# devotions

devotion:
<i> The hope which is laid up for you in heaven. - <a href='B:580 1:5'>Col 1:5</a>. </i><p>IT is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that there is another and better state of being; and there are two things in general we may always remark concerning heaven. We may view it as a state and as a place. it is principally to be considered as a state. &ldquo;He that believeth hath the witness in himself.&rdquo; The natural man supposes that we must ascend up millions of miles through the sky to get into heaven. There are some living who know the truth of our Saviour&rsquo;s declaration: &ldquo;The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.&rdquo; &ldquo;The kingdom of heaven is within you.&rdquo; At Bethel, in consequence of what he saw and what he heard, Jacob exclaimed, &ldquo;This is none other than the house of God, and the very gate of heaven.&rdquo; When he looked around him, the situation convinced him he was not in heaven; but his manifestations and communications induced him to believe that heaven could not be very far off.<p>Happiness is not a local thing; it does not depend on external things; it is mental, it is cordial. There may be wretchedness in a palace, and there may be contentedness in a mud-wall cottage. What were all his distinctions to Haman, while Mordecai the Jew sat at the king&rsquo;s gate? But hear Paul, a prisoner, and in view of martyrdom: &ldquo;I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed against that day.&rdquo; &ldquo;He hath blessed us with all Spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.&rdquo; But although heaven is principally to be viewed as a state, yet it is also to be considered as a place. A place it necessarily must be, because it is to be the residence of finite beings and embodied beings, and because it is to be the residence of the Lord Jesus Christ, who as a man is clothed in a body like our own. Heaven is where the glorified humanity of the Saviour is. Our Saviour said to the dying thief, &ldquo;This day shalt thou be with me in paradise.&rdquo; This was somewhere. And to his disciples he said, &ldquo;I go to prepare a place for you; and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am there you may be also.&rdquo;<p>We cannot imagine to what a perfection locality can be advanced. We know how superior the scenery of one spot of earth is to another. We know how charming and enchanting nature can be rendered under the arrangements of art. Who can tell what Eden was, the residence of Adam and Eve, especially after it came under their culture? Who then can imagine what the attractions and glories of heaven may be, even considered as a place? What a place must that be which does not &ldquo;stand in need of the sun or of the moon to shine therein, for the glory of God and the Lamb are the light thereof, and where there is no temple therein, for the glory of God and the Lamb are the temple thereof.&rdquo; But the principal thing with, us should be, Is it accessible? 


devotion:
<i> I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven. - <a href='B:730 4:1'>Rev 4:1</a>. </i><p>HEAVEN had been closed by sin, and of this we have a very striking emblem furnished us very early, for we are told by Moses that God drove out the man, &ldquo;and he placed at the end of the garden cherubims and a flaming sword, which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life.&rdquo; Telling us thereby clearly enough that the attainment of heaven upon terms of the first constitution was rendered impossible, and if ever we can re-approach it, it must be by another way.<p>Concerning this way the Scripture affords us abundant and satisfactory information. It assumes that it has been accomplished by the interposition of him who is the Mediator between God and man, who, when he had &ldquo;overcome the sharpness of death, opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers;&rdquo; and Paul says, &ldquo;Being made perfect through sufferings, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.&rdquo; Having become our substitute and the surety for sinners, He was himself excluded from heaven, nor could he enter it until he had &ldquo;put away sin by the sacrifice of himself,&rdquo; for which he had become answerable; till he had &ldquo;borne our grief and carried our sorrow;&rdquo; till he had &ldquo;magnified the law, and made it honourable.&rdquo; But haying accomplished this work, he could make a meritorious claim for our entrance into heaven.<p>He having &ldquo;entered with his own blood once into the holy place,&rdquo; and &ldquo;having obtained eternal redemption for us,&rdquo; he also made a passage for our entrance too, for be did not enter himself as a private individual, but as our head-our representative-our forerunner, announcing our coming, and securing accommodation for us when we came -our trustee of the covenant of grace, taking possession of heaven in our name and in our nature too; in other words, &ldquo;his blood cleanseth us from all sin.&rdquo; His righteousness justifies us before God, and gives us a peace that passeth all understanding. His grace renews our hearts, and his Spirit &ldquo;seals us unto the day of redemption.&rdquo; Neither is there salvation in any other. He himself says, &ldquo;I am the way, the truth, and the life.&rdquo;<p>Some think of opening a door into heaven for themselves by their innocence. But where is their innocence? for there is &ldquo;no man that liveth and sinneth not;&rdquo; and &ldquo;cursed is every one that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them.&rdquo; Some think of gaining admission to heaven by their own doings; these they call &ldquo;good works.&rdquo; Alas! some of them are not good works in themselves, and others which are morally good, are yet evil in their motives, and motive is essential to moral action. Those that are good may be good for the building, but not for the foundation; be good for fitness, but not for procurement. And if these are placed in the room of Christ, we wrong our own souls, and rob him of his highest glory.<p>If we had not been, as to all hope in ourselves, irrecoverably lost, he would not have come into the world at such an expense to save us. If we had not been in bondage, he would not have given his life a ransom for us. If we could have obtained eternal life by our worthiness and doings, he would not have come in order that we &ldquo;might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly.&rdquo; We cannot imagine that he bled and died needlessly. He undertaking to save us, could not save us by a volition of his will, nor by an exertion of his power. No: when he made us he had only to speak, but when he would save us he had also to suffer. He made us at the expense of his breath; He saved us at the expense of his blood. Let us remember, therefore, our obligation to him-that to him we owe the bread we eat, the water we drink-above all, we owe our eternal all. He has enriched us by his poverty, we live by his death. <p>&ldquo;He sunk beneath our heavy woes, <p> To raise us to his throne; <p> There&rsquo;s ne&rsquo;er a gift his hand bestows <p> But cost his heart a groan.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree. - <a href='B:290 55:13'>Isa 55:13</a>. </i><p>TWO general remarks are suggested by the character of the moral transformation as thus expressed. First, That naturally there is no difference between men as to their state. Whatever diversities and inequalities may characterise their duties, and however varied may be their sins, there is no difference as to their state. &ldquo;All we like sheep have gone astray;&rdquo; although we may &ldquo;turn every one of us to his own way.&rdquo; All are descendants of a fallen or iginal, all are streams of a polluted and infected fountain, &ldquo;all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,&rdquo; and are unfit for his presence and his service, without a change. Therefore our Saviour said, &ldquo;Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.&rdquo; This extends to the people of God themselves; and Paul, addressing the Ephesian Church, says, &ldquo;Ye were by nature children of wrath, even as others.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, Grace makes a difference. It never leaves us as it finds us. It never finds us near to God, and never leaves us far from him. It never finds us in love with holiness, and never leaves us in love with sin. It never finds us with our conversation in heaven, and never leaves us walking according to the course of this world. This change is figuratively expressed. What a difference is there now between the &ldquo;thorn&rdquo; and the &ldquo;fir tree!&rdquo; How unsightly, how worthless, and how injurious the one! How lovely in appearance, how valuable in trade, how profitable in use the other! Such, and nothing less than this, is the difference in man viewed in his natural state, and under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Take such a man; he was once a profane wretch, see him now. The swearer has learned to fear an oath; the drunkard has become sober; the Sabbath-breaker now calls &ldquo;the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, and honourable.&rdquo; See that man: he was once avaricious. See him now-his &ldquo;conversation is without covetousness,&rdquo; &ldquo;he deviseth liberal things.&rdquo; See that man: he was once a proud boaster, trusting to himself that he is righteous, and despising others. Where is he now? at the foot of the cross. What is he saying? &ldquo;God be merciful to me a sinner.&rdquo;<p>Look at Manasseh, who had sinned away all the advantages of a pious education, had become a worshipper of Baal, and a murderer, but &ldquo;in his affliction Manasseh sought the Lord, and was found of him.&rdquo; Behold Saul of Tarsus, a persecutor, a blasphemer, and injurious! Where is he now? Oh, he is no more; but here is something instead of him- instead of a blasphemer, here is an adorer at the feet of Jesus, saying, &ldquo;Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?&rdquo;- instead of a persecutor, here is a disciple, a preacher of the faith which he once destroyed-here is a martyr, &ldquo;not counting his life dear unto him, so that he might finish his course with joy&rdquo; in his service.<p>Then look at the character of the Corinthians, as given by Paul. Could hell itself either have made or wished them worse than they were? and yet, says he, &ldquo;Such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.&rdquo; Oh, what surprise such changes have produced! &ldquo;Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree.&rdquo; Some have said, &ldquo;This is he; &ldquo;others have said, &ldquo;He is like him;&rdquo; but he has said, &ldquo;I am he,&rdquo; and yet not he; the same, yet not the same; physically the same, spiritually another; <p>&ldquo;While the wide world esteem it strange, <p> Graze and admire, and hate the change.&rdquo; </i><p>It is needful, however, to observe, that every conversion is not equally remarkable. There are some who, before were decent, and moral, and amiable. They continue to avoid the same sins, to perform the same duties, and to attend to the same means and ordinances as before, only now with new views, principles, motives, and with new feelings. In such there is an invisible agency at work, to which they were strangers before. Nor is this transformation always accomplished suddenly; but whether the work be sudden or more slow, whether it be in consequence of the &ldquo;thunder,&rdquo; or the &ldquo;still small voice,&rdquo; still, &ldquo;if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things are become new;&rdquo; there is a change not only in his state, but in his character, not only in his condition, but in his very nature. 


devotion:
<i> And it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. - <a href='B:290 55:13'>Isa 55:13</a>. </i><p>WE may observe four things with regard to the results of this moral transformation. First, That it is supposed that this effect is the work of God. And it is and it must be so, and the very quality of the effect shows its origin and its author. &ldquo;He that hath wrought in us for the selfsame thing is God.&rdquo; God it is who &ldquo;works in us to will and to do of his good pleasure.&rdquo; This is the promise which he has given us-&ldquo;A new heart also will I give you, and a new Spirit will I put within you;&rdquo; and all the subjects of Divine grace will readily avow, &ldquo;By the grace of God I am what I am.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, This is to be to him for a name, that is, a praise; both these words are used together in another passage-&ldquo;They shall be to me for a name and a praise.&rdquo; The latter is explanatory of the former. While all God&rsquo;s works praise him, he derives his praise principally from his people. &ldquo;This people,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;have I formed for myself, and they shall show forth my praise.&rdquo; And again, &ldquo;I have placed salvation in Zion for Israel my glory;&rdquo; the people from whom I principally derive the revenue of my praise in the world. And God does derive more glory from the common actions of his people, who, whether they eat or drink, do all to the glory of God, than from the very religion and all the works of other men. If Christians are to be to the Lord for a name, let us take care it be a good one, a becoming one, and that we &ldquo;walk worthy of God, who has called us unto his kingdom and glory.&rdquo; And as we are charged with a portion of the Divine glory and praise, let us carry it down unsullied to the grave, &ldquo;harmless and blameless, the children of God without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom we are to shine as lights in the world.&rdquo;<p>Third, This moral transformation is to be unto the Lord for a &ldquo;sign.&rdquo; A sign is a manifestation or token. In the Scripture it is commonly used to indicate a kind of external evidence or pledge. As God said to Moses, &ldquo;If they will not believe the first sign, show them a second sign.&rdquo; &ldquo;Now the conversion of souls to God is a moral miracle; it is a striking display on God&rsquo;s part to save. It is truly a sign-a sign that God is not unmindful of his covenant- that he has not forgotten to be gracious-that he has not forsaken the earth-that he has not abandoned the country where such conversions take place. Such converts are the greatest blessings to the community, by their prayers, their influence, and their examples-a sign that with him is &ldquo;no variableness nor shadow of turning,&rdquo;-that &ldquo;his ear is not heavy that it cannot hear, nor his arm shortened that it cannot save&rdquo;-a sign to encourage hope with regard to ourselves, and to preclude despair with regard to any of our fellow-creatures, however abandoned they may become; that &ldquo;the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is exceeding abundant with faith and love,&rdquo; and that he &ldquo;is able to save unto the uttermost.&rdquo;<p>Observe, fourthly, The duration of all this. It is &ldquo;to be to the Lord for an everlasting sign, that shall not be cut off.&rdquo; Towers, temples, pillars, statues, whatever has been designed to perpetuate the praise or fame of distinguished men in our world, are exposed to the ravages of time, and will perish; but the people whom the Lord hath set apart for himself shall remain for ever the triumphs of his faithfulness, and the monuments of his mercy and grace, that he may be admired in them and glorified by them. 


