are guilty in a measure. Thus, Peter was guilty of this when he said, &ldquo;Though all men shall be offended, yet will not I. Though I die with thee, yet will I not deny thee!&rdquo; And did not the event prove this? Possessors of godliness may talk too much about themselves. If we know, if we have enjoyed, if we have done any thing in itself good, let another praise us, and not our own lips. Persons may even speak of their infirmities and imperfections, in the hope that others will compliment them. Some angle for praise with the bait of humility. Some persons complain of themselves in such terms, that if another had said, &ldquo;It is indeed true,&rdquo; they would never have spoken to him again. Alas! &ldquo;the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> A faithful man who can find? - <a href='B:240 20:6'>Pro 20:6</a>. </i><p>WE have here an intimation of the rareness of consistency. Who can find a man faithful, first, In his civil concerns? How do men run down and undervalue the article they mean to buy, and enhance the value of what they mean to sell! What deceit, equivocation, perjury, fraud, is practised between man and man!<p>Secondly, In his friendship. The true friend loveth at all times. But &ldquo;confidence in an unfaithful friend, in time of trouble, is like a broken tooth or a foot out of joint.&rdquo; He who attempts to eat with the one or to walk with the other would find it useless and painful. Job, David, and Paul found it so; and how was it with the Saviour himself? He suffered in all points like unto us; his disciples all &ldquo;forsook him and fled.&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, To his trusts. We are all stewards; and &ldquo;it is required of stewards that a man be found faithful.&rdquo; We are to consider all our endowments in the nature of a trust, all of which are to be employed for Him who conferred them upon us. Riches! Oh, what a trust is wealth! and how difficult to spend it as becometh Christians! Time! what a jewel! And the Scripture tells us to &ldquo;redeem the time.&rdquo; Authority! what a trust is this! Some are placed over families, and are faithless to their trust unless they &ldquo;bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.&rdquo; Some are servants; well, and these are stewards, and are to be faithful to their employers, not only not purloining, (this is only half,) but not wasting; and also showing all good fidelity, that they may &ldquo;adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.&rdquo;<p>Fourthly, To his convictions. Few are so hardened as not to have many of these. God only knows what many do with them. Some they assassinate, some they check, some they starve, some they put off, saying, &ldquo;Go thy way for this time.&rdquo;<p>Fifthly, To his religious professions. How many there are to whom the Saviour says, &ldquo;Why call ye me Lord, and do not the things which I have commanded?&rdquo; Why do ye assume the name of Christ and not depart from iniquity? A Christian is never more useful than when he avoids inconsistencies. But in considering the inconsistencies of others, we may push the matter too far and become censorious. There are many faithful men, and their number is increasing, and &ldquo;the Lord add unto them, how many soever there be, an hundredfold.&rdquo; And they are as excellent as they are rare. They have defects and blemishes; but even now &ldquo;their rejoicing,&rdquo; not their glorying, &ldquo;is the testimony of a good conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity they have their conversation in the world.&rdquo; Such men are likely to rise in the esteem of those around them; but if not, if men should overlook them, God has his eye upon them; if they are now beclouded, they shall soon shine in the firmament of God.<p>As the stars sparkle in the heavens, so do the promises of Scripture shine upon them:-&ldquo;For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory, and no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Who remembered us in our low estate. - <a href='B:230 136:23'>Psa 136:23</a>. </i><p>LET us contemplate &ldquo;our low estate.&rdquo; In doing so, we observe, first, That this is our natural state, but not our original condition. Man was made a little lower than the angels, and God gave him dominion over all his works. What completed his elevation was, that God created him in his own image in righteousness and true holiness; but here is the sad conclusion: -God made man upright, but he soon sought out many inventions. Mankind retain traces of their original grandeur.<p>Enough is left to convince a man that he is greatness in ruins. His fall is low even in comparison with his present powers, Man is still high in the scale of his capacities, being endowed with reason, conscience, and immortality. The expansion of his capacity and of his improvement is boundless. This is apparent in the knowledge that man can acquire of the arts and sciences; in his skill, in measuring the distances of the stars; in the achievements he is continually making to excite our wonder and admiration; but so much the more degraded does he appear, when we see him, with these capabilities, &ldquo;earthly, sensual, and devilish.&rdquo; What a sight for an angel!-an heir of immortality, &ldquo;led captive by the devil at his will,&rdquo; and a slave to his own appetites, passions, and vices!<p>Secondly, Let us consider him in relation to God. A creature never thinking of his Creator, -a child unmindful of his heavenly Father,-a beneficiary who never remembers his Benefactor. God is not in all his thoughts; and, if he ever approaches him, he is repulsed as an unwelcome intruder. He says unto God, Depart from me, &ldquo;I desire not a knowledge of thy ways.&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, Let us view him with regard to mankind. All his fellow-creatures are really his brethren; he is bound by the law of his being, to regard his neighbour as himself. But, alas, how one man is trying to take advantage of the ignorance and weakness of his fellow-man! How frequently is friendship but a mere commerce of advantage! government, a system of intrigue and corruption!-man seeking glory in fields of blood, in desolated houses and demolished towns, in weeping widows and fatherless children!<p>Fourthly, In relation to inferior creatures. So low has man sunk, that to humble him he is sent to learn wisdom of the beasts that perish. Yea, the Scriptures represent men as being lower than the beasts:- &ldquo;The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master&rsquo;s crib, but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.&rdquo;<p>Fifthly, Let us consider how low is man&rsquo;s condition with regard to his body. Paul calls it a &ldquo;vile body.&rdquo; How numerous its infirmities! How offensive its diseases, requiring all the force of friendship to discharge the common duties of humanity! And then, a few days after it has ceased to breathe, we must hide its shame in the earth; and then Abraham comes to mourn for his once fair and beautiful Sarah, and to weep for her, and says, &ldquo;Give me possession of a burial-place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.&rdquo; There is only one state lower, and that is Hell. And man is reduced to this:- <p>&ldquo;Buried in sorrow and in sin, <p> At hell&rsquo;s dark door we lay.&rdquo; </i><p>Alas! these are not exceptions, as some might suppose, from the general rule. We have not gone to the very dregs of society for our representations. We have the language of God in his word to set forth man&rsquo;s awful degradation. Here he is represented as being &ldquo;in a horrible pit, wherein is no water,&rdquo; as being in the &ldquo;region of the shadow of death,&rdquo; as &ldquo;ready to perish.&rdquo; And we are told that &ldquo;the whole head is sick, and the whole heart is faint;&rdquo; that &ldquo;from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot there is nothing but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores,&rdquo; and that &ldquo;the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked;&rdquo; &ldquo;for from within out of the heart of man proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness; all these evil things come from within and defile the man.&rdquo;<p>These views of human nature and of our natural condition, though very mortifying, are true, and not only true, but useful and necessary. They are necessary to explain the scheme of the gospel, and to prepare us for and induce us to seek after the blessedness it is designed to convey. 


devotion:
<i> Who remembered us in our low estate. - <a href='B:230 136:23'>Psa 136:23</a>. </i><p>WE are here called upon to contemplate and admire the divine remembrance. Though we have forgotten him, he has not forgotten us. Observe what is included in this. When we are called upon to remember all the way the Lord our God has led us in the wilderness, or when young people are exhorted to remember their Creator in the days of their youth, something more than an intellectual process is enjoined. It is a remembrance which combines all proper feelings and actions. So God&rsquo;s remembrance of us implies his regard, and this expression of it appears in five particulars.<p>First, In his providing a Saviour for us. This is the grand instance of his affectionate remembrance:-&ldquo;God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life.&rdquo; He sent not an angel, but the Lord of angels; not a servant, but his &ldquo;own Son,&rdquo; and &ldquo;his only-begotten Son;&rdquo; and surely &ldquo;he that spared not his own Son, but freely gave him up for us all, will with him freely give us all things.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, In furnishing us with a divine revelation. For what advantage could we derive from him unless we knew him? How could we call upon him of whom we had never heard? The dying patriarch said, &ldquo;Unto him shall the gathering of the people be;&rdquo; but how shall we repair to him unless we have been informed of him? But unto us is &ldquo;the word of this salvation sent.&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, In appointing the means of grace. This led him to set apart one day out of seven to recall man from all his cares to the consideration of the &ldquo;one thing needful,&rdquo; and to institute the Christian ministry, and to raise up a succession of those who should &ldquo;show unto men the way of salvation,&rdquo; and to &ldquo;devise other means, that his banished ones be not expelled from him:&rdquo; so he throws in the sinner&rsquo;s way a good book: he bereaves him of a friend, or takes away his worldly substance, or strikes down the wife of his youth; or sickness comes and seizes him, and, detaching him from the crowd, lays him upon a bed of languishing; and now he is brought with weeping and supplication to seek the Lord. &ldquo;Lo! these things worketh God oftentimes with man, to bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living.&rdquo;<p>Fourthly, In bestowing upon them supplies of grace. He says to them, &ldquo;O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.&rdquo; Zion said, indeed, &ldquo;My God hath forgotten me;&rdquo; but this was a wrong conclusion. &ldquo;Can a woman,&rdquo; says God, &ldquo;forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, she may forget. Yet will I not forget thee. Behold, t have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.&rdquo; So he sends them from time to time the influences of his Spirit, to make them equal to their trials and conflict.<p>And lastly, He does not forget to correct them when they need the rod, &ldquo;for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.&rdquo; And having in all these respects remembered us in our low estate, he will not now be unmindful of his promise:-&ldquo;Thy bread shall be given thee, and thy water shall be sure.&rdquo; &ldquo;The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong on the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him.&rdquo; And, says the apostle, &ldquo;All things work together for good to them that love God.&rdquo; And here the Psalmist says, &ldquo;Who remembered us in our low estate; for his mercy endureth forever.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. - <a href='B:530 13:13'>1Co 13:13</a>. </i><p>THE apostle here speaks of three graces, and compares them with other gifts, and with each other. In a former chapter he speaks of various gifts which were bestowed upon different churches, and says, &ldquo;Covet earnestly the best gifts;&rdquo; and then adds, &ldquo;And yet show I unto you a more excellent way.&rdquo; He unquestionably means the acquiring the graces of the Holy Spirit.<p>These extraordinary gifts might have been possessed by those who had not received the grace of God: this is plain from the language of our Lord, who says, &ldquo;Many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.&rdquo; Gifts, therefore, are no real evidence of true godliness, but the graces of the Spirit evince a change of heart and accompany salvation. &ldquo;The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in them that hope in his mercy.&rdquo; And he says, &ldquo;To that man will I look who is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and who trembleth at my word.&rdquo; It is also obvious that these extraordinary gifts were only of a temporary duration; they tended to establish Christianity, and were then to disappear. We have no substantial proof of their existence after the apostolic era; for, says the apostle, &ldquo;Whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.&rdquo; &ldquo;But now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three.&rdquo; These will be always first, and will always be necessary, in all ages and conditions of the church. We may here notice two things.<p>The first regards the meaning of the name. The word charity has now generally obtained a very defective signification, meaning alms-deeds, or the succour afforded to the indigent and afflicted. It does, indeed, include this; for &ldquo;whoso hath this world&rsquo;s goods, and seeth his brother in need and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?&rdquo; But then it comprehends much more than alms-deeds: its simple meaning is, love to God and love to man. These are inseparable in their principles and exercises. &ldquo;He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?&rdquo; &ldquo;This commandment have we from him, that he who loves God should love his brother also.&rdquo; And yet Paul here views charity principally with regard to our fellow-creatures, and as exercised in a way of benevolence and beneficence. This is obvious from the preceding verses. In examining the portrait, see what a painter Paul was, and how he makes the figure step forth from the canvas to display its beauty. &ldquo;Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoioeth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, we remark that the preeminence of charity, here assigned, is not universal. It is not the greatest in all respects: in some respects faith is greater than charity. We are &ldquo;saved through faith,&rdquo; not through charity; we are &ldquo;justified by faith,&rdquo; not by charity: &ldquo;The life which we live in the flesh we live by faith,&rdquo; not by charity. And in some respects hope is greater than charity &ldquo;we are saved by hope,&rdquo; not by charity. &ldquo;Hope is the helmet of salvation:&rdquo; this guards the head in the day of battle, not charity. &ldquo;Hope is the anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus,&rdquo; not charity. We do not, therefore, undervalue faith and hope. All the stars shine, but &ldquo;one star differeth from another star in glory.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The greatest of these is charity. - <a href='B:530 13:13'>1Co 13:13</a>. </i><p>ALL the daughters of religion do virtuously, but charity excelleth them all:-&ldquo;The greatest of these is charity;&rdquo; and this will abundantly appear from the testimony and authority of Scripture. There is the authority of God, whose judgment is always according to truth.<p>Are these words the words of Paul, and did he speak as he was moved by the Holy Ghost? Then unquestionably the greatest of these is charity. What besides, in these inspired records, has such titles and commendations? It is called &ldquo;a new commandment.&rdquo; It is urged by new motives, enforced by a dignified example,-an example the most complete and motives the most powerful. It is called &ldquo;the bond of perfectness.&rdquo;<p>What grace is there besides this of which it is said, &ldquo;It is the fulfilling of the law&rdquo;? Is this ever said of faith or hope? It is the end of the gospel as well as of the law; and therefore the apostle says, &ldquo;The end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.&rdquo; &ldquo;This is the commandment, that ye believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another.&rdquo;<p>This is what is called the &ldquo;law of faith,&rdquo; the badge by which others judge of the followers of Christ:-&ldquo;By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,-if ye have love one to another.&rdquo; It is the test by which ye are to judge yourselves. &ldquo;We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren;&rdquo; and in the proceedings of the last day it will govern the decision of the Judge of all.<p>For upon this the sentence will finally turn; graciously as to the righteous, but meritoriously as to the wicked. &ldquo;Then shall the King say, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto these my brethren, ye did it not unto me.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> A chosen generation. - <a href='B:670 2:9'>1Pe 2:9</a>. </i><p>IT is of Christians the apostle is here speaking. We allow there is an especial reference to the Jews as the commonwealth of Israel, and in an important sense the words may be exemplified in their privileges and prerogatives; they were indeed &ldquo;a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a peculiar people.&rdquo; But they were always designed to be typical of another, a nobler community. &ldquo;For,&rdquo; says the apostle, &ldquo;if we are Christ&rsquo;s then are we Abraham&rsquo;s seed, and heirs according to the promise.&rsquo; We may observe, therefore, while there is a reference to the Jews, the representation is intended to be significant of real Christians who, as the apostle says, are &ldquo;the circumcision, who worship God in the spirit, who rejoice in Christ Jesus, and who have no confidence in the flesh.&rdquo; We must not judge of persons by their outward rank, but by their spirituality.<p>The precious sons of Zion, says Jeremiah, &ldquo;comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter.&rdquo; But if they are afflicted they are comforted in all their affliction and distress. If they are poor in this world&rsquo;s good, they are &ldquo;rich in faith,&rdquo; and rich towards God. If they are despised and rejected of men, they are &ldquo;chosen of God and precious.&rdquo; They are here described as a &ldquo;chosen generation.&rdquo; A generation is a duration of beings measured by an age. Hence it is said, &ldquo;David served his generation according to the will of God;&rdquo; that is, he served those who lived in his days. A generation means posterity, and it is used for offspring. Thus, it is written, &ldquo;The generation of the upright shall be blessed.&rdquo; They are the seed which the Lord hath blessed. Of the Messiah it is predicted, &ldquo;He shall see his seed;&rdquo; and again, &ldquo;A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.&rdquo;<p>Mortality enters the church as well as the world. &ldquo;Our fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live forever?&rdquo; Those who are partakers of divine grace &ldquo;are not suffered to continue by reason of death.&rdquo; But if they die, others rise up in their room, and thus the generation remain, and will remain to the end of time; and the &ldquo;gates of hell&rdquo;-that is, of death and the grave-&ldquo;shall not prevail against them.&rdquo; But they are a chosen generation.<p>It is absurd to suppose that God does any thing without design, or that he does what he does without choosing to do it. This choice regards, not, as some persons imagine, things only, but persons, and not only persons collectively, but individually; and not only has a regard to temporal, but a reference to eternal, concerns. And this choice was not only free and sovereign, but altogether gracious. Therefore, saith the apostle, as the ground of his argument, because &ldquo;God hath from the beginning chosen you unto salvation, through the sanctification of the Spirit and the belief of the truth,&rdquo; they are &ldquo;a chosen generation.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> They do not return unto the Lord their God, nor seek him. - <a href='B:350 7:10'>Hos 7:10</a>. </i><p>THE history of the Jews is very peculiar. It abounds with miracles and wonders and signs, and, in perusing it, nothing strikes us more than the frequency and severity of God&rsquo;s reprimands concerning them. The general resemblance between them and us, and the non-improvement of means and mercies, is the ground of our present meditation. How far does this neglect of seeking the Lord extend? Are there no exceptions?<p>Yes, blessed be God, there are; for &ldquo;except the Lord of Hosts had left us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.&rdquo; We should have had no &ldquo;chariots of Israel, or horsemen thereof.&rdquo; We should have had no &ldquo;repairers of the breach,&rdquo; no &ldquo;restorers of paths to dwell in.&rdquo; But the language of Scripture is very awful upon this subject. Isaiah said in his days, &ldquo;There is none that calleth upon God, that stireth up himself to take hold of God.&rdquo; David says, &ldquo;There is none that seeketh after God.&rdquo; And John says, &ldquo;The whole world lieth in wickedness.&rdquo; Now, this language, if it does not imply universality, unquestionably expresses generality. Let us see, therefore, how far this testimony is true and is confirmed by experience and observation. For this purpose we will glance at five classes of delinquents.<p>In the first class we place infidels, who, if they do not deny the being of a God, deny his moral providence and government, and a future state, and even deem the revelation God has given us nothing better than a cunningly-devised fable. These do not seek the Lord.<p>In the second class we place the profligate. These hide not their sin as Sodom, but publish it like unto Gomorrah. Liars, swearers, blasphemers, the unclean, drunkards, these do not seek the Lord.<p>In the third class we place the careless. Though not vicious, yet they seem indifferent to every thing of a religious nature. Gallios, &ldquo;who care for none of these things,&rdquo; who &ldquo;cast off fear, and restrain prayer before God,&rdquo; who never read the Scriptures, never hear the word preached, never attend the house of God unless from the influence of reputation or connections, nor observe the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. Heaven is hid from their view; earth contains all they desire. To get money and spend it, to dress and adorn the body, to nurse it in sickness and pamper it in health, and to endeavour to answer the question, &ldquo;What shall we eat, and what shall we drink, and wherewithal shall we be clothed?&rdquo;-this engrosses the whole of their attention. These do not seek the Lord their God.<p>In the fourth class we place formalists. God requires truth in the inward parts, and &ldquo;in the hidden parts.&rdquo; He makes his people &ldquo;to know wisdom.&rdquo; &ldquo;God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth,&rdquo; or they do not, in his estimation, worship him at all. &ldquo;We read of some in the days of Isaiah, of whom he says, &ldquo;Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness and forsook not the ordinance of their God.&rdquo; But how was it really? Isaiah tells them, &ldquo;They draw near to him with their mouth, and honour him with their lips, while their heart is far from him.&rdquo; They sing, but not &ldquo;with melody in their hearts unto the Lord.&rdquo; They hear his word, but they are not &ldquo;doers of it.&rdquo; &ldquo;They have a name to live, but are dead.&rdquo; They have the form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof. What numbers of these are members of the Christian church and yet are not partakers of Jesus Christ! &ldquo;These do not seek the Lord their God.&rdquo;<p>In the last class we place partial seekers. There are very few but have some fits and starts in religion, who have not recourse to some religious exercises at different times and places and conditions; and they are not always insincere at the time. But, alas! their &ldquo;goodness is like the morning cloud and early dew.&rdquo; They begin in the Spirit, but end in the flesh. They run well for a time, but are hindered. Their religion depends upon external excitements, not upon internal principles, and, therefore, fails with the cessation of these excitements. Their religion is like a tree without a root,-it soon withers away; or like a land-flood, which soon flows off, because it has no living stream to supply it. &ldquo;They do not seek him with their whole hearts.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> They do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him for all this. - <a href='B:350 7:10'>Hos 7:10</a>. </i><p>HOW various and how numerous are the means which God is providing, and which he perpetually employs, as the preventions of sin and the excitements to holiness, or to induce men to seek the Lord their God! Of these, we may mention, first, The profusion of benefits, to draw men to God, &ldquo;by the cords of love, and the bands of a man,&rdquo; in nature, in providence, in grace; local advantages, commercial advantages, civil advantages, intellectual advantages; mercies new every morning; the day laden with his benefits, and on the wings of every hour a display of his patience and forbearance; all his works praising him, and calling upon us to do the same; never leaving himself without witness, in that &ldquo;he is continually doing us good, sending us rain and fruitful seasons, and filling our hearts with food and gladness;&rdquo; the earth filled with his riches, and the year crowned with his goodness. And, notwithstanding they are thus favoured, &ldquo;yet do they not seek the Lord their God for all this.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, The Scriptures in our own hands and in our own tongue. &ldquo;What advantage hath the Jew, or what profit is there in circumcision? Chiefly because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.&rdquo; We are indulged, and indulged in a much higher degree in this view. &ldquo;To us is the word of this salvation sent,&rdquo; and sent in its completest form; for we have, in addition to Moses and the prophets, the evangelists and the apostles. We have the blessed volume, containing the glad tidings of salvation, filled up with doctrines, precepts, promises, motives, principles, and addressed to every passion in the human bosom. And yet, notwithstanding, &ldquo;They seek not the Lord their God for all this.&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, The Gospel ministry, so that men can not only read the word, but hear the &ldquo;words of eternal life.&rdquo; They have the advantage of the living address of man to man. Yes, life has been periled by accident, so that there was but a step between them and death. And then sickness has seized them, and drawn them down to the very gates of the grave, through the bars of which they looked into an awful eternity, and shuddered and said, &ldquo;Oh, spare me, that I may recover strength before I go hence and be no more!&rdquo; and yet they do not seek the Lord for all this. Strange infatuation!<p>Fourthly, The power of conscience. Some men find that &ldquo;the way of transgressors is hard,&rdquo; and that it is very difficult to go on in sin as they have done: conscience has waylaid them, like the angel with the drawn sword, threatening Balaam. Conscience has said to that man, &ldquo;Durst thou adventure? There is destruction in that course; there is death, there is hell, in that course. You are going to wade through the dearest blood of your soul, to plunge yourself into perdition. Oh, pause! Oh, forbear!&rdquo; But he goes forward, in spite of his reflections afterwards! Notwithstanding all this remonstrance of conscience, &ldquo;they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him for all this.&rdquo;<p>Then, fifthly, The various addresses, reproofs, admonitions, and encouragements, derived from their various connections. Yet &ldquo;they seek not the Lord their God for all this.&rdquo; Lastly, We may mention afflictions. Sometimes their schemes are broken off, even the thoughts of their hearts. Sometimes their worldly substance is decreased in order to induce them to seek in heaven a better and an enduring substance. Sometimes death comes into the family, and bears off &ldquo;the dear delights they once enjoyed and fondly called their own.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us. - <a href='B:560 5:1-2'>Eph 5:1-2</a>. </i><p>AS God, the supreme Being, is the perfection and the Source of divine excellence, the greatest honour we can ever possess is to be like him. Accordingly, we were originally made after his own image, and when we are new-made we are &ldquo;renewed after the image of him who created us in righteousness and true holiness;&rdquo; and when we are sanctified we are said to be &ldquo;partakers of the divine nature.&rdquo; Oh to be like God! to resemble him in his moral perfections,&rsquo;-to be holy, patient, tender, loving, like God! There are two things especially in which we are enjoined to resemble God: these are, giving and forgiving.<p>Now, in forgiving, our Saviour teaches us, when we pray, to say, &ldquo;Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.&rdquo; Now, all who use this prayer, and are implacable, ask God not to forgive them; for, says the Saviour, &ldquo;If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses.&rdquo; And what are the petty offences of our fellow-creatures compared with the number and aggravation of our offences against God? and yet &ldquo;there is forgiveness with him, that he may be feared;&rdquo; yet &ldquo;he is ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy to all that call upon him.&rdquo; Can a Christian, therefore, rise from his knees in malice, or retire in malevolence? Hence, said the apostle, &ldquo;Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil-speaking, be put away from you, with all malice; and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ&rsquo;s sake, hath forgiven you.&rdquo;<p>The other is in giving. Therefore, says the Saviour, &ldquo;Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you, that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. For he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.&rdquo; To be followers of God,-that is, to exercise impartial and benevolent conduct,-we must not say to the distressed, &ldquo;Go in peace, be ye warmed, and be ye filled, while we give them not such things as are needful for them.&rdquo; That is not the way God deals with us. Does he not give us all things richly to enjoy? Are not his mercies new every morning, and are we not daily loaded with his benefits? He spared not even his own Son, but gave him up for us all. &ldquo;Will he not, therefore, with him freely give us all things?&rdquo; &ldquo;As we have opportunity, therefore, we are to do good unto all men, especially to them who are of the household of faith.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The greatest of these is charity. - <a href='B:530 13:13'>1Co 13:13</a>. </i><p>THIS will appear in five respects:-First, as we have already remarked in the previous meditation, From the testimony of Scripture.<p>Secondly, Greatest in its divine resemblance. We do not resemble God by faith, or by hope, but we may resemble him by love, for &ldquo;God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him;&rdquo; &ldquo;and if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.&rdquo; Therefore, says the apostle, &ldquo;Be ye followers of God as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, Greatest in its disinterested nature. Faith and hope are both beneficial, but the advantage turns upon believers. They &ldquo;believe to the saving of the soul,&rdquo;-that is, their own soul; and they are &ldquo;filled with all joy and peace in believing.&rdquo; But &ldquo;charity seeketh not her own;&rdquo; she teacheth every man to &ldquo;look not on his own things, but also on the things of others:&rdquo; if it begins at home it does not end there. It extends its concern to friends, and relations, and neighbours; to the church, to the nation, and to the world. It may have its peculiar regards, and in its exercises it may be limited to opportunities, means, and resources; but this principle is of universal aim and tendency; and wherever it finds a human being it finds a brother, whatever his country, complexion, or condition may be. And while there are any &ldquo;sitting in darkness and in the region of the shadow of death,&rdquo; its prayer will be, &ldquo;Oh, send out thy light and thy truth, that thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.&rdquo;<p>Fourthly, Greatest in the eminence it produces. Paul enjoins the Philippians to think not only on whatsoever things are honest, and just, and pure, but also on whatsoever things are lovely and of good report; and he says to the Romans, &ldquo;He that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God and approved of men.&rdquo;<p>Fifthly, Greatest in its duration. &ldquo;Charity never faileth;&rdquo; faith and hope fail. Faith and hope, like tutors and governors, attend us while we are under age, but leave us when we enter upon our heavenly inheritance. They are like the scaffolding necessary to the erection of the building, which, when it is completed, is laid aside, while the fair mansion stands the wonder of all beholders; or they are like to a vessel which conveys Christians to the other side of the river and lands them safely there, and then it is wanted no longer, for they do not wish to go back again now that they have reached the better country. But they have reached that rest now. If any thing could make them willing to enter the vessel to return again, it would be the sanctuary in which they have so often seen his power and glory; but they are now in his temple above. They have now joined the spirits of just men made perfect.<p>Now their faith is turned into sight, and hope into enjoyment; while love will not only continue but increase; every hinderance to it will then be removed, and it will then be made perfect, while there will be fresh excitements to draw it forth to God forever. 