devotion:
<i> And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. - <a href='B:510 2:12-13'>Act 2:12-13</a>. </i><p>THE audience on this occasion were divided into three classes, and these three classes are always to be found. Some wondered, some mocked, some believed to the salvation of their souls. First, Some heard with wonder. &ldquo;Are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our tongue, wherein we were born?&rdquo; What does all this indicate? What is it likely to lead to? What does it forebode? So it is now. The preacher seems to speak parables. The natural man discerns not the things of God, neither can he discern them; hence they marvel at the doctrines taught, at the precepts inculcated, and at the change effected in the lives and characters of those who receive the truth. This is often attended with a good effect, for it induces examination. On the other hand, the wonder often dies away.<p>Secondly, Some heard in mockery, and so it is now. <p>&ldquo;Thus the wide world esteem it strange; <p> Gaze and admire, and hate the change.&rdquo; </i><p>That which devils believe, and which makes even them to tremble, becomes a matter of mirth and mockery with some men-only serving to excite their contempt. The seat of the scorner is for the highest class of sinners. Some of these mockers were once professors. The apostate generally does all he can to defame the characters of others, so that the last end of that man is &ldquo;worse than the first.&rdquo;<p>Some mock from affectation of greatness. &ldquo;Have any of the rulers believed on him?&rdquo; These things, say they, may be very well for the common people, but will not do for men of taste. Some mock from affectation of wisdom. &ldquo;What will this babbler say?&rdquo; &ldquo;Christ crucified&rdquo; was &ldquo;to the Greeks foolishness.&rdquo; Some mock from ignorance. Hume confessed to a friend that he had never read the New Testament. Many of these mockers are afraid to read or hear the truth, lest it should disturb their peace and confidence. &ldquo;This,&rdquo; says Peter, &ldquo;they willingly are ignorant of.&rdquo; They turn their backs upon the light. Some cannot deny certain facts which are before them, but then they show their malignity by accounting for them. The zeal of Christian&rsquo;s they ascribe to disappointed hopes, to ambition, a sanguine temperament, a heated imagination, to enthusiasm, etc. So it was here. The multitude ascribed the energy of the Apostles, and their knowledge of languages, to drunkenness: &ldquo;These men are full of new wine.&rdquo; Peter met the charge by an appeal to their candour and to their social usages: &ldquo;It is,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;but the third hour of the day&rdquo;- that is, nine o&rsquo;clock in the morning. But if the charge had been true, what could drunkenness do in teaching men the knowledge of languages? but men will say anything for the sake of objection.<p>Thirdly, Some heard and believed. And thus it is now, and thus God&rsquo;s word is never preached entirely in vain; and therefore while some neglect or despise, and others mock and insult, there are others convinced of sin-others who receive the &ldquo;faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners,&rdquo; and the gospel becomes to them as &ldquo;a well of water springing up unto everlasting life.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Be ye filled with the Spirit. - <a href='B:560 5:18'>Eph 5:18</a>. </i><p>THIS is peculiarly the dispensation of the Spirit: and the influences of the Spirit are essential to the success of preaching, and all other means of grace. We are not now to look for supernatural gifts. These were necessary at first; but the pledge being once given it does not need to be repeated, otherwise it would cease to be miraculous. But the ordinary influences of the Holy Ghost are still needed, and are still granted. Ministers have still the &ldquo;treasure in earthen vessels,&rdquo; and are as dependent as ever upon God.<p>Means are not given to cut us off from God, but to lead us to him, and to induce us to cry, &ldquo;Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.&rdquo; The Spirit of God is still the &ldquo;Spirit of grace and supplications;&rdquo; &ldquo;the fruit of the Spirit&rdquo; is still &ldquo;in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth;&rdquo; the Spirit still fills the believer with all peace, and strength, and joy.<p>The Bible is full of this doctrine. Let us then beware of practically denying it, or of &ldquo;limiting the Holy One of Israel;&rdquo; and also beware of &ldquo;grieving&rdquo; the Holy Spirit: remembering that it is said the &ldquo;sin against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven.&rdquo; We do not know what that sin is. God has not designed we should know. And the reason is obvious. If a person who wishes to preserve his grounds from thieves and intruders affixes to some part thereof a notice that spring guns are placed thereon, he would not mention the precise spot on which they were placed, because then every other part might be approached without danger; and if we would avoid the sin against the Holy Ghost-be quickened by the Spirit-pray in the Spirit-walk in the Spirit- and bring forth the fruits of the Spirit-let us give heed to the Apostle&rsquo;s injunction, &ldquo;Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be ye filled with the Spirit:&rdquo; and to the encouraging declaration of the Saviour, &ldquo;If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give his Holy Spirit unto them that ask him?&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. - <a href='B:300 5:3'>Jer 5:3</a>. </i><p>HERE we may observe three things. First, That sin is the source of all our perplexities and miseries. This is the troubler of this world, and this is the &ldquo;abominable thing which God hateth.&rdquo; This is the worm gnawing at the root, which causeth our gourds to wither. &ldquo;Fools make a mock at sin,&rdquo; and they are only fools who will ever think lightly of sin, or roll it as a sweet morsel under their tongues. Sin has produced hell and prepared &ldquo;Tophet of old.&rdquo; It has &ldquo;brought death into the world, and all our woe.&rdquo; There is not any one thing that can hurt us if we were free from sin. But while we have any connection with sin, we have Ezekiel&rsquo;s roll, &ldquo;written within and without with lamentation, mourning, and woe.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, It shows us the inefficacy of mere suffering to bring a man to a proper state of thinking and feeling. The heart may be broken, and yet may not be softened. It may be humbled and yet not humble. A man may be deprived of his weapons and yet still be disposed to fight. The enmity may remain, for the &ldquo;carnal mind is enmity against God.&rdquo; And even in his very suffering the sinner adds to his sin, and throws the blame on God, rather than take the shame to himself. Afflictions do not necessarily produce moral consequences. They ought to produce, and are naturally adapted to produce, salutary results; but there is antagonism enough in the depraved heart of man to counteract all this. It is said of Ahaziah, that &ldquo;in his affliction he sinned yet more and more;&rdquo; and Isaiah also says, &ldquo;The people turned not to him that smote them.&rdquo; So also here Jeremiah says, &ldquo;Thou hast stricken them, and they have not grieved.&rdquo;<p>Third, We here see the reality of a moral providence. There is a twofold providence of God. His natural providence and his moral providence. By the one he provides, by the other he governs. The one regards us as creatures, the other as subjects. And he has made us subjects as well as creatures. He has given us reason as well as passions, conscience as well as appetites, laws as well as blessings; and he will arraign us for our disobedience to the one as well as our misimprovement of the other. It is proper that sin should be punished; and though the present is not properly a state of retribution, yet we see there is even here a connection between sin and wickedness. There is a tendency in it to produce misery, and we say, that is God punishing a man. Now what does God punish? Man&rsquo;s sins. The man sins; God need not go through all the plagues of Egypt in order to punish him. He says, &ldquo;He is joined to idols, let him alone.&rdquo;<p>If God leaves a sinner to himself he is his own tormentor, and sin is made to do the work of Divine justice in its effects. 


devotion:
<i> Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? - <a href='B:400 6:6'>Mic 6:6</a>. </i><p>OF all questions this is the most important and interesting; where shall we find an answer? The world cannot satisfy the inquiry, for the world by wisdom knew not God. Philosophy cannot; it says, It is not in me. Nature says, It is not in me. Providence says, It is not in me. But God has &ldquo;magnified his word above all his name;&rdquo; and this blessed book contains the revelation of the mystery; and in words so ample, and in a manner too simple and plain to be misunderstood, tells us that &ldquo;no man cometh unto the Father&rdquo; but by him who has announced himself as &ldquo;the way, the truth, and the life.&rdquo; We can only come before the Lord and bow before the Most High as we exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us consider this exalted privilege. For &ldquo;it is with him we have to do&rdquo; mainly and principally, in the concerns of the soul and eternity. He is not only the greatest and the best of beings, but we are most intimately and perfectly related to him. We derive everything from him; we depend upon him; we are responsible to him. He is the fountain of life, and he must be to us the supreme good. Let us view man in three states with regard to this privilege.<p>First, We may view him before the fall, and in his original condition. Then he was one altogether with the Lord. He wore his image. He lived in his presence. He enjoyed his smiles, and carried on continual intercourse with him; and he was no more afraid to meet him than a child is afraid to meet the tenderest of fathers and the most endeared of mothers. But ah! how is the &ldquo;gold become dim, and the most fine gold changed.&rdquo; This condition was broken up by sin.<p>Let us, therefore, Secondly, View him in his fallen state; there we see him in a state of alienation or distance from God, in which he is &ldquo;far off,&rdquo; penally and morally from God; for when man departed from God in the way of obedience, God departed from man in the way of favour. When the angels sinned they were banished from heaven; when Adam and Eve sinned they were banished from Paradise; and when the Jews transgressed the commandments of the Lord they were exiled from Canaan. All these things are designed to show us that the tendency of sin is to separate between God and us, and hence results our degradation and wretchedness: for, says God, &ldquo;Woe unto you when I depart from you.&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, View man in his renewed state. Here we behold him no longer &ldquo;without God in the world.&rdquo; He now feels his need of God. Now he returns to him from whom he has deeply revolted, with weeping and with supplication, saying with the Church, &ldquo;O Lord, other lords beside thee have had dominion over me, but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.&rdquo; He not only inquires how he may come before the Lord, and seeks after the enjoyment of this privilege, but he finds him, to the joy and to the rejoicing of his soul. 


devotion:
<i> O that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat! - <a href='B:220 23:3'>Job 23:3</a>. </i><p>OBSERVE here the object of the patriarch&rsquo;s solicitude. Although he does not express the name of God, his mind was full of it. Here we see an addition to his distress; he was now in a state of desertion. God was absent from him. God can never be absent from his people as to his essential presence, or even as to his Spiritual presence; because he hath said, &ldquo;I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.&rdquo; But he may be absent as to his sensible presence, or as to the manifestation of his favour and of the design of his dealings with us. This greatly enhances any external affliction.<p>For the presence of God, which is always necessary, is never so sweet as it is in the day of trouble; and often have his people found, when creatures have withdrawn that God has favoured them with peculiar communion with himself: the less they have had of the world, the more they have had of the Word-the less of earthly the more of heavenly good. But oh, to have tribulation in the world without realizing peace in him, and comfort from him: to say with David, &ldquo;My bones are vexed,&rdquo; and to add, &ldquo;My soul is also vexed; but thou, O Lord, how long?&rdquo; Yet let none imagine that this is peculiar to them. Isaiah says,&rdquo; Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.&rdquo; &ldquo;He hideth himself from the house of Jacob.&rdquo; This was Job&rsquo;s case here. God had retired, and though searching he could not find him. &ldquo;I go forward,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;but he is not there, and backward, but I cannot perceive him. On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him; he hideth himself on the right hand that I cannot see him.&rdquo; Therefore, &ldquo;O that I knew where I might find him.&rdquo;<p>Observe, Secondly, The earnestness of his desire. &ldquo;That I might come even to his seat.&rdquo; Nearness to God in duty is a very distinguishable thing from the mere exercise itself. There is such a thing as praying in prayer, and praising in praise, and hearing in hearing. This should be our concern; for in vain we draw near to God with our mouth, while our heart is far from him. To &ldquo;enter into the secret of his tabernacle,&rdquo; as David did, to &ldquo;enter into the holiest of all,&rdquo; as the apostle speaks of, &ldquo;by the blood of Jesus,&rdquo; to get near to his very seat, as Job has it here, to get so near as almost to get away from feeling the influence of the world-leaving it very far behind for the time-to draw so near to him as to see his beauty, and as to feel his influence-so near as to have our hearts fixed and fired and filled too. This is a possible thing, and should be our aim in our public and private devotions, and will be so in proportion as we are concerned to have the life of God advanced in our souls. 


devotion:
<i> Who is on the LORD&rsquo;S side? - <a href='B:20 32:26'>Exo 32:26</a>. </i><p>THERE is no neutrality in religion. There are cases in which neutrality is possible, and in which it maybe excused, if not admired and commended. In family disputes, the quarrels of neighbours, it may be well to keep neutral. Two nations may wage war against each other, and waste their resources, and a third nation, however urged, may remain neutral, securing its subjects and husbanding its wealth. Some have thought it to be an excellence in a senator to belong to no party. But a man must take a part with one side or the other, for he can do nothing as a neutral, whether in politics or in religion; or otherwise he will have no influence with either party, but be disowned of both. But even if it were not so in these cases, there can be no neutrality here; and this cannot be repeated too often- &ldquo;No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.&rdquo; &ldquo;Whosoever will be the friend of the world is the enemy of God.&rdquo; &ldquo;If any man love the world, the love of the father is not in him.&rdquo;<p>But there are some, blessed be God, who are with him, and on his side. This is their glory, and this should be their joy. They are with him, and on his side now, and they shall be with him for ever. They are now suffering with him, and they shall &ldquo;also reign with him.&rdquo; They now are bearing the &ldquo;reproach of the cross.&rdquo; They shall soon share with him in the glory of the crown. They are now on his side engaged in the toils of the fight; and they shall soon be with him in the triumphs of victory. And he will fulfil his own words: &ldquo;Him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me on my throne.&rdquo; &ldquo;Ye are they,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;who have continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.&rdquo;<p>If we are on the Lord&rsquo;s side, we are on the right side, on the safe side, on the rising side. We are on the side which, by-and-bye, will annihilate the opposite side, and become a universality. We are with him-are advancing with him. Here is the Saviour-here are his people; they are weak, he is Almighty -He is at their head. Therefore we need not be afraid to go forward. Let us therefore come to a decision, seeing there can be no medium between loving Christ and hating him; and that when the dispute is between God and Baal, there is to be no &ldquo;halting between two opinions.&rdquo;<p>Let us also remember that we are not only required to &ldquo;cease to do evil,&rdquo; but &ldquo;to learn to do well;&rdquo; and that every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit, though it bring forth no bad fruit, is &ldquo;hewn down and cast into the fire.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> He that is not with me is against me. - <a href='B:470 12:30'>Mat 12:30</a>. </i><p>THERE is nothing which shows the real character of men more than their attractions and aversions. Who are the objects of our choice and preference? With whom do we most readily and pleasingly associate? There is an old adage just in point: &ldquo;Tell me a man&rsquo;s company, and I will tell you his character.&rdquo; Congeniality is the inducement and the bond of union. To be against some persons would expose us to general indignation. Who would like to be opposed to a Thornton, a Howard, a Wilberforce, a Leighton, a Fenelon? But here we have &ldquo;the brightness of the Father&rsquo;s glory, and the express image of his person.&rdquo; What a picture of Christ have the four gospels given us.<p>After looking at this, we might ask, Is there any being in the world odious enough to be against him? He is possessed of all excellencies. All the excellencies found in creatures, separately and imperfectly, are found in him, combined and complete: all that was innocent in Adam when in Paradise; all that was tender in Joseph, meek in Moses, patient in Job, and all that was zealous in Paul; all that is good in the Spirits of just men made perfect; all that is wise in the innumerable company of angels; and even the aggregate would be no more than a drop to the ocean or a ray to the sun. To be against him is therefore to be against all truth, and righteousness, and peace; against the glory of God and the happiness of mankind. Nothing is more unreasonable, vile, and shameful, than to oppose a Benefactor and Friend who has laid us under peculiar obligation, upon whom we had no claim, and who has yet spared no expense, no pain, in order to serve us. &ldquo;O Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world,&rdquo; what do we owe thee? To thee we owe the bread we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe.<p>If we are allowed to remain in the land of the living, it is owing to thy intercession on our behalf; if we have been redeemed, it is with thy precious blood; and if we have entertained a hope of a better world, thou hast altogether inspired it. The Saviour asks, and he has a right to ask, &ldquo;For which of these good works do ye stone me? Is it because &ldquo;he remembered us in our low estate?&rdquo; because, for our sakes, &ldquo;though he was rich, he became poor, that we, through his poverty, might be made rich?&rdquo; Is it because &ldquo;he bare our sins in his own body on the tree, and died that we might live, that any are against him?<p>Against Him? Be against the benefactor who plunged into the flood to save us from drowning! Be against him who generously paid our debt, and released us from the confinement of the dungeon, and restored us to the bosom of our family! Be against the father who has laboured to train us up and provide for us! Be against the mother who bare us, and at her bosom fed us! and we should be a thousand times less infamous than we should be if we are against him.<p>The Apostle Paul was not revengeful; he was the most compassionate man alive; and yet, when he came to reflect on the case, he made no scruple to say, &ldquo;If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha!&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> I would order my cause before him. - <a href='B:220 23:4'>Job 23:4</a>. </i><p>THIS shows us, First, That the worship of God is a &ldquo;reasonable service.&rdquo; This &ldquo;order&rdquo; does not so much regard words as things; everything should be &ldquo;done decently and in order,&rdquo; says the Apostle. A Christian in private devotion, before he bows before the Lord, should say to himself, What do I now most need? In what relation do I stand before God? What is my present condition? What is my office? What duties and dangers are lying before me in the course of the day, requiring his assistance?&rdquo; Were we always to do this for a few moments, we should then be much less embarrassed than we often are in prayer, and be furnished with more materials.<p>Secondly, Another part of the order of which Job speaks, which Solomon mentions, and which we should never forget, is to remember that &ldquo;God is in heaven and we upon earth, and therefore let our words be few.&rdquo; We must never imagine that we are heard for &ldquo;our much speaking,&rdquo; and using &ldquo;vain repetitions, as the heathens do.&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, There is another part of this order in prayer which our Saviour teaches us when he says, &ldquo;Seek ye, first, the kingdom of God and his righteousness.&rdquo; Nature may speak in prayer, but grace must speak first. Our Lord teaches us this in his own blessed model prayer. He teaches us to say, &ldquo;Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,&rdquo; before he allows us to ask for &ldquo;our daily bread.&rdquo;<p>And we must never pray for other things as we pray for Spiritual blessings. We cannot be too importunate with regard to the one, and we cannot be too calm and resigned, referring ourselves entirely to his wisdom and goodness, with regard to the other. Whenever we go to God, however numerous and heavy may be the burdens we feel, there are no burdens so heavy and distressing as the burden of our sins; and anxious as we may be in sickness for the recovery of our health, this is not to be compared with the earnestness with which we should inquire after the &ldquo;balm in Gilead&rdquo; and the &ldquo;Physician there,&rdquo; in regard to our soul&rsquo;s health. 


devotion:
<i> I would fill my mouth with arguments. - <a href='B:220 23:4'>Job 23:4</a>. </i><p>NOT that these are necessary to excite and move a being who is love itself, and who is always more ready to hear than we are to pray; but these are proper, in order to affect and encourage us. The case is this: God speaks to us in a way most agreeable to our state and the most easy to our apprehension; and he leads us to speak to him in the same way. He must, if he addresses us, speak in human language, or he will never be understood; and we must, in speaking to him, speak in human language, for we have no other to speak in. We never need be discouraged, nor at a loss for one moment for arguments with which to fill our mouths when we go to the throne of grace. There is not a circumstance belonging to our case, not an attribute pertaining to the Divine nature, not a promise or invitation in his word; there is not an example of his mercy and grace recorded there, but may furnish us with matter when we have to plead with him.<p>If a beggar came to our door, we should know pretty well beforehand what arguments he would make use of-that he is more to be pitied than blamed-that he has seen much better days- that it is only a little he wants now-that he will not come again-and that he will not tell of your bounty, so as to plague you by bringing others to call upon you. But the very reverse of all this we must feel and plead when we address the God of all mercy and grace. The strongest and the sweetest arguments we can ever employ must be drawn from the mediation of him who &ldquo;was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification,&rdquo; and who ascended into heaven, where he is now; and it is from him we are to derive our most available plea when we go unto God and say, Thou, Lord, hast already not &ldquo;spared thine own Son, but hast freely given him up for us all; wilt thou not, with him, freely give us all things?&rdquo;<p>And is not every end that could be answered by my destitution equally and entirely answered by his precious death? Lord, I do not come to ask thee, in pardoning and saving me, to trample on thy law, or to deny thy word and thy righteousness, for &ldquo;mercy and truth have met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other.&rdquo; Here thy law is even &ldquo;magnified and made honourable;&rdquo; here sin is condemned while it is pardoned; and I, therefore, only plead for glory to thyself in the highest, by the extension of peace on earth and. goodwill towards men. And the Saviour has thus encouraged us to plead: &ldquo;Hitherto ye have asked nothing in my name;&rdquo; nothing compared with what you ought to have asked, and compared with what you might have asked; but now &ldquo;ask and receive, that your joy may be full.&rdquo; &ldquo;Whatsoever ye ask in my name, believing, ye shall receive.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> And I will look for him. - <a href='B:290 8:17'>Isa 8:17</a>. </i><p>THIS language only suits one being in the universe, namely, a Christian mourning after an absent God. It is a sad thing to be without the presence of God; but it is far worse to be insensible of our need of it. This never will be the case, never can be the case, with those who are partakers of the grace of God in truth; each of them will be disposed to say, in such a condition as this, with David, &ldquo;Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled;&rdquo; and make this resolution of the church their own: &ldquo;I will wait upon him who hideth himself from the house of Jacob, and will look for him.&rdquo; And the language only suits such.<p>If we were to ascend up into heaven, we should not hear anything compared to this; there they have found him, and &ldquo;in his presence is fullness of joy;&rdquo; they &ldquo;behold his face in righteousness, and are satisfied.&rdquo; And were we to descend into hell, we should hear nothing like this. There they are saying, &ldquo;Hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.&rdquo; And if we go forth and examine the thousands of our fellow-creatures around us, we should find them minding their farms and their merchandise; we should hear them saying, &ldquo;Who will show us any good?&rdquo; And as for the child of God, who is walking in the light of his countenance, though he desires the continuance and the increase of this, yet he properly does not use this language, he has found him whom his soul loveth. No; but it is the language of him who, after having been favoured with intercourse with God, after having seen him in his word, and enjoyed him in his ordinances, now finds himself in darkness and alone, conflicting with his numerous difficulties and dangers, and saying with the church, in the days of Jeremiah, &ldquo;The comforter who should relieve my soul is removed far from me,&rdquo; and therefore, as it is here, &ldquo;I will look for him.&rdquo; This desire and determination to seek after God&rsquo;s presence arises from three causes.<p>First, it proceeds from their new nature; persons will desire according to their convictions and their disposition; being born of God, the believer naturally aspires towards him, and passing by those creatures which attract and detain others, he says, &ldquo;Whom have I in heaven but thee? there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, This desire to find God arises from experience. When they first sought after God, they felt their need of him but then they had never tasted that he was gracious-now they have; and there is nothing they remember more vividly when they look back, than places, and seasons, and exercises, made sacred by their communion with God, and during which they have said- <p>&ldquo;While such a scene of sacred joy <p> Our raptured eyes and souls employ, <p> Here we could sit and gaze away <p> A long, an everlasting day.&rdquo; </i><p>Thirdly, It arises from a consciousness of their dependence upon him. They feel that all their sufficiency is of God. They know that he does not stand in need of them; but they know that &ldquo;without him they can do nothing,&rdquo; that they are nothing, that &ldquo;in him they live, move, and have their being.&rdquo; I need his presence, therefore, says the Christian, every moment. I want continually the joy of his salvation, the comfort of the Holy Ghost, and the upholding of his free Spirit. I cannot stand longer than he upholds me, I cannot walk beyond where he leads me, I cannot see farther than he enlightens me, I cannot act but as he strengthens me, I cannot live but as he enlivens me. He is &ldquo;all and in all&rdquo; to my soul. What wonder, under his absence, he should make this resolution his own, and say, &ldquo;I will wait upon him that hideth himself from the house of Jacob, and will look for him.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> I will hear what God the Lord will speak. - <a href='B:230 85:8'>Psa 85:8</a>. </i><p>IN general a Christian wishes to know the Divine pleasure concerning him. Hence the prayer of Saul of Tarsus when he was converted, &ldquo;Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?&rdquo; and the resolution of the Psalmist here is to the same intent, &ldquo;I will hear what God the Lord will speak,&rdquo; in his providence, in his word, concerning me. How do I appear in his eyes? &ldquo;It is a light thing to be judged of man&rsquo;s judgment; he that judgeth me is the Lord.&rdquo; What does he think of me? What does he say concerning me? As Job says, &ldquo;I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me.&rdquo; Not only in reference to the path of providence and duty, but also in answer to prayer.<p>A good man will not be satisfied with the mere performance of the duty, but will look after the result of it. He is unwilling to depart without a reply, and is anxious to know whether the answer will be repulsive or favourable. How little importance do many attach to prayer, and how regardless they are of God&rsquo;s answer to it! What should we think of a husbandman who, after having sown the seed, would never walk forth to look after it; to see &ldquo;first the blade; then the ear; then the full corn in the ear;&rdquo; should we not deem this indifference culpable? Or what should we think of a person who, if he knocked at our door, would not wait or even look back to see if the door were opened? Should we not consider this a mere insult? And is it not thus with regard to many of our prayers? Do we not in effect mock God when we call his attention to our wants and miseries, when at the same time we do not regard his voice or his influences?<p>Moses said, &ldquo;The Lord heard me at that time also;&rdquo; and it shows us how he remarked, in looking back upon his history, places and seasons where God heard his supplication. And if we also observe these things, we shall not fail to discover that this is the way to have our gratitude excited and our confidence strengthened. Let us, therefore, ascertain how God has answered us in such and such instances, and what he is now saying in answer to our requests; and then we shall also say with the Psalmist, &ldquo;I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications; because he hath inclined his ear unto me: therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> I drew them. - <a href='B:350 11:4'>Hos 11:4</a>. </i><p>THE form of divine goodness here declared is attraction; and we may observe that the attraction is to God, as well as by him. This is implied in the very word itself, &ldquo;I drew them.