devotion:
<i> According to His mercy he, saved us. - <a href='B:630 3:5'>Tit 3:5</a>. </i><p>WE are here reminded of the source of our salvation. In common things we observe a distinction between mercy and grace. Mercy is exercised towards the miserable. Grace is favour bestowed upon the guilty and the undeserving. But in the Scriptures grace always includes mercy. When Pharaoh&rsquo;s daughter saw the infant Moses in the ark of bulrushes, her compassion was excited towards him: this was pure mercy. When Joseph saw before him his brethren, who envied him, and hated him, and, in intention, murdered him, instead of punishing them he not only promised them supplies, but assured them of his forgiveness: this was pure grace. And how fully does this apply to ourselves!<p>We were not only miserable but guilty, and not only guilty but undeserving, yea, ill and hell-deserving creatures. Therefore to this source the sacred writers attribute our recovery from the beginning to the end. Thus Peter says, &ldquo;According to his abundant mercy he hath begotten us again to a lively hope by the resurrection from the dead;&rdquo; and Paul here says, &ldquo;Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Lord, that, being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.&rdquo; The whole design of our salvation originates in and is secured by the purpose and grace of God. The plan was formed and accomplished long before we had a being. His love was, therefore, &ldquo;preventing and free.&rdquo;<p>Thus, while it gives us abundant encouragement, it excludes boasting, and disposes the believer to exclaim, &ldquo;Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name, be all the praise.&rdquo; Thus, in our approaches to God, we must come not as buyers, but as beggars, bringing nothing in our hands, but obtaining all we need of mercy and grace, for time and eternity, &ldquo;without money and without price.&rdquo; Thus the Publican sought and found mercy. Thus it was with the Prodigal: when he came to himself, he said, I will arise and go to my father, and say, Father, I have some claim upon you as a child, and you should overlook my youthful follies. No; but he says, &ldquo;Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy child: make me as one of thy hired servants.&rdquo; And how is he received?<p>When the father &ldquo;saw him a great way off he ran and fell upon his neck and kissed him,&rdquo; and we find he was not only clothed but adorned, not only fed but feasted, and the whole family was filled with ecstasy, and the house with joy and gladness. Indeed, the whole design of revelation is to encourage the hope of the penitent. Thus, &ldquo;what things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> A royal priesthood. - <a href='B:670 2:9'>1Pe 2:9</a>. </i><p>THE kingly and the priestly offices among the Jews belonged to different tribes. Judah had the sceptre, Levi had the censer. These were not found united in the same person; therefore, when king Uzziah stretched forth his hand to seize the censer in the temple to burn incense, his arm withered away. Before the law, in the time of the patriarchs, Melchizedek was priest of the most high God: and he was also king of Salem, which is, being interpreted, king of peace; therefore the apostle makes him a greater type of the Messiah than Aaron.<p>We read that Christ was anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows; for he, as Zechariah expresses it, is a priest upon his throne; that is, he is both King and Priest. His followers are called upon to resemble him. We are told they are made &ldquo;kings and priests unto God.&rdquo; Here they reign and they minister; they reign as kings over their spiritual enemies, and they will be &ldquo;more than conquerors through him that loved them;&rdquo; and they will wear crowns of righteousness, which shall not fade away. Then they also are priests ministering in things pertaining to God.<p>A priest must have an altar, &ldquo;whereof,&rdquo; says Paul, &ldquo;they have no right to eat, who serve the tabernacle.&rdquo; A priest must always have something to offer, and they &ldquo;offer spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.&rdquo; What are these sacrifices? A broken heart and a contrite spirit; alms, odours of a sweet smell, prayers and praises. And we are to present our bodies, says the apostle, &ldquo;as a living sacrifice unto God, which is our reasonable service.&rdquo; In some communities the term priest is applied exclusively to ministers. But this has no countenance in the New Testament. These are names which apply to the laity as well as to ministers. All who are the partakers of divine grace are there considered as sacred characters. They are a royal priesthood. 


devotion:
<i> He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them, on the Sabbath-days. And they were astonished at his doctrine; for his word was with power. - <a href='B:490 4:31-32'>Luk 4:31-32</a>. </i><p>OBSERVE the place,-Capernaum. Capernaum shared much of the Saviour&rsquo;s presence, for he was there nearly two years of his public ministry,-a longer period than he resided in any other place. Though it is here called a city, it was a poor insignificant fishing-town. Yet our Saviour says, &ldquo;Thou art exalted unto heaven.&rdquo; Why? How? Because he dignified the place by his presence, by his miracles, and by his teaching. But what says the Saviour in another place? &ldquo;And thou, Capernaum, who art exalted to heaven, shalt be brought down to hell; for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained unto this day. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee.&rdquo; The reason is, because answerable to our privileges are our responsibilities; because the greater our means and advantages the greater our sin if we neglect them; and the greater our sin the greater our condemnation.<p>Let us notice, secondly, the season,-&ldquo;The Sabbath-day.&rdquo; Not that he forbore on other days: his lips always dropped like the honeycomb; and whether he was in a private house, or on the road, or by the seaside, or upon the mountain, we find his lips preserving and conveying knowledge. Yet he always paid a particular regard to the Sabbath, and he would lead us to do so by his example: he would lead us to do the same also by his command; and he does this, above all, by the influences of his Spirit. Dr. Haweis has observed, in his Church History, that there never was a revival of religion in any age or country which was not characterized by two things,-a peculiar fondness for psalmody, and a peculiar regard for the Sabbath-day.<p>Thirdly, We may consider the teaching. &ldquo;We are not told what he taught, but we have a specimen of his teaching a few days before, when he was in Nazareth and in the synagogue, when he said, &ldquo;The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.&rdquo; He had the &ldquo;words of eternal life;&rdquo; and, his enemies being his judges, &ldquo;never man spake like this man.&rdquo;<p>And lastly, We may observe the impression produced. &ldquo;They were, all astonished at his doctrine.&rdquo; One of the first emotions which is ever produced by his word, when it enters the mind, is astonishment. Every thing seems wonderful. The things in themselves are not new, but our perception of them and our experience are new. The sun had shone before, but the blind man never saw it till his eyes were opened, and therefore it was now to him. But here, alas! the astonishment was a mere temporary excitement, an idle wonder, passing off &ldquo;like the morning cloud and early dew, which soon pass away.&rdquo;<p>&ldquo;His word was with power.&rdquo; Not the power of compulsion, dry official authority; not the power of paid eloquence, nor of mere reasoning and argumentation: no, but the power arising from influence, and this influence arising from his full knowledge, of the subject; from his felt acquaintance by the audience with the state of their hearts; from his &ldquo;commending himself to every man&rsquo;s conscience in the sight of God;&rdquo; from the motives which he adduced, throwing back the veil of futurity, showing them a world in flames,.a descending Judge, and hell and heaven following; and the combination of dignity and simplicity, majesty and mildness, which he possessed. He was all feeling, and never failed to make others feel.<p>His word is still accompanied with power. The apostle says to the Thessalonians, &ldquo;Our word came to you, not in word only, but in power and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance.&rdquo; The gospel is his word, and the gospel is &ldquo;the power of God to salvation to every one that believeth.&rdquo; What power is there in it to awaken, to comfort, to sanctify, and to preserve! 


devotion:
<i> In the synagogue there was a man which had a spirit of an unclean devil. - <a href='B:490 4:33'>Luk 4:33</a>. </i><p>LET us glance at the subject of this miracle. In the days of our Saviour, demons seem to have been allowed to seize and to possess the bodies of men in some extraordinary and inexplicable manner; to show, perhaps, more sensibly, his victories over the powers of darkness, which are invisible to us, and to prove &ldquo;that for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.&rdquo; The sort of spirit possessing is commonly designated from the state of the being possessed. You read of &ldquo;a deaf and dumb devil;&rdquo; that is, the man was deaf and dumb. Here he is called &ldquo;an unclean devil.&rdquo;<p>All devils are unclean; they are all sinful. They are unclean in their natures, in their passions, in their actions, and in all their endeavours to make men unclean,-that is, to love sin, and to live in the practice of it. This man, though not perhaps old in years, was filled with the sins of his youth. His sin was now made his punishment. Satan had entered him corporeally as well as spiritually,-for he always possesses the soul of men. He that is governed by envy has the spirit of an envious devil; and he that is governed by malice has the spirit of a revengeful devil; and he who lives in chambering wantonness and sensuality has the spirit &ldquo;of an unclean devil.&rdquo;<p>All sin is of a defiling nature; and while any sin rules in a man, this sin keeps up a connection with the enemy of his soul, and he is &ldquo;led captive by the devil at his will.&rdquo; There are some who deny diabolical agency, but thereby they prove it the more, for &ldquo;he blinds the minds of those who believe not.&rdquo; And the apostle says, he is &ldquo;the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.&rdquo;<p>Observe, Secondly, The scene of this miracle. The subject of this possession &ldquo;of the spirit of an unclean devil&rdquo; attended in the synagogue. This is no unusual thing. When &ldquo;the sons of God&rdquo; came to present themselves before the Lord, we read, in the book of Job, that &ldquo;Satan came also, and presented himself among them.&rdquo; He is excluded from heaven indeed, but Adam and Eve found him in Paradise, and our Saviour found him in the wilderness. Where can we be now so as to be inaccessible to him? He is said to be in the world, for &ldquo;the world lieth in the wicked one;&rdquo; but let none imagine that they are inaccessible to him when they are alone. Ah! David found him when he was alone on the housetop. Wherever we are, therefore, we should remember the words of our Saviour, &ldquo;Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.&rdquo; We may find him at the throne of grace, standing at our right hand to resist us; at the Lord&rsquo;s table, endeavouring to draw off our minds from the dying of the Lord Jesus; and we may find him in the house of God now, in our days. Satan has much to do in the synagogue,- much more than in many other places.<p>In Macgowan&rsquo;s &ldquo;Dialogue of Devils&rdquo; there is this relation:-Two infernal spirits having met, one of them very warm and weary, the other cool and lively, after a little explanation it was found that he who was cool and lively had been to the play-house, where he had nothing to do; where they were all with him; where they were all of one mind, all doing his work. Whereas the other, who was warm and weary, said, &ldquo;I have been at a place of worship, and I had much to do there: to make some sleep; to induce some to hear for others instead of themselves; to lead the thoughts of some, like the fool&rsquo;s eye, unto the ends of the earth; to pick up, as fast as I could, the seed which was sown in the heart; and to turn away the point of the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, lest it should pierce even to the dividing of the soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and be a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. - <a href='B:230 103:17'>Psa 103:17</a>. </i><p>THE truth of this declaration is apparent, if we consider that from the beginning to the end of time mercy is attainable. We have met with many, and have read of many, who have obtained mercy. Hence we read of Manasseh, of Saul of Tarsus, of the murderers of our Saviour, of the Corinthian converts; and there are millions more who have obtained this mercy, whose names are not recorded in the Scriptures; and yet, notwithstanding all this, his mercy is undiminished. And what the Lord has done in showing mercy to thousands he is able and willing to do again. All who repair to him shall find mercy; and when all who are now the recipients of it have passed away, this mercy remains, and will remain, for their children&rsquo;s children, unto all future generations.<p>Hence we read of the &ldquo;sure mercies of David,&rdquo; and of the &ldquo;everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure,&rdquo; of an &ldquo;everlasting righteousness,&rdquo; and of being &ldquo;saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation,&rdquo; of &ldquo;everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,&rdquo; and also frequently of &ldquo;eternal life.&rdquo; And after justifying his people will he again condemn? No, says God; &ldquo;Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.&rdquo; After adopting them into his family, will he disinherit them? No, says God; &ldquo;Thou art no more a servant, but a son, and, if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.&rdquo; Nor, after displaying his mercy in delivering them from the bondage of corruption, will he suffer them to become a prey to sin and Satan; for, says the apostle to the Romans, &ldquo;Sin shall not have the dominion over you, for ye are not under the law but under grace.&rdquo; &ldquo;Being confident,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.&rdquo; Thus,- <p>&ldquo;Grace will complete what grace begins,- <p> To save from sorrow and from sins; <p> The work that wisdom undertakes <p> Eternal mercy ne&rsquo;er forsakes.&rdquo; </i><p>In all the changes of life and the ever-varying condition of our frames, amidst the rebukes of Providence and the hidings of God&rsquo;s face, when the Christian is ready to say, &ldquo;Is his mercy clean gone forever, and will he be favourable no more?" How cheering to know that &ldquo;his mercy is from everlasting to everlasting,&rdquo;- that it is and always will be in the purpose of his grace to save and bless us! Our relations may be removed by distance or death, and we may feel our own dissolution approaching; but of this we may be assured,-that, &ldquo;when heart and flesh shall fail, he will be the strength of our heart, and our portion forever.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Why then is all this befallen us? - <a href='B:70 6:13'>Jdg 6:13</a>. </i><p>PERHAPS there is hardly a truth that we hold, however firmly, but something far below ingenuity may embarrass by questions which wisdom itself may not be able to answer. And what wonder if this should be the case with regard to an infinite Being, who in none of his works, and by none of his creatures, can be found out unto perfection? Thus some have said, if &ldquo;God is love,&rdquo; how comes he to leave so much misery in the world, which he could hinder? Now, we admit the difficulty is great, very great; and there will be many things which we shall be unable to harmonize with the assertion of the Apostle John, -&ldquo;God is love.&rdquo;<p>This difficulty, however, no more belongs to Christians than to other men. All meet with it, all feel it; and as to a deist, he must feel it peculiarly. He believes in a God; but he believes that God is pure, omnipotent, and benevolent, therefore he denies a future state of misery. But he cannot disprove a present state of misery. He therefore only shifts the difficulty instead of removing it. Any misery in God&rsquo;s empire, since he could have prevented it, is inconsistent with the deist&rsquo;s notion of a Deity. And yet he goes on reproaching Christianity with what no more belongs to Christianity than to deism. Suppose Christianity had never appeared: suppose it was now destroyed: why, the case would remain the very same; misery would remain, disease would remain, and the sufferings of children too, who have not sinned after the similitude of Adam&rsquo;s transgression, would remain. God has much to explain hereafter. There is much in his government which seems to be at variance with the doctrine that &ldquo;God is love;&rdquo; but that does not prove the doctrine false.<p>All this is in appearance, and because we have not those views which God has, and which we shall have hereafter. Oh, let us distrust ourselves, and not dishonour God. &ldquo;If the tree is known by its fruit,&rdquo; let us remember that there are cases in which the fruit must be judged by the tree. For instance, now, if we knew a person who has been remarkable for wisdom and goodness, and has never done any thing incompatible with these all through life, we repose a kind of implicit trust in him; and should any thing be alleged against his character, what do we? Why, we give him credit till he has an opportunity to explain himself, and we deem it very disingenuous to judge of the whole by a part, and we would rather judge of a part by the whole.<p>Let us do the same with regard to the blessed God, and let us remember not only that our present faculties, are very limited, and that only small portions of the divine proceedings ever come under our observation, and that we are ignorant of the bearing of these upon others, and also of their issues with regard to the whole, but let us also remember that it is a part of our moral discipline to walk here by faith and not by sight. Let us remember, too, that we are now in a course of training; and if we are in training for a future and an invisible state, the principle of that training must be, and can only be, trust. We may be assured that all God permits is good and necessary upon the whole.<p>Men will hereafter be made perfectly sensible that they have been the authors of their own misery. 


devotion:
<i> God is love. - <a href='B:690 4:8'>1Jn 4:8</a>. </i><p>WHEN John says, &ldquo;God is love,&rdquo; he means to intimate not only that love is God&rsquo;s attribute, but that it is God&rsquo;s character. Indeed, we cannot apply the word character to God precisely as we do to men. Among men, character is always the consequence of habit, as habit is frequently the result of previous disposition; and always the result of repeated action. But when we say that love is God&rsquo;s character, we mean that he is peculiarly distinguished by it, and that all his perfections are, so to speak, so many parts and modifications of love. His wisdom is his love devising and arranging; his power is his love executing; his truth is his love fulfilling; his holiness is his love forbidding whatever would be injurious to us; his anger is his love chastening us for our faults and reducing us to reformation and repentance; and even his threatenings are the expressions of his love to us, as they are our guard and our warning, and are designed to prevent the very evils they denounce. God has written two huge volumes upon this subject: it would take up years and ages to read them through properly; all we can do, therefore, is to quote a chapter or a verse or two from each of them.<p>The first of these volumes is Creation. Creation is immense; but we fix upon our own world. &ldquo;The sea is his, and he made it; and his hands formed the dry land.&rdquo; &ldquo;The earth is the Lord&rsquo;s, and the fulness thereof,&rdquo; and it is filled with his riches. &ldquo;The day is his, and the night also is his;&rdquo; he &ldquo;makes the outgoings of the morning and the evening to rejoice.&rdquo; He has &ldquo;appointed the moon for seasons, and the sun knoweth his going down.&rdquo; He has made &ldquo;summer and winter.&rdquo; And all these seasons succeed each other in a regular order, and are prepared gradually to melt into each other without any disruption, and all of them bringing forward their appropriate advantages and pleasures, so that &ldquo;the year is crowned with his goodness.&rdquo; Then, as Cowper says, look at &ldquo;the sweet interchange of hill and vale, and wood and lawn, and land and water.&rdquo;<p>Then we may observe how obvious it is that God intended not only to provide for our wants, but our gratifications; not only for our support, but our delight. Eating and drinking are essential to our support; but our God might have rendered our food and beverage as nauseous as medicines. He has rendered them agreeable, so that in partaking of them we never think of necessity, but only of gratification. Why the perfume and the breath of the rose and the lily? &ldquo;Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these:&rdquo; it can only be designed for indulgence. The apple-tree yields a fruit important to man, but God could have caused it to yield this fruit without the previous process of blossoming: this was intended to charm us before he enriched us.<p>But we must just glance at the other volume,-the volume of Revelation, which is much larger and nobler than the first. God has &ldquo;magnified his word above all his name!&rdquo; &ldquo;Behold,&rdquo; says God, &ldquo;I create new heavens and a- new earth, and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.&rdquo; <p>&ldquo;God, in the person of his Son, <p> Hath all his mightiest works outdone,&rdquo; </i><p>sings our good Dr. Watts; and the apostle says that &ldquo;God hath shined into our hearts, to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ.&rdquo; And our Saviour himself said, &ldquo;No man hath seen God at any time: the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.&rdquo; But general reflections impress little compared with facts and incidents. The one is like surveying a prospect from a high hill; the other is like descending into the vale and examining all the contents of the particular scenes and objects.<p>The Apostle John, having asserted &ldquo;that God is love,&rdquo; immediately mentions an instance,-a peculiar instance, from which the very angels fetch their fairest and fullest proof of the doctrine; for, said he, &ldquo;Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. - <a href='B:690 4:10'>1Jn 4:10</a>. </i><p>LET us turn aside and behold, First, the grandeur and dearness of the gift. It was not an angel, but the Lord of angels; not a servant, but a Son,-his own Son, his only-begotten Son, &ldquo;the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person.&rdquo; &ldquo;Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.&rdquo; This gift insures and includes every other; &ldquo;for he that spared not his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely give us all things?&rdquo;<p>Behold, Secondly, The condition into which he entered. It was not the angelic state: this would have been a mighty condescension; but he descended still lower; &ldquo;he took not on him the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham;&rdquo; &ldquo;the Word was made flesh.&rdquo; Though man, absolutely considered, is nothing, yet he is otherwise comparatively and relatively viewed. But our Saviour never appeared in any of the superior forms of our nature. He lived a life of penury, and reproach, and persecution. Peter had a house of his own; John had a house; and &ldquo;the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.&rdquo;<p>There are few who are destitute of all sympathy and compassion; but, says he, &ldquo;I looked for some to take pity, and there was none; and for comfort, but I found none.&rdquo; There are none who are strangers to sorrow of some kind; and he was &ldquo;a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.&rdquo; But who can describe or imagine his inward sufferings when he was in the garden and was &ldquo;sore amazed and very heavy&rdquo;? when he said, &ldquo;My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death&rdquo;? when &ldquo;his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground&rdquo;? when he exclaimed on the cross, &ldquo;My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?&rdquo; And yet &ldquo;it pleased the Father to bruise him,&rdquo; and for our sakes, and for our recovery. We notice,<p>Thirdly, The unworthiness of the persons for whom he was sent thus to suffer and to die. Paul has been beforehand with us here:-&ldquo;When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly; God commendeth his love towards us, that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us,&rdquo;<p>Fourthly, Let us contemplate the beneficial consequences of the dispensation. &ldquo;In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.&rdquo; And &ldquo;God,&rdquo; says our Saviour, &ldquo;so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.&rdquo;<p>Let us notice, finally, The number of the partakers. It is a &ldquo;multitude which no man can number,&rdquo; compared in the Scriptures, sometimes to the drops of morning dew, sometimes to the stars of heaven, and sometimes to the sand of the sea-shore. Half mankind die in a state of infancy; and surely, if &ldquo;of such is the kingdom of heaven,&rdquo; here is half the human race mercifully disposed of at once. And as to the other half, how many would appear if we knew all! for the Lord has his &ldquo;hidden ones.&rdquo; How many have been saved already since the foundation of the world! How many are the subjects of divine grace now passing through this vale of tears! And oh, when we look forward to better times,-when &ldquo;a nation shall be born in a day,&rdquo; when &ldquo;he shall sprinkle many nations,&rdquo; when &ldquo;all nations shall fall down before him, and all kings shall serve him,&rdquo; &ldquo;and all flesh shall see the salvation of our God.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Oh, give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth forever. - <a href='B:230 136:1'>Psa 136:1</a>. </i><p>LET us notice the repetition of the leading sentiment of this psalm:-&ldquo;For his mercy endureth forever.&rdquo; Here is not only information, but a remembrance, which we should reduce to practice. This repetition seems often very necessary; we are so very apt to be forgetful and negligent. Hence our Lord instituted the Supper, and said to his disciples, &ldquo;This do in remembrance of me.&rdquo; &ldquo;Wherefore,&rdquo; says Peter, &ldquo;I will not be negligent to put you in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.&rdquo; And again, he says, this &ldquo;second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you, in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance.&rdquo;<p>The burden of this beautiful psalm is calling to remembrance the mercies of the Lord. No less than twenty-six times is this sentiment repeated. The sacred writers rejoiced in this subject; and how desirable it is that we should always keep it in mind! Let us observe the thanksgiving which it demands:-&ldquo;Oh, give thanks unto the Lord.&rdquo; Religion is a personal thing. So, when David, in another psalm, calls upon others to bless the Lord, he concludes with saying, &ldquo;Bless the Lord, O my soul.&rdquo; Alas! how little disposed are we to adopt his resolution, &ldquo;I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth!&rdquo;<p>It is said of Hezekiah, (and it was a sad blemish in his character,) that he &ldquo;rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him, for his heart was lifted up.&rdquo; &ldquo;How lamentable,&rdquo; says Dr. South, &ldquo;is it that a world so full of God&rsquo;s creatures should be so empty of his praise!&rdquo; David heaves a sigh five times, and says, &ldquo;Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!&rdquo; But our thanksgiving, in order to be accepted, must proceed from the affections of the heart. David therefore said, &ldquo;Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.&rdquo;<p>What is it that best praises a teacher but the proficiency of his pupil? What is the best commendation of a tree but the goodness and plentousness of its fruit? And &ldquo;herein,&rdquo; says our Saviour, &ldquo;is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit.&rdquo; Zacharias, the father of &ldquo;the Baptist,&rdquo; tells us that this is the grand design of God in redemption,-&ldquo; That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness, all the days of our life.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. - <a href='B:620 3:16'>2Ti 3:16</a>. </i><p>&ldquo;HOLY men of God,&rdquo; says Peter, &ldquo;spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.&rdquo; And, says Dr. Watts,- <p>&ldquo;The prophets&rsquo; pens succeed their breath, <p> To save the holy words from death.&rdquo; </i><p>We are here reminded of the origin of the Scriptures,-with the committing of the mind and will of God to writing. This is important for two purposes. First, because the knowledge of them must be preserved and extended. Without the knowledge of them they cannot be felt; they cannot be acted upon; they can neither become the rule of our conduct nor the source of our consolation. Therefore says the apostle, &ldquo;How can they believe on him of whom they have not heard?&rdquo; Therefore says God, &ldquo;By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many.&rdquo; Therefore says the church, &ldquo;That thy way may be known on earth, thy saving health among all nations.&rdquo;<p>And, Secondly, because there was no way of preserving and extending this knowledge to be compared to this. Thus, both with regard to extensiveness and security, Scripture surpasses oral tradition. We all know, in the common affairs of the world, how a thing is altered by repeated relation. There are some persons who never regard accuracy at all; others seem incapable of it,-some from lack of memory, others from fervency of feeling and circumstances; and it is well known how a single term will express too much or too little to define properly the true meaning of a case. It is proverbially said there is no believing one-half of what we hear. What should we have known of the history of our own country without written documents? A number of facts might have reached us orally, but then they would have been altered in the lapse of years; and therefore the earliest part in the history of every nation, previous to the acquisition of written records, is always deemed fabulous. And what was derived from this source when it was unrecorded became more and more indistinct and corrupt.<p>This was natural and unavoidable; but in the family of Abraham, and in the nations of the Jews, it was otherwise. There revelation was, after a while, committed to writing. Thus it became fixed and certain. Thus appeals could be made to it, and mistakes could be corrected by it. The original copy was kept in the ark of the Lord. Every king of the Jews, when he came to his throne, was commanded to transcribe it for his own use. At every public festival it was brought forth and read in the audience of the people. This would keep up an acquaintance with it. The pious would of course soon multiply copies, and they would lend and read these transcriptions to their relations, neighbours, and friends. The highest honour, therefore, that can attach to writing is, that by means of it the words of eternal life have come down to us unimpaired. And, as Dr. Watts says,- <p>&ldquo;The bright inheritance of heaven <p> Is by the sweet conveyance given.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> The word of the Lord endureth forever. - <a href='B:670 1:25'>1Pe 1:25</a>. </i><p>WE may, therefore, be persuaded of the stability of the cause of revelation. We may give to the winds our fears: they are unworthy of us, as they are entirely groundless. The church of Christ is not, cannot be, in danger. &ldquo;Upon this rock,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.&rdquo; The unbelief of man shall not make the word of God, says the apostle, of none effect. Men may oppose Christianity, they may burn the Bible, but they cannot destroy either the church or the Scriptures. &ldquo;Heaven and earth shall pass away,&rdquo; says the Saviour, &ldquo;but my word shall not pass away.&rdquo; &ldquo;My word,&rdquo; says God, &ldquo;shall not return unto me void; it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.&rdquo; Thus we read in the Acts that &ldquo;the word of the Lord grew and multiplied.&rdquo;<p>The waves may roar and dash, but while they beat against a rock they break only themselves. Satan, in our day, may be deceiving many; but yet we have, in thousands of cases, abundant proof that God is at work too. Has he not all his enemies under his control and under his subserviency? Oh, yes! the thunders that terrify will purify the air. God shows his government of the world in those confusions which seem likely to unhinge every thing; and he shows his care of the church in those perils and difficulties which seem likely to destroy it. Let us therefore apply the Scriptures to our own use, and to the purposes for which they have been given:-&ldquo;Whatever was written aforetime was written for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the Scripture, might have hope.&rdquo; &ldquo;These things,&rdquo; says the evangelist, &ldquo;are written that ye may believe on the Son of God, and that, believing, ye may have life through his name.&rdquo;<p>We are only trifling with the Sacred Book, unless we make it the means of leading our feet into the way everlasting. For to what purpose is it that we read it unless we receive the &ldquo;saying which is worthy of all acceptation,&rdquo;-unless it brings us to the Saviour,- unless it enables us to give ourselves up to him as poor, perishing sinners, knowing in whom we have believed? Oh, let us then seek the blessings it promises, attend to the duties it enjoins, follow its examples, and suffer them to govern us in our worship, in our lives, and in our calling. And let us be concerned for the diffusion of scriptural knowledge at home and abroad. What can we impart to our fellow-creatures equal to the bread and water of eternal life? And let us, whenever we have opportunity, speak highly of the gospel, and recommend it to others. 