&rdquo; In pushing and driving we urge anything from us; but in drawing, we bring it towards us. And this is the aim of God in all his dispensations; it is to bring us to himself. This aim regards the state we are previously in-a state of distance and alienation from him. Man is a fallen creature, and his fall consists in his departure from the holy and blessed God; and; therefore he now lives without God in the world. God is not in all his thoughts; and when God would enter them, he is repelled as an invader and intruder, and he says unto God, &ldquo;Depart from me, I desire not a knowledge of thy ways.&rdquo; As in this state we see our sin, so we equally see our misery; for with God is the fountain of life, and we can only be happy in proportion as we are with him.<p>Herein appears the prerogative of man-that, of all the creatures in this lower world he alone was made capable of knowing and enjoying God, and was intended for it; and consequently he is necessarily miserable without it. Though he is now in a lapsed condition, he retains the same essential relation to God as his supreme good; and in the absence of God, therefore, he goes to creatures to supply his place, but in vain; they can afford him no satisfaction; in the midst of his sufficiency he is in straits. But though these things cannot satisfy the mind, they can engross it; and it is by these diversions that he secures anything like inward peace. This peace, however, is only a delusion that can continue only for his life; and what is our life? a vapour, that appeareth for a moment, and then vanisheth away. How dreadful it is to think of entering into a future state with our present passions and appetites.<p>Oh, what a mercy to be drawn to God; drawn to his word; drawn to his house; drawn to his people; drawn to his throne; drawn to his table; drawn to the cross of his Son; that place of appointed interview, and peace, and friendship, and intercourse between the sinner and God; for God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> I drew them with the cords of a man with bands of love. - <a href='B:350 11:4'>Hos 11:4</a>. </i><p>OBSERVE the MANNER in which this attraction is accomplished. &ldquo;I drew them with the cords of a man,&rdquo; that is, rationally; and hence religion is called a &ldquo;reasonable service,&rdquo; and every Christian is required to &ldquo;be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in him.&rdquo; We cannot convince, inform, or reason with a beast. A beast is inaccessible to argument and motive. We therefore coerce a beast. But it is otherwise with a man. When we wish to influence a man we reason with him-we inform his mind-we argue and persuade. This is precisely the manner in which God deals with us; and therefore the Apostle says that &ldquo;he works in us to will and to do of his good pleasure;&rdquo; not to do without being willing; that would be tyranny and force; but to will and to do-and what we do willingly we do with pleasure. Though it will be readily conceded that there is a Divine energy employed in the conversion of a sinner, yet it is always employed in a way suited to the nature of the being on whom it is exerted; and this being is a rational being.<p>God always begins therefore by opening the eyes of our understanding, by shining into our hearts-&ldquo;I drew them with bands of love,&rdquo; that is, affectionately. Now there is something very winning and attractive in love; indeed, there is nothing else that can draw others towards us. Power may cause a man to be dreaded-wisdom may cause him to be feared-wealth may cause him to be envied-but it is love alone that can cause him to be loved. Therefore, says Solomon, &ldquo;He that would have friends must show himself friendly.&rdquo; Go and tell another that he ought to love you-command him to love you-reproach and threaten if he do not love you. Have you succeeded? Why you are farther off than ever.<p>No, there is no way of being loved but by appearing lovely; no way of being loved but by possessing and displaying tenderness and benevolence, and a concern for others. Dr. Doddridge had a lovely daughter, of whom he was deprived at the early age of nine years. One day, when he said to her, &ldquo;My dear, how is it that everybody seems to love you?&rdquo; she answered, &ldquo;I do not know, papa, unless it is that I love everybody.&rdquo; Now this was not only a striking answer, but it was really a philosophical one; it accords with the sentiments of Seneca, who has given us a love charm; and what was the recipe? Why, he says, &ldquo;Love, in order to be loved.&rdquo; No being ever yet drew another to him by a display of authority and terror. God himself never drew one soul to him by the law, which is only a system of authority and terror, but by the gospel, which is his scheme of mercy and grace.<p>The whole of Christianity may be considered as an infinite expediency, devised by the only wise God, to dispossess our minds of bad and unworthy thoughts of him, and to fix in our trembling bosoms confidence, which should be the principle of our return to him; and thus to bring us to him is the simple design of the gospel. And Paul says, &ldquo;Whatsoever things were written aforetime, were written for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the Scripture, might have hope.&rdquo; And, says Peter, &ldquo;God raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory, that our faith and hope might be in God.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. - <a href='B:550 2:16'>Gal 2:16</a>. </i><p>THERE are truths which are essential to religion, and which, so to speak, regard not the form of the windows and of the doorway, but the foundation itself, which regard not the railings and the ornaments of the bridge, but the keystone; which regard not those members of the body which may be injured or removed, while vitality remains, but the head, the breast, and the lungs. Such a doctrine is the fall of man, by which the human race are now all found in a state of guilt and depravity and helplessness. Such is the doctrine of justification by faith, the article, as Luther observes, by which a church stands or falls. And such is the doctrine in these words, which is most fully and clearly set forth in the New Testament, and particularly in this Epistle and in the Epistle to the Romans.<p>&ldquo;Therein,&rdquo; says the Apostle, speaking of the gospel, &ldquo;is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, the just shall live by faith.&rdquo; &ldquo;Therefore, by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.&rdquo; But now the righteousness of God without the law, that is, without the works of the law, is manifest, being witnessed by the law (that is, Moses) and the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith in Jesus Christ, which is unto ail and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. &ldquo;By him, therefore,&rdquo; said Peter to the Jews, &ldquo;all that believe are justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses;&rdquo; and, says Paul, &ldquo;Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth:&rdquo;-&ldquo;righteousness,&rdquo; by rendering the obedience the law demands, and by suffering the penalty it denounces; for the penalty is as righteous and as divine as the precept. It is founded in eternal rectitude.<p>God could no more dispense with it than he could dispense with eternal rectitude; that is, do wrong. But, &ldquo;is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.&rdquo; This and this only is the way in which sinners can return to God, and become one with him again. &ldquo;For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.&rdquo; And how? &ldquo;In Christ Jesus. Ye who were sometimes afar off are made nigh by the blood of Christ, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness; that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.&rdquo;<p>All who believe in Jesus are interested in this inestimable blessing, and should rejoice in it. Following the example of the church in the days of Isaiah, &ldquo;I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God, for he hath clothed, me with the garments of salvation. He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.&rdquo; Why should we be so affected with our external circumstances, however trying they may be? As subjects of this grace and the heirs of that glory which shall be revealed in us, we should <p>&ldquo;Sing of his lore who sought us, <p> When far away from God, <p> The precious price that bought us <p> Was his atoning blood.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> Zaccheus, make haste and come down, for to-day I must abide at thy house. - <a href='B:490 19:5'>Luk 19:5</a>. </i><p>BEHOLD the Saviour, how he &ldquo;prevents us with the blessings of his goodness.&rdquo; Behold what extensive knowledge he possesses. He knew the name of this individual, he knew his abode. With what authority and freedom, condescension and kindness, he speaks! &ldquo;To-day I must abide at thy house.&rdquo; Thus not only indulging his simple desire in seeing him, but giving him an opportunity to enjoy his presence and to hold conversation with him. What is all this to us? It is much every way.<p>First, That Jesus now comes and, asks for admission. He comes and offers himself in his people, and he that receiveth them receiveth him. He comes now in his word, which we have in our own language and in our hands. He comes in the public ministry, in the preaching of the gospel. He comes and stands before us with love in his eyes, with compassion in his heart, with salvation in his hands, that we may hear and receive him. He urges this upon us by the dispensations of his providence, by a thousand kindnesses, by personal and relative affliction, by the death of relations, by the convictions of conscience, and by the operations of the Holy Spirit.<p>Secondly, It becomes us to receive him. When he thus comes and invites himself he deserves to be entertained by us. Consider his dignity and greatness. The most magnificent titles become him. He said himself, &ldquo;A greater than Solomon is here. Here is one greater than the temple.&rdquo; Fine language for a mere man to make use of! He is greater than angels. As much above angels as he is above man, as also &ldquo;above every name that is named, not only in this world but in that which is to come.&rdquo; Consider his proprietary in us.<p>He is the lawful owner of the house, and it was designed for him, originally prepared for him. Every other possessor is an intruder, an usurper. Let us consider our need of Him. What are any without him but wretched and miserable, and poor and blind and naked-patients without a physician-wanderers without a guide-debtors without a surety. &ldquo;He that hath the Son hath life, but he that hath not the Son hath not life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.&rdquo; Let us consider the blessings he brings. When he enters salvation comes to the soul-a free, full, and everlasting salvation. &ldquo;There is salvation in none other.&rdquo; but with him is &ldquo;plenteous redemption.&rdquo; &ldquo;To as many as received him gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in his name.&rdquo; &ldquo;It hath pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell.&rdquo;<p>In receiving him we receive all, and are &ldquo;blessed with all Spiritual blessings in heavenly places in him.&rdquo; Obededom received the ark under his roof, and God &ldquo;blessed the house of Obededom for the ark&rsquo;s sake.&rdquo; Upon which Mr. Henry remarks that the ark is a guest that always pays well for entertainment; and surely it is much more the case here. If he be received as a guest, he will bring all his entertainment along with him. 


devotion:
<i> He made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. - <a href='B:490 19:6'>Luk 19:6</a>. </i><p>ZACCHEUS was filled with astonishment and surprise at such unlooked-for notice and address. But this was not all. This voice, this look, was the voice and look of the Master of mind, the Sovereign of hearts, which produced in him an immediate change, of which he gave most abundant and convincing proofs. &ldquo;He made haste, and came down and received him joyfully.&rdquo; And we must receive him as Zaccheus did-that is, we must receive him with alacrity, with humility, and with pleasure.<p>He &ldquo;made haste.&rdquo; He did not yield to a Spirit of procrastination. There was nothing in him like Felix, who was temporarily affected by Paul&rsquo;s preaching, and said, &ldquo;Go thy way for this time; at a more convenient season I will send for thee,&rdquo;-no, but without excuse, without a moment&rsquo;s delay, &ldquo;he made haste to receive him.&rdquo; So David -&ldquo;I made haste and delayed not,&rdquo; and &ldquo;turned my feet unto thy testimonies.&rdquo; The King&rsquo;s business requires haste. Zaccheus made haste and came down, and what he did actually we must do morally.<p>Many have been humbled who are not humble, and are as proud as they are poor. Naaman was one of these; he would not &ldquo;come down&rdquo; when Elisha sent a messenger to bid him &ldquo;go and wash in Jordan and be clean.&rdquo; He was wroth, and went away; he could not come down. &ldquo;Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.&rdquo; He was remonstrated with, and advised by one of his attendants, and subsequently &ldquo;came down &ldquo;to the waters of Jordan, in which he dipped himself seven times, according to the saying of the man of God, &ldquo;and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.&rdquo;<p>The Jews would not &ldquo;come down,&rdquo; they were &ldquo;ignorant of God&rsquo;s righteousness, and went about to establish their own righteousness,&rdquo; and therefore they submitted not themselves &ldquo;to the righteousness which is of God.&rdquo; How many are there in the same condition! they will not &ldquo;come down&rdquo; from their legal dependencies, high thoughts, exalted imaginings, their proud reasonings, and their creature dependencies so as to deny themselves and take up the cross, so as to be willing to be wise in another&rsquo;s wisdom, strong in another&rsquo;s strength, righteous in another&rsquo;s righteousness, so as to give all the glory of their salvation undividedly to the &ldquo;praise of the glory of his grace,&rdquo; to acknowledge that they live entirely on alms-to come to him not to buy, but to beg, and if to buy, without money and without price. <p>&ldquo;It is enough, my All in all, <p> At thy clear feet to lie; <p> Thou wilt not let me lower fall, <p> And none can climb more high.&rdquo; </i><p>He received him joyfully; that is, he entertained him with the most cheerful hospitality, knowing that the obligation was all on his side. Many of the Jews were ready to exclaim, Ah! you will pay dear for your curiosity by taking in such a leader, with all his herd of followers; but he looked upon this as the happiest day of his life, and only grieved that he did not come sooner, and that he was to depart so soon. But though the Saviour departed, as to his bodily presence, the Spiritual blessings which he had to bestow were to abide, and did &ldquo;abide&rdquo; with him for ever.<p>Zaccheus received him not only into his house, but into his heart-into all the powers of his soul, as the &ldquo;unspeakable gift,&rdquo; and there we ought to receive him. The gospel is not only a &ldquo;faithful saying,&rdquo; but it is &ldquo;worthy of all acceptation,&rdquo; and can never be duly received unless it awaken up sentiments and desires such as nothing else can engender.<p>&ldquo;Blessed,&rdquo; says David, &ldquo;are the people who know the joyful sound; they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh. - <a href='B:610 3:16'>1Ti 3:16</a>. </i><p>HERE is a combination of Deity and humanity. Such an union is unparalleled in the annals of the whole universe. It is not necessary to prove that the Saviour was really a man. Those who in the beginning of the gospel day, under the notion of doing him honour, contended that his flesh was a mere phantom, and that it was a corporeal appearance only, and not a reality, have long ago disappeared. John much opposed them, and we may observe in his writings how much stress he lays on our believing that he is come in the flesh, that is, that he was really incarnate.<p>This we fully admit; we know that &ldquo;a body &ldquo;was &ldquo;prepared him.&rdquo; We know that he &ldquo;took upon him the nature of the seed of Abraham;&rdquo; that because the children were partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that &ldquo;he increased in wisdom,&rdquo; as well as &ldquo;in stature;&rdquo; that he had all the innocent infirmities of our nature; that he hungered, and thirsted, and wept and slept, and groaned in Spirit; and yet we have as much reason from the Scriptures to believe his Deity as to believe his humanity.<p>The conclusion is undeniable; unless it is allowed that the sacred writers wrote in order to perplex and puzzle, or to lead astray, or, at least, that they should not be understood by the common people and unlettered. For continually, and without any reserve, they ascribe to him the most magnificent titles to be found within the compass of language. They ascribe to him attributes which Deity only can possess-they ascribe to him homage which Deity alone can claim and justify. The union, therefore, is indispensably necessary in order to our understanding and explaining Scripture. We find things said of him which do not agree with him as man, and we find things said of him which do not agree with him as God.<p>Paul says to the elders of Ephesus, &ldquo;Feed the flock of God which he hath purchased with his own blood.&rdquo; He that is Divine cannot bleed, and he that bleeds cannot be Divine, but there may be a union of Deity, and humanity in his wonderful person. And this is the case. John, in the beginning of his Gospel, says, &ldquo;In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.&rdquo; And yet, says he, &ldquo;The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.&rdquo; And Isaiah thus speaks of him; &ldquo;Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.&rdquo; Here we have time and eternity blended, the finite and the infinite, the &ldquo;Child&rdquo; and the &ldquo;Mighty God,&rdquo; the &ldquo;Son&rdquo; and the &ldquo;Everlasting Father.&rdquo;<p>Oh! how can these things be? There is the mystery. &ldquo;And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The word of the LORD was precious. - <a href='B:90 3:1'>1Sa 3:1</a>. </i><p>&ldquo;Precious|&rdquo; means valuable, costly, something of worth and importance. The preciousness of a thing is very distinguishable from the truth of it. Nothing can, indeed, be valuable and important that is not true; but a thing may be true without being valuable and important; but here both the truthfulness and the preciousness of the gospel are conjoined. According to the word of the Apostle, &ldquo;This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.&rdquo; This may be inferred not only from the Author, but from the design.<p>What is the design of the word of God, but the restoration of man from all the effects of moral evil, and placing him in a condition superior to that in which he was originally created? &ldquo;These things are written,&rdquo; says the Apostle, &ldquo;that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; and that believing, ye might have life through his name.&rdquo; Here the mighty questions are answered-What must I do to be saved?&rdquo; &ldquo;How shall I come before the Lord, and bow before the High God?&rdquo; The most precious book in the world to me ought to be that which contains &ldquo;the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord;&rdquo; and this volume does contain it. We are commanded to &ldquo;search the Scriptures,&rdquo; for in them we think we have eternal life, and they are they which testify of him.<p>The heathen knew something of the fall: they must have felt the effects of it in the troubles of life-in the uneasiness of conscience-in the discord of their passions-in the dread of futurity-and in what the Apostle Paul calls their &ldquo;subjection all their life to bondage through fear of death.&rdquo;-We know that they did try to obtain relief; but they knew nothing of the &ldquo;balm in Gilead&rdquo; and the &ldquo;Physician there;&rdquo; they were &ldquo;without Christ,&rdquo; and therefore they were &ldquo;without hope, and without God in the world.&rdquo; O, how precious is one declaration of this book-the testimony of John. &ldquo;We have known, and believe,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;the love he hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him.&rdquo; How precious is it to have a standard of doctrine with regard to our belief; so that if we feel perplexities-and perplexities there needs will be on such a subject-we may call in the judgment of God the Father himself. How satisfactory is it to have a rule of duty with regard to our conduct. How wretched we must feel if we had been left to conjecture what God would have us do, and how he would have us walk. But this is not our case; he hath shown us what is good; he has told us what he requires of us; he has furnished us with information, and this information is in proportion to the importance of the thing.<p>As to matters of moment, here everything is so legibly inscribed, that &ldquo;he may run that reads it.&rdquo; Where information is necessary to us, there the light of day is thrown upon the subject; where additional information would only amuse us, and draw us off from the &ldquo;one thing needful,&rdquo; there the Scripture becomes silent as death and dark as the grave. And is not this an excellency? Thus the Bible teaches us by what it conceals as well as by what it reveals. Just as Lord Bacon observes, &ldquo;The shade of the sun on the sun-dial serves to show the hour as well as the sunshine.&rdquo; And how advantageous is it to have, also, a manual of piety-a vade mecum of devotion, with everything comprised in it that is necessary to life, and in so small a compass that we can carry it conveniently along with us.<p>Ah, says Solomon, take this book, &ldquo;bind it about thy neck, write it upon the tablet of thine heart; that where thou goest it may lead thee, and where thou sleepest it may keep thee, and where thou walkest it may walk with thee.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The word of the LORD was precious in those days. - <a href='B:90 3:1'>1Sa 3:1</a>. </i><p>WE may consider Samuel as one of the finest characters recorded, in all history. Here we have his birth, his dedication to God, his employment in the temple, and his call to the prophetic office. Here we notice the character of the period in which the vision came. The days were evil-profligacy had invaded the sanctuary of God -the priestly office was prostituted to the vilest of purposes, so that men &ldquo;despised the offering of the Lord;&rdquo; &ldquo;and the word of the Lord was precious in those days.&rdquo; Here we have the veracity and the excellency of divine revelation. &ldquo;The word of God&rdquo; was &ldquo;precious,&rdquo; and also the season of its preciousness &ldquo;in those days.&rdquo; The word of God would be &ldquo;precious&rdquo; in itself, if no one ever regarded it; just as the jewel is equally valuable, though the swine trample it under its hoofs.<p>It is with the word as it is with the Author of it, &ldquo;to them that believe, he is precious,&rdquo; and to them that believe it, it also is precious. Good men have always so regarded it. Job said, &ldquo;I esteem the words of thy mouth more than my necessary food;&rdquo; and David says, &ldquo;More to be desired are they than gold; yea, than much fine gold.&rdquo; But there are seasons in which the word of the Lord is particularly precious. &ldquo;The word of the Lord was precious in those days.&rdquo; What days?<p>First, The days of destitution. Such were the days of Samuel. This was the case in after times with the church. We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet.&rdquo; This was implied in the prophecy, &ldquo;Thy teachers shall not be removed into a corner any more.&rdquo; It is expressed in the threatening, &ldquo;Behold the days shall come when they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord and shall not find it.&rdquo; How precious was the word of the Lord in the days of King Josiah, who had but once seen a copy of the law in his life; and when a copy was found in the temple, he ordered it to be read, and wept again and again. How precious were the Scriptures before their translation. How many were they to whom they were inaccessible. It was like a spring shut up-a fountain sealed. And after its translation, how precious was it, owing to the trouble and expense of transcription, before the art of printing. In. the days of Henry the Eighth, and of his bigoted and persecuting daughter, Queen Mary, when by the former its use was partially, and by the other totally, prohibited; and in the days of Elizabeth, so precious and scarce was the word of God, that a large Bible was ordered to be chained to a ledge in the aisle of every parish church; and in later days, when, unless by stealth and in concealment, and at night, the people could only hear from their persecuted teachers the joyful sound. And it was no uncommon thing at the time of the formation of the Bible Society, for several families to possess one Bible as their common joint property, each family having the use of it for a week or a month successively.<p>There may be something like those days of destitution in some individuals now. They may be produced by accidents, by disease, by deafness. &ldquo;O,&rdquo; said one who was seen committing the Scriptures to memory, &ldquo;I am making provision for a dark day, that when I can no longer read, in the multitude of my thoughts I shall have comfort left to my soul.&rdquo; We all know the value of a thing by the want of it. &ldquo;The word of the Lord was precious in those days.&rdquo; What days? The days of conviction. When, by some influence, or some sermon, or by some providence, the carnal heart was broken up. When some have said- <p>&ldquo;&rsquo;Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, <p> And grace that fear relieved; <p> How precious did that grace appear <p> The hour I first believed.&rdquo; </i><p>How precious was the word of the Lord then. &ldquo;The word of the Lord was precious in those days.&rdquo; What days? Days of affliction. This is my comfort; in my affliction, thy word hath quickened me. &ldquo;The word of the Lord was precious in those days.&rdquo; What days? Dying days. These we have not yet experienced, but we must experience them. What was it comforted the saints while passing through the valley of the shadow of death? The blessed gospel of salvation; that taught them that &ldquo;to die is gain,&rdquo; and enabled them to say, &ldquo;O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found. - <a href='B:230 32:6'>Psa 32:6</a>. </i><p>HERE is an encouragement to hope. It assails despair by an assurance that &ldquo;the Lord may be found.&rdquo; &ldquo;We are saved by hope.&rdquo; We fell originally by the loss of confidence in God, and we can only rise by the renewal of that confidence in him. The very first step in the return of a sinner to God, conscious of his guilt and desert, must be a persuasion that &ldquo;with the Lord there is mercy;&rdquo; that &ldquo;with him there is plenteous redemption.&rdquo;<p>And what a foundation is laid for this hope in the &ldquo;word of the truth of the gospel,&rdquo; the word of salvation, the design of which is, that, &ldquo;through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, we might have hope.&rdquo; What a foundation is laid in the character given of God himself-&ldquo;A God hearing prayer;&rdquo; &ldquo;The Father of mercies and the God of all grace;&rdquo; &ldquo;The God of all comfort;&rdquo; &ldquo;The God of peace.&rdquo; What a foundation is laid in the provision which he has made. He has &ldquo;devised means that his banished ones may not be expelled from him,&rdquo; and harmonized the exercise of mercy with the claims of justice. He has delivered his own Son &ldquo;for our offences, and raised him again for our justification.&rdquo; &ldquo;He has raised him from the dead, and given him glory, that our faith and hope might be in God.&rdquo; Thus every hindrance to our return is removed. Thus the law is fulfilled and made honourable. Thus the truth of God remains inviolate; thus he is the &ldquo;just God and a Saviour;&rdquo; thus he is just in &ldquo;justifying the ungodly;&rdquo; thus &ldquo;he is faithful and just in forgiving our sins, and in cleansing us from all unrighteousness.&rdquo;<p>And what can the blessed God consistently withhold now, after what he has conferred upon us. &ldquo;He that spared not his own Son, but freely gave him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things.&rdquo; What a foundation is laid in his invitations-&ldquo;Look unto me and be ye saved;&rdquo; &ldquo;Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters;&rdquo; &ldquo;Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest;&rdquo; &ldquo;and him that cometh I will in nowise cast out.&rdquo; What a foundation is laid in the promises-&ldquo;Ask, and it shall be given; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you;&rdquo; &ldquo;Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.&rdquo; What a foundation is laid in his performances-&ldquo; He has not said to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain;&rdquo; and he has never repulsed any returning sinner, however vile and wretched, because of the number and heinousness of his offences. &ldquo;Look,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;at Manasseh, an idolator, a necromancer, and a murderer, who made the streets of Jerusalem to run down with blood,&rdquo; he sought the Lord, and he was heard, and knew the Lord; and Saul of Tarsus, whose blasphemy and ferocity against the church of God was such, that he seemed beyond the possibility of being reclaimed. Yet, says he, &ldquo;I obtained mercy,&rdquo; &ldquo;that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long suffering, for a pattern to them who should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.&rdquo; As much as to say, &ldquo;Let any one despair now, if he can.&rdquo; How encouraging is all this.<p>Impossibility will sometimes move people, and if probability will commonly move them, how much more will actual certainty influence them, when the prize is nothing less than the possession of God-the God of all grace and glory. It is thus we are encouraged to &ldquo;seek the Lord while he may he found, and to call upon him while he is near.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. - <a href='B:290 55:6'>Isa 55:6</a>. </i><p>WE may consider these words as a security from presumption, as well as an antidote to despair. They plainly hint that, though God is to be found, he is not always to be found. The awful decision of Solomon may be here appealed to: &ldquo;They shall call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me;&rdquo; &ldquo;for that they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord.&rdquo;<p>How is this intimation to be understood? First and principally, it regards the difference between time and eternity. The one is compared in the Scriptures to a way, and the other to an end; the one to seed time, the other to harvest; and the Apostle says, &ldquo;God is not mocked! Whatsoever a man soweth shall he also reap; for he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.&rdquo; It is upon this principle Solomon says, &ldquo;Whatsoever thine hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave whither thou goest.&rdquo;<p>There is no throne of grace in hell. But there is an inferior illustration of this principle to be found even with regards the present life itself. In this view, what a period is youth! Then the body enjoys its health and strength, the mind its activity and sprightliness, the memory its retention, the affections their tenderness, the conscience its sensibility. Note for the most part, they are free from the cares which, if they live, will embarrass, and the troubles which will vex them in their future life. Everything, therefore, unites to call upon them to &ldquo;remember now their Creator,&rdquo; and to &ldquo;seek the Lord&rdquo; &ldquo;in the days of their youth.&rdquo; Hence God says, &ldquo;they that seek me early shall find me.&rdquo;<p>So shall others seek him; but there must be an emphasis in the promise; and the meaning is, that if others attain the same things, they will not attain to them in the same measure and degree, while there are many things which they never can attain if they seek him later, for there are many honours, many pleasures, many opportunities for usefulness, which are peculiar to those who seek and serve the Lord in their youth. What a period, in this view, is the Sabbath. How many have sought and found the Lord then-a day for the soul, a day for eternity, a day for God: a day in which we are drawn back from the world&rsquo;s concerns, and have an opportunity more expressly to wait upon God. Much has been said, and much improperly said, of a day of grace. And though while there is life there is hope, for <p>&ldquo;Life is the time to serve the Lord, <p> The time to ensure the great reward, <p> And while the lamp holds out to burn, <p> The vilest sinner may return,&rdquo; </i><p>yet it must be allowed that there are periods of a more propitious nature than others, when the attention is excited, the heart softened, and the conscience roused. Such is the season of affliction. Then not only the word of God, but the providence of God, says, &ldquo;Call upon me in the day of trouble.&rdquo; This is the design of the trouble, as it is also the tendency of it. We naturally seek assistance when we are in straits and difficulties. God therefore says, &ldquo;I will go and return to my place till they acknowledge me and seek me, for in their affliction they will seek me early.&rdquo;<p>Lastly, There are some who have sought and found the Lord in the highest and most exalted manner; all, indeed, who really seek him find him here; but not according to David, when he said, &ldquo;As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake up in thy likeness.&rdquo; Oh, there are many who have realised this. They sought him here on earth, and now they serve him in heaven, and they see his face, and they wear his name upon their foreheads. 