devotion:
<i> A peculiar people. - <a href='B:670 2:9'>1Pe 2:9</a>. </i><p>WITH regard to Israel of old, God said, &ldquo;If ye will obey my voice and my word, then shall ye be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people, for all the earth is mine.&rdquo; God&rsquo;s design was to keep this people distinct and separate from all others; therefore we read that when they mingled with other nations and learned their ways they were no longer a peculiar people in character, and consequently no longer a peculiar people in privilege. God destroyed the fences which distinguished his heritage from common ground, so that the garden of the Lord became a waste, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. Now, all this can be easily applied to Christians. &ldquo;What fellowship,&rdquo; saith the apostle, &ldquo;hath righteousness with unrighteousness, and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial, or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God, as he hath said: I will dwell in them, and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.&rdquo;<p>Our Saviour says to his disciples, and to all his followers, in addressing these, &ldquo;Ye are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.&rdquo; This was the grand design of his mission:-&ldquo;He gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.&rdquo; This peculiarity begins with him. &ldquo;A new heart,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you. They have another heart, and it is not the spirit of the world, but the spirit freely given to them of God.&rdquo; This peculiarity will show itself outwardly in all proper ways. Not that this peculiarity requires us to differ from others in the common usages of life, or to abstain from the innocent customs which obtain in the neighbourhood wherein we live.<p>Peculiarity for its own sake is worthless; and regarding it thus is the proof of a vain mind which longs for distinction, and of a weak one that is unable to obtain it unless by trifles and by tricks. If our peculiarity goes no further than the use of the pronoun thou instead of you, or the shape of our apparel, verily it is of little importance, and may conduce to pride rather than humility. But when we can disentangle ourselves from others at the call of truth, duty, rectitude, or usefulness, when we can advance without company or commendation, when we can go forward suffering for righteousness&rsquo; sake and shine as lights in the world, this is above all praise! And in this way Christians are called upon to be a peculiar people.<p>Let us never, therefore, say, if we do so and so we shall be singular. Why, the very things in which we are required to be peculiar are those very things in which people desire to be peculiar. Persons are not afraid of being peculiarly wise, peculiarly rich, peculiarly honourable, and peculiarly valued. There is no beauty, there are no riches or honours, there is no learning or wisdom, to be compared with those that are found in the ways of godliness. In their hopes and fears, their pains and pleasures, all Christians are peculiar. And though it may be surprising to some, yet we may also add, that Christians are peculiar in their failings and infirmities, for their spot is the &ldquo;spot of God&rsquo;s children.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. - <a href='B:130 4:9'>1Ch 4:9</a>. </i><p>THE chapter of which these words form a part, and the former and following chapters, are full of genealogies. They seem to be the least interesting and profitable of all the parts of the Sacred Scriptures. Yet they are not without their use, especially as they ascertain the descent of the Messiah from the tribe of Judah and the house of David. But this passage breaks in upon us as a fine, well-watered, green, pleasant spot suddenly bursts in upon the sight of the traveller in a barren wilderness or a sandy desert. Let us observe what is said concerning Jabez.<p>First, With regard to his name. This was given him by his mother, who called him Jabez, which signifies sorrowful, &ldquo;because,&rdquo; says she, &ldquo;I bare him with sorrow.&rdquo; Among the Jews names were generally appellatives; and they were often given to signify and perpetuate particular events, with which the imposers were affected at the time. For instance, Joseph had two sons born before the years of famine; and Joseph called the name of the first-born Manasseh:-&ldquo; For God,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;hath made me forget all my toil and all my father&rsquo;s house; and the name of the second called he Ephraim, signifying fruitful.&rdquo; So we find with Moses: he had two sons; the name of the one was Gershom,-that is, a stranger, for he said, &ldquo;I have been an alien in a strange land;&rdquo; and the name of the other was Eliezer:-&ldquo;For the God of my fathers,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.&rdquo; And with regard to the name given to Jabez by his mother, perhaps she bore him in a very ill state of health; perhaps under great depression of spirits, and full of forebodings; perhaps she brought him forth in peculiar pain and sorrow; perhaps the expression refers to her external condition; perhaps (and this is exceedingly probable) her husband died while she was bearing, and thus it was her lot to bring forth a babe destined never to see a father&rsquo;s smile. What an affliction would this be! But there are various other afflictions to which mortals are born &ldquo;as the sparks fly upward,&rdquo; and every heart knows its own bitterness. We may be assured that it was not without reason that she called the child Jabez, saying, &ldquo;I bare him with sorrow.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, His honour:-&ldquo;And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren.&rdquo; The commendation is comparative. This may imply that his brethren also were honourable, though in a less degree. If it were said of some persons that they were &ldquo;more honourable than their brethren,&rdquo; it would not be saying much in their favour; but the language here is obviously designed to dignify Jabez. We are not told from whence the honourableness of Jabez arose,-whether he had signalized himself in war, or distinguished himself by his talents and learning, or whether he had been a magistrate or a ruler.<p>&ldquo;Them that honour me,&rdquo; says God, &ldquo;I will honour,&rdquo; and this should also be our rule of judgment: we should estimate men, not according to their adventitious appendages, but according to their real worth; and their real worth is their moral and religious character. And we have reason, therefore, to believe that the honourableness of Jabez arose from his piety, especially when we consider the testimony that is added. Let us also observe the connection between the two former particulars. His mother called his name Jabez, saying, &ldquo;Because I bare him with sorrow;&rdquo; but &ldquo;he was more honourable than his brethren.&rdquo; Did she live to see this? If she did, she learned from it, and we may learn from it too, that, as our comforts often prove our crosses, our afflictions often prove our blessings; and where is the Christian who has not found &ldquo;the valley of Achor a door of hope&rdquo;? 


devotion:
<i> And Jabez called on the God. of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep rue from evil. - <a href='B:130 4:10'>1Ch 4:10</a>. </i><p>FIRST, Observe the God to whom he prayed. He addressed himself to the one living and true God, and who is called &ldquo;the God of Israel,&rdquo; first, because he had appeared to Jacob and given him the name of Israel, saying, &ldquo;As a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed;&rdquo; secondly, because he had entered into covenant to be the God of the nation that should descend from his loins; and, thirdly, because he is now what he has always been,-a Being peculiarly concerned for the good of those who are &ldquo;Israelites indeed, in whom there is no guile.&rdquo; We address the same God as Jabez did. What a thought is this! He is no older now than then: -&ldquo;He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.&rdquo; Oh, what a pleasure is there in addressing the God of Israel as a known God, as a tried God, the God of our fathers, the God of our households, a faithful God who has always been &ldquo;a very present help in time of trouble&rdquo;!<p>Observe, Secondly, His prayer. Was this prayer at his setting out in life, or was it offered on any particular occasion? Or was it a prayer, the substance of which he had often made use of? However this may be, he was a man of prayer, and his prayer here recorded would never have been found in the hook of God, unless it had been offered &ldquo;in spirit and in truth.&rdquo; Let us notice the subject-matter of it; it is first expressed generally:-&ldquo;Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed!&rdquo;<p>By this we may understand God &ldquo;blessing him with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.&rdquo; There is a reality, an excellency, and a satisfaction in these; they pertain to the soul and to eternity; they can accompany us through the valley of the shadow of death, and stand by us when we appear before the judgment-seat of Christ. We must be concerned to add to the blessings of nature and providence the blessings of divine grace. As to temporal blessings, a man taught of God considers himself blessed indeed with regard to these, when God gives him a heart to enjoy them and to improve them, and when, along with them, comes the love of God.<p>Secondly, It is also particularly expressed. Persons differ in their conditions and circumstances, and therefore they pray every man accordingly. There is very little, as to our greater wants, but may be comprehended under three articles. Let us notice them both as to their temporal and spiritual bearing.<p>The first is, that &ldquo;thou wouldest enlarge my coast.&rdquo; If Jabez lived after the division of the Holy Land, and had to fight with and drive out the Canaanites, that he might more and more realize and possess the portion that was assigned him, the prayer is very striking, and can be easily explained. It will equally apply to the worldly state of the good man now. He will not indeed be avaricious, but he may pray that God would send him a competent support; that he may be able to &ldquo;provide things honest,&rdquo; not only in the sight of God, but also &ldquo;in the sight of man;&rdquo; that he maybe able to train up a growing family with credit, and that he may have wherewith to give to him that needeth; that he may &ldquo;walk worthy of the vocation wherewith he is called with all meekness.&rdquo; But where is the person who does not stand in need of spiritual enlargement? This &ldquo;enlargement of coast&rdquo; is the same which Paul enjoins on the Corinthians: &ldquo;Be ye also enlarged,&rdquo; says he; that is, obtain a more religious state,-more hope, more peace, more joy in believing.<p>The second article regards the divine assistance:- &ldquo;And that thine hand might be with me.&rdquo; This, as a prayer for success in all his enterprises, will apply still more to a Christian. How much has he to do in his spiritual vocation! To be active in serving his generation, and in private and public devotion to serve his God acceptably. But he feels his need every moment of the hand of God to be with him, &ldquo;working in him to will and to do of his good pleasure.&rdquo;<p>The third regards suffering:- &ldquo;And that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me.&rdquo; A suffering state is in itself a state of temptation, and a good man will pray, &ldquo;Keep me from temptation, that it may not grieve me,&rdquo; (the evil of suffering:) how much more may he pray with regard to the evil of sin, that it may not grieve him! Indeed, there is nothing that ever can or will grieve the child of God like this; and yet he well knows that he is liable to it, and altogether unable to keep himself; and therefore he prays, &ldquo;Hold thou me up, and I shall he safe.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> And God granted him that which he requested. - <a href='B:130 4:10'>1Ch 4:10</a>. </i><p>WITH regard to the prayer of Jabez, we observe, the Lord not only answered his supplication, but he answered it in the very thing he asked. This is not always the case.<p>God sometimes answers prayer in the way of equivalent. When our Saviour said to Peter, &ldquo;There is no man that hath left house, or parent, or brother, or child, or wife, for the kingdom of God&rsquo;s sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this present life,&rdquo; he did not mean manifold more houses, parents, brethren, or children; no, but more in value, more in quality, &ldquo;and, in the world to come, life everlasting.&rdquo; Sometimes God answers prayer by way of exchange, as we see in the case of Paul: when he sought that the &ldquo;thorn in his flesh&rdquo; might be removed, his prayer was answered; but how? The Lord said unto me, &ldquo;My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.&rdquo; Sometimes he indulges his people in the very thing they implore.<p>This was the case with Hannah, when she came to the temple and addressed Eli:-&ldquo;For this child have I prayed to the Lord.&rdquo; So it was here with Jabez: &ldquo;God granted him that which he desired,&rdquo;-that is, in the enlargement of his coast, assistance in the performance of every duty, and preservation from evil, that it might not grieve him. The blessings which come in answer to prayer always wear the best, and always relish the sweetest. This may be considered the testimony of Jabez himself with regard to the blessings he had received in answer to prayer. Jabez not only prayed, but observed whether his prayers were answered; and when he had observed the answer he made it known, in order to excite others, and to glorify God.<p>So did David: &ldquo;I love the Lord,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;because he hath heard my voice and my supplication, because he hath inclined his ear unto me; therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.&rdquo; &ldquo;Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.&rdquo; &ldquo;I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.&rdquo; But this may also be considered as the testimony of God himself concerning Jabez. It is not always easy for us to determine when our prayers are answered, and sometimes it is nearly impossible. But God always knows.<p>He can answer prayer without having gone out of the common course of nature and providence. He can answer prayer without miracle and without wonder. He can see the prayer answered, though the poor petitioner has said, &ldquo;Thou hast shut out my prayer.&rdquo; He can see prayer answered, when it is accomplished through &ldquo;terrible things in righteousness.&rdquo; Let this, therefore, prove an incentive to prayer, and to watching thereunto for answers to our prayers. God has expressly declared that &ldquo;For all these things I will be inquired of to do it for you.&rdquo; And prayer is as sure as it is necessary.<p>Have we not boldness and access with confidence by the faith of our Mediator? Is not God&rsquo;s very name a God hearing prayer? Did he ever say to the seed of Jacob, &ldquo;Seek ye me in vain&rdquo;? Has he not promised to pour out the Spirit of grace and supplication? and he prescribes the very petitions we are to present when we go to him:-&ldquo;Take with you words and turn to the Lord; say unto him, Take away all iniquity and receive us graciously, so will we render the calves of our lips.&rdquo;<p>If we read through the Bible, we shall find that from the beginning to the end it is a history of the value and success of prayer; and then we have the command and promise of the Saviour, &ldquo;Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for he that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Surely the. wrath of man shall praise thee. - <a href='B:230 76:10'>Psa 76:10</a>. </i><p>THIS is, indeed, far from being the natural design and tendency of it. In this sense, &ldquo;the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.&rdquo; But his wisdom and power are infinite; and by his overruling providence he causes the expression of human rage to conduce to the display of his own glory, and thus turns the curse into a blessing. The Bible abounds with instances of this, and a very striking exemplification will be found in the case of Jehoiakim, king of Judah.<p>Jeremiah was commanded to write on a roll all the words which had been denounced against Israel and Judah. This he did by means of Baruch, who not only transcribed the roll, but read it in the court of the temple of the Lord, the people standing underneath. Michaiah heard him, and related the substance to the princes, who were assembled in the scribes&rsquo; chamber, in the house of the king. The king immediately ordered Jehudi to go and fetch the roll. &ldquo;Now, the king sat in the winter-house, in the ninth month; and there was a fire on the hearth, burning before him. And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was burning on the hearth.&rdquo;<p>Vain rage! would this hinder the execution of the threatenings? Nay; it could not prevent the infliction of them. Jeremiah is ordered to take another roll:- &ldquo;After that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying, Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim, the king of Judah had burned.&rdquo; Nor was this all: the roll, instead of being eventually destroyed or injured, was even enlarged and improved. But since the days of Jehoiakim there have been, and there are to be found, persons who would destroy the Scriptures.<p>We seem to shudder at the very proposal; we wonder that any person should be capable of such an action as this wicked king, who cut to pieces the divine roll and threw it into the fire. About one hundred and seventy years before Christ, Antiochus caused all the copies of the Jewish Scriptures he could find to be burnt; and three hundred and three years after, Dioclesian, the Roman emperor, by an edict, ordered all the Scriptures to be committed to the flames; and Eusebius, the historian, tells us he saw large heaps of them burning in the market-place. We have heard of Voltaire and Paine, and other lampooners and revilers of the Bible, who have, by their deeds, more than betrayed the wishes of their hearts; and every wicked man, though restrained from burning the Bible, may be considered as an enemy to it.<p>Men make the Book their enemy, and then they become its enemies, and hate it, because it does not prophesy good of them, but evil. As Carlile, the infidel, said to Mr. Wilberforce, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll bear nothing from that book. How can you suppose that I can bear that book? For, if that book be true, I am a miserable man.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The Lord is a God of judgment. - <a href='B:290 30:18'>Isa 30:18</a>. </i><p>THERE are some who deny the moral attributes of Jehovah, and there are some who deny his punitive justice. By punitive justice we mean nothing of vindictiveness or revenge, but simply the love of rectitude, a determination to maintain law, and a resolution to punish crimes. There can be no government without laws, and laws are nothing without sanctions; and if laws be good in themselves they must be good in their execution. Crimes, therefore, are always punished in every properly regulated state.<p>We should not be able either to esteem or love God, if we supposed him destitute of it; if we suppose that, in his disposition and conduct, he would make no difference between truth and falsehood, between cruelty and kindness, between a Nero and a Howard: it is impossible that we could esteem or love such a being. He is the Supreme Governor of the world. Suppose we were to take before a magistrate the incendiary of our property or the murderer of our children, and he should turn away and say, &ldquo;This does not concern me: I do nothing that is cruel.&rdquo; Cruel! cruel! Why, it would be his kindness to the criminal that would be cruel, both to him and to the community. Why, the magistrate is only the minister of God for good, when he does not bear the sword in vain,-when he is &ldquo;a terror to evil doers, as well as a praise to them who do well.&rdquo;<p>Then there are others who practically deny this truth. &ldquo;Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, their hearts are fully set,&rdquo; Solomon says, &ldquo;to do evil.&rdquo; They are evil because God is good; because he is merciful they trifle with him, they continue to offend, yea, they lay hold of his numerous benefits, and pervert them into weapons of rebellion against their Benefactor. God is merciful, but he is only merciful through a Mediator. While, therefore, sinners neglect the Saviour, there is no more mercy for them than for a demon; they do not confess sin on the head of the appointed victim, and therefore the guilt of their sins rests upon their own head; their religion is no better than the worship of Cain, who brought God indeed an offering without a sacrifice, and God will not accept such offerings at their hand.<p>God is merciful, but his mercy is not connivance at sin; God is merciful, but he cannot be merciful to a sinner unless he delivers him from his sins. He is merciful, but it is to the broken in heart and to the contrite in spirit. &ldquo;If we confess our sins,&rdquo; says the apostle, &ldquo;God is merciful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.&rdquo; With regard to others he will say, &ldquo;Because they are people of no understanding, therefore he that made them will not have mercy upon them, and he that formed them will show them no favour.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> He is long-suffering to usward, nor willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. - <a href='B:680 3:9'>2Pe 3:9</a>. </i><p>MANY who do not deny the loving-kindness of God too frequently obscure and conceal it. They do not often, indeed, eclipse it totally, but partially. They do not lay a foundation for every man as a sinner: their scheme does not even allow them to use the language of Scripture itself. They make a distinction between God&rsquo;s secret and God&rsquo;s revealed will,-a distinction which, if men were to make and act upon in their worldly concerns, would be sure soon to obtain for them a disreputable character.<p>What God says in his word we should take just as it is, and believe him to be sincere when we are assured that he is &ldquo;long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.&rdquo; But there are those who employ the thunder of Sinai more than they do the still small voice of Zion. Solomon says, &ldquo;Strong wine must be given unto them that are ready to perish;&rdquo; but there are some who so dilute spiritual things as to leave no strength in them; they so encumber the grace of God with their hard conditions and qualifications that there is scarcely a possibility of hope for many while they feel as they do. The reason they assign is, they are afraid of presumption in men.<p>Why are they not also afraid of despair? Doubtless many more perish through despair than through presumption. Often, in secular affairs, many there are who need not have failed had they not desponded too soon; and in religious concerns, when the sinner feels that there is no hope he becomes desperate, and the desperation he feels links him to his unrenewed state, and he says, &ldquo;There is no hope: therefore we will walk every man according to his own desires.&rdquo; Let us always remember that the Scripture nowhere justifies the despair of any man. As Dr. Watts has expressed it in&rsquo; one of his hymns,- <p>&ldquo;No mortal has a just pretence <p> To perish by despair.&rdquo; </i><p>But there are some who &ldquo;refuse,&rdquo; as David says, &ldquo;to be comforted:&rdquo; and wherefore? &ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; they say, &ldquo;I am so unworthy! I am so guilty!&rdquo; intimating that if they were not so bad they could cherish a hope of being saved. This is at best a sort of self-righteous pride, operating under the show and pretext of humility; it must be destroyed, and all who are the subjects of it must be brought to submit themselves unto the righteousness which is of God,-must come to him as they are, naked, to be clothed, poor, to be enriched, guilty, to be justified. The language of the apostle, &ldquo;To him that worketh not,&rdquo;-that is, for this view and purpose,-&ldquo;but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted to him for righteousness.&rdquo; Let us remember that, if we do not deem ourselves too good, he does not deem us too bad, to be saved by him. All who now come and believe on his dear name, &ldquo;though their sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy. - <a href='B:240 14:10'>Pro 14:10</a>. </i><p>IN nothing are we more likely to be mistaken than as to the joys and sorrows of our fellow-creatures. Now, as to human sorrows, &ldquo;the heart knoweth his own bitterness.&rdquo; We see persons whose cup runneth over, in the midst of abundance; yet they are the victims of uneasiness, and grief seems to feed upon their very vitals. And this may have been caused by some reproach under which they lie, and from which they cannot free themselves; or from some desire they cannot realize; or unrequited affection, or kindness which meets with no return.<p>Some sufferers seem almost forbidden by their connections and conditions in life to make known the cause of their distress. Some are ashamed to make known the occasion of their griefs. Ahab falls sick, and takes to his bed: he is ashamed to own the reason, but it turns out that, although he is a king, he is pining for the piece of garden-ground belonging to Naboth. Haman goes home and cannot eat, and, after enumerating all his possessions, says, &ldquo;All this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai sitting at the king&rsquo;s gate.&rdquo; In how many instances are the sufferings of our fellow-creatures imaginary, though they appear real enough to those who endure them.<p>How much have Cowper, Howard, and others suffered! The &ldquo;thorn in the flesh&rdquo; may not be visible to us, because of the depth of its incision, but the pain it produces is not the less poignant: these are real sufferers, though the cause is not apparent to others. There are those who appear in company with a smile on their face, yet who retire to weep. Yes, these are real mourners. And let those who are the benefactors of our race remember this, and visit the widow and the fatherless in their affliction. But those who feel they cannot make known their sorrows to the dearest relation upon earth can retire and pour out their tears before God:- <p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;ll hear them in the painful hour, <p> And help them bear the heavy load.&rdquo; </i><p>Then, again, with regard to human joy: how little do we know of this! When the eye is thrown over society, one seems at a loss to conjecture what it is that delights some people. There are some persons who turn the Scriptures into ridicule, who wonder that their fellow-creatures can be happy in conditions and circumstances which would render them miserable. Thus it is that &ldquo;miser&rdquo; signifies a miserable man, and applies to one who possesses much, but who uses and enjoys nothing; and it is impossible for us to see what pleasure such a creature can feel in counting over his silver and gold, or what gratification he can take in his sordid hoardings.<p>There is the joy of the luxurious man, and of the sensualist: with these may we never intermeddle, but become acquainted with that joy which is the glory of a man. 


devotion:
<i> The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy. - <a href='B:240 14:10'>Pro 14:10</a>. </i><p>LET us consider this particularly with reference to Christians; and we observe, First, That religion has to do with the feelings; it is not confined to forms and ceremonies. The sacred writers knew these things; they considered the passions as original parts of human nature, and these are to be employed in the service of God. They all have their proper place and work; for how can we love God or fear him without feeling, according to the language of one of our hymns,- <p>&ldquo;True religion&rsquo;s more than notion: <p> Something must be known and felt&rdquo;? </i><p>Let us observe, Secondly, The variety there is in the Christian&rsquo;s experience. We here see he is the subject of both sorrow and gladness. Thus the Christian&rsquo;s present condition is of a mixed character, and alternating between clouds and sunshine.<p>What is the emblem of the Christian&rsquo;s state now? A bush burning with fire and not consumed; a vessel tossed with the winds and the waves. What is the motto of the Christian&rsquo;s life. &ldquo;We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; cast down, but not destroyed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.&rdquo;<p>We see in the Christian now the company of two armies,-nature and grace, flesh and spirit. &ldquo;The flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other.&rdquo; We see this exemplified in the representations of Scripture. The subjects of divine grace are spoken of as those who fear God, and who hope in his mercy; they are those who &ldquo;return and come to Zion with singing, and with everlasting joy upon their heads.&rdquo; And there are those who go forth with weeping, &ldquo;bearing precious seed,&rdquo; but who &ldquo;shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with them.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> A holy nation. - <a href='B:670 2:9'>1Pe 2:9</a>. </i><p>THE Lord&rsquo;s people, though they consist of large numbers and their number is every day increasing, are not an undisciplined rabble. Observe their nationality. They are a multitude of people under rule and order, laws and a Governor. The worst government upon earth is a thousand times better than a mere mobocracy, where every one does that which is right in his own eyes. God&rsquo;s people are under authority. They are all subjects. They have a King who reigns over them, and a King who reigns in them too; who &ldquo;puts his laws into their minds&rdquo; and &ldquo;writes them in their hearts;&rdquo; he &ldquo;makes them willing in the day of his power,&rdquo; and they then say, &ldquo;Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?&rdquo;<p>Secondly, They are a holy nation. Their holiness involves two things. First, Their separation from the world. Thus, under the law, the tabernacle and all the utensils thereof were called holy; not that they underwent a change, but because they were dedicated to the service of God,-&ldquo;set apart&rdquo; from common to special uses, from natural to spiritual uses. Thus we are told that &ldquo;the Lord setteth apart him that is godly for himself,&rdquo; in his purposes first, then by his grace and providence.<p>Then, Secondly, By the renovation of their natures. Thus they are holy, not only by dedication, but by transformation; to use the words of the apostle, being &ldquo;transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.&rdquo; And this change is absolutely indispensable. If God were to call an angel before him, he could employ him immediately, without a change; he would be prepared and ready for his service. But if God called a poor sinner in this way, he must &ldquo;work in him to will and to do of his good pleasure,&rdquo; and produce in him the principles and dispositions which will render his duty his delight, and enable him to say, after the example of his divine Lord, &ldquo;My meat is to do the will of my Father which is in heaven, and to finish his work. 


devotion:
<i> Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? - <a href='B:230 2:1'>Psa 2:1</a>. </i><p>WHAT has been the consequence of all the opposition against the cause of God and truth? What? Why, more abundant and zealous efforts in its diffusion; for inquiry is always friendly to truth, as darkness and concealment are friendly to error. And so also has it proved with regard to the sufferings of its followers by persecution. Here we have the testimony of an apostle who suffered as an evil-doer unto bonds, but he says, &ldquo;The word of God is not bound.&rdquo; And says he to the Philippians, &ldquo;I would ye should understand, that the things which have happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel, so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace.&rdquo;<p>The periods of suffering have always been the most glorious for Christianity: the brethren have been united and endeared the more to each other; the spirit of glory and of God has rested upon them; their sufferings have arrested attention and induced sympathy; the witnesses of their sufferings have been found to be impressed, and they have been led to inquire concerning the principles that could produce such effects. Therefore the blood of the martyrs has always been considered the seed of the church, and the more they were oppressed the more they multiplied and grew.<p>Dr. Watts, all poet as he was, said, (and who would not wish to join with him in the choice?) &ldquo;I would rather have been the author of Alleine&rsquo;s Alarm to the Unconverted, than the writer of Milton&rsquo;s Paradise Lost;&rdquo; but that was a prison production. What did the enemies of religion get by confining Bunyan so many years in the jail at Bedford? There, almost inspired, he wrote those works which will continue to incommode the powers of darkness to the end of the world. The divisions and parties that have sprung up among professors have amazingly alarmed some good men; and in their lamentations they have added terror to grief; they have talked of danger, not remembering that in a thousand cases variety is compatible with unity.<p>The differences which subsist among all those who hold the Head do not affect the oneness of the church. They are only so many branches which form one tree; so many members which form one body. By these they have always proved stimulative to each other. They have awakened and increased emulation and zeal, and religion has always been, upon the whole, a gainer by them. It has been found far more important for Christians to love one another, and exclaim, &ldquo;Grace be with all them who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity,&rdquo; than to peep together through the same keyhole of opinion.<p>And then the different parts of Scripture have also, in consequence of these divisions, been peculiarly attended to. One party has argued for the doctrinal part, another for the practical, another the disciplinary; and, in consequence of these, no part has remained unemployed or unheeded. If we thus view these things, and if we consider their consequences as they affect Christianity itself, it is obvious that even these have been over ruled for good; that even these, as they have given rise to parties and divisions, have caused each to have a salutary check upon the other; and that each has prevented the possibility of interpolation and alteration of the Scriptures.<p>Thus the cause of true religion lives through all; and the very things which seemed likely to destroy or injure it have proved the means of its benefit. 


devotion:
<i> Who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. - <a href='B:670 2:9'>1Pe 2:9</a>. </i><p>THE state referred to was one of great wickedness, wretchedness, weakness, and vice. This state is common to all mankind by nature. For, naturally, men are not found in different states, but in different degrees of the same state; all descended from the same source; and &ldquo;Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?&rdquo; Not one.<p>This, therefore, applies to the subjects of divine grace as well as others. &ldquo;We were sometimes foolish and disobedient, walking in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another;&rdquo; and after this the kindness and love of God through Christ towards man appeared. They therefore often look (but not half often enough) &ldquo;to the rock whence they were hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence they were digged.&rdquo; For they are not left where they were found. &ldquo;They were dead, but are alive again; they were lost, but are found;&rdquo; they were afar off, but they are made nigh; they were once darkness, but are now made light in the Lord, for he hath called them out of darkness into his marvellous light.<p>Observe the medium of their deliverance from this state. God himself called them. When men would execute their purposes they stand in need of instruments, and with all these, sometimes numerous and various, they fail in accomplishing their enterprise. But when God works, none can let or hinder. It is enough for God, in the production of his designs, to speak. It was so in the first creation: he only &ldquo;spoke and it was done, he commanded and it stood fast.&rdquo; He said, &ldquo;Let there be light, and there was light.&rdquo; He called things which were not, and they appeared. It is the same in the dispensation of his providence. He calls, it is said, for a sword, and it leaps out of its scabbard, and thousands arm themselves with instruments of destruction; he calls for a famine, and cleanness of teeth stalks throughout the land; he calls for a pestilence, and the cholera comes, and says, Whom shall I strike next? It is the same in all the operations of his grace.<p>He therefore derives his character from this:-&ldquo;Faithful is he who hath called you, who also will do it.&rdquo; This spirit cometh not from him who calleth you. Now, here our divines distinguish a twofold call. The one is common to all who are addressed by conscience, by afflictions, by reproofs, and by the examples of the wise and good, and by having opportunities to hear and to read the Scriptures of truth. But then there is another call, which they distinguish as internal and effectual. It is so because it is heard in the very conscience, and is obeyed from the heart; because now the end is answered:-they hear, and their souls live.<p>When God says, &ldquo;Seek ye my face,&rdquo; they answer, &ldquo;Thy face, Lord, will I seek.&rdquo; He calls on them to &ldquo;forsake the foolish and live, and walk in the way of understanding,&rdquo; and they comply; he calls upon them to believe on the name of the only begotten Son of God, and they are soon at his feet, crying, &ldquo;Lord, save, or I perish;&rdquo; he calls them to come out of darkness, and they obey. 


devotion:
<i> Who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. - <a href='B:670 2:9'>1Pe 2:9</a>. </i><p>OBSERVE the consequences of this call. The light into which he called them is distinguished by two appellations. First, It is divine. &ldquo;He calls them out of the darkness into his marvellous light.&rdquo; He is the Father of lights; all light is from him,- material light, mental light, spiritual light, the light of revelation, and the light of illumination. Therefore says the church, &ldquo;In thy light shall we see light.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, It is wonderful. He hath called us out of darkness into his &ldquo;marvellous light.&rdquo; It is marvellous in its greatness, in its clearness, in its influences, and in its effects. It sets a man a-wondering. If a person had been born in a mine, and had never seen any of the aspects of nature, and were to be raised up, and desired to look abroad, the first emotion, we may be assured, would be surprise and wonder. Thus it is really here. But here a question of some magnitude occurs:-To whom does this representation apply? All are willing to acknowledge its application to the heathen, for they were living in darkness, and perishing for lack of knowledge: when such are converted to Christ, doubtless they are called from darkness into marvellous light.<p>There are also some who have scarcely any notion of divine things, though they live in the land of Bibles. Now, as to such, when these things are presented to their minds, they press upon them with all the force of entire novelty, and of them it may he said, they are called out of &ldquo;darkness into God&rsquo;s marvellous light.&rdquo; But even with regard to those who have read and heard of these things, and have some loose speculative notions of them before, yet even these have been called &ldquo;out of darkness into God&rsquo;s marvellous light,&rdquo; when they are called by divine grace. They have then other views. Other views of sin, of holiness, of the Saviour, of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. All these things have become new; not new in themselves, but new to them; not new in existence, but new in their experience.<p>Thus the man whose eyes our Saviour had opened saw not a new sun, but the same sun that had ripened Isaac&rsquo;s corn and had been shining from the beginning; but it was new to him. Thus it is with these divine realities which he who has been enlightened beholds in -their beauty and glory. And even after conversion they are called &ldquo;out of darkness into his marvellous light.&rdquo; Thus they have fears, many fears, and he dispels them; they have doubts, and he removes them; they have perplexities, and he unravels them. Thus he fulfils the word, &ldquo;I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not, and in paths which they have not known; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight: these things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.&rdquo;<p>What will it be when he calls them out of the darkness of time into the marvellous light of eternity? A marvellous light, indeed, will that be! &ldquo;The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days.&rdquo; Oh, how marvellous will the Saviour then appear unto them! Though they have read and heard of him so much, they will find that the one-half has not been told them, &ldquo;when he comes to be glorified in his saints and admired in all them that believe.&rdquo;<p>There will be three things that will excite our wonder then. First, We shall miss some whom we expected to see. Secondly, We shall be surprised to find some there we despaired ever of seeing; this surprise, however, will not fill us with envy, but gratitude. Thirdly, We shall wonder to find ourselves there. 


devotion:
<i> I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. - <a href='B:520 1:16'>Rom 1:16</a>. </i><p>SO far from being ashamed of the gospel, we have every reason to admire it. Christianity is the only religion founded in love and requiring only love in return. As to other religions, they always want the assurance that &ldquo;God is love.&rdquo; The heathen only derived their confidence from nature and providence: by observing these they did see something to encourage hope; but then they found other things to excite their fear, and in their guilty minds (for every man is conscious of some guilt) the fear hath more power to operate than the hope. And this will account for it, that in the history of all superstitions we find they have not only been absurd and foolish, but they have always been cruel and bloodthirsty.<p>Our missionaries from abroad have always told us, among the heathen they have never found any thing like love, real love, or regard to their gods and goddesses. They only dreaded them, and therefore hated them; and this was an advantage in their conversion, that as soon as ever they could be assured of being protected from the resentment of their deities, they would trample them under their feet; they would throw them into the sea, or burn them in dressing their food. No, there is no religion of love but the religion of Christianity. We have reason not only to rejoice in the character but in the influence of Christianity too. This can never be fully appreciated.<p>The Jewish kings were, in general, very bad men; still, however, they had a little more humanity than the surrounding despots. Therefore it was said by the Syrians that the kings of Israel were merciful kings; because they had revealed religion, and this had produced a degree of humanity and tenderness which others had not. So we see that when religion comes into countries, it operates according to the degree of the truth and spirit in which it is received. We might be ashamed if there were not much more Christianity in Protestantism than Popery: but now compare these religions together, as to the countries in which they have rule; see what a difference there is.<p>Observe Scotland, and compare it with the state of Ireland. Observe the civil war after the French Revolution, when so many hundreds and thousands, as they fell into each others&rsquo; hands, were immediately butchered; and then turn to the time of the civil war here in the time of Charles the First,-not an instance of a private ever being butchered on either side, during the whole war. So it was in the American war: nothing of this was ever practised; none of those who fell into each others&rsquo; hand were treated with cruelty, or destroyed. Then, if we go to Spain, and see what they have done, and are doing there to this very hour, and see what a difference there is between Protestantism and Popery.<p>Is it possible such a religion as the gospel of Christ should ever be received without doing much good? Christianity was not only the power of God unto the salvation of many, but, where it did not operate savingly, yet what advantages did it produce! How it tamed the fierceness of the passions and the savageness of the manners of the heathen! In proportion as persons have imbibed its spirit, and received the truth as it is in Jesus, they have always been distinguished by their humanity, benevolence, and exertions to do good.<p>As Christians, therefore, we have reason highly to esteem the religion we profess, which comes to us with this proclamation, and with this aim:-&ldquo;Love is of God, and every one that loveth is born of God.&rdquo; &ldquo;Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known. - <a href='B:290 42:16'>Isa 42:16</a>. </i><p>WHAT could we do without such a Leader? The condition of men with regard to a future state is represented as being without God and without hope in the world. Man is a poor wanderer on the mountains of ignorance, a prey to every danger, liable to be led astray by his prejudices and passions, for &ldquo;wherein is he to be accounted of?&rdquo; He is &ldquo;alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in him,&rdquo; and if left to himself, he would, &ldquo;in the greatness of his folly, go astray.&rdquo; A man may go to hell without a guide, but he cannot go to heaven without one, or without a Leader, of whose guidance we are here assured. But-blessed be his name!-if we earnestly seek divine direction, he is willing to listen to our supplications, and to take us under his own peculiar guidance.<p>Hence the Christian can say, with David, &ldquo;He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name&rsquo;s sake.&rdquo; Thus the Church sung in triumph, of old, &ldquo;This God is our God forever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.&rdquo; Oh, what can equal the satisfaction derivable from the persuasion that we are under divine guidance, led by One almighty to save, to pardon, to indulge; patient to bear and able to deliver; wise to conduct and to make all things work together for our good? Let us first observe that the subjects of this guidance are blind with regard to their spiritual state. Though all Christians are children of the light and of the day, yet &ldquo;they were once wholly in darkness,&rdquo; and are still partially so; and were they not only in a measure enlightened, they would not stand in need of such a Director and Guide.<p>Let us also observe where he leads them:-&ldquo;I will lead them in paths they have not known.&rdquo; Now, this is true, first, with regard to their spiritual concerns. They were not born Christians, but they have been made such; and if now they differ from others, and from their former selves, it is because he hath &ldquo;called them out of darkness into his marvellous light.&rdquo; &ldquo;I will lead them in paths they have not known.&rdquo; What did they once know? They once felt convictions of sin, now they see its evil; they now not only feel an aversion with regard to it, but an abhorrence of it. What did they once know of faith and trust in the Redeemer? Now they can confide in him as their only foundation, and say, &ldquo;In the Lord have I righteousness and strength; yea, they can rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.&rdquo; Then what did they once know of a throne of grace? They heard prayer and supplication, and perhaps they &ldquo;said their prayers;&rdquo; but they now know what it is to come unto God by Him who is &ldquo;the way, the truth, and the life.&rdquo; They have now boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Christ; their fellowship is now with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. But they had not gone this way heretofore.<p>Secondly, With regard to their temporal concerns, God leads his people in a way which they &ldquo;have not known.&rdquo; What can we know of the future as to nations, families, or ourselves as individuals? Now, if we look back and contemplate the bounds of our habitation, our connections, our friends, our successes, our disappointments, as fixed by Providence, all appear surprising and rare. Perhaps, if much had been foretold us by a seer some years before, we should have been ready to say, &ldquo;If the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be?&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. - <a href='B:290 42:16'>Isa 42:16</a>. </i><p>HERE we view God as our Interpreter. We may observe five instances in which the Lord makes darkness light before his people, and crooked things straight. First, As to doctrine. It is not for us to determine with how much error in judgment real grace may be found in the heart. We find our Saviour one day putting his fingers upon the eyes of a blind man, who afterwards said, &ldquo;I see men as trees walking:&rdquo; yet he was under the Saviour&rsquo;s own operation. And our Lord touched his eyes again, and commanded him to look up, when he saw all things plainly. For a time persons may have very confined and obscure, and sometimes very perplexing, views of some doctrines of the gospel, compared with what others know now and what they shall know by-and-by. God is gradual in all his operations, both in nature and grace. We see in nature things are slow in proportion to their value and importance. But though his mode may be sometimes slow, it is always sure, and under his agency.<p>Secondly, As to experience. There are many things perplexing here. The temptations that often assail them are among the number; for they hoped to go on in their Christian course without annoyance. Then the Christian&rsquo;s life must be a warfare. So also with regard to prayer. They are often perplexed; they read that God answers prayer: &ldquo;But,&rdquo; says the Christian, &ldquo;he has not answered mine.&rdquo; But Christians should learn to distinguish. God immediately hears our prayers, but he does not always immediately answer. &ldquo;For he is a God of judgment,&rdquo; and while his mercy constrains him to give, his wisdom leads him to withhold the blessing for a time; but he waits to be gracious.<p>Sometimes by strange, sometimes by terrible, things in righteousness does he answer his people. It is the same also with regard to joy. Christians read in the Scriptures that religion is friendly to joy; that the redeemed shall come to Zion with songs, and with everlasting joy upon their heads. But many say, &ldquo;I have so little of this.&rdquo; But do not we find that religion is described by sorrow as well as joy,-by fear as well as hope? Again, with regard to assurance. &ldquo;Oh that I knew,&rdquo; says one, &ldquo;my interest in that everlasting covenant ordered in all things and sure!&rdquo; Oh that he would say unto my soul, I am thy salvation! I could then face a frowning world and defy the king of terrors: but all is obscurity. <p>&ldquo;&rsquo;Tis a point I long to know,- <p> Oft it causes anxious thought,- <p> Do I love the Lord, or no? <p> Am I his, or am I not?&rdquo; </i><p>The most that I am able to reach at present is peradventure, and to say, &ldquo;Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?&rdquo; Why, &ldquo;wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart.&rdquo; Again, with regard to practical duties. With regard to a change of situation, a transition from one business to another, the Christian may be at a loss what step to take, and this will awaken in a pious mind a concern that others never feel; and it is natural he should feel this, because how much depends on every step he takes! And we know a wrong step may give a complexion to the whole of our future lives. We therefore feel a concern to know the way wherein we should walk, and our souls will be lifted up for divine guidance and direction.<p>When Christians get to heaven, how will these words be realized in their blessed experience! then he will &ldquo;make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight;&rdquo; then they will have leisure to survey and capacity to understand the dealings of God, and all his conduct will appear faithfulness and truth; then the future will have been supplied, and all things explained; then they will see how all things advanced their welfare; though many had appeared dark, disorderly, and perplexing, yet all will harmonize, and they will exclaim, &ldquo;Just and true are thy ways, O thou King of saints.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> This, then, is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you: that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. - <a href='B:690 1:5'>1Jn 1:5</a>. </i><p>LET us, in considering this message as addressed to ourselves, make two inquiries. First, How was this message obtained? John says, &ldquo;We have heard it, and declare it unto you.&rdquo; Heard it from whom? Unquestionably from the Lord Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the great Teacher, sent from God. He delivered it to his disciples, and they delivered it to others. &ldquo;No man,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;hath seen God at any time: the only begotten Son, he hath declared him.&rdquo; And in his intercessory prayer he says, &ldquo;I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest me out of the world.&rdquo; He had savingly opened to their minds his character, relations, attributes, and designs, especially his purposes of mercy and grace, so that what they communicated was not invented, but reported.<p>They delivered that which they also received. Some part of this message he delivered personally, while with them; but it would appear that he delivered much more after his resurrection than before; for which purpose he was with them forty days, speaking of the things which pertained to the kingdom of God. Still more did he communicate spiritually after his ascension, according to his promise:-&ldquo;I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. But when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak, and he will show you things to come.&rdquo; Accordingly, we see what a difference there was afterwards in their views, and how their sentiments enlarged after the pouring down of the Holy Spirit. We may mark this with regard to one article.<p>Take the death of the Lord Jesus. When our Saviour &ldquo;showed unto his disciples that he must go up to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders, and chief-priests, and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day,&rdquo; Peter took him aside, and said, &ldquo;Be it far from thee; this shall not be unto thee,&rdquo; which drew upon him the severe reproof of the Saviour,- &ldquo;Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me; for thou savourest not the things which be of God, but those which be of men.&rdquo; But now, after he had received the communication of the Holy Spirit, now that Jesus is glorified, how does he view his death? Oh, it is the precious &ldquo;blood of Christ, by which,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;we are redeemed.&rdquo; &ldquo;He bare our sins in his own body on the tree.&rdquo; And again he says, &ldquo;He once suffered for our sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, What does the message express? &ldquo;Who by searching can find out God? who can find out the Almighty to perfection?&rdquo; Yet we are not called to worship an unknown God. He never &ldquo;left himself without witness, in that he has been continually doing us good, in sending us rain from heaven and filling our hearts with food and gladness.&rdquo; And all his works praise him, by wearing impressions of his perfections and subserving his designs. But what a difference between the discoveries of him in nature and grace! When a noted heathen philosopher was asked what God was, he required two days to give the answer, then four, doubling the time at every additional application to him, assigning as a reason, that the more he thought upon the question the less capable he was of replying to it.<p>But now take John, one of the two called &ldquo;unlearned and ignorant men&rdquo; by the Jewish rulers: what says he? &ldquo;God is light.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. - <a href='B:690 1:5'>1Jn 1:5</a>. </i><p>LIGHT is perhaps the most perfect image of the Supreme Being. Light illuminates; it derives its name from its discoveries:-&ldquo; That which makes manifest is light.&rdquo; Then may God well be called &ldquo;light,&rdquo; for he it is who makes us &ldquo;wise unto salvation.&rdquo; He it is who, by his Spirit, leads us into all truth, as it is written:-&ldquo;But God hath revealed them to us by his Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, Light rejoices the eyes. &ldquo;Light is sweet,&rdquo; says Solomon, &ldquo;and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun.&rdquo; David says, &ldquo;Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance, in thy name shall they rejoice all the day, and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, Light is pure. Of all bodies light is the most pure. Other things are polluted. The air, the earth, and the water are all contaminated; but the rays of light are uncorrupted. Let the light shine upon a dunghill, or upon a dead body, or on any putrid mass, and it contracts no pollution from it. Well, therefore, may God be called light. &ldquo;He is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity.&rdquo; &ldquo;He is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.&rdquo; And, though his providence is universally exercised, infinite wisdom is combined with infinite holiness throughout the universe of God. Observe, also, that this message excludes all darkness; for &ldquo;God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.&rdquo;<p>This shows the supremacy of God and his sovereign perfection, in distinction from all orders of his creatures. Christians are all &ldquo;children of the light and of the day;&rdquo; but we cannot say of any of them that in them &ldquo;is no darkness at all.&rdquo; Angels are proverbial for their wisdom and rectitude; but, says Elihu, &ldquo;He charged his angels with folly.&rdquo;<p>There is none holy as the Lord; therefore says Job, &ldquo;Behold, I am vile: what shall I answer thee?&rdquo; Therefore says Isaiah, &ldquo;Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Let us alone: what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art,-the Holy One of God. - <a href='B:490 4:34'>Luk 4:34</a>. </i><p>SOME have supposed that it was the design of the unclean spirit to interrupt and disturb the Saviour when he thus &ldquo;cried out;&rdquo; and, indeed, the wicked are continually saying, by their tempers and lives, &ldquo;We desire not the knowledge of thy ways;&rdquo; &ldquo;We will not have this man to reign over us.&rdquo;<p>When conscience would accuse or upbraid them, they endeavour to stupefy it with an opiate or to curb it back with a gag. When God employs the rod, and would speak to them by it, they turn away their ears from hearing. When God&rsquo;s ministers are faithful, then they are ready to &ldquo;say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.&rdquo; When friends admonish, and entreat, how often do they say, &ldquo;Pray, keep your religion to yourselves; be as religious as you choose; you go your way to heaven, and leave us to go ours. Why should you intermeddle with us?&rdquo; We may always judge of the spirit of Satan in persons by their aversion to Christ and having any thing to do with him; and we may always judge of the Spirit of God being in us by our loving to approach him, and his approaching us, and having much continually to do with us.<p>Then it expressed fear:-&ldquo;Art thou come to destroy us?&rdquo; Satan has now a degree of permission which he will not always possess. He is not yet judged, but &ldquo;reserved in chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.&rdquo; His misery is nothing, therefore, to what it will be. &ldquo;The devils,&rdquo; says James, &ldquo;believe and tremble:&rdquo; they have faith enough to make them miserable. And this is the case with many of their followers. They have faith enough to make them very unhappy. They have the faith of assent, but not of consent; not of acquiescence, nor of dependence; not of application, never giving themselves to him. They believe and tremble; the first Christians believed and rejoiced. &ldquo;Believing,&rdquo; says Peter, &ldquo;we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.&rdquo; David said, &ldquo;My meditation of him shall be sweet;&rdquo; &ldquo;I will rejoice in the Lord.&rdquo; The church said, &ldquo;His name is as ointment poured forth;&rdquo; it is most fragrant and delightful.<p>It expressed commendation. &ldquo;I know thee who thou art,-the Holy One of God.&rdquo; Here, we see, Satan not only believed much, but talked well. How conversant is he with the Scriptures! How he quoted it in his address to our Saviour! Every thing he said was expressed in the language of inspiration. How he must have read the Bible! How attentive he must have been to it when it was preached! Yes; &ldquo;Satan,&rdquo; says the apostle, &ldquo;can transform himself into an angel of light.&rdquo; Heretics are all his mouth: they speak many good things, but these are only to sanction the bad ones, and thus render them the more mischievous.<p>Truth is the substratum of all error; and every truth taken out of its place, or pushed too far, or improperly applied, becomes error. We cannot depend upon good talking, but we should always &ldquo;love one another, not in word and in tongue, [the devil can do this,] but in deed and in truth.&rdquo; Let us look at the Author of this miracle, and we shall see how the enemy of souls is under the dominion of the Lord Jesus; that, though an adversary, yet he is restrained and chained. He could not injure Job till he had obtained leave. Satan would never leave any of his subjects unless he was compelled to do it. The &ldquo;strong man armed keepeth his palace and his goods in peace,&rdquo; but a stronger than he cometh, and binds the strong man, and spoileth his goods. Therefore the Saviour rebukes him and expels him. 