devotion:
<i> Arise, he calleth thee. - <a href='B:480 10:49'>Mar 10:49</a>. </i><p>WHEN our Saviour was passing along the road, a blind man who sat by the wayside begging cried out, &ldquo;Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy upon me.&rdquo; And he stood still, and commanded him to be brought; and the multitude then said to the man, &ldquo;arise, he calleth thee.&rdquo; It is just the same with regard to many things now. He is thus calling many now. A season of affliction is a time in which he may be now, as he often has been, found. And how concerned we should be not to suffer such a season to pass unseized and unimproved. Do we feel our purposes broken off? even the thoughts of our hearts, and all our worldly schemes laid bare? We are thus addressed: &ldquo;Arise, he calleth thee;&rdquo; and by these things he bids us to arise and depart hence, to turn from the world, which is vanity and vexation of Spirit, and seek &ldquo;a better, even a heavenly country;&rdquo; and seek to know that we have in ourselves &ldquo;a better and an enduring substance.&rdquo; When invaded by sickness, it is still, &ldquo;Arise, he calleth thee,&rdquo; for by this messenger of mortality he says, &ldquo;now you see there is but a step betwixt you and death;&rdquo; now &ldquo;the Judge standeth at the door;&rdquo; or when bereaved of beloved connections, these bereaving providences say to us, &ldquo;Arise, he calleth thee.&rdquo; Yes, he now says: <p>&ldquo;Why should this earth delight you so, <p> Why should you fix your eyes <p> On these low grounds where sorrows grow, <p> And every pleasure dies?&rdquo; </i><p>When these are saying to us, &ldquo;You see your idol now, what can it do for you?&rdquo; then may we say, &ldquo;And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.&rdquo; And when we see Christians supported under their trials, that they are happy without those things after which the multitude are so eagerly pursuing; that while others are saying, &ldquo;Who will show us any good?&rdquo; they have found it, and have acquainted themselves with God, and are at peace- by these we are also addressed, &ldquo;arise, he calleth thee.&rdquo; Let these, he in affect says, let these be instances and examples of my sustaining and supporting grace, to excite and encourage you.<p>O when we are alone, when God comes to us, as he did to Adam, &ldquo;in the cool of the day;&rdquo; when our heart, by these trials, is softened, and when powerfully impressed by the word we have been hearing, why then are we also thus addressed: &ldquo;Arise, he calleth thee.&rdquo; O then may we say, &ldquo;Behold, we come unto thee, for thou art the Lord our God.&rdquo; &ldquo;Lord, I am thine, save me.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Will he plead against me with his great power? - <a href='B:220 23:6'>Job 23:6</a>. </i><p>HE might righteously do it. We deserve it. From hence we learn, First, That the power of God is great, a truth of which we need not to be informed, for who is there that cannot say, with David, &ldquo;Once have I heard this, yea twice, that power belongeth unto God?&rdquo; The Apostles&rsquo; Creed begins with this: &ldquo;I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.&rdquo; This is much easier said than realised. And he not only displayed his almightiness in making heaven and earth, but in the manner in which he did it. With what infinite ease! without any exertion! with his word! &ldquo;He spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.&rdquo;<p>And how are all things upholden? He &ldquo;hangs the earth upon nothing.&rdquo; It performs its annual and diurnal course. Why? &ldquo;He upholds all things by the word of his power. He made iron to swim, the flames to refuse to scorch or even to produce the smell of fire on the hair of the three Hebrew children. &ldquo;Why, then, should it be thought a thing incredible that God should raise the dead?&rdquo; He can raise the dead with infinitely greater ease than we can awake the most lively creature. What, then, must it be to plead against a man with his great power?<p>Secondly, While the greatness of Jehovah&rsquo;s power is a tremendous thought if we view it abstractedly, it suggests that the power of God is engaged in behalf of his people. We may view it as belonging to our Friend and Father, and as under the direction of his mercy and grace. Will he employ his great power against us? No! Oh, the blessedness of having this power employed for us. It is our most delightful resource to know that &ldquo;nothing is too hard for the Lord,&rdquo; and that he will do all things for us. Oh, it is indeed delightful to hold communion with the attributes of God; when I am in perplexity, to think of his wisdom and guidance; when I feel my unworthiness, to think of his mercy and grace to pardon and renew me; when I feel my weakness, to think of his all-sufficiency, and to know that &ldquo;in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.&rdquo; That, instead of his pleading against me with his great power, he is saying to me, &ldquo;Let him take hold of my strength,&rdquo;-let the ivy cling to the tree and ascend.<p>Thirdly, Let us consider how dreadful it must be for God to plead against a man with his great power. He pleaded with his great power against the mighty angels who sinned, the least of whom could wield those elements and lay creation, if allowed, waste in a moment. He pleaded against &ldquo;the old world&rdquo; with &ldquo;his great power,&rdquo; and drowned it with a flood. He &ldquo;pleaded against&rdquo; Pharaoh with &ldquo;his great power,&rdquo; and he sank with his hosts like lead in the mighty waters. &ldquo;And,&rdquo; says Job, &ldquo;thine eyes are upon me, and I am not&rdquo;-a look annihilates; one glance by and bye, and &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; 


devotion:
<i> But he would put strength in me. - <a href='B:220 23:6'>Job 23:6</a>. </i><p>WE are altogether nothing without him, and &ldquo;without him we can do nothing.&rdquo; He will therefore put strength in us for the performance of duty, and our work is enough to discourage us, for it looks fitter for an angel than for a feeble man, unless we look to him whose strength can be made perfect in our weakness. He will put strength in us to enable us to suffer, and we shall never in &ldquo;patience possess our souls,&rdquo; we shall never endure so as to &ldquo;glorify God in the fires,&rdquo; so as to do honour to our religion, and recommend the gospel to all around us by its influence, but as he stands by us. As was the case with Paul, he mentions a sad story to Timothy. When he had appealed to Cæsar, and had to appear before that arch-tyrant Nero, he says, &ldquo;At my first answer no man stood with me. I pray God it may not be laid to their charge. But neverertheless,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;the Lord stood by me, and strengthened me.&rdquo;<p>Whoever withdraws from us, therefore, he will be with us; and a very present help, an all-sufficient help, in the time of trouble. Paul therefore says, &ldquo;There has no temptation befallen you but such as is common to men; but God is righteous, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able, and will with every temptation make away also for you to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.&rdquo; without removing our affliction God can afford us an increasing supply of his Holy Spirit to render us adequate to our duty. He will &ldquo;put strength in us&rdquo; to make us equal to our enemies. Numerous and mighty and subtle as they are, yet &ldquo;greater is he that is with us, than all they that are in the world;&rdquo; &ldquo;If God be with us who can be against us.&rdquo;<p>He will put strength in us to enable us to pursue our Christian course, or we should immediately drawback, unto perdition. But &ldquo;the righteous,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;shall hold on their way, and wax stronger and stronger.&rdquo; We need not be afraid, therefore, when we feel our weakness, for when we are weak then are we strong; and we shall be able to say, &ldquo;In the Lord have I righteousness and strength.&rdquo; We have both in him; yea, we have everything in him. Unless Christ be all in all to us, he will be nothing at all to us.<p>As our justification depends upon the Saviour&rsquo;s righteousness, so our sanctification depends upon the Saviour&rsquo;s support. And as we will not dare when we appear before God to make mention of our righteousness, so neither will we go forth in our own strength now, but will say with the Psalmist, &ldquo;I will go in the strength of the Lord God. I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me. - <a href='B:230 119:50'>Psa 119:50</a>. </i><p>OBSERVE the season here referred to-days of affliction. Who is free from affliction? &ldquo;Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward,&rdquo; and Christians experience trials in common with others. Moses chose to &ldquo;suffer affliction with the people of God.&rdquo; One is saying, &ldquo;My purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart;&rdquo; another is bereaved of his connections, and is saying, &ldquo;Lovers and friends hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.&rdquo; The eye of another rests upon the shadow of death, and under the influence of a noxious disease is saying, &ldquo;I shall behold men no more with the inhabitants of the earth.&rdquo;<p>Observe, then, a source of comfort, &ldquo;This is my comfort,&rdquo; &ldquo;Thy word hath quickened me.&rdquo; In the season of affliction what is so precious to the suffering Christian as the word of God? &ldquo;Unless,&rdquo; says David, an old and a great sufferer, &ldquo;unless thy law had been my delight, I should have perished in my affliction.&rdquo; The Scripture is never so precious as it is in the hour of trouble, and many have been there, and many are still there. This blessed book says, as its Author did, &ldquo;In the world ye shall have tribulation, but in me ye shall have peace.&rdquo; Its &ldquo;exceeding great and precious promises&rdquo; minister to our consolation and support. They bid us to be of good courage, and not yield to fear, assuring us that &ldquo;as our day so shall our strength be.&rdquo; The &ldquo;word&rdquo; assures us that nothing occurs by chance, that all are the acts of heavenly arrangement-the arrangement of our Father and our Friend-that all will be well, for that all is well now, and that all our woes and all our mercies tend to promote our real, Spiritual, and eternal welfare-&ldquo;that all things work together for good to them that love God.&rdquo; &ldquo;O,&rdquo; said Bolingbroke, under his affliction, &ldquo;my philosophy forsakes me in my affliction.&rdquo; But did Sir Philip Sidney&rsquo;s philosophy forsake him, when, after a battle, he, having to undergo a dreadful operation, said to the surgeon, &ldquo;Sir, you are come to a poor timid creature in himself, but to one who by the grace of God is raised above his own weakness, and therefore do not dishonour your art in sparing the patient.&rdquo; Nor did the philosophy of the church forsake her when she said, &ldquo;Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat, the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stall, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will joy in the God of my salvation.&rdquo;<p>There are persons that the Scriptures must comfort, or nothing can do; and yet, such is the cruelty of infidels, that they would rob these sufferers of their only comfort. The afflicted man goes to the house of God, and there finds God in his afflictions to be a refuge; and these wretches would pull down that refuge and leave him without an asylum, and his poor head bare to the pitiless storm. The widow begins to hope when she reads, &ldquo;Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them; and let thy widows trust in me.&rdquo; The wretched infidel comes and dashes away this only cup of consolation from her parched lips. We should never give countenance to them, but rather consider them as robbers and murderers of the worst kind. <p>&ldquo;Should all the forms which men devise <p> Assault my faith with treacherous art, <p> I&rsquo;d call them vanity and lies, <p> And bind the gospel to my heart.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men. - <a href='B:230 31:19'>Psa 31:19</a>. </i><p>THE exclamation is well founded. David speaks of the grounds of God&rsquo;s goodness, and in order to impress his memory more, he speaks of it under the distinction of future and present, performed and promised, concealed and displayed. How great is the goodness which is laid up for them who fear and trust the Lord. This, indeed, is the principal part; this surpasses all representation and conception too. &ldquo;Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.&rdquo;<p>Eternity will be given us to develop the glory that shall be revealed; and yet &ldquo;how great is the goodness he has wrought for them.&rdquo; Though they have more in reversion, they have much in possession; though they have more in hope, they have much in hand. It is said the Jews did eat angels&rsquo; food, because the manna on which they fed was not produced by human instrumentality, but created immediately in the clouds, and sent down from heaven, but- <p>&ldquo;Never did angels taste above <p> Redeeming grace and dying love.&rdquo; </i><p>Oh how great is his goodness! Jesus, the elder brother of the family, is ours; all creation is ours; redemption is all our own. And in our redemption by an infinite price, in our justification by a righteousness wrought out and brought in, a righteousness which is of God, in the renovation of our souls by the operation of almighty grace, in our guidance through all the intricacies of the wilderness, and in the gracious provision for our daily wants by a peculiar providence-oh! what rewards will those that fear him hereafter find! oh, what exquisite delight will belong to them, and them only! As yet, it is not day with them, but it is the dawn; and the one will infallibly bring on the other. As yet the good work is not finished in them, but it is begun. An infinite good is being wrought out in them as well as for them; and &ldquo;we are confident,&rdquo; says the Apostle, &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; 


devotion:
<i> Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant. - <a href='B:570 2:6-7'>Phi 2:6-7</a>. </i><p>HERE is a combination of grandeur and humiliation, and this may be traced through the whole of the Saviour&rsquo;s ministry. Nothing could have been attended with more obscurity and privation and hardship and abasement than the circumstances of his birth. And yet was there ever son so honoured and dignified? At the birth of what other son did the heavens assume a new star, did wise men come from the east to worship him, did the angel of the Lord descend from heaven and assure the shepherds of glad tidings of great joy which should be to all people, of &ldquo;a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, and goodwill towards men?&rdquo; At the birth of what other child did God say, &ldquo;I will shake the heavens and the earth, and the sea and the dry land, and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come?&rdquo;<p>We often find him praying, and prayer argues an inferior nature-prayer is the exercise and expression always of dependence and indigence. But we find him also receiving adoration and prayer too without rebuke. The Apostles prayed, &ldquo;Lord, increase our faith.&rdquo; Stephen died invoking him, saying, &ldquo;Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.&rdquo; As he came into the world, &ldquo;all the angels of God,&rdquo; and they were commanded to do it, &ldquo;worshipped him.&rdquo; We find him at sea; wearied nature required repose, and he was asleep even in the storm, and it required an effort of his disciples to awaken him. But he arose, and stood upon the deck, rebuked the wind and the waves, and said, &ldquo;Peace, be still, and there was a great calm.&rdquo; Unable to pay the temple tribute, he commanded a fish to furnish it. He was hungry in the morning, and found no fruit on the fig-tree; he cursed it, and in a moment it withered away. He was thirsty when he came to the well of Samaria. He asked the woman for a draught of cold water, but he promised her the water of eternal life. When he was in the garden he was &ldquo;exceeding sorrowful even unto death;&rdquo; he was &ldquo;sore amazed;&rdquo; his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground, and yet there an angel ministered unto him; there he healed the ear of Malchus; there he but said to the Roman guard who came to apprehend him, &ldquo;I am he,&rdquo; and &ldquo;they went backward and fell to the ground.&rdquo;<p>He was &ldquo;crucified through weakness,&rdquo; yet at the same time what grandeur was displayed! The earth shakes; the heavens rend; the veil of the temple is rent in twain from the top to the bottom; the graves are opened; the dead are raised and appear to many in the city; the sun hides his face in darkness; the centurion watching there exclaimed, &ldquo;Truly this was the Son of God.&rdquo; The dying thief addresses him as if he had been upon his throne, to whom he said, &ldquo;This day thou shalt be with me in paradise.&rdquo; He descends into the lowest parts of the earth. He is entombed, but again the earth rends, and the angel of the Lord comes down and sits upon the stone of the sepulchre, his face like lightning, his raiment white as snow, his looks make cowards of the Roman veterans who had made the world to tremble, and they flee, and He undresses himself from his grave clothes, and folds up the napkin that was about his head, and lays it in a place by itself, and opens the door, and comes forth the &ldquo;Resurrection and the Life.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn. - <a href='B:290 61:1-2'>Isa 61:1-2</a>. </i><p>HERE is a combination of tenderness and severity, and both these opposite characteristics were continually displayed by the Saviour in all their strength in his personal ministry, and in all his dealings with men in the days of his flesh. He was at once, as the Apostle says, &ldquo;a merciful and a faithful high priest.&rdquo; David says, referring to this combination, &ldquo;Kiss the son lest he be angry, and ye perish by the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little; blessed are all they that put their trust in him.&rdquo; It is impossible to do justice to his tenderness, and Watts says- <p>&ldquo;His heart is made of tenderness, <p> His bowels melt with love.&rdquo; </i><p>His love passeth knowledge. He was to come down &ldquo;like rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth,&rdquo; and did he not? It was foretold of him, &ldquo;a bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench till he shall bring judgment unto victory,&rdquo; and did he either? When he said in language as soft as the ether of heaven, &ldquo;Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest&rdquo;-&ldquo;He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young&rdquo;-did he not this when he taught his disciples &ldquo;as they were able to bear,&rdquo; and when he said to Peter, &ldquo;Feed my lambs?&rdquo; But oh, to see him as his forerunner also describes him, &ldquo;His fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.&rdquo;<p>Observe him in dealing with the Scribes and Pharisees, and mark also that he uses no such severity with any other characters-it was only with those sanctimonious pretenders to piety, who had so deluded the common people with their pretensions that they were accustomed to say that if two persons enter heaven, one of them must be a Pharisee-&ldquo;Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites,&rdquo; &ldquo;ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?&rdquo; John saw him in his vision as the &ldquo;lion of the tribe of Judah,&rdquo; and also as &ldquo;a lamb that had been slain.&rdquo;<p>What a combination of gentleness and dreadfulness does this express. He has patience, but he does not connive at sin, and if we go forward to the last scene we shall see the heavens rolling together as a scroll, and every mountain and island moving out of its place. &ldquo;The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondsman, and every freeman hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains, and say to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne; and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness. - <a href='B:530 1:22-23'>1Co 1:22-23</a>. </i><p>IN the beginning of the gospel we find two classes of persons, Jews and Gentiles, neither of which forsooth could find evidence enough to believe it. The Jews-O they could not believe that Jesus was Messiah, though they stood by and saw him open the eyes of the blind, and raise the dead by a single word, and in a moment; but they could believe the traditions of their elders and the stories of their rabbis-the greatest impositions on human credulity that ever were invented. Then the Greeks-O, said they, how absurd it is for persons to believe in and adore as a God one who suffered and died on the cross; at the very same time they acknowledged and adored as gods, beings whose infamous lusts and passions they allowed, as if sinning was less incompatible with divinity than suffering. It is the same now; the evidence ventured upon by men as to their everlasting all is such as they would be ashamed to act upon in the lowest concerns of life. The faith of a Christian! What does a Christian believe compared with the man who believes that the Scriptures are a cunningly-devised fable? It is to the sceptic we may plainly apply the exclamation, &ldquo;O man, great is thy faith.&rdquo; We indeed believe difficulties, but he believes absurdities. We believe mysteries, but he swallows absolute impossibilities.<p>O Christian, your faith does not stand in the wisdom of man, but in the word of God. Yet the wisdom of man has always been on our side. Down to this very hour, infidelity has not produced one first-rate scholar or genius. What are the names to be found in the lists of our adversaries to weigh against our Newtons, our Boyles, our Bacons, our Lockes, our Miltons, our Joneses, and numbers more. Christians can appeal to miracles numerous, performed in public, and in the presence of those who would have detected the imposture if there had been any. We can appeal to the character of the sacred penmen, and here we say to the deist, &ldquo;Were these penmen good men or bad men?&rdquo;<p>You can take your choice of the alternatives, for either one will equally support our argument. If you say they were good men, how came good men to tell falsehoods, and profess that they received a communication which they never had received, and to declare, &lsquo;Thus saith the Lord,&rsquo; when the Lord had not spoken? If you assert them to be bad men, how came bad men to enforce all holy tempers and conversation, and to censure and condemn themselves for ever in every line they wrote?&rdquo; And if we take up the Bible and examine it internally, we shall see that it is worthy of God.<p>When we read the Scriptures we feel the impress of the Divine agency. We are perfectly sure that whoever was the author of the book, he was a holy, a wise, and a benevolent being, who knew us perfectly, and was concerned for our welfare. And be it observed that the gospel can only impress us according to our impressions of the nature of its claims, if we receive it as human we shall naturally regard it humanly; if we receive it as Divine we shall regard it Divinely. It was thus the Thessalonians received it; and the Apostle acknowledges the consequence, &ldquo;Ye received,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;the word of us, not as the word of man, but as it is in truth the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. - <a href='B:230 138:2'>Psa 138:2</a>. </i><p>THAT is, above all other modes of manifesting himself; for God has displayed himself in various other ways. He has shown much of his power and his wisdom in the constitution of nature, and in the dispensations of providence; yea, and much of his goodness, too. Some contend that he has shown enough of his goodness there to answer all the purposes of religion; but very unjustly: for the display of his goodness there is often intermixed with other effects, that more than neutralise it. We thus witness not only zephyrs, but hurricanes; not only health, but sickness; not only ease, but cholera; not only life, but death. And these awful consequences will always produce more fear in the guilty (and every mind is conscious of guilt) than the pleasing appearances will ever have power to produce hope.<p>We see that this accords with the history of idolatry and superstition in every age of the world. It has not only been absurd and foolish, but also cruel and bloody. The character altogether upon which man must return to God as a sinner to obtain pardon and peace, is the only view we can have of God that will give us confidence and bring us to himself; namely, as the &ldquo;Father of mercies&rdquo; and &ldquo;God of all grace;&rdquo; as &ldquo;ready to forgive;&rdquo; as engaged to renew and sanctify us: this is only to be seen in &ldquo;the face of Jesus Christ.&rdquo; In its influence and efficacy, God has magnified his word above all his other works, not only with regard to the illumination of the mind, or the relief of the pardoned conscience, or the setting of the man&rsquo;s poor heart to rest, so that he shall no longer run up and down this wide world, crying, &ldquo;Who will show us any good?&rdquo; but this efficiency is also seen in his moral transformation. &ldquo;If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.&rdquo;<p>And our Saviour therefore said unto the Jews, &ldquo;The words I speak unto you, they are Spirit and life;&rdquo; &ldquo;Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.&rdquo; We see that it did this on its original proclamation. We see that though Plato complained that he could not prevail upon the inhabitants of a single village to walk according to his maxims and rules, the fisherman of Galilee never complained so. Did Corinth refuse, or Rome, or Thessalonica, or Ephesus? Did either or all these places refuse to receive the gospel? No. &ldquo;The kingdom of God was not in word, but in power.&rdquo; They &ldquo;received the word;&rdquo; &ldquo;were made free from sin, became servants to God; having their fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.&rdquo; And the same effects arise from the same doctrine now.<p>For God&rsquo;s grace and God&rsquo;s truth always go together wherever the gospel is received; it comes not in word only, but, as the Apostle says, &ldquo;both in power and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance.&rdquo; The drunkard becomes sober; the swearer learns to fear an oath; the man who lived in chambering and wantonness no longer follows the desires of the flesh; the proud are humbled; the avaricious become liberal; and they who walked by sight walk by faith. And where the word of God is not available to renew, it restrains; where it does not sanctify, it civilizes; and it is this that humanizes mankind.<p>We might have gone through the whole of the pagan world, and not have seen a hospital or a poorhouse. It is this that softens the fierceness of the passions, and corrects the savageness of the manners of the multitude. It is this that will finally beat the sword into the ploughshare, the spear into the pruning-hook, and put an end to war. It is this that will finally banish slavery; and it is this that has raised marriage to its original institution, and, by excluding polygamy and divorce, at once reduced it to a state of purity, peace, and happiness. It is this that has raised the tone of morals amongst us, and the very vices which the most admired characters of antiquity practised and dared themselves to avow, now drive a man from the dregs of society. It is this that makes us revere the memory of a Howard or a Wilberforce, because they pitied and relieved the distressed.<p>Thus the Scriptures have closed the numerous avenues of wretchedness, and opened to mankind scenes of comfort. What would be the state of every family and every nation, if the precepts of this book were universally obeyed, and the Spirit of this book universally felt? Why, our earth would be turned into a paradise. The few words of the Apostle, &ldquo;By love serve one another,&rdquo; were they enthroned in every heart, soon &ldquo;the wilderness and the solitary place would be made glad, and the desert would rejoice and blossom as the rose.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> I laid meat unto them. - <a href='B:350 11:4'>Hos 11:4</a>. </i><p>WORDS in time vary a little in signification. The word meat is now almost exclusively applied to flesh; but in the Scriptures it means food at large. &ldquo;He hath given meat to them that fear him.&rdquo; Meat here signifies food, and it means food for the mind. Let us therefore consider the provision divine goodness has made for the relief and supply of his people.<p>There are some who have no more regard for their souls than if they had none. To get money and spend it-to dress and adorn their bodies-to nurse them in sickness, to pamper them in health-is all their concern. But God knows the infinite value of the soul, and therefore in the gospel he &ldquo;blesses us with all Spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.&rdquo; To show the plenitude and the riches of the gospel provision, it is represented in the Scriptures by a feast; not a common feast, but a royal feast; not a common royal feast, but the feast of a great king at the marriage of his son; and even this does not go half far enough to express the amplitude of the feast which the great King of heaven and earth has made to display the magnificent goodness of his heart. Therefore it is said, &ldquo;In this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wine on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees, well refined.&rdquo;<p>Our Saviour therefore mentions the duration of it. &ldquo;Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that which endureth unto everlasting life.&rdquo; It is everlasting, not only in itself, but because it communicates immortality to those who partake it. &ldquo;Your fathers,&rdquo; said our Saviour, &ldquo;did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.&rdquo; &ldquo;My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.&rdquo; As if he should say, &ldquo;There is in this provision a reality, an excellency, and a satisfaction that rises above all other enjoyment.<p>But where is this provision found? Where is it that our heavenly benefactor has laid this meat unto us? Why, he has laid it unto us in the Scriptures. Here is a book that tells us how we may save our souls: &ldquo;Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me.&rdquo; And this is the main subject-&ldquo;I am that bread of life.&rdquo; Jeremiah says, &ldquo;Thy words were found, and I did eat them;&rdquo; and, says Job, &ldquo;I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.&rdquo; It is laid unto us in the preaching of the gospel. It is the delightful office of ministers to spread this provision before us, and to invite us, or to compel us to come in, that God&rsquo;s house may be filled with inhabitants, and his table with guests. It is laid in every good book that treats on the subject, and that comes in our way. It is laid unto us in all the means of grace, and in all the ordinances of religion, and peculiarly so in the ordinance of the Lord&rsquo;s Supper, where he is said to be made known unto us &ldquo;in the breaking of bread.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> I have broken the bands of your yoke. - <a href='B:30 26:13'>Lev 26:13</a>. </i><p>THIS is exemplified with regard to the Jews when he delivered them from the bondage of Egypt; he then took off the yoke from their necks, and this is what God in his goodness does still for his people. What yoke? The yoke of Judaism.<p>What a yoke were their carnal ordinances, their numberless observances, and their painful rites. The ritual of the Jew, when he came to the end of the year, had taken away one-third of his whole time. Three times a year, however remotely situated from the capital, had they to repair to Jerusalem, notwithstanding the badness of the roads or the weather, to appear before God. We know nothing of distinction of meats, further than a regard to our health, or our taste imposes; but how many were their directions and restrictions with regard to their food! and if they touched a dead body or a grave, they were shut up for days. What a number of feasts and festivals had they! What precepts had they for building, for travelling, for ploughing, for sowing; regulations for the material and make of their garments, and they could not even cut their hair without being subject to a divine ordinance! A Jew could hardly move without violating something belonging to his religion. Its rules were so numerous, so trying, and go oppressive, that well might Peter say it was &ldquo;a yoke;&rdquo; &ldquo;a yoke,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;which we nor our fathers were able to bear.&rdquo; No wonder that our compassionate Saviour should wish to free the Jews from it, and therefore said, &ldquo;Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.