devotion:
<i> And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and, come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not. - <a href='B:490 4:35'>Luk 4:35</a>. </i><p>JESUS was unwilling to receive praise from such lips. The praise of some is real censure. And, thus rebuked, the devil came forth, but not without showing his malignity on quitting his subject; for he threw him down before coming out of him: yet he injured him not. Now, this serves to explain Satan&rsquo;s agency with those who are under the influence of divine grace. He would injure those whom he cannot destroy. But even what he does against them will be overruled for good.<p>Thus the &ldquo;thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan sent to buffet&rdquo; the apostle, hid pride from him. The leech sucks for its own gratification, but the hand of the faculty directs him to the part of contact, and the relief of the patient is the consequence. So will it be with all Christians with regard to Satan&rsquo;s endeavours to destroy or injure them; but in all these they shall be &ldquo;more than conquerors,&rdquo; and in a little time &ldquo;he will bruise Satan under their feet.&rdquo;<p>Then, as to the spectators: they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, &ldquo;What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.&rdquo; Oh, if they had but improved as well as admired! if they had but given themselves up to him as their Portion to enjoy and as their Master to serve! But, alas, this was not the case.<p>Let us beware that our religion consists in nothing less than a real surrender of heart to God, &ldquo;presenting our bodies and our spirits a. living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them. - <a href='B:290 42:16'>Isa 42:16</a>. </i><p>THE people of God, as they themselves acknowledge, deserve to be forsaken, and they often say, &ldquo;It is of the Lord&rsquo;s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.&rdquo; They may think themselves forsaken, and we have instances of this upon record: thus, Zion said, &ldquo;The Lord hath forsaken me, and my God hath forgotten me.&rdquo; &ldquo;Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, she may forget; yet will I not forget thee.&rdquo; So Asaph said, &ldquo;Will the Lord cast off forever? will he be favourable no more?&rdquo; So David acknowledges, &ldquo;I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless, thou heardest my supplications when I cried unto thee.&rdquo; But they may be forsaken. God himself speaks of this in his word; but let us observe the period:-&ldquo;For a small moment have I forsaken thee.&rdquo; So it is in the apprehension of faith; so it always is very short compared with eternity.<p>Then observe the manner of his forsaking them; for, however this may be explained, it must be consistent with his assurance of not forsaking them. Now, there are three ways in. which God may forsake his people and yet the promise here made to the Jews remain substantially the same. First, In their outward condition, and he leaves them, saying, as he goes, &ldquo;I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offences and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.&rdquo; Then he can reduce them in their circumstances, bereave them of their dearest relatives, remove their possessions and enjoyments, and leave them bare and destitute. But all this is compatible with his presence, for he has expressly said, &ldquo;I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.&rdquo; God is expressly and peculiarly with his people in trouble.<p>Secondly, As to enjoyment of spiritual comfort. &ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; said one of old, &ldquo;when wilt thou comfort me?&rdquo; But when these spiritual consolations are suspended, there are great searchings of heart, much that shows the Spirit of God to be with them; for these anxieties come not from nature.<p>Thirdly, As to the exercise of grace,-not the existence thereof. Here we may refer to Hezekiah and Peter, though Peter&rsquo;s faith did fail as to its exercise, yet not as to its principle. Though weak in himself, the Christian, reposing on the arm of Omnipotence, &ldquo;shall not faint, or, fainting, shall not die.&rdquo; &ldquo;Yea, though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.&rdquo; What says the apostle to the Romans?-&ldquo;I am persuaded that neither life, nor death, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> If we say we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. - <a href='B:690 1:6'>1Jn 1:6</a>. </i><p>NOW, persons may say this by profession of it to others, and they may say it to their own souls, persuading themselves that they are real Christians when they have no part or lot in the matter, their hearts not being right in the sight of God. The possibility of this self-delusion is admitted in the very addresses given to guard us against it. Thus, it is said, &ldquo;Be not deceived: God is not mocked. Let no man deceive himself.&rdquo; &ldquo;Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own souls.&rdquo; Thus, it is said of Ephraim, &ldquo;A deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?&rdquo; And our Lord addressed a whole church of these deceived ones:-&ldquo;Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art poor, and blind, and naked.&rdquo;<p>So there are thousands in our day who hear the word of God, but do it not; who have the form of godliness, but deny its power; who have a name to live, and are dead. Now, the falsehood of such pretensions to godliness, unaccompanied with a holy walk, is here denounced by the apostle in his usual way. So our Saviour says to the church in Smyrna, &ldquo;I know thy works, and tribulations, and poverty, (but thou art rich,) and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.&rdquo; He calls it blasphemy, you see.<p>Congeniality must precede friendship; resemblance must precede fellowship; for &ldquo;how can two walk together except they be agreed?&rdquo; And therefore it will follow that a change of heart is necessary before we can enter into the kingdom of heaven; for without this change we can neither enjoy God nor serve him acceptably; therefore saith the Saviour, &ldquo;Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of heaven.&rdquo; How long this delusion may continue it is impossible to determine. Sometimes the snare has been discerned in due time, and it is a mercy to be enabled to escape from it. In other cases the delusion is kept up, being cherished by the father of lies, till death; but it can continue no longer. According to our Saviour, this confidence may be entertained by the man until he has reached the very door of heaven. &ldquo;Strive to enter in at the strait gate, for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house has risen up and has shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us, and he from within shall answer and say unto you, I know ye not whence ye are!&rdquo; Not know us! Why, &ldquo;we have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I know ye not whence ye are: depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God, and ye yourselves shut out.&rdquo; How awful will this be! and how awful the discovery then!<p>It would be bad enough to go to hell from heathen countries; but how awful it will be to go thither from the gospel and the sanctuary of God, from his ordinances and his table! Yet Solomon says, &ldquo;There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> We have fellowship one with another. - <a href='B:690 1:7'>1Jn 1:7</a>. </i><p>THERE is a fellowship belonging to all the people of God. Wherever they live, they are all &ldquo;fellow-heirs of the grace of life;&rdquo; they are all &ldquo;partakers of the heavenly calling;&rdquo; they are all in the same bond of the gospel; they are all interested in the common salvation, redeemed by the same blood, justified by the same grace, sanctified by the same Spirit, kept by the same mighty power of God, and destined to the same everlasting kingdom. Therefore, whatever distinctions may prevail among them, they are all one in Christ Jesus. But this is not the fellowship referred to here.<p>There is a fellowship existing between God and his people, and this is what John means here; there is a mutual participation,-a mutual intercourse; they &ldquo;have fellowship one with another,&rdquo; so that &ldquo;in all their afflictions he is afflicted.&rdquo; They feel pain when his name is dishonoured, and they are sorrowful for the solemn assembly; he rejoices over them, and they rejoice in him; he ennobles them, and they love to honour him; he is their God, and they are his people, and all that is his is theirs. It is by this that we are to judge of them, and not by their adventitious and external circumstances. The world often despises them, and they think very little of themselves also; but God prizes them.<p>Could we have seen the tabernacle in the wilderness, we should not have seen it externally very splendid; no, it was covered with goats&rsquo; skins, and the skins of badgers dyed red: but if we had entered-within, we should have seen there the tables of the law, the altar of incense, the mercy-seat, and the glory of God shining above it. So it is here. John says, &ldquo;We have fellowship one with another;&rdquo; &ldquo;Our fellowship is with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> He that believeth not shall be damned. - <a href='B:480 16:16'>Mar 16:16</a>. </i><p>WE are here called to consider the condemnation of the unbelieving. We do not determine their doom: this has been decided by a Being who knows all things, and who will judge the world in righteousness. He here emphatically declares that &ldquo;he that believeth shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned;&rdquo; and under this impression the Apostle Paul has said, &ldquo;How can we escape if we neglect so great salvation?&rdquo; Against which, as unreasonable, the infidel protests, and claims that the criminal be the judge of the law and the judge of the Judge.<p>&ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; say some, &ldquo;we are not accountable for our belief!&rdquo; To which we answer, that if we are not accountable for our belief we are accountable for nothing, for all our actions spring from belief; and infidelity does not arise from want of evidence, but from want of inclination. We may judge of the moral disposition of a man from the nature of the things he opposes. In proportion as a man is holy, he is adverse to sin; in&rdquo; proportion as a man is sinful, he is adverse to every thing that is holy, and we know the Bible is distinguished by holiness. Its promises are holy, its commands are holy, it requires holiness of life and heart. Why do men dislike the Bible? Why do they love darkness rather than light, but because their deeds are evil? If the aim and design of the Scriptures be to &ldquo;cleanse us from the filthiness of the flesh, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord,&rdquo; it is easy to determine why a man opposes this. He who destroys the principle of all good actions would destroy, if he could, all good actions themselves; and his disposition says unto God, &ldquo;Depart from us; we desire not the knowledge of thy ways;&rdquo; and, &ldquo;Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease before us.&rdquo;<p>There is nothing, therefore, that implies so much wickedness, as to deprive men of the Scriptures; and it is the design of Papists and infidels to get the Scriptures banished from men&rsquo;s homes and hearts. And if we consider a man guilty who robs his neighbour of valuable earthly treasures, how much more culpable is he who would deprive his fellow-creatures of the unsearchable riches of Christ! If they are guilty who have been instrumental in ruining the health or the reputation of others, what can we think of those who would poison their minds and would destroy their souls forever? And this is the wish and endeavour of the deniers and opposers of the Scriptures of truth; and God will give them credit for their design, and judge them according to their works and according to their wishes, for they may be guilty without being successful. 


devotion:
<i> And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about. - <a href='B:490 4:37'>Luk 4:37</a>. </i><p>THE Saviour did not commonly encourage such expressions: generally he forbade it, because &ldquo;his hour was not yet come,&rdquo; and because he would teach his followers, to the end of time to be willing to do good without noise or show, and without seeking the honour that cometh from men. But he could not he hid; as the Sun of righteousness, he could no more be hid than the sun of nature can. We may hide ourselves very easily from the sun, but we can never hide the sun.<p>He said to those whom he had relieved and recovered, &ldquo;Go your way, but hold your peace;&rdquo; yet, instead of obeying him, they went forth and published it the more round about.&rdquo; And there is a pleasure in contemplating the humility of the Giver and the thankfulness of the receiver. Who does not rejoice in the spread of his fame? Who does not wish his fame everywhere spread abroad? That which distresses Christians is, not so much that they are so little known, but that he is so little known. How lamentable it is to think that &ldquo;He was in the world, and the world was made by him, yet the world knew him not&rdquo;! that &ldquo;He came unto his own,&rdquo; (the Jews,) &ldquo;and his own received him not&rdquo;! and that he is now &ldquo;despised and rejected of men&rdquo;! But he is not so regarded in another world.<p>Oh, could we witness that world, we should find that there he attracts every eye, fills every heart, employs every tongue; and he will not thus be regarded always here, or long; for &ldquo;every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.&rdquo; And already the number of those who are concerned in spreading his fame is increasing; and the Lord add to his people, how many soever they be, a hundredfold! But it becomes all Christians to be engaged in this work,-the work of making him known and spreading his fame. Justice requires them to be thus employed. Fame is not always desert.<p>There are many who are praised for qualities which they have not, at least in the measure and degree in which they are applauded. And then often when the actions are good, the motives that influence them, if they were known, would take away all the merit. There are some few of our fellow-creatures who deserve more fame than they have ever obtained; for there is much merit buried in obscurity in our world. But when we consider what he is, what he has done, and what he has suffered, who can avoid exclaiming,- <p>&ldquo;Let him be crown&rsquo;d with majesty <p> Who bow&rsquo;d his head to death; <p> And be his honour sounded high <p> By all things that have breath&rdquo;? </i><p>Gratitude requires us to be thus employed. How we feel a little kindness shown us by our fellow-creatures, when perhaps they have exercised no self-denial, made no sacrifice! But Jesus became incarnate; when rich, he became poor, and died that we might live: and shall not we be constrained to &ldquo;show forth his praise&rdquo;? Let us say, with the Psalmist, &ldquo;What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits towards me?&rdquo; Let us speak well of his name, and recommend him to all around us. For benevolence requires us to be thus employed. Many are perishing for lack of knowledge, and the knowledge of him; for to know him is eternal life, and <p>&ldquo;None but Jesus, none but Jesus, <p> Can do helpless sinners good.&rdquo; </i><p>How many want this knowledge around us,-how many millions abroad! Oh, when will the period arrive when his fame shall be universal, and when it shall be said without a figure, &ldquo;Behold, the world is gone after him&rdquo;? The Lord hasten it in his time! 


devotion:
<i> And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. - <a href='B:690 1:7'>1Jn 1:7</a>. </i><p>HERE we have an assurance of pardon. Observe the Procurer,-&ldquo; The Son of God.&rdquo; However this term may be explained, it always in Scripture means dignity. It does so when he is called the Son of man, as having taken upon him human nature; but especially when he is called the Son of God. &ldquo;Unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?&rdquo; But could he as the Son of God have blood to shed? Could he suffer and die? Here the matter is explained:-&rdquo;In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.&rdquo; &ldquo;And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.&rdquo; For, though the divine nature could not suffer, the human nature can; and so we read, &ldquo;Because the children were partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.&rdquo; Thus, by partaking of our nature, he could suffer and die; and in consequence of this his blood is called &ldquo;the blood of God.&rdquo; Feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.<p>Let us notice, Secondly, The efficacy of his death. &ldquo;His blood cleanseth us from all sin.&rdquo; It delivers us from the heinousness of it, however offensive it is in the eyes of a holy God. The application of this blood to our souls will deliver us from the love of sin, and make us &ldquo;dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto righteousness.&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, Let us mark the extent of it. It cleanseth from all sin:-from actual sin, and original sin; from all sin, however aggravated. And his blood cleanseth perfectly and completely from every transgression. Jesus by his one offering hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. As saith the poet,- <p>&ldquo;And his one offering takes away <p> Forever all our guilt.&rdquo; </i><p>For if sin were to be unpardoned and unatoned for, it would be sufficient to plunge the sinner into endless perdition.<p>Fourthly, The personal reference:-it &ldquo;cleanseth us from all sin.&rdquo; Yes, it cleanseth those who walk in the light as he is in the light, &ldquo;and who have fellowship with him.&rdquo; What! do they need pardon? Certainly: we know that &ldquo;in many things we offend all,&rdquo; and that in regard to our most holy things, our performance of them calls for condemnation rather than recompense. We are taught by the Saviour to pray for daily forgiveness as well as for daily bread. 


devotion:
<i> He shall choose our inheritance for us. - <a href='B:230 47:4'>Psa 47:4</a>. </i><p>LET us inquire, To what does this sentiment refer,-&ldquo;Our inheritance&rdquo;? Now, Canaan was the inheritance of the Jews: God chose this for them as their inheritance. Each of them could say, &ldquo;The lines are fallen to us in pleasant places; yea, we have a goodly heritage.&rdquo; For it was &ldquo;the glory of all lands,&rdquo; and &ldquo;flowed with milk and honey.&rdquo; The Christian has &ldquo;another and a better country,&rdquo; &ldquo;an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven&rdquo; for him; and this inheritance God has chosen for him, and he cannot be satisfied without the possession of it. &ldquo;As for me,&rdquo; says he, with David, &ldquo;I will behold thy face in righteousness, I shall be satisfied when I awake in thy likeness.&rdquo; But the sentiment refers to time rather than eternity, and to God&rsquo;s choice in the regulation of our allotments on earth. Thus, therefore, the Christian can say, He shall choose my inheritance for me.<p>First, As to residence. He shall determine the bounds of my habitation, and the place of my abode, or the change of situation contrary to a fixed abode. These changes may be trying, but I know not what effects &ldquo;with regard to myself or others&rdquo; may result from them. Secondly, As to occupation. He shall determine the nature of my profession and calling. Thirdly, As to condition. He shall determine whether I shall serve him individually or relatively; whether I shall preside over a family or be written childless in the earth; whether I shall have friends, or whether I shall feel the want of them. Fourthly, As to health. He shall determine whether I am to serve him actively or passively, whether my strength shall be equal to my day and to my labour, and my hands be sufficient for me, or whether I shall be &ldquo;made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights appointed to me.&rdquo; Fifthly, As to life itself. He shall determine how long or how short shall be its continuance; and the time, place, mode, and means of my removal I leave with Him in whose hands my breath is, and &ldquo;whose are all my ways.&rdquo;<p>Thus, as to all my interest, all that alarms my fears, all that excites my hopes, all that engages my expectations in the world, I commit to him, in compliance with his merciful commands and injunctions:-&ldquo;Cast thy burden on the Lord, and he shall sustain thee;&rdquo; Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass; &ldquo;Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.&rdquo; <p>&ldquo;My cares, I give you to the wind, <p> And cast you off like dust; <p> Well may we trust our all with him <p> With whom our souls we trust.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> He shall choose our inheritance for us. - <a href='B:230 47:4'>Psa 47:4</a>. </i><p>FIRST, He has a right to choose. He has a right much greater than that of the potter over the clay; a right still greater than that of a father over his children; a right derived from absolute propriety. For has he not a right to do what he will with his own? What right have we to choose? We have neither made ourselves, nor redeemed ourselves, nor sustained ourselves. From his wardrobe we have been clothed, at his table we have been fed. He it is that draws the curtains of night around us, and tells creation to be quiet while we slumber and sleep; and his mercies are new every morning.<p>Secondly, God is qualified to choose for us. As the right belongs to him, so the ability belongs to him to judge, and his judgment is always according to truth. He can never be mistaken in his decision. He knoweth our frame. He can distinguish between our wants and our wishes. He knoweth what will be good for us, and what would prove injurious to us. But every thing unfits us for choosing our inheritance for ourselves. We are too ignorant, too selfish, and too impatient, for this purpose.<p>Thirdly, Let us remember that he has chosen for us already. Why then should we abandon him now? He has proved himself every day increasingly worthy of our confidence: then why should we not approve of his designs?<p>Fourthly, He is willing to choose for us still. Yes, this is wonderful, but it is true. If we had been placed under the direction and charge of any creature, even of an angel, he would long ago have abandoned us; but God has borne with our manners and perverseness in the wilderness. He has said, &ldquo;I am the Lord; I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.&rdquo;<p>Then, finally, observe that we shall never feel peace and comfort till we know that all is under the care and direction of our heavenly Father,-that he has undertaken the charge of our all, in answer to our resolution:-&ldquo; He shall choose our inheritance for us.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> In whom we have redemption through his blood. - <a href='B:560 1:7'>Eph 1:7</a>. </i><p>HIS blood here means his death; and the reason why his death is so often expressed by the word blood is twofold. First, It was to remind us of the nature of it:-that it was a bloody death. His anguish in the garden made him &ldquo;sweat as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground;&rdquo; a crown of thorns upon his head made the blood to flow, as well as caused the most agonizing pain. They drove nails through his hands and feet, and fastened them to the cross; a soldier pierced his side, and &ldquo;forthwith came there out blood and water.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, It was to remind us of the nature of his sacrifice:-&ldquo;because the life is the blood.&rdquo; Here, so to speak, we are reminded of the material of the atonement, namely, the life, for sin is the forfeiture of life. If any would become a substitute for a sinner in order to save him, he must die the death to which sin has exposed him. &ldquo;Without shedding of blood there is no remission.&rdquo; &ldquo;But the blood of bulls and of goats could not take away sin,&rdquo; for then, as the apostle says, &ldquo;They would not have ceased to be offered, because that the worshippers would have had no more conscience of sin.&rdquo; But these were renewed every year, every month, every week, every day, twice every day, four times every Sabbath-day, clearly showing that sin was not as yet expiated, but remained, against the transgressors. And as it was then so it must be now, had not He interposed who said, &ldquo;Lo, I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God.&rdquo;<p>His blood was absolutely necessary and all-available. &ldquo;In whom,&rdquo; says the apostle, &ldquo;we have redemption through his blood;&rdquo; and &ldquo;the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The Lord&rsquo;s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. - <a href='B:50 32:9'>Deu 32:9</a>. </i><p>&ldquo;THE Lord&rsquo;s people&rdquo; have always been comparatively few; yet not so few as some have imagined. Let us observe what God says concerning them all:-&ldquo;I have reserved them to myself; they belong to me; I own them, and they acknowledge me.&rdquo; So, as soon as God had delivered the law to Moses, he said, &ldquo;Now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then shall ye be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people.&rdquo; Therefore we find Moses here saying, &ldquo;The Lord&rsquo;s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.&rdquo;<p>The Lord claims them as his own, and they acknowledge the propriety of the claim. They are witnesses,-his witnesses. They are worshippers,-his worshippers. They are servants,-his servants; as he says in the following chapter:-&ldquo;Remember these, O Jacob and Israel, for thou art my servant; I have formed thee; for thou art my servant, O Israel; thou shalt not be forgotten of me.&rdquo; When John ascribes power and dominion to the Saviour, he says, &ldquo;Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God.&rdquo; If they were to reign, they were to reign for him; if they were to serve, they were to serve him. Therefore the glorified acknowledge, &ldquo;Thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood.&rdquo;<p>We were lost to him before, but now we are restored, by this purchase, to the owner, to whom every thing that pertains to us belongs by a thousand ties. Hence it is that none of us, if we are the Lord&rsquo;s, live unto ourselves, &ldquo;but whether we live, we live unto the Lord, or whether we die, we die unto the Lord; whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord&rsquo;s.&rdquo; They are called &ldquo;jewels.&rdquo; &ldquo;They shall be mine,&rdquo; saith the Lord, &ldquo;in that day when I make up my jewels.&rdquo; They are his &ldquo;garden;&rdquo; they are his &ldquo;vineyard.&rdquo; God says, &ldquo;I will water it every moment; I will keep it night and day, lest any hurt it.&rdquo; We here see how we should behave to all the Lord&rsquo;s people.<p>This is an improvement of the subject which David leads us to make, when he addressed those who had been opposing him:-&ldquo;O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing?&rdquo;-the old English word for lying. &ldquo;But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself.&rdquo; And God says to them, &ldquo;He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of mine eye.&rdquo; We are to judge of them not by their outward condition and advantages, but by their relation to him. They are sacred as belonging to him. Christians, by a sense of their own littleness and unworthiness, often feel as if they were nothing; but there is an importance attached to them arising from their relation to God.<p>What are others, whatever they may possess and enjoy, compared with &ldquo;the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty&rdquo;? Then they should not be depressed by sorrow, or sink under their trials, but should ever remember to whom they belong, and say, &ldquo;The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. - <a href='B:650 12:22'>Heb 12:22</a>. </i><p>THE apostle refers to this as a privilege of the evangelical dispensation, and as distinguished from the Levitical economy. There are five different ways in which this may be exemplified. First, &ldquo;We are come&rdquo; to the revelation of it in Scripture. Here we have an answer to the question, &ldquo;How shall we come before the Lord, and bow before the most high God?&rdquo; The Jews had types and shadows of the Messiah who was to come; but we are come to a much clearer development of the mind and will of God, according to the words of our Saviour, who said, &ldquo;Many prophets and righteous men have desired to see the things that ye see, and have not seen them, and to hear the things that ye hear, and have not heard them.&rdquo; They had the dawn; we have the day.<p>Then, Secondly, We are come to the publication of it by the ministry of the word. Thus the subject of it is not suffered to lie in the background, but is brought out from week to week by those who feel it their highest pleasure to place it before their hearers, and say, &ldquo;Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.&rdquo;<p>Then, Thirdly, We are come to a saving knowledge and experience of it by the influences of the Holy Spirit, so that we can say, with Paul, &ldquo;He loved me, and gave himself for me.&rdquo; Thus the Christian&rsquo;s condition is distinguished from that of many to whom the Saviour is made known in the Scriptures, and who hear of him by the preaching of the word, but in whom he has not as yet been revealed as the hope of glory.<p>Fourthly, We are come to a participation of it as an established ordinance in the Christian church. For Jesus said, when he took the cup, &ldquo;This is my blood of the new testament;&rdquo; thus the institution was intended to be a memorial of him. &ldquo;Do this,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;in remembrance of me.&rdquo; It was intended to be not only a memorial, but an emblem, wherein he is held forth as being food for the soul; and what a simple and a fine emblem it is!<p>Fifthly, This coming is a distinguishing privilege. &ldquo;Ye are come.&rdquo; Herein believers are distinguished from others; for how many are there who can turn their backs upon the Saviour as if he were &ldquo;a root out of a dry ground&rdquo;! There are some who would gladly repair to his table; but, though he is &ldquo;all their salvation and all their desire,&rdquo; they fear they have no part or lot in the matter. And how many are there who neglect and despise this Saviour, who continue to live in sin and worldly indulgences! There are others who do not honour him, but rather degrade him, by supposing that their case is too bad to be remedied, who think their sins are too many or too heinous to be forgiven.<p>It is no easy thing to comfort a despairing soul: nothing will effectually satisfy the conscience of a convinced sinner but that which satisfies the justice of God. But surely that which satisfies his justice is enough to satisfy our conscience; and by believing we are enabled to enter into rest, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 


devotion:
<i> Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people. - <a href='B:230 89:19'>Psa 89:19</a>. </i><p>LET us consider, First, That we need help. This help refers to our spiritual welfare,-not to the things of time and sense. It refers to us not as mere creatures, but as fallen creatures. God does nothing in vain, and therefore he would not have been at the. expense of providing a Saviour if we had not been lost.<p>Christianity does three things for us. First, It tells us that this was not our original state; that &ldquo;God made man upright, but he sought out many inventions.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, It checks much of the evils of depravity now, by its direct influence in many cases, and by its indirect influence in many more. It has done more for men than all human institutions in the aggregate besides. Through its means what efforts have been made to meet every kind of distress or woe! Then,<p>Thirdly, and above all, It tells us of a remedy for all human depravity, which is placed within our reach if we will avail ourselves of it; and therefore, if we perish in this state, the blame will be our own.<p>Secondly, We observe that, as we need help, so God has provided it. This is the grand peculiarity of the dispensation of the gospel, and it is the delightful office of its ministers to report this, and to show unto men the way of salvation. It is infinitely adapted to all our wants and weaknesses; it is also all-sufficient to meet the ravages of the evil. &ldquo;Yea,&rdquo; said the apostle, &ldquo;where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.&rdquo;<p>This help includes, First, Redemption. &ldquo;With the Lord there is plenteous redemption.&rdquo; &ldquo;Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.&rdquo; Thus the burden too heavy to be borne is rolled off the conscience, and we now &ldquo;joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have now received the atonement.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, It includes justification. Our relief from condemnation does not entitle us to glory, neither does the pardon of sin; but we must have a title to heaven before we can obtain it; and from whence is this to be derived, but from the righteousness of Christ by faith which is unto and upon all that believe?<p>Thirdly, It takes in renovation. Man is not only guilty, but depraved; therefore he cannot be happy while in his natural state and under the dominion and love of sin. In this condition it is impossible for him to serve God or hold communion with him; therefore he must be renewed, he must become spiritually-minded.<p>Fourthly, In strength. The Christian&rsquo;s duties are arduous; they are numerous and various, and he is inadequate to any one of them; but, says the Saviour, &ldquo;My strength is made perfect in your weakness.&rdquo; The blessed Spirit also is promised and enjoyed; and now the man lives in the Spirit, and walks in the Spirit, and prays in the Spirit, who also helps his infirmities.<p>Lastly, It takes in persevering grace; for he only &ldquo;that endureth to the end shall be saved.&rdquo; Perseverance is not only required of us as a duty, but is insured to us as a privilege. We are not only commanded to be &ldquo;steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,&rdquo; but we have the promise, &ldquo;The righteous shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall wax stronger and stronger. 


devotion:
<i> I have laid help upon one that is mighty. - <a href='B:230 89:19'>Psa 89:19</a>. </i><p>WE observe, First, That He on whom our help is laid is equal to the engagement. Many a one has been appointed to an office the duties of which he has been inadequate to fulfil. The enterprise has thereby failed; and if the man has not involved himself in ruin, he has not escaped reflection and reproach; for there is nothing that disgraces a man more than incompetency in this respect; when the work is voluntary, and he has engaged in it without accomplishing the same, &ldquo;all that pass by begin to mock, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.&rdquo;<p>Observe, Secondly, That God&rsquo;s appointment of a person to a work is a pledge of its final accomplishment. God said to Gideon, &ldquo;Go in this thy might.&rdquo; What might? His own? He was threshing in a barn. No; but, Go in the might with which I have invested thee, and thou shalt be adequate to the work to which I have called thee and send thee to accomplish. So said God of Cyrus, &ldquo;He is my anointed. I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two-leaved gates.&rdquo; His appointment was a proof that he should succeed. So it is in the highest degree with our Lord and Saviour. But this does not go far enough.<p>The Saviour&rsquo;s ability to save is not relative only, but personal. He has &ldquo;the Spirit without measure.&rdquo; He is not only human, but divine. &ldquo;All things were made by him, and he upholdeth all things.&rdquo; Well therefore may it be said of him that he is &ldquo;mighty to save.&rdquo; His is the power of God, and this gives infinite value to his mediation; hence was he able to procure eternal salvation for us. &ldquo;He trod the wine-press alone.&rdquo; &ldquo;By his one offering up of himself he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.&rdquo; He said, when he died, &ldquo;It is finished,&rdquo; and it was finished forever. He is able to save, moreover, seeing the whole dispensation of the Spirit is lodged in his hands and administered at his pleasure.<p>So it is said in the Acts of the Apostles, after a notable display of the Holy Spirit&rsquo;s influence, &ldquo;Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the gift of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth that which ye now see and hear.&rdquo; All the miracles were performed in his name. All the operations of divine grace are through him. Hence be says, &ldquo;This people have I formed for myself.&rdquo; We may well, therefore, say, with the Psalmist, &ldquo;Thou hast a mighty arm; strong is thine hand, and high is thy right hand.&rdquo; Thou art &ldquo;mighty to save,&rdquo;- &ldquo;able to save to the uttermost.&rdquo; We should remember this with regard to others, and never despair of the conversion of any. And we should remember this with regard to ourselves. Are our sins great and numerous? He can save even the chief of sinners. <p>&ldquo;This powerful blood did once atone, <p> And now it pleads before the throne.&rdquo; </i><p>&ldquo;The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin.&rdquo; He can, by his influences, so mighty is he, penetrate the darkest understanding and enlighten it. He can subdue the most rebellious. He can take away the stony heart and give us out of our flesh a heart of flesh. 


devotion:
<i> We are his workmanship. - <a href='B:560 2:10'>Eph 2:10</a>. </i><p>WHEN we consider what the Scriptures say concerning the depravity and corruption of our nature, and which we know to be true from all history, observation, and experience, how wonderful is it that any of the fallen race should be found in possession of moral excellence, or what the Scriptures call true holiness! The cause may naturally awaken and engage our attention. From whence comes this transformation? It cannot arise from the creature; for how can the remedy spring from the disease? &ldquo;Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.&rdquo; &ldquo;That which is born of the flesh is flesh,&rdquo; and, however modified, cannot be otherwise. The stream cannot rise higher than the fountain.<p>There is no effect without a cause, and an inadequate cause, say the Schoolmen, is no cause at all. As man could not produce it in himself, so neither could others for him. Neither men nor angels, nor men and angels combined, could have produced this transformation. It is above the power of education, or of moral suasion; and if we turn to the Scriptures, we shall find the sacred writers (and in language too plain to require the aid of philosophy to explain) ascribe this new creation to the agency of God. They, without exception, acknowledge this great moral change, from the beginning to the end, to be the work of God&rsquo;s Holy Spirit; therefore we read of Christians &ldquo;living in the Spirit,&rdquo; &ldquo;walking in the Spirit,&rdquo; and of their being &ldquo;led by the Spirit.&rdquo; So we read of &ldquo;worshipping God in the Spirit,&rdquo; and of &ldquo;praying in the Holy Ghost.&rdquo; He may, as the God of grace, and he does, make use of instrumentality. And to carry into effect his own gracious purposes in the salvation of sinners, he employs agency; for, so far from excluding it, he absolutely enjoined it.<p>The book is not written without the pen, nor can the pen write without the hand to hold it. &ldquo;Who, then, is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So, then, neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase.&rdquo; Let us observe, also, how this operation is represented. It is called a creation; and who can create but God only? It is called a resurrection; and who can raise the dead, God only excepted? &ldquo;But you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins.&rdquo; Every believer is ready to acknowledge that God alone can change the heart and produce this transformation; and when the question is put to him, &ldquo;Who maketh thee to differ? and what hast thou that thou hast not received?&rdquo; he will, without any hesitation, reply, &ldquo;Not I, but the grace of God which was with me.&rdquo; &ldquo;By the grace of God I am what I am.&rdquo; But his desire will be that the work begun may be carried on until the day of redemption, and he will pray, with the Psalmist, <p>&ldquo;Forsake not the work of thine own hands.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> Thou shall guide me with thy counsel. - <a href='B:230 73:24'>Psa 73:24</a>. </i><p>THIS determination to place ourselves under the guidance of the Almighty implies the renunciation of pride and vanity, the sacrifice of self-will, self-conceit, and self-sufficiency. It implies a willingness to have our inclinations crossed, and our fond earthly hopes destroyed. And we may feel assured of this,-that the man is a stranger to the thing itself, whoever he is, who views it as an easy attainment. No; such a character is not formed without strong supplications to Him who is able to keep us from falling, -much striving against besetting sins, much observation upon the misery and mistakes of others, much experience of those evils to which we have found ourselves exposed when, instead of trusting in the Lord with all our heart, we have leaned to our own understanding. And, after all, there are some remains of this wretched leaven still left in the Christian.<p>But there are distinguished, there are hallowed, heavenly hours, in which the Christian, with a holy heroism, can relinquish all, and, falling upon his knees, can say, &ldquo;The Lord shall choose mine inheritance for me;&rdquo; &ldquo;Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterwards receive me to glory.&rdquo; The generality of mankind have no abiding impression of God upon their minds; they do not refer to God&rsquo;s glory in their pursuits, nor do they use means to ascertain his will in reference to their movements in life, nor are they desirous to secure his approbation.<p>Let us therefore, in reference to any important removal in prospect, seek divine guidance, and turn not to the right hand nor to the left but as we see the pillar of his providence directing us,-never moving without a conviction of its being right; otherwise we cannot expect peace and satisfaction. How much attaches, as to our future course through life, upon any wrong step we may take! Such a course may produce a thousand bitter regrets, and cause repentance to be quartered upon us for the rest of our life.<p>Where, then, is our safety but in seeking direction of the Lord, saying, &ldquo;Thou, Lord, shalt choose our inheritance for us&rdquo;? 


devotion:
<i> Neither is there salvation in any other. - <a href='B:510 4:12'>Act 4:12</a>. </i><p>HOW important it is for us to know what is our spiritual state! This knowledge is not only desirable, but it is absolutely necessary. Without this knowledge it would be impossible for us to see the beauty of the gospel, or ever to be sensible of the evil of sin or the excellency of purity, or to relish the privileges of the righteous. Yea, the gospel, without this knowledge, would be repulsive to us; it would be like offering alms to the wealthy, or pardon to the innocent. Nor need we be afraid of knowing what our condition is,-of knowing what we are and what we deserve; but we should be concerned to avail ourselves of this knowledge, that we may seek after the relief provided. It is indeed absolutely necessary for us to know how we must be saved, lest we should incur the guilt of the man who built his house upon the sand, instead of placing all our hopes upon that rock which God has laid in Zion.<p>Christ is the only ark in which we can be preserved; if we enter into this, we shall be saved. Some have vainly asked, Is there any other way? If there be, it is either secret or revealed: if secret, nothing can be known or said about it. The apostle here expressly declares, what all Scripture abundantly confirms, that there is salvation in none other than in Jesus. Hence we read, &ldquo;Help was laid upon one that is mighty;&rdquo; and no man cometh unto the Father but by Christ. &ldquo;Other foundation can no man lay than is laid, which is Jesus Christ.&rdquo; Let us therefore turn away from every thing else, and look only and entirely to him. Let us look for all we hope to Him upon whom the Almighty has laid help, remembering the language of the apostle:-&ldquo;To him that worketh not, but believeth on him who justifieth the ungodly, his faith shall be accounted unto him for righteousness:&rdquo; as much as if he should have said, &ldquo;Leave off building your edifice, which will not shield you from the storm of divine wrath, and flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before you in the gospel.&rdquo; &ldquo;Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? [that is, to bring Christ down from above:] or, Who shall descend into the deep? [that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.] But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart; that is, the word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation;&rdquo; for the Scripture saith, &ldquo;Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.&rdquo; There is salvation in none other than in one almighty Deliverer. He is the sinner&rsquo;s Saviour, in whom we are blessed with &ldquo;all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The blood of sprinkling. - <a href='B:650 12:24'>Heb 12:24</a>. </i><p>IT is not enough that the Saviour&rsquo;s blood should be shed; it must be applied: and it is in reference to this that it is called &ldquo;the blood of sprinkling.&rdquo; &ldquo;The law was the shadow of good things to come, but the body was Christ.&rdquo; We must therefore observe the correspondence between the type and the reality. We may refer to a few of those instances in which the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled after it was shed.<p>We read that &ldquo;by faith Moses kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the first-born should touch them.&rdquo; On the day of atonement, to which there is such frequent reference in this epistle, the high-priest was to go into the holy place with the blood of the sacrifice in a basin, and there sprinkle it seven times to make an atonement for the sins of the people. When Moses descended from the Mount Horeb, having received the law from God, &ldquo;he wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning and builded an altar under the hill,&rdquo; that was to represent God, &ldquo;and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel;&rdquo; these were to represent the people. &ldquo;And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed peace-offerings of oxen unto the Lord. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people. And they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning these words.&rdquo;<p>Thus we find both parties were consecrated. God was thus under an obligation to bless, and they were under an obligation to obey. The one was thus engaged to provide, and the other to serve, as it was a mutual contract. In the consecration of the priests, a ram was always offered; and the blood was &ldquo;sprinkled on the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, upon the thumb of the right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot;&rdquo; thus teaching us that God required an entire consecration to his glory from head to foot. In the cleansing of the leper, there were two birds to be taken alive and cleaned. One of these birds was to be killed, and the blood was to be sprinkled seven times upon him that was to be cleansed of his leprosy. The other bird was to be let loose in the open field, to show that the man was now at liberty, and no longer forbidden to approach the camp or the tabernacle.<p>Thus in the Scriptures blood was used to atone, to ratify, to consecrate, to purify, and to heal; and in all these cases the effect arises from the application of the blood after it was shed. Ah! here alone is the blood which cleanses from the leprosy of sin, the blood that consecrates us to a holy priesthood, to the service of God; the blood of the everlasting covenant, the blood that makes reconciliation for the sins of the people, the blood by which we receive the atonement, and the blood by which we escape the stroke of the destroying angel. 


devotion:
<i> The blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. - <a href='B:650 12:24'>Heb 12:24</a>. </i><p>THE blood of Abel here referred to is typical. The language is used comparatively. Abel&rsquo;s blood was shed by wicked and cruel hands; so was the blood of Christ. Abel&rsquo;s blood was shed by his own brother according to the flesh. Abel&rsquo;s blood spake; so did the blood of Christ. But here comparison becomes contrast. In common language we say of the murdered, His blood cries aloud for vengeance. So it is said of the sins of Sodom, that the cry of them came up before God. The dreadful crime committed by Cain is referred to in a bold but very elegant figure:-&ldquo;The voice of thy brother&rsquo;s blood crieth to me from the ground.&rdquo; The action was horrid: it was the murder of a brother because his works were righteous. No wonder that such guilt should have provoked the wrath of God.<p>But the blood of Christ was not only shed by men, but for them; and &ldquo;his blood speaketh better things than that of Abel,&rdquo; for Abel&rsquo;s blood speaks and calls to God for punishment, but the blood of Christ speaks and calls for pardon. The one calls for the death of the murderer, the other calls for-oh, marvellous mercy and grace!-his life. The blood of Abel only called for the destruction of one murderer; the blood of Christ calls for the life of the world, and for salvation for the vilest upon earth, even for those who shed his blood. Therefore he said to his disciples, &ldquo;When ye preach the gospel, begin at Jerusalem: let those who smote the rock drink of it first.&rdquo;<p>Yes, he died to give himself a ransom for sinners, and by his death has shown God&rsquo;s displeasure and abhorrence of sin, and &ldquo;he was raised up from the dead that our faith and hope might be in him.&rdquo; His death was &ldquo;a sacrifice, and an offering to God of a sweet-smelling savour,&rdquo; and here &ldquo;mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace embrace each other.&rdquo; Yea, it is more glorious to God that Christ thus died, than if an apostate world had all perished. He now appears for us above as our High-Priest, &ldquo;who ever liveth to make intercession for us.&rdquo;<p>This blood speaks also to us as well as to God. Abel&rsquo;s blood spoke not only to God but to Cain; that is, it spoke in his conscience, filling him with horror, and following him wherever he went. He may have become a builder, but he could get no rest; so he became a fugitive and a vagabond upon earth. Christ&rsquo;s blood speaks peace to all Christians; it tranquillizes the soul; it encourages the penitent; it shows that God is gracious, yea, that &ldquo;God is love,&rdquo; for &ldquo;herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and gave his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.&rdquo; It shows us the possibility of salvation for the very chief of sinners; it tells us how Jesus hath &ldquo;made peace by the blood of his cross,&rdquo;-that, therefore, we may venture into the holiest of all by his precious blood. 


devotion:
<i> This people have I formed for myself. - <a href='B:290 43:21'>Isa 43:21</a>. </i><p>NOW, there are three formations which we may notice. The first is national. In this class we place the Jews. They were formed a commonwealth by the agency of God. He called Abraham when alone, and blessed him. Then he gave his seed the land flowing with milk and honey. He gave them laws and ordinances of a peculiar nature, and distinguished them by dispensations the most wonderful and glorious; so that Moses could say, &ldquo;What nation is there so great? who hath God so nigh unto them as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?&rdquo; Yet he complains, &ldquo;I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.&rdquo; So said Moses concerning them:-&ldquo;Of the rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.&rdquo;<p>The second of these formations is natural. Here all mankind are included, for &ldquo;we are all the work of his hands,&rdquo; &ldquo;we are fearfully and wonderfully made.&rdquo; If we contemplate the human frame, and observe the body, the complexity of its vessels, the multitude of its organs, and how many of these are too minute for research; then if we think of the soul, its consciousness, its knowledge, its capacity for expansion, and its powers; and if we also think of the conjunction of these two,-a piece of clay and thought united together, combined in the very same formation, (for he is the framer of our flesh and the former of our spirits,) we shall arrive at the same conclusion with one of old,-that &ldquo;there is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding.&rdquo;<p>In the third of these formations we place all the subjects of divine influence. In the words before us, the Lord is speaking of &ldquo;this people,&rdquo; not as the creatures of his power or as the beneficiaries of his providence, but as the children of his grace. Our relation to him as our Benefactor and Preserver and Maker will not insure our safety. We may rejoice in the thought that we are the work of his hands, but he has expressly said of his ancient people, &ldquo;Because they are a people of no understanding, therefore he that formed them will not have mercy on them, and he that created them will show them no favour.&rdquo;<p>Now, all real Christians are renewed in the spirit of their minds. The understanding, which was darkness, is now made light in the Lord. The rebellious will is subdued to the obedience of Christ. The affections which were &ldquo;earthly, sensual, devilish,&rdquo; are now &ldquo;set on things above,&rdquo; and the conversation is in heaven. The very conscience which was defiled is &ldquo;purified from dead works to serve the living God.&rdquo; These are &ldquo;the circumcision, who worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.&rdquo; &ldquo;These are Abraham&rsquo;s seed, and heirs according to the promise.&rdquo; And to each and to all of these God looks down and says, &ldquo;This people have I formed for myself: they shall show forth my praise.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> They shall show forth my praise. - <a href='B:290 43:21'>Isa 43:21</a>. </i><p>THERE are two ways in which &ldquo;this people&rdquo; &ldquo;show forth&rdquo; God&rsquo;s praise. The first is subjectively. Thus, we read, &ldquo;All his works praise him.&rdquo; How? By evincing his agency; by wearing impressions of his attributes, of his power, and his wisdom, and his goodness, employed in their production. And if we enter into the world of grace, we see how Christians passively show forth his praise,-how they display his praise as to his grace, in his kindness towards them that believe in Christ Jesus.<p>Some of them, therefore, were allowed to go such lengths as to render it impossible that they should ever return. Saul of Tarsus seemed beyond the possibility of being reclaimed: even those who were acquainted with their own hearts were afraid of him; and when he essayed to join them, they drew back as sheep from a wolf. Yet we hear him say, &ldquo;I was a blasphemer and a persecutor, and injurious, yet I obtained mercy.&rdquo; As if he had said, &ldquo;Now let any despair if they can.&rdquo; While this discovers the freeness of his grace, it equally shows its power. To take a sinner and turn the whole tide of his soul another way requires the mighty power of God. The worse the materials, the more is displayed the ability of the workman. Now, if we only think of his taking from the ruins of the fall such a people as this, and making them an &ldquo;eternal excellency, the joy of many generations,&rdquo; we shall at once see who deserves all this praise. Themselves? No; but the God of all grace.<p>Then they not only show forth his praise passively, but, secondly, actively. Not only by what they are, but by what they do. Men may subserve a purpose, without intending it, without ever meaning it,-by an overruling providence. Thus, we are told that the &ldquo;wrath of men shall praise him.&rdquo; But God&rsquo;s people are his willing subjects: they hold themselves at his disposal, and ask, &ldquo;Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?&rdquo; They consider all they have as belonging to him,-all their senses, faculties, and substance; and then, instead of improperly expending it, they adore the Giver, and dedicate it to him. They &ldquo;honour the Lord with their substance&rdquo;, and with the first-fruits of all their increase.&rdquo; This is the result:-&ldquo;They shall show forth my praise.&rdquo;<p>Men may have nothing more than the desire of accomplishing some particular object; and how often are their purposes broken off and their plans frustrated! but it is otherwise with God. He says, &ldquo;I will work, and who shall let it?&rdquo; God speaks like himself. He is almighty, as well as infinitely wise. As in the first creation of the world he spake and it was done, so in the new he calls things that are not, and they appear. While others dishonour him, &ldquo;this people,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;shall show forth my praise.&rdquo; They shall have the inclination, and they shall have the power, the opportunity, and the means of praising me. When? Principally hereafter, when their power shall be equal to their work, and their wishes too; when they shall praise him by still serving him, not simply by singing, as it is sometimes imagined, for it is written, &ldquo;They shall serve him day and night in his temple.&rdquo; But here, also, even now, he gets himself glorified!<p>Here we have an advantage which the glorified above have not; that is, we have the power of doing good and of exercising charity, of clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, and healing the sick, of extending and advancing the kingdom of God. &ldquo;The living, the living, they shall praise thee.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The sons of God. - <a href='B:690 3:2'>1Jn 3:2</a>. </i><p>WE have here to consider a distinguished privilege. It consists in our relation to God. &ldquo;We are the sons of God.&rdquo; By this the apostle means much more than our relation to him as our Maker and Benefactor, &ldquo;in whom we live and move and have our being.&rdquo; It is very true that we have some claim upon God as being his creatures, for surely he will have &ldquo;respect to the work of his hands.&rdquo; But as far as we are sinners we are not the work of his hands,-we are not his children, but the children of the wicked one. But the Christian has experienced a change. He not only feels that there is a relative change accomplished by adoption, but also a personal change accomplished by regeneration; for, as he is adopted, so he is born of God,-new-born,- &ldquo;born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.&rdquo;<p>Therefore, with the name he has the nature, and with the rank he has the heart, of a child. Now, what a privilege does this relation constitute! We know how the Jews prided themselves in having Abraham for their father, and with what pleasure David spake of being son-in-law to the king. Yet all the lines of human nobility are found to originate in one first pair, where all are upon a perfect level. But Christians can go much higher: they are the children of God; and this distinction confers true and real honour, compared with which all human grandeur vanishes into insignificance.<p>Oh, let us then consider that his wisdom, his power, his greatness, and his love are towards all that stand in this relation to him; and while they gaze upon his works in the earth and in the starry heavens, and reflect upon their number, they can say, My Father made them all, governs them all, upholds them all. Yea, &ldquo;He doeth according to his pleasure in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth;&rdquo; and &ldquo;he doeth all things well!&rdquo; An earthly parent may be unable to afford relief and tenderness to a child in distress and danger, &ldquo;but nothing is too hard for the Lord.&rdquo; This relation gives us free access to God: at all times, under all circumstances, we can enter his presence and spread before him what we are perhaps unwilling to communicate to the dearest fellow-creature upon earth. We ought indeed at all times to entertain the most reverential thoughts of God; nor can we sufficiently adore him; but oh, how blessed it is to feel that he is our Father, and that we are embosomed in his love!<p>Then as to the tuition of these sons of God: he will not have his children brought up in ignorance, nor will he trust their education to another; the promise is, &ldquo;All thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children.&rdquo; And, moreover, their heavenly Father has secured for them a sufficiency of temporal supplies. He has engaged to feed and clothe them. If, as the Saviour says, &ldquo;He feeds the fowls of the air and clothes the grass of the field, how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?&rdquo; And, besides all this, Christians have an inheritance reserved in heaven for them. 


devotion:
<i> Now are we the sons of God. - <a href='B:690 3:2'>1Jn 3:2</a>. </i><p>BELIEVERS are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection, called so because then every thing will be displayed and revealed. It will then &ldquo;appear what they shall be.&rdquo; But now under all their disadvantages they are the &ldquo;sons of God.&rdquo; Every thing is not future with the Christian. He is now saved by grace; believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, he is justified from all things, from which he could not have been justified by the law of Moses. Now, though they are despised, and reproached, and persecuted by the world. The apostle had just said, &ldquo;The world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.&rdquo; It does not discern the excellency of the Christian character; even the apostles were regarded &ldquo;the filth and offscouring of all things.&rdquo; And the Saviour himself &ldquo;was despised and rejected of men.&rdquo; Therefore, said he, &ldquo;Marvel not if the world hate you: ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love its own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.&rdquo;<p>Even in their elevated and sanctified condition they may suffer much in their persons, connections, and circumstances. This is so far from being incompatible with sonship that the apostle says, &ldquo;If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?&rdquo; And again, &ldquo;If ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons.&rdquo; Now, though assailed hy the enemy of souls. Some of God&rsquo;s children are ready to say, &ldquo;As to temptation, I think none know so much of it as I. The enemy of my soul follows me into the closet, and into the house of God, and even to the Supper of the Lord; he embitters all my comforts, and I fear will destroy my soul at last.&rdquo; But he never will; although <p>&ldquo;He worries whom he can&rsquo;t devour, <p> With a malicious joy.&rdquo; </i><p>Believers are the sons of God even when they are destitute of inward peace and joy. When Isaiah describes a believer as one &ldquo;who feareth the Lord, and obeyeth the voice of his servant,&rdquo; he at the same time represents him as &ldquo;walking in darkness, and having no light.&rdquo; David says, &ldquo;Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.&rdquo; And the church thus expresses herself:-&ldquo;I will wait upon him who hideth himself from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.&rdquo;<p>Yes, Christians are now the children of God, though full of doubts and fears. They should always exercise the fullest confidence in God; yet what wonder is it if they should feel self-suspicious, after being so often betrayed by the enemy of souls! self-delusion is not only possible, but as common as it is dreadful. Therefore let us seek to exercise holy confidence in the power and grace of God. How much does our peace of mind depend upon our thus realizing that we are &ldquo;the sons of God&rdquo;! 


devotion:
<i> As for God, his way is perfect. - <a href='B:230 18:30'>Psa 18:30</a>. </i><p>IN a parallel passage God&rsquo;s way is called his work, where it is said, &ldquo;God is the rock; his work is perfect.&rdquo; The meaning, however, is the same, and applies to the whole course of his proceedings. Let us therefore observe,-First, His way in creation; and we shall find this to be perfect. Hence, when the first creation was produced, we read that the angels (and they were no mean judges) &ldquo;sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.&rdquo; But we have also the declaration of the Judge of all, who, when he had finished the work, pronounced it to be very good. All his works praise him by bearing impressions of his attributes and designs.<p>There is an immense difference between the productions of men and the works of God. If we take a piece of human workmanship, however exquisite it may be, on examination we shall find it capable of improvement, so that the more we know of it the less we admire it. But it is otherwise with the works of God: they are a source of wonder and admiration. Here there is nothing redundant, nothing defective; nothing can be added, nothing taken away. Here, as we examine, we feel ourselves not on the verge of perfection only, but even of infinity, and we exclaim, not only admiringly, but adoringly too, &ldquo;This thing proceedeth from the Lord of Hosts, who is wonderful in counsel and mighty in working.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, This will apply to his way in redemption. In the economy of redemption, there is something so benevolent in the design, so infinitely wonderful in the contrivance, so exceedingly adapted to all the circumstances of man as a fallen creature, and all harmonizing with the divine perfections, that even now the believer can exclaim, with the apostle, &ldquo;God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,&rdquo; and he is &ldquo;determined to know nothing among men save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, His way in renovation is perfect. We readily conclude that it is not finished at once; but then it is perfect as far as it goes. It is perfect in kind and degree, though not perfect in its consummation. But this consummation is as certain as if it were present or had already taken place. The apostle, therefore, says to the Philippians, &ldquo;He&rdquo;-that is, God -&ldquo;who hath begun the good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.&rdquo; Lastly, In the dispensations of providence his work is perfect.<p>There is no such thing as chance. What we call chance is nothing less than the appointment and the work of God. But &ldquo;he worketh all things after the counsel of his own will,&rdquo; and &ldquo;he doeth all things well.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> If any man serve me, let him follow me. - <a href='B:500 12:26'>Joh 12:26</a>. </i><p>THAT is, let him be in reality what he professes to be. Let him not serve me in word and in tongue only, but also in deed and in truth. Let him &ldquo;follow me,&rdquo; that as my servant he shall be distinguished by coming after me, by which he will promote my glory, advance my cause, and &ldquo;adorn the doctrine of God his Saviour in all things.&rdquo; A servant is always to be within his master&rsquo;s call, and in a state of readiness to attend upon his orders; he is chiefly distinguished by devotedness to his master&rsquo;s pleasure. &ldquo;His servants ye are to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness.&rdquo;<p>Now, to &ldquo;follow Christ&rdquo; is to observe his precepts, imbibe his spirit, and to imitate his example. These are indispensable. It is said of the Saviour that &ldquo;he began both to do and to teach:&rdquo; he went before his disciples in all that he enforced upon them. Does he command us to be holy in all manner of conversation? &ldquo;He was holy, harmless, separate from sinners.&rdquo; Does he command us to be humble? &ldquo;He was meek and lowly in heart;&rdquo; he washed his disciples&rsquo; feet; he said, &ldquo;I am among you as one that serveth.&rdquo; Does he command us &ldquo;to do good and to communicate&rdquo;? &ldquo;He went about doing good.&rdquo; He it was that said, &ldquo;Give alms of such things as ye possess.&rdquo; It was he &ldquo;who loved us and gave himself for us.&rdquo; Who requires us to be fervent in spirit? It is he who said, &ldquo;The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.&rdquo; Who orders us to be patient and forgiving? It is he &ldquo;who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; who, when he suffered, murmured not, but committed himself to him who judgeth righteously;&rdquo; he who prayed for his persecutors, saying, &ldquo;Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.&rdquo;<p>His example, therefore, was the law and the gospel in a living and an embodied form. It is a body of theology and morality itself, and is recorded for this very purpose; &ldquo;and he that saith he abideth in the truth ought himself also so to walk even as he walked;&rdquo; for &ldquo;as is the heavenly, so are they also that are heavenly,&rdquo; and, &ldquo;beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> It doth not yet appear what we shall he. - <a href='B:690 3:2'>1Jn 3:2</a>. </i><p>WE have here an intimation of the obscurity that veils the Christian&rsquo;s future destination. And it is well that &ldquo;it doth not yet appear what we shall be;&rdquo; for the full disclosure would be too much for our poor faculties now. The full display of them here would render us insensible to many things which have claim upon us. But the full disclosure would be also impossible, if proper; for with regard to the Christian&rsquo;s future condition there is that which no human understanding can now take in. The medium through which we make discoveries, as well as our faculties and powers of mind, are very defective, and will remain so till we hear the voice from heaven saying unto us, &ldquo;Come and see.&rdquo; It doth not yet appear what we shall be in the intermediate state.<p>The apostle tells us that &ldquo;absent from the body we shall be present with the Lord.&rdquo; But what do we know of the soul in its unembodied state, and of its retaining its consciousness when freed from material organization? The body and soul now participate in all our sorrows and enjoyments. But what do we know of the feeling of the soul when set free from this?-whether it has any knowledge of or any communication from the material world?-whether the &ldquo;spirits of the just made perfect&rdquo; know one another before the resurrection?-for now we know one another by the body, not by the soul. It doth not yet appear what we shall be in the resurrection of the just.<p>What do we know of the difference there will be between our present and our future bodies? It will be the same body, but infinitely superior. &ldquo;There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body;&rdquo; but what know we of the qualities of these? What conceptions have we of a spiritual body?-of a body that can render itself visible or invisible, and that can by a wish transport itself from one region to another? What know we of a body that needs no food or sleep,-that is incapable of any accident, or disease, or of death? What know we of a body which, instead of being a toil, a burden, or a clog, will even add to the soul&rsquo;s perfection, and enable it to enjoy pleasure and delight more completely than without it?<p>It doth not yet appear what we shall be in social intercourse. Moses and Elias, when they appeared on the mount of transfiguration, spake, and spake of our Saviour&rsquo;s death, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. The Apostle Paul tells us of words he heard when caught up to the third heaven, which were not lawful for a man to utter; and he speaks of the tongues of angels and of men. Do they depend, then, upon the utterance of words as a medium of communication of thought, as it is with us here? Are words arbitrary signs, as they are with us? Or what better mode have they?<p>We know not what latent power awaits us when we shall be born out of this embryo state into another and happier world. It doth not yet appear what we shall be as to employment, nor as to our pleasures; after all the experience of believers, (and they have a much better acquaintance by experience than from all the works they have ever read, or all the sermons they have ever heard,)-after all they know of its earnests and foretastes,-after all their views and feelings on which they have often said,- <p>&ldquo;While such a scene of sacred joy <p> My raptured eyes and ears employ, <p> Lord, I would sit and gaze away <p> A long and everlasting day.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> We know that when he shall appear we shall be like him. - <a href='B:690 3:2'>1Jn 3:2</a>. </i><p>WE are favoured with a partial development of the future glory of the sons of God, and we are enabled to see how far it extends and how much it comprehends. First, The apostle says, with all our ignorance, we know that he shall appear. He is now hid as to his presence and glory; but we read of his being revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, and of his coming to be admired in all them that believe. The appearance of our Lord here spoken of is personal, in distinction from his dispensation. This, we think, is not the appearance some are looking for. We only read in the Scriptures of two personal appearances of the Saviour: one of these is past, the other is future. He has appeared once. He appeared as &ldquo;a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.&rdquo; In the other &ldquo;he shall appear in his glory,&rdquo; and shall &ldquo;sit upon the throne of his glory.&rdquo; Before &ldquo;him shall be gathered all nations.&rdquo; Once, in the end of the world, shall &ldquo;he appear the second time, without sin, unto salvation.&rdquo;<p>Oh, the solemnity of his appearance! Oh, the glory of that scene! Then infidels will believe, but it will be too late. Then worldlings will see that all their hoardings and treasures are gone forever. Then Christians will see the wisdom of their choice, and will &ldquo;lift up their heads with joy, knowing that their redemption draweth nigh.&rdquo; And while the kingdoms of the earth wail because of him, and are ashamed and confounded at his appearance, they will be enabled to exclaim, &ldquo;Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him: this is our God; we will rejoice and be glad in his salvation.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, The apostle says, notwithstanding all our ignorance, this we know,-that when he shall appear we shall be like him. Christians will be like their Lord in holiness. This is remarkable when we consider how inherently and universally we have been depraved. What a miracle of grace is here! that we should be transformed into the image of Him who is the &ldquo;brightness of his Father&rsquo;s glory and the express image of his person.&rdquo; The likeness is here begun. They have the same views and dispositions as their Divine Lord, but neither in their measure or degree. Here they have only the outlines impressed, but then the whole figure will be filled up. The mind will then be freed from all error, from every thing perverse, from all vile affections, and from an irregular and carnal bias. Every Christian will then be as pure as Adam was in Paradise, and as the angels of God; yea, like the Son of God, abiding forever. This likeness will extend to the body.<p>The apostle therefore says, &ldquo;As we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.&rdquo; By the heavenly, then, he means the heavenly body. Yes, this vile body of our humiliation will be changed, that it may be &ldquo;fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.&rdquo; It will take in the state, too. There will be likeness to him in this:-&ldquo;He is our life;&rdquo; &ldquo;And when he who is our life shall appear, then shall we also appear with him in glory.&rdquo; &ldquo;I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me.&rdquo; And to the conquerors of sin, self, and the world, he says, &ldquo;I grant you to sit with me on my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father on his throne.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. - <a href='B:730 14:4'>Rev 14:4</a>. </i><p>OUR following the Saviour takes in three things. First, It must be free and voluntary. &ldquo;My son, give me thine heart.&rdquo; If it be given to him, nothing will be withholden. If this is withholden, nothing else will be acceptable to him, for <p>&ldquo;He abhors the sacrifice <p> Where not the heart is found.&rdquo; </i><p>What he requires he infinitely deserves; and therefore, to gain the heart,-to make his &ldquo;people willing in the day of his power,&rdquo; -he opens the eyes of their understanding, he unveils to their view his personal glory, makes them sensible how much they owe to him, and brings them to his cross and says, &ldquo;Behold my hands and my feet.&rdquo; &ldquo;Thus he draws them with the cords of love and the bands of a man;&rdquo; and they run after him, and find his yoke easy and his burden light.<p>Secondly, Our following him must be impartial. Hence it is said, &ldquo;They follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.&rdquo; It is true that their obedience while here is not perfect, but then it is not partial. They say, &ldquo;Therefore I esteem thy precepts concerning all things to be right, and I hate every false way.&rdquo; They come to him, not to bargain, not to prescribe, not to choose. They throw down their will at his feet, and their only question is, &ldquo;Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?&rdquo; &ldquo;Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.&rdquo; Thirdly, Our following him must be constant. The goodness of Ephraim was as &ldquo;the morning cloud, and the early dew, which passeth away.&rdquo; And the Galatians did run well, but they were hindered. &ldquo;But he only that endureth to the end shall be saved.&rdquo; When our Saviour was upon earth some followed him for a season only. One day a large number went back and walked no more with him, and our Saviour took occasion then to address his disciples, saying, &ldquo;Will ye also go away?&rdquo; But they said, &ldquo;Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.&rdquo;<p>We may be assured of this:-that what comes from God will also lead to him. Hence, says the apostle, &ldquo;We are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.&rdquo; And so it will be with all the subjects of divine grace. Each of them will be able to say, &ldquo;To the-praise of his glory by whom we have been kept through faith unto eternal salvation;&rdquo; and with Job, &ldquo;My foot hath held his steps; his way have I kept, and not declined; neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.&rdquo; Or, with the afflicted church, &ldquo;Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way; though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons,&rdquo; and &ldquo;covered us with the shadow of death.&rdquo; This is what the apostle enjoins upon the Corinthians:-&ldquo;Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him. - <a href='B:100 22:31'>2Sa 22:31</a>. </i><p>GOD is here metaphorically set forth as the defence of his people. Let us first observe the metaphor employed. It is a &ldquo;buckler.&rdquo; A buckler is a shield: it is called a buckler, because it is bound by a buckle on the arm for security and use. The metaphor David here employs he explains himself, when he says, &ldquo;But my defence is of God, who saveth the upright in heart.&rdquo; Christians are exposed to ten thousand enemies; they have enemies temporal, spiritual, and infernal; and if they were left to themselves there would be enough to make their hearts sink within them: but, as David says, their &ldquo;defence is of God.&rdquo; Some bucklers have been made of leather, some of wood, some of iron, some of steel, and some belonging to David even of silver and gold; but the shield of the Christian is divine. How impenetrable is their defence!-how valuable!-how it covers all the interests of a believer in Jesus!<p>Protected by this, what can Satan or the world do? Injure his substance? But God has made a hedge round about it. His reputation? But &ldquo;thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.&rdquo; His body? &ldquo;He keepeth all his bones.&rdquo; His soul? &ldquo;He shall preserve thy soul:&rdquo; and this is the grand thing; this is the main interest: that which relates to his substance and his earthly interest may be injured; yea, he may lose these; not because God is unable to preserve them, but because he hath not promised to secure them absolutely. All temporal blessings are promised in the Scriptures only conditionally; that is, if they be good for us. As far as these outward blessings are for our good, they are equally sure with our spiritual ones; but the loss of them may be even beneficial to our religious welfare. However this may be, whatever is essential to our spiritual and everlasting welfare, we may rest assured, is absolutely promised. Hence the promises, &ldquo;Sin shall not have dominion over you;&rdquo; &ldquo;The Lord shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.&rdquo; Then let us observe,<p>Secondly, The characters that lay claim to his protection:-&ldquo;He is a buckler to all them that trust in him.&rdquo; It is common for all writers to express the whole by a part; but then it must be an essential part. It is the same with the sacred writers: they hold forth the whole by a part; hence they express the whole of religion by &ldquo;trusting in the Lord;&rdquo; and we need not wonder at this, because religion takes its rise from this source. Man fell by losing his trust in God, and is only to be recovered by the restoration of it.<p>Lastly, we may observe the universality of the claimants:-&ldquo;He is a buckler to all them that trust in him.&rdquo; Liberality has its bounds: it cannot do every thing, it often cannot do much. Friendship has its partiality: we cannot take every one into our own bosom; but as for God, his tender mercies are over all his works. And if we pass over his compassion and come to his complacency, we read that &ldquo;he takes pleasure in them that fear him, in them that hope in his mercy.&rdquo; It equally regards all these, without respect to persons; all of every nation that call upon his name; all of every condition,-Onesimus the slave and Philemon the master, Zenas the lawyer and Luke the physician; all of every degree of grace, and of every degree of faith, where it is real.<p>Thomas with his weak faith, and the centurion with his strong faith, are all one in him, and are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. &ldquo;Happy is the people that is in such a case! Yea, happy is the people whose God is the Lord.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The sufferings of this present time. - <a href='B:520 8:18'>Rom 8:18</a>. </i><p>WITH regard to Christians now, their sufferings consist principally of the ills and adversities of human life. These God permits, these he sends in the course of his providence, and these subserved the purposes of persecution in particular ages of the church. These are the briers and thorns which naturally grow out of our condition, and induce us to exclaim, &ldquo;Woe is me that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!&rdquo;<p>There are the disappointments of the way, by which our purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of our heart; there are our bodily pains, indispositions, and sufferings, and which cause us to exclaim, with Job, &ldquo;I am made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed unto me.&rdquo; There are also our social evils,-when the mother closes the eye of the child she bore and bred, and at her bosom fed, and when the husband hears the sentence, &ldquo;Son of man, behold, I take away the desire of thine eyes with a stroke,&rdquo; and when the man stripped and peeled is like a sparrow alone upon the house-top, who also says, &ldquo;Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.&rdquo; Indeed, there are a thousand sources of suffering that open to us in this vale of tears. Nothing gives us pleasure but is capable of yielding us pain; nothing can awaken hope that cannot also produce fear. But why are these called &ldquo;the sufferings of this present time&rdquo;? Doubtless for these reasons.<p>First, Because a state of suffering is the character of this life. Hence old Jacob said, &ldquo;Few and evil have been the days of the years of my pilgrimage.&rdquo; Job said, &ldquo;Man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upwards.&rdquo; And Solomon exclaimed, from his own experience, as well as on other grounds, &ldquo;All is vanity and vexation of spirit.&rdquo; It will be well for us to enter upon every condition with this expectation. It will be well for those who are indulged in the morning of life to remember the admonition of Solomon:-&ldquo;Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun. But if a man live many years and rejoice in them all, yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they too shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.&rdquo; And as to Christians, what other expectation are they authorized to entertain? They know they are in an enemy&rsquo;s country; they know they are far from home, and that it is &ldquo;through much tribulation they must enter the kingdom.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, Because they are necessary to it: we mean morally so. This is a state of trial, of probation, and of preparation; for if we are to be weaned from earth, to have our conversation in heaven, to breathe after future blessedness, to live much in prayer, to be attached to the sanctuary, to sympathize with the afflicted, to speak a word in season to them that are weary, to glorify God in the fires, to resemble our Lord and Saviour, why, then the sufferings of this present time are indispensable.<p>And, Thirdly, Because they are confined to it. This is not the case, indeed, with all. For those who are unpardoned and unrenewed, these privations and trials and sufferings here will only be the beginnings of sorrow. But it is otherwise with the Christian. The Christian&rsquo;s sufferings are for the present time only. This gives us a pleasing view of death. Death is the offspring of sin, yet it is the destroyer of it: as says an old writer, &ldquo;God sends death to kill sin, but by killing sin it destroys itself also as well as sorrow, which is the consequence of sin.&rdquo;<p>It is thus the curse is turned into a blessing. It is thus the enemy proves to be a friend. 


devotion:
<i> If any man serve me, him will my Father honour. - <a href='B:500 12:26'>Joh 12:26</a>. </i><p>SUCH a man will be sure to abase himself; he will &ldquo;abhor himself, and repent in dust and ashes.&rdquo; &ldquo;He that exalteth himself,&rdquo; says Christ, &ldquo;shall be abased, but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.&rdquo; Some of them may be vilified by the world, which lieth in wickedness; but what harm can the reproaches and revilings of man do unto us, if we have God&rsquo;s smile and God&rsquo;s commendation? We value honour, and we ought to value it according to the quarter from whence it comes.<p>The applause of a wicked man is real censure when it is derogatory to God&rsquo;s honour. An Athenian philosopher turned round and said to his admirers, &ldquo;What harm have I done, to deserve your applause?&rdquo; An ingenious writer has observed, that to live in the esteem and affections of the really wise and good is like walking in an Eastern spice-grove. What then must it be to enjoy the favour of God? &ldquo;Skin for skin,&rdquo; said Satan, &ldquo;all that a man hath, will he give for his life.&rdquo; Life is the most precious of all things; but &ldquo;his favour is life,&rdquo; and his &ldquo;loving-kindness is better than life.&rdquo; And this assurance must be accomplished. &ldquo;If any man serve me, him will my Father honour.&rdquo; My Father will honour him in life; he will correspond with him, he will visit him, he will distinguish him. &ldquo;The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.&rdquo; They have more glory, they have more attendants, than any monarch upon earth; angels are &ldquo;ministering spirits sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation.&rdquo;<p>What an honour does God put upon his people, in that he makes all his dispensations to exemplify the language of the prophet to King Asa!-&ldquo;The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of those whose heart is perfect towards him.&rdquo; In times of public calamity how often has he induced profligate men to say, &ldquo;Verily, there is a reward for the righteous&rdquo;! God is their God now, and will be theirs in future and eternal ages. He does not wait till they reach home; he begins to immortalize them now in time. He owns them on this side the grave, and makes the dying chamber of the Christian to be the &ldquo;very gate of heaven.&rdquo;<p>Oh to be confessed before him, before an assembled world, and before his angels,-to hear him say, &ldquo;Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world&rdquo;! 


devotion:
<i> In whom also we have obtained an inheritance. - <a href='B:560 1:11'>Eph 1:11</a>. </i><p>TO whom does the apostle here refer? Unquestionably to the Lord Jesus; for what is there we have not in him? When it is said, &ldquo;In whom we have obtained an inheritance,&rdquo; the meaning is, by whom. It comes entirely by him: he procured all for us on the cross, and bestows all upon us from the throne; he &ldquo;loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and makes us kings and priests unto God and his Father,&rdquo; and we are &ldquo;blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.&rdquo; This is true; but we think it does not reach the full meaning of the expression, &ldquo;In whom we have obtained an inheritance.&rdquo; The apostle refers to our union with Christ.<p>We must be in him, in order to obtain the blessing. There is safety in a refuge, but we must be in it in order to enjoy security. There is sap in a tree, and the branch partakes of it; but then it must be in it. If it be separated from the tree, it derives no nourishment from it. This leads us to remark, concerning the Christian&rsquo;s union with Christ, of which the Scripture speaks so much, that it is twofold,-visible and vital. There is a great distinction between these. Persons may be professedly in him and yet be unfruitful and perish. But all his own people are vitally united to him. They are united by the Holy Spirit, and by a living faith, so that they are one with him. It is only those, therefore, who are vitally united to Christ,-not those who merely profess his name, but those who are vitally united to him,-that can use these words, &ldquo;In whom we have obtained an inheritance.&rdquo; And we here also see they were persuaded of this.<p>They spake not of it by way of conjecture, or opinion, or as a probable thing, but as actually certain. They spake without hesitation or doubt in this matter. Not that all who are united to Christ can use this language. A child may be heir to an inheritance and not know it, from the tenderness of his years or the weakness of his age: still, he is a real heir. So is it with Christians, with all who are vitally united to Christ. All of them have this inheritance, though they cannot all at present speak of their interest in it without hesitation. Yea, there are some among them who write bitter things against themselves, as if they had neither part nor lot in the matter, and as if their hearts were not right in the sight of God. But though all cannot adopt this confident language, yet it may be realized; or where is the propriety of the admonition, &ldquo;Prove your own selves, examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith,&rdquo; &ldquo;giving all diligence, make your calling and election sure&rdquo;? And in numberless instances it has been actually realized.<p>Though all do not possess this assurance, yet all desire it. This we believe is essential to grace; not the knowledge of it, but the desire of it. And this is attainable. So also it is useful and profitable. Oh, how will this holy, humble assurance revive the Christian! how will it wean him from the world! how will it smooth the rugged way of life and sweeten the bitter cup of affliction! how does it gild with glory the darkness of the grave! it will remove the fear of death, and make the believer &ldquo;rejoice in hope of the glory of God.&rdquo;<p>May we therefore always be able to say, with Thomas, &ldquo;My Lord and my God,&rdquo; and with David, &ldquo;Thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Where I am, there shall also my servant be. - <a href='B:500 12:26'>Joh 12:26</a>. </i><p>AND this is heaven. Now, we understand this by a twofold reference,-by a reference to his divine nature, and by a reference to his human nature. If he referred to his human nature only, he was not there when he spake these words. But his ascension was near. He said, &ldquo;The hour is come that the Son of man shall be glorified.&rdquo; It was near; it was certain as if it had already taken place. He therefore viewed it as present, and said, &ldquo;Where I am, there shall also my servant be.&rdquo; If he referred to his divine nature, he was already there when he thus spake. He said, therefore, to the Jews, &ldquo;No man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven,&rdquo; who was actually there then.<p>There is no inconsistency in this. It is expressive of a grand promise to believers of union and communion with, the Saviour,-a promise of their entering into the same state, place, and enjoyment, and having the same employment too. It is a description of heaven. One essential part of heaven will be the presence of the Saviour, for that indeed constitutes heaven. Our Saviour, therefore, said to the thief, &ldquo;This day shalt thou be with me in paradise.&rdquo; And, said the apostle, &ldquo;Absent from the body and present with the Lord.&rdquo; It was Paul&rsquo;s attraction. This made him say, &ldquo;I long to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.&rdquo; &ldquo;Better&rdquo; than being bound? &ldquo;Better&rdquo; than fighting with beasts at Ephesus? &ldquo;Better&rdquo; than having the sentence of death passed on himself? Oh, no; that was not his meaning; but it was &ldquo;far better&rdquo; than all the service of God below, than all the Sabbaths, than all the sacraments, than all the &ldquo;communion of saints.&rdquo; &ldquo;I long to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.&rdquo; And does not this imply a state of immediate consciousness? Otherwise, the apostle would have preferred holding intercourse with his Saviour here, being employed in his blessed service,- instructing the ignorant, reclaiming the vicious, and proclaiming his word. Would he not have preferred all this to ages of senselessness in the grave? It is in vain to say that these ages would seem but a moment; for we are not inquiring about how he would feel after the event, but how he would feel in the prospect of it,- and how he would feel if both were presented to him and addressed to his option. Is this an attraction to us? No man will be forced into a heaven which he dislikes, into a heaven which he cannot enjoy; and a holy heaven cannot be enjoyed but by holy persons.<p>A spiritual heaven can only be enjoyed by spiritual people; a Christian heaven can only be hoped for by those who love Christ, and who place all their happiness in the enjoyment of his presence. Some can say, Christ is precious; he is my salvation and all my desire; it is enough for me to be where he is:- <p>&ldquo;I cannot live contented here <p> Without some glimpses of thy face; <p> And heaven, without thy presence there, <p> Would be a dark and tiresome place.&rdquo; </i><p>Our Saviour well knew the disposition of his people, and the estimation in which he was held by them. He well knew what would be congenial with their feelings, and he describes heaven accordingly:-&ldquo;Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory.&rdquo; If a little enjoyment of his presence in the closet, in the sanctuary, at his table, has induced us to say, &ldquo;Lord, it is good for us to be here,&rdquo; what will it be to be &ldquo;forever with the Lord&rdquo;? &ldquo;In his presence there is fulness of joy,&rdquo; and the enjoyment of it then will be pure, uninterrupted, and eternal. 


devotion:
<i> Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might; let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. - <a href='B:300 9:23-24'>Jer 9:23-24</a>. </i><p>THIS prohibition shows us at once the propensity there is in man to glory in man.; it reminds us of the source of his boast, and glorying in some possession or quality of his own,-as we here see, in his wisdom, or in his might, or in his riches. Though these three articles alone are mentioned, they are very comprehensive, and are found to contain all that feeds human vanity and pride. We should always be very careful as to what we glory in, as it at once shows what we are, whether wise or foolish, whether carnal or spiritual, whether earthly or heavenly; and because of its influence, for whatever we much admire, value, and commend will operate so as to convert the mind into its own nature. And whether the subject be virtuous or base, or noble or abject, this will be the result.<p>If it be little, it will contract the mind; if base, it will degrade it; if noble, it will elevate it; if sacred, it will sanctify it. In what, then, it may be asked, should we glory? Let us turn to the children of light; let us look at the heirs of salvation; let us appeal to the Scriptures of truth. What is the language of the evangelical prophet when predicting the coming reign of the Messiah? &ldquo;In his name,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.&rdquo; They shall not only be justified, but they &ldquo;shall glory&rdquo; in him. And in what part, so to speak, are they to glory? Not only in his grandeur, but in his love; not in his throne, but in his cross; according to the language of the Apostle Paul, &ldquo;God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.&rdquo;<p>Here we see in what this eminent servant of Christ gloried. It was not in his parts as a man, nor in his attainments as a scholar, nor in his privileges as a Jew, nor in his strictness as a Pharisee, nor in his freedom as a Roman, nor in his usefulness as a minister, nor in his gifts and achievements as an apostle. Nay, he rejects the thought, and by a kind of oath exclaims, &ldquo;God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Be clothed with humility. - <a href='B:670 5:5'>1Pe 5:5</a>. </i><p>HOWEVER grace may have distinguished and enriched its possessors, if they have an inheritance now, they know they were poor enough once; if now they are clothed with the garments of salvation, they know that once they were naked and in a state of utter spiritual destitution; if they are now nigh, they have been &ldquo;made nigh by the blood of Christ,&rdquo; for they were once &ldquo;far off;&rdquo; if they are now pardoned, they were once condemned; if they are now renewed in the spirit of their minds, they were once carnally-minded. Christians, therefore, above all others, should not be proud, but humble.<p>Hence says the prophet to the Jews, &ldquo;Look to the rock from whence ye were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from whence ye were digged.&rdquo; And Christians should not only be humble, but grateful, calling daily upon their soul, and all that is within them, to bless and praise God&rsquo;s holy name.<p>There are three dresses mentioned in Scripture in which Christians appear to great advantage; and it may be difficult to determine which becomes them best. One of these is the dress here mentioned by Peter,-the dress of humility. And another is what Jeremiah calls the &ldquo;garments of praise,&rdquo; in which also the Christian looks very fair and comely; for, as David says, &ldquo;praise is comely;&rdquo; it is becoming in us to be thankful, for we cannot appear to greater advantage than in these garments of praise, and in being &ldquo;clothed with humility.&rdquo; Arrayed in these, we shall &ldquo;adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.&rdquo; But there is still another dress in which the Christian appears to advantage, and that is zeal. Isaiah speaks of putting on &ldquo;zeal as a cloak,&rdquo;-a beautiful garment.<p>Oh, how well a Christian looks in this, when he is not only humble, and thankful in his own soul, but when he is concerned that others may partake with him, -when he invites them, when he calls upon them, to come forward and hear what God has done for his soul! Oh, may we be distinguished more and more by it, and say, with the first Christians, &ldquo;That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The glory which shall be revealed in us. - <a href='B:520 8:18'>Rom 8:18</a>. </i><p>HERE we have the glory of the future state contrasted with the present state of suffering. &ldquo;The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.&rdquo; And all this is spoken of with hope and confidence. Let us not overlook the words which the Holy Ghost useth, for they are words of wisdom as well as of kindness. &ldquo;Glory.&rdquo; In other places heaven is called a rest:-&ldquo;There remaineth a rest for the people of God.&rdquo; And it is very desirable to be freed from evil. Those who are in bondage, how they desire freedom! and those in pain, how they desire ease! But it is not only called &ldquo;rest,&rdquo; but frequently &ldquo;an inheritance.&rdquo; &ldquo;Ye are not yet come to the inheritance which the Lord thy God giveth thee.&rdquo; This inheritance is immensely valuable. But glory is something more.<p>The radical meaning of glory is brilliancy or brightness; but this is too childish an idea. The second meaning is excellency displayed: and heaven will display every kind of excellency. There will be natural excellence,-the place will be excellent; social excellence,-the company will be excellent; intellectual excellence,-the knowledge will be excellent; we read of &ldquo;the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord;&rdquo; spiritual excellence,-our holiness will be complete, and in our measure and degree, we shall be glorious in holiness. The employment will be glorious; the enjoyment will be glorious; the state, whatever view we may take of it, will be glorious. Then this is to be revealed.<p>Peter speaks of it as a future discovery. It is prepared from the foundation of the world, and taken possession of in our name, when Christ arose and &ldquo;ascended up on high, there to appear in the presence of God for us.&rdquo; But now it is concealed. &ldquo;Your life,&rdquo; says the apostle, &ldquo;is hid with Christ in God.&rdquo; How is it hid? and from whom is it hid? It is hid from the world; but the meaning of the apostle is this:-it is hidden from Christians themselves in a great measure. They are indeed informed of it, for if they were not they could not desire it. But, after all that, the Scriptures have said, &ldquo;It doth not yet appear what we shall be.&rdquo;<p>Who can tell what new powers of mind may break forth and display themselves when we have thrown off the burden of the flesh? We have no medium by which to view it, no image by which adequately to express it, no vision with which we could bear the full disclosure of it now. The light would be too much for the eye, the melody too much for the ear; and that weight of glory would break down our poor weak frame now, for flesh and blood can no more comprehend it than it can inherit the kingdom of God. No, it is to be revealed. It will be revealed. Then all the believers&rsquo; privileges will be known, all their grandeur will be seen, and the Saviour in all his charms will be beheld by their admiring eyes. Then every thing that perplexes us now will be explained; then in his light shall we see light. This glory that is to be revealed in us will be a glory to all the human race. It will be a glory even to the wicked for their conviction and confusion. &ldquo;Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him; and all kingdoms of the earth shall wail because of him.&rdquo;<p>Thus it is with Christians even here. The Saviour is not only revealed to them, but in them. It is the apostle&rsquo;s own expression:-&ldquo;It pleased God, who separated me from my mother&rsquo;s womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me.&rdquo; So it is with Christians now: they not only hear of Christ, but receive him. Hence he is not only with them but in them, and in them the hope of glory. They are not, therefore, only witnesses of his grace, but the subjects of it. So when his glory shall be revealed, they will not only be partakers, but it will be realized in them in all their powers, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints and admired in all them that believe. But all this is known and appropriated. Paul speaks with confidence, and says, &ldquo;The glory that shall be revealed in us.&rdquo; Those, therefore, who are authorized to use this language, must be a very blessed people. &ldquo;Yea, happy the people who are in such a case.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The death of the cross. - <a href='B:570 2:8'>Phi 2:8</a>. </i><p>THE cross was the most scandalous of things, and crucifixion was the death of slaves and of the vilest of malefactors. The death of the cross was, therefore, as infamous as it was cruel and degrading. Crucifixion not being with us a punishment, the cross is not reckoned so execrable as it was considered by those among whom the apostle laboured. To them it had connected with it the same degradation as the words gibbet and gallows have with us. And what would you think of a man who resolved only to glory in a gibbet or a gallows?<p>The word cross sometimes means the mortification of sin in us, or what we endure for our adherence to our Lord and Saviour, in a way of reproach and persecution. Therefore he said to his disciples, &ldquo;If any man will become my disciple, let him take up his cross daily and follow me.&rdquo; But observe, this is ours, not his. Again, the cross commonly means the instrument upon which the Saviour expired; and, among the Roman Catholics, pieces of wood have been sold as parts of his cross, enough to fill a hundred timber-yards.<p>The apostle, therefore, by the cross, does not mean the crucifix; but, as by a figure of speech we use the cup for its contents, and the sword for war, so the apostle by &ldquo;the cross&rdquo; means the death of Christ, and all the sufferings the Saviour sustained and which he endured for us. Let us notice, concerning the cross of Christ, its importance. Of this importance we now know but only in part. We know not how far this importance extends. But there are two things which we are here authorized to observe. In this- the cross of Christ-the glory of God is peculiarly displayed. Here his glory shines forth in harmony with all the perfections of his nature. Here mercy and truth have met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Here, indeed, is &ldquo;glory to God in the highest.&rdquo; Here principalities and powers come to &ldquo;learn by the church the manifold wisdom of God;&rdquo; and as for angels, they &ldquo;desire to look into these things. &ldquo;It is infinitely beneficial.<p>It is beneficial as the confirmation of his doctrine; and he sealed his witness unto the truth with his blood. It is beneficial, also, as it affords us an example. &ldquo;He suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should tread in his steps.&rdquo; It is beneficial for us as an atonement. Thus, we read, &ldquo;He once suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, to bring us unto God;&rdquo; &ldquo;He hath made reconciliation for sin by his death;&rdquo; &ldquo;He hath made peace by the blood of his cross.&rdquo; Now, therefore, as regards believers, the law has no condemnation, affliction has no curse, and death has no sting. &ldquo;He hath abolished death.&rdquo; How? By his doctrine and example only, or principally? No, but by his mediation; by his dying for us and rising again; by his suffering not only for our good, but in our stead,-as our Surety, Substitute, Ransom, and Sacrifice. And, lastly, It is beneficial as the source of our sanctification as well as of our justification:-&ldquo; He gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> When he shall appear, we shall he like him; for we shall see him as he is. - <a href='B:690 3:2'>1Jn 3:2</a>. </i><p>AND thus the likeness secures the vision, and not the vision the likeness. In the manner in which he expresses himself, many have supposed the former to be a consequence of the latter,-that we shall be made like him by seeing him as he is. But what change will take place in the Christian after he sees him? The one is mentioned here, not as the consequence, but as the proof. We shall be like him; and, as an evidence of it, we shall see him as he is, which we could not do unless we had been made previously like him.<p>The word &ldquo;for&rdquo; is frequently used not as a cause but as evidential. Thus, we say, &ldquo;Spring is come, for the birds are singing.&rdquo; The singing of the birds does not bring the spring, but shows that it is come. Our blessed Saviour uses the word when referring to the solemnities of the last day. He says to those on his right hand, &ldquo;Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was a-hungered, and ye gave me meat.&rdquo; Well, the greatest favour the Saviour could ask for his disciples while upon earth was, that they might be with him where he was, to behold his glory. Many followed him to see him. The Greeks said, &ldquo;Sirs, we would see Jesus.&rdquo; Zaccheus ran before the multitude and climbed up into a sycamore-tree in order to behold him, for he was to pass that way. Perhaps we have all sometimes been ready to envy those who saw him, heard him, and were familiar with him, while here. Well, Christians,- <p>&ldquo;Well, we shall quickly pass the night <p> To the fair coasts of perfect light; <p> Then shall our joyful senses rove <p> O&rsquo;er the dear object of our love.&rdquo; </i><p>We naturally wish to see persons of unparalleled greatness and mental capacity. <p>&ldquo;Oh that those lips had language! life has pass&rsquo;d <p> With me but roughly since I heard thee last. <p> Those lips are thine; thine own sweet smile I see,- <p> The same that oft in childhood solaced me.&rdquo; </i><p>Well, all the &ldquo;sons of God&rdquo; shall &ldquo;see the King in his beauty.&rdquo; We have often seen him in his works, in his word, and in his ordinances. But we shall see him as he is, in the very nature in which he was born, in which he suffered and died. We have some precious views of him now by faith. But we shall not always depend upon testimony, nor upon his own testimony concerning himself. No, we shall see him as he is. When Simeon viewed him as a babe merely, he looked at him, and said, &ldquo;Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.&rdquo; When the Queen of Sheba came from the uttermost parts of the earth to see the wisdom of Solomon, she said, &ldquo;It was a true report I heard in mine own land: howbeit, I believed not the words until I came and mine own eyes had seen it; and behold, the one-half had not been told me.&rdquo;<p>What then will it be with regard to the disciples of Christ, when they shall &ldquo;be like him, and shall see him as he is&rdquo;? This was the conviction and apprehension of John and his fellow-disciples. They knew this; and, notwithstanding their ignorance of other things, they knew that they should &ldquo;see him as he is.&rdquo; And they knew it, not only as a truth to be believed, but also to be appropriated, so that they could apply it to themselves. 


devotion:
<i> We know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as He is. - <a href='B:690 3:2'>1Jn 3:2</a>. </i><p>THIS knowledge of appropriation is most desirable. It has been possessed by ordinary Christians without number. And cannot we too say, with John, &ldquo;We know that we have passed from death into life, because we love the brethren&rdquo;? The grand inquiry, therefore, is, whether this will be our blessedness; whether this destination will be our own. We have often been told that we should exercise candour in religion, because we all hope for the same heaven, which thing indeed is very false.<p>All hope for a heaven, but all do not hope for the same heaven. No; the heaven that many are hoping for is not the heaven here referred to by the Apostle John,-a heaven arising from the likeness, vision, and presence of the blessed Saviour. We should not fail to observe the words which immediately follow our motto:-&ldquo;And every man that hath this hope purifieth himself, even as he is pure.&rdquo; Alas, there are many who will not find this blessed state and abode of the righteous.<p>Of all the passions, none are so soothing as hope; and nothing is so dreadful as the disappointment of it, especially when confidence has been great, and the object to be realized is great also. Solomon says, &ldquo;There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.&rdquo; Therefore, let us ever remember the words of our Saviour, &ldquo;Ye cannot serve God and mammon.&rdquo; We cannot have treasure in heaven unless our hearts are there also. Those, therefore, who have this hope, should highly prize it, make use of it and employ it continually. Let us call to mind the words of Watts:- <p>&ldquo;A hope so much divine <p> May trials well endure; <p> May purge our souls from sense and sin, <p> As Christ our Lord is pure;&rdquo; </i><p>How supporting is this assurance of hope! Oh, how it can sweeten the bitter cup of life, and soothe the mind under the heaviest trials and disappointments! How it can illuminate the gloom and light up the valley of the shadow of death! It was fabulously said by one of old, that &ldquo;if a man walked by a myrtle walking-staff, he would never be weary.&rdquo; Let us take the staff of the gospel in our hand and hold it fast, and we shall not grow weary in our journey to heaven. Yea, &ldquo;we shall run and not be weary, and walk and not faint.&rdquo; But if the valley be unattractive, and if even Jordan rolls between, let us ever remember that there- <p>&ldquo;Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood <p> Stand, dressed in living green; <p>&ldquo;There everlasting spring abides, <p> And never-withering flowers.&rdquo; </i><p>Oh, may we, when we come to die, realize this, and then we shall say, &ldquo;Surely the bitterness of death is past.&rdquo; Time flies, life diminishes, and we shall soon be in the condition of the mariner who leaves his native land,-as the vessel advances, the land disappears; but our condition in this respect is infinitely more important. Time is rapidly passing away, and we shall soon leap into the stream that will bear us away to the tribunal of Jehovah. Oh to have a well-grounded hope of interest in that dear Saviour, a hope full of immortality!-to have the full assurance of hope, and to be enabled to say, with David, as we look forward, &ldquo;As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness;&rdquo; and with John, &ldquo;We know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. - <a href='B:630 2:14'>Tit 2:14</a>. </i><p>IN the work of redemption we see the evil of sin infinitely displayed. It is there we find the most powerful motives to holiness and obedience. It is there that faith beholds her bleeding Saviour and wipes her tears away. It is there that hope lifts up its head and smiles again. It is there that holy love and zeal animate the heart, and burn as with a live coal from the altar. It is there we &ldquo;reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.&rdquo; It is there even reason leads us to conclude that, &ldquo;if one died for all, then were all dead; and that he died for all, that those who live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them and rose again.&rdquo; We must therefore always remember that our Saviour&rsquo;s death is not only beneficial as an example, but it is also infinitely meritorious and efficacious as an atonement. We must not only view it as putting away sin by the sacrifice of himself, but as obtaining the Spirit of Jesus Christ; thus, we sing,- <p>&ldquo;&rsquo;Tis by the merit of his death <p> Our souls are cleansed from sin; &rsquo;<p>Tis by his interceding breath <p> The Spirit dwells within.&rdquo; </i><p>So, therefore, says the apostle, in his Epistle to the Galatians, &ldquo;Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree; that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ.&rdquo; How important, then, appears the death of Christ! If any thing more were necessary in illustration of it, we could mention two things. The one is the vastness of the sufferings from which we are delivered, and the other is the vastness of the blessings we derive from it. Here we are not only fed, but feasted; we are not only supplied, but enriched, -not only have life, but have it more abundantly. Here we are raised up above the state of Adam in Paradise, or even of angels in glory. And with us, also, myriads upon myriads will be the humble partakers of these benefits, and will enjoy an eternity of honour and of happiness. <p>&ldquo;Oh, the sweet wonders of the cross <p> Where God the Saviour loved and died; <p> Her noblest life my spirit draws <p> From his dear wounds and bleeding side.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> The word of the Lord is tried. - <a href='B:100 22:31'>2Sa 22:31</a>. </i><p>EVERY thing truly excellent and valuable admits of counterfeit; therefore, to determine the genuineness and value of a thing we bring it to the touchstone. Thus, silver and gold are tried in the fire. Experience signifies a knowledge derived from trial, and is, contrary to theory, founded on facts, not on conjecture. There is a knowledge which necessarily precedes faith, for how can we believe that of which we know nothing? But there is a knowledge which follows faith, of which the apostle, in referring to his experience, says, &ldquo;I know whom I have believed, and that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.&rdquo; Let us apply this to the case before us.<p>The word of the Lord comes to us with a peculiar recommendation: it comes to us as a tried word; it has been tried now for nearly six thousand years. It has been tried by millions. Numbers now in heaven have tried it, and numbers now in hell, and numbers living upon earth. It was tried by our first parents in the garden of Eden. They yielded to the temptation, and tried the truth of the Lord; and they soon found, in the corruption of their blood, in the mortality of their bodies, in the loss of communion with God, in their expulsion from Paradise, that the word of the Lord is true. How did the Jews try it! How they mocked the messengers of God that came to them with promises if they would believe and obey, and with fearful predictions if they continued to rebel against God! And did they not rebel? and have not the predictions been verified in their becoming a reproach, and a by-word, and a proverb, and a hissing among all the nations of the earth? and can we see a Jew at this very day without being reminded that the word of the Lord is true and faithful altogether?<p>We may take another view of this, and refer to the enemies of the church of Christ. There have been enemies who have used fraud and force in order to destroy Christianity; but they have not been able to do this, even by their combined efforts; and we learn the folly of suffering our hearts to tremble for the ark of God, seeing its destruction is impossible. &ldquo;For God is not a man, that he should repent.&rdquo; Eventually, every thing that opposeth the truth shall be destroyed. At his coming it shall be said, Babylon is fallen! Amen. The Lord hasten it in his time. It has been tried by the servants of God: many of them are now bearing their testimony to its faithfulness. Before they ever made the trial, they read that it was good to draw near to God, that the way of the Lord was strength to the upright; and they have tried it since, and can bear their testimony to the truth as well as to the grace of all this, and can say to others,- <p>&ldquo;O ye despairing sinners, come, <p> And trust upon the Lord.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall he revealed in us. - <a href='B:520 8:18'>Rom 8:18</a>. </i><p>LET us consider the comparison here made by the apostle. The one state so far transcends the other, that it is, properly speaking, a contrast here rather than a comparison; and this will appear in two things. First, As to the duration of it. The sacred writers laboured for expressions to describe the brevity of the saints&rsquo; suffering-period. They called it &ldquo;a season.&rdquo; They tell us the saints shall suffer persecution ten days; they call it an hour, yea, they call it a moment, and even a small moment: -&ldquo;For a small moment have I forsaken thee.&rdquo; But suppose now that Christians should be chastened every morning and tried every evening all through life! What is life itself but &ldquo;a vapour that appeareth for a little while, and then vanisheth away&rdquo;? What but as &ldquo;a dream when one awaketh&rdquo;? Can we compare this small moment-this light affliction, which is but for a moment- with the &ldquo;far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory&rdquo;? Can we compare this momentary suffering with &ldquo;an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,&rdquo; where there is no danger of foes, no possibility of decay?-where they die no more,-where death itself is dead? Can we compare it with the language of Isaiah, &ldquo;The Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended&rdquo;?<p>Then, Secondly, With regard to the degree as well as the duration. This too is contrast rather than comparison. It is impossible that one of our trials should make us as miserable as the others should render us happy. Our sufferings, the Christian&rsquo;s sufferings, however severe, have their alleviations, and our grateful minds ought to dwell upon this much more than they do. The apostle says, &ldquo;As these sufferings for Christ abound, so our consolations also abound by Christ.&rdquo; And can we say of our losses, that we can retain no one thing, but that all is taken away? And, besides all this, what compensation God affords us in the midst of our trials! as it is said in Ezekiel, &ldquo;Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.&rdquo; So David, when he saw all was destroyed at Ziklag, &ldquo;encouraged himself in the Lord his God.&rdquo; And we should remember this, -that &ldquo;the Lord stayeth his rough wind in the day of his east wind.&rdquo; &ldquo;The glory to be revealed,&rdquo; our poet thus describes:- <p>&ldquo;Full bliss is bliss divine, and this is bliss.&rdquo; </i><p>Our cup will be entirely filled, up to the very brim, and there will be no mixture whatever in it. No, there will be no want unsupplied, no hope unaccomplished; no, we shall no more say, &ldquo;I am sick.&rdquo; All tears shall be wiped away. What comparison, therefore, is there between the sufferings of this present time in duration and degree, and the glory that is to be revealed in us? But we have one thing more.<p>Observe the person making this relative estimate: it is Paul. &ldquo;I reckon;&rdquo; and there never was a person so qualified to judge as he. We see, then, that he had two peculiar qualifications, yea, two exclusive advantages, in making this assertion. First, He was inspired; he spake as he was moved by the Holy Ghost; and his inspiration preserved him from any possibility of mistake or error. We know, therefore, his witness is true.<p>Then, Secondly, He had much personal experience. It will be readily admitted that he knew well from experience what the sufferings of this present time were. He was a sufferer for Christ&rsquo;s sake. Of his sufferings for the Redeemer&rsquo;s cause he speaks in one place thus:-&ldquo;For whom I have suffered the loss of all things.&rdquo; He knew also something of the glory that is to be revealed, in a manner which no other human being ever did. So then we see he was qualified more than any other person, both from personal knowledge and experience, as well as being inspired; therefore he could say, &ldquo;I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. - <a href='B:550 6:14'>Gal 6:14</a>. </i><p>WE may here observe how the apostle regarded the sufferings and death of the Lord Jesus: he gloried in it. Now, glory supposes the realization or appropriation of some excellence; then, also, it is satisfaction issuing in delight, and triumph, and rapture. Oh that we were like-minded with the Apostle Paul! for, if we were,-if we could &ldquo;glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,&rdquo;-there are ways enough in which it might be expressed and manifested.<p>If we glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall &ldquo;rejoice in Christ Jesus, having no confidence in the flesh.&rdquo; We shall make it the subject of our choice with regard to preachers; we shall choose such a one who dwells much on the cross of Christ, and prefer their labours to those of others, however inferior they may be as to talent or as to manner; &ldquo;for what is the chaff to the wheat, saith the Lord?&rdquo;<p>If we glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall think of it with feelings of pleasure, saying, with the Psalmist, &ldquo;How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with thee.&rdquo; &ldquo;My meditation of him shall be sweet; I will be glad in the Lord.&rdquo; &ldquo;My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips, when I remember thee upon my bed,&rdquo; O my dying Saviour, &ldquo;and meditate upon thee in the night-watches.&rdquo;<p>Thoughts are the first-born offspring of the mind, and in a Christian we shall find them clinging to the cross, as the bees cling around the hive,- and for the very same reason, for there is the honey. <p>&ldquo;Sweet the moments, rich in blessing, <p> Which before the cross I spend.&rdquo; </i><p>There the Christian feels his highest delight to be. If we glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall speak of it, not by constraint, but willingly; not formally, but from affection; not with indifference, but out of the abundance of the heart.<p>If we glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall endeavour to bring others to our own views and feelings:- <p>&ldquo;Then shall we tell to sinners round <p> What a dear Saviour we have found,- <p> Point them to his redeeming blood, <p> And say, Behold the way to God.&rdquo; </i><p>If we glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be comforted by it under all our losses, depressions, and privations. We well know that trials urge us to repair to that which we consider our treasure or our portion; and we solace ourselves in this when we have nothing else to cheer and encourage us.<p>Finally, If we glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be willing to make sacrifices for it. We know what sacrifices Paul made. Ah, what a sufferer was he! and yet he says, &ldquo;I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ&rsquo;s sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong.&rdquo; Yes, Paul could say, &ldquo;For whom I have suffered the loss of all things.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Go to, now, ye that say, today or to-morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. - <a href='B:660 4:13-15'>Jas 4:13-15</a>. </i><p>&ldquo;THEY that will be rich,&rdquo; says the apostle, &ldquo;fall into temptation and snares, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.&rdquo; There are some whose spirit and conduct seem to say they will be rich whether God wills it or not. How much we see of this in social life! Hear the language of James in this Scripture. Now, here we have an unsanctified tradesman: he must carry on business to advantage. He seems to have no desire to monopolize or to run down his rival. No; his aim seems only to get gain in a lawful way. And what harm is there in this? It is the &ldquo;hand of the diligent that maketh rich.&rdquo; And &ldquo;he that provideth not for his own, especially those of his own house, hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.&rdquo; But perhaps it may be found that he is avaricious, that he is ambitious; and that it is not a mere subsistence he wants, but an abundance,-not a competency, but splendour; and he is carried away by the pride of life. In his endeavours to accomplish his wishes and aims he will compass sea and land, not perhaps reflecting upon the evils of a roving disposition, and without weighing well the remark of Solomon, &ldquo;As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.&rdquo;<p>This has been the case with many. But what is the great truth here? Why, that God is not present to his mind. He never sought him before or during his undertaking; he never prayed, with the Psalmist, &ldquo;Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk;&rdquo; &ldquo;Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel;&rdquo; or entreated God to choose his inheritance for him. And how should he expect the divine direction and blessing? These words&rsquo;-I will do this and that-are too big for a mortal, regardless of Him upon whom every thing depends. He is to succeed, he is to live through another year, regardless of sickness and accidents, and of all those changes to which mortals are exposed. Alas! all such boasting: is vain. 


devotion:
<i> The world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. - <a href='B:550 6:14'>Gal 6:14</a>. </i><p>ONCE, in the experience of the apostle, the world looked very fair and very inviting; but now it appeared to him like a dead thing. Once he valued it much, and depended upon it too confidingly; now it is regarded by him as a corpse of a crucified malefactor,-as mean, worthless, infectious, corrupt, and unfit for any kind of reliance. Now, says he, &ldquo;I am crucified unto the world.&rdquo; I was once alive to it; it was my portion to enjoy, it was my idol to worship, it was my prince to serve. Now I am dead to it, so as to be insensible of impression from it: neither its threatenings nor its allurements can influence me. Such is the change that is to take place in every Christian, in reference to the things of this world.<p>Does he then resign all the enjoyments of life? Does he retire to a cell of filth, and keep a death&rsquo;s-head before him upon the table? Does he abandon his civil concerns? Does he flee from society? No; this would not be fighting the good fight of faith, but declining the contest. No; he fills up every relation in life, he discharges every duty, not as a slave, but as an obedient child. No; &ldquo;he labours, working with his own hands;&rdquo; and he &ldquo;abides with God in his calling.&rdquo; And whether on board a ship, in the market, or in the field, he is still serving God. Whether he eats or drinks, or whatever he does, he does all to the glory of God. He is in the world, but not of it.<p>The world cannot engage his affections now. His affections are &ldquo;set on things above, not on things on the earth.&rdquo; Now his &ldquo;conversation is in heaven, whence also he looks for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change his vile body, and fashion it like unto his glorious body.&rdquo; The world&rsquo;s fame cannot affect him now, for he is seeking the honour that cometh from God only. Its frowns cannot intimidate him, nor its smiles entice him. He feels now no relish for its sinful enjoyments, since he has found higher, more substantial and refreshing good. He now says, in the beautiful lines of Newton,- <p>&ldquo;Let worldly minds the world pursue; <p> It has no charms for me: <p> Once I admired its trifles too, <p> But grace hath set me free.&rdquo; </i><p>A man may, in a measure and degree, be dead to the world from his natural powers, from the infirmities and decays of the body, and from the stings of disappointment. And sometimes, indeed, we find persons complaining of everybody and of every thing. Thus, a man being jaded with frequent disappointment from the world may find a temporary disrelish for its pursuits and enjoyments, but, unless the heart be changed, he feels a repetition of similar desires after this present world, till the lamp of life is extinguished, and death closes the scene of his mortal career. But it is otherwise with the heirs of immortality. Possessing the same means and resources with others, yet they voluntarily forego the gratifications of earth, finding them not only unfriendly, but insipid, and not only insipid, but unsuitable to the nature and wants of an immortal spirit. They resemble the patriarchs, of whom it is said, &ldquo;They that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country; and truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.&rdquo;<p>Why do they not? Because they have something better in view. Because they seek a better country, even a heavenly; and &ldquo;God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city.&rdquo; There are some who leave the world as Lot&rsquo;s wife left Sodom, for her heart was there still; therefore she looked back, and became a pillar of salt. Some leave the world as the Jews left Egypt, but they turned back in their hearts after the flesh-pots and the leeks they had left behind them. 