&rdquo;<p>What yoke? The yoke of Popery! Popery is called the &ldquo;son of perdition,&rdquo; because it is doomed to perish, and because it has occasioned the temporal and Spiritual destruction of millions. It is called the &ldquo;man of sin,&rdquo; as if it were wickedness personified; and who can be versed in the annals of Popery without seeing how it has abounded with every kind of abomination. Oh, how mysterious was the providence of God to suffer such a system as this to rise and to prevail so long, tyrannizing over and enslaving the nations of the earth! But at length came the Reformation, which broke the bands of this yoke from the neck of our forefathers, so that we are allowed to purchase, and possess, and read the Bible in our own language; so that we are at liberty to lay our hands upon the celestial volume, and to say with David, &ldquo;I have taken thy testimonies as an heritage for ever, for they are the rejoicing of my heart.&rdquo;<p>What yoke? The yoke of persecution. The Reformation did not destroy all this. They who had shaken off the tyranny of Rome have been too eager to impose burdens on the consciences of others. How many suffered and perished by it in England and in Scotland; and many fled from it to the wilds of America. We ought to look back and to remember the former times, and to be thankful for &ldquo;the revolution&rdquo; which broke from us the bands of this yoke.<p>What yoke? The yoke of bigotry. There will always be some difference of opinion with regard to many inferior subjects in religion; and the difference is often of little importance if it be not injurious to our Spirits, if it hinder not our religious co-operation, if it does not invade our religious fellowship and intercourse.<p>What yoke? The yoke of legality. &ldquo;Many there are who,&rdquo; the Apostle says, &ldquo;being ignorant of God&rsquo;s righteousness, are going about to establish their own righteousness, not submitting themselves to the righteousness of God.&rdquo; From this yoke Christ has delivered his people; &ldquo;for not by works of righteousness which we have done, but by his mercy he saved us.&rdquo; The Gospel hath made us free indeed from this yoke. &ldquo;We are not under the law, but under grace.&rdquo; Let us, therefore, &ldquo;stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be no more entangled with the yoke of bondage.&rdquo;<p>What yoke? The yoke of ignorance. &ldquo;God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined into our hearts to give us the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.&rdquo; Let us pray, therefore, that our knowledge of the gospel may be reduced to experience and practice, and that we may never be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour.<p>What yoke? The yoke of sin. This is what the Apostle calls the bondage of corruption. &ldquo;And the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made us free from the law of sin and death.&rdquo; Let us fall in with the design of the Son of God in thus delivering us, and &ldquo;serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> With loving-kindness have I drawn thee. - <a href='B:300 31:3'>Jer 31:3</a>. </i><p>THERE is everything attractive in the goodness of Cod, and we may observe the loving-kindness of God under four aspects, each of which is peculiarly attractive and powerful.<p>First, It is undeserved; and undeserved kindness is very attractive and powerful, that is, when its recipient has no claim upon the giver, and when the boon is entirely of pure favour. What right to support and wages has a servant who has run away from his master? What right to the protection of his sovereign has a subject who has become a rebel and a traitor? By sin we had forfeited every favour from God, and rendered ourselves unworthy of the least of all his mercies. It is therefore of the Lord&rsquo;s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.<p>Secondly, It is disinterested kindness; and this is very attractive and powerful, when it tends to the advantage of the person receiving it, and not to the profit of the giver. A perception of selfishness in the exercise of beneficence will destroy all its influence. There is very little benevolence that will bear examination. Men are perpetually looking towards their own reputation or honour; but what could God look for from us? &ldquo;Can a man,&rdquo; says Elihu, &ldquo;be profitable unto God?&rdquo; &ldquo;Our goodness,&rdquo; says David, &ldquo;extendeth not to thee.&rdquo; God is exalted above all blessing and praise, and as he was happy without the fallen angels, so he would have been happy without us.<p>Thirdly, It is magnanimous; and therefore exceedingly attractive and influential. If a man had the liberty and life of an adversary at his disposal, and he should save his life and restore his liberty, and bestow an estate upon him, surely this would be very winning; and what should we think of the wretch who would not be drawn by it to love and praise his deliverer and benefactor? &ldquo;The soul,&rdquo; saith the Scriptures, &ldquo;that sinneth shall die.&rdquo; We were under the law and under the curse; we were entirely in its power; and while we were waiting for condemnation, he stretched out his sceptre and said, &ldquo;Touch and live.&rdquo; &ldquo;I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.&rdquo; Hard is the heart that does not feel this.<p>Fourthly, It is costly and expensive kindness; and on this account most attractive and powerful. Zeleuchus, in order to save one of his son&rsquo;s eyes, consented to lose one of his own; and what should we think of that son who could ever view a father so devoted to him without emotions of attachment? But, be it observed, this was for a child. When Edward III. took Calais, he consented to spare the place on condition that six of the principal citizens should surrender themselves for execution; and would have forgot his humanity but for his queen, who threw herself at his feet, implored him, and obtained the lives of the noble victims who had offered themselves to save the lives of their fellow-citizens, their friends, their relations, their wives and their children.<p>There cannot, however, be produced an instance in which a man has sacrificed himself knowingly for his adversary. Oh, this remains to be displayed. No, it does not-it was displayed on Calvary; and God commendeth his love towards us, &ldquo;in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend; but while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Seek the Lord and his strength. Seek his face continually. - <a href='B:130 16:11'>1Ch 16:11</a>. </i><p>NOTHING shows the fallen depraved state of man more than his alienation from God, and his endeavour to live without him in the world, uninfluenced by his presence and perfections, careless of his grace, and regardless of his glory. But while this shows the guilt of man, it equally proves his misery. &ldquo;They that forsake thee,&rdquo; says Jeremiah, &ldquo;shall perish.&rdquo;<p>We cannot do without him; with him is the fountain of life. He is the supreme good, the good of the soul, the good of eternity; it is therefore good to draw near to him. We need pardon, and &ldquo;who can forgive sin but God only?&rdquo; We need renovation, and he has said, &ldquo;I will sprinkle clean water upon you and ye shall be clean.&rdquo; &ldquo;From all your idols will I cleanse you.&rdquo; We need strength. &ldquo;In the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.&rdquo; &ldquo;We are Spiritually sick and dying, he bringeth to us health and cure.&rdquo; He is all and in all.<p>When we are convinced of this we begin to seek him; and here we are enjoined and encouraged to seek him; to seek his favour, his presence, his image, his strength, his service, and to seek communion with him. To seek him in the Son of his love, in whom he is reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; to seek him in the Scriptures, at his throne, in his house, in the preaching of the word, at his table, and to seek him among his people.<p>Now this seeking is to be constant and repeated; for though there is a time when we first seek God, there is no time when we may cease doing it, and therefore this injunction to &ldquo;seek his face evermore.&rdquo; We shall always need fresh supplies from the God of all grace, and we should pray, &ldquo;Evermore give us this bread;&rdquo; we should long after a fuller possession and enjoyment of God. <p>&ldquo;Whoever says I want no more, <p> Confesses he has none.&rdquo; </i><p>The grand evidence of a real work of grace in the soul, is &ldquo;holding fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end.&rdquo; That which is Divine will always be durable, and that which comes from God will always lead to God.<p>The prophet, speaking of sorrow, says, &ldquo;They poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them;&rdquo; and Job, speaking of a hypocrite praying, says, &ldquo;Will he always call upon God?&rdquo; There are many who seek God like persons in a storm at sea, but their devotion subsides along with the winds and the waves. The devotion of a real Christian is aided by external excitements, but it does not rely upon them. The devotion of a natural man is like a land-spring, depending upon the falling of the rain; but the devotion of a Christian is like a stream fed by a perpetual spring. The zeal of a natural man resembles blazing straw; the zeal of a regenerate man is like the fire on the Jewish altar, which was kindled by the breath of heaven and never went out.<p>We should admire the goodness and condescension of God in issuing such an injunction as this; that he should make our welfare our duty, and bind a concern for our own happiness upon us by a sense of authority and Divine authority. He does not command us to seek him because he needs us-no, but because we stand in need of him, and because he knows that without him we are undone for ever. 


devotion:
<i> He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. - <a href='B:690 3:7'>1Jn 3:7</a>. </i><p>HERE the righteousness of sanctification is unquestionably intended, as in that Scripture, &ldquo;The righteous shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall wax stronger and stronger.&rdquo; The justified state of a man leads to sanctification of life; for &ldquo;if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things have passed away and all things have become new.&rdquo; If we are justified by Christ we shall be sanctified through Christ.<p>The objective grace of God in the gospel will never be abused where the subjective grace of God is in the heart. Of what use is it to hold these doctrines, or any other in mere credence, if it be held at the same time in &ldquo;unrighteousness?&rdquo; The doctrine of justification by faith is misunderstood and misrepresented by the people of the world continually. They will have it that it leads to licentiousness, and that it is unfriendly to holiness and to good works; although the very Apostle who most fully set it forth has as fully proved the contrary, declaring that &ldquo;the grace of God which bringeth salvation, teacheth us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present world;&rdquo; and hath enjoined upon all Christians, that &ldquo;as he which hath called them is holy,&rdquo; so are they to &ldquo;be holy in all manner of conversation and godliness.&rdquo;<p>They, after all, do furnish the best proofs that these doctrines of grace are friendly to and promotive of holiness and good works. In their shops men may see the justice and the fairness of all their dealings. In their houses see the cleanliness, the order, the harmony, and the affection that is there. See how the &ldquo;husband loves his wife even as himself,&rdquo; and how the wife &ldquo;reverences her husband.&rdquo; See how the parents &ldquo;train up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,&rdquo; while the children &ldquo;obey their parents in the Lord.&rdquo; See how masters &ldquo;remember that they have a Master in heaven;&rdquo; and how servants obey, and purloin not, nor answer again, that the doctrine of God our Saviour may be glorified. See how patient they are in suffering, how humble under honour, how liberal as wealth increases upon them, and so of the rest.<p>Oh, if all Christians did thus live, reproach would soon be rolled away, our hearts would be encouraged and our hands strengthened. Let us therefore be concerned to &ldquo;let our light so shine before men, that they, seeing our good works, may glorify our Father which is in heaven.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Who knoweth what is good for man in this life? - <a href='B:250 6:12'>Ecc 6:12</a>. </i><p>MEN think more highly of themselves than they ought to think. &ldquo;Vain man,&rdquo; says Zophar, &ldquo;would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass&rsquo;s colt.&rdquo; Yet how liable is he to be deceived and deluded. How unable is he to distinguish between appearances and realities; how incapable of knowing how he is to fill and act in a new and untried condition; and even the very limited knowledge he may possess may be influenced by the strongest prejudices; it may be used and it may be misapplied, so that his ignorance may become error; and error is often worse than ignorance.<p>How often, when we look back and examine and compare the past, do we find how different have the same things appeared to us, as they were viewed in prospect or retrospect! How often have we been mistaken both on the side of our hopes and fears! How often have we been anxious for things which have proved to us some of our severest crosses, and how eager have we been to decline other things which, after a while, we have found to be some of our chiefest and choicest mercies!<p>How have we erred when we thought ourselves most sure, and how have we been deceived when we were most confident! Our pains and pleasures, our hopes and disappointments, our enemies and our friends, have differed exeeedingly from those we have reckoned upon when we have portrayed, these things in speculation only. Had some of our connections and some of our situations in life-yea, had the principal events which have taken place in our history been previously announced to us, should not we have exclaimed, with the unbelieving nobleman, &ldquo;If the Lord should make windows in heaven might this thing be.&rdquo;<p>&ldquo;The way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> And Hazael said, What, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? - <a href='B:120 8:13'>2Ki 8:13</a>. </i><p>WELL might the prophet exclaim, &ldquo;O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself.&rdquo; This fact is confirmed by all history, profane and sacred. Here is a scriptural instance. Elisha the prophet settled his countenance stedfastly on Hazael, until he was ashamed. And Hazael said, &ldquo;Why weepeth my lord?&rdquo; And he answered, &ldquo;Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strongholds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child.&rdquo; And Hazael said, &ldquo;But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing?&rdquo; He was then sincere in these feelings, for he was a private individual; but, says Elisha, a change of condition and circumstances will produce a change of character and conduct. &ldquo;The Lord hath shewed me that thou wilt be King of Syria.&rdquo; And so he put off humanity, and put on the crown; becoming all that he had execrated, in the comparison, and perpetrated all the atrocities and cruelties which made the man of God mourn.<p>Thus, how incapable are we of judging of our real character by present circumstances and appearances! how liable to be deluded by present views and feelings! whereas new situations, and new scenes and circumstances, will materially alter our character, and induce a totally different course of action. The reference to the accounts given of the infamous Robespierre, in connection with the horrible atrocities committed during the French Revolution, may serve as a further illustration of the sentiment. This man originally seemed an amiable character: so he was deemed in all his neighbourhood. He was a civilian. He published two books, one on Electricity, the other on the Code of Criminal Jurisprudence, lamenting that it was so sanguinary, and endeavoured to ameliorate it. But the current of the Revolution laid hold of him, and the flood hurried him away, and he became the reverse of all he had appeared before.<p>Thus we see that man is a fallen creature, and much of the effects of the fall appears in the derangement of the operations of his natural powers. So that it is undeniable that the clearest convictions of his conscience, his decision, his judgment, can be neutralized and counteracted; so that, as the heathen said, &ldquo;Men see and approve things, and follow worse.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Then, tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. - <a href='B:510 11:22'>Act 11:22</a>. </i><p>THIS little sketch of biography is very pleasing, valuable, and useful. The ancestors of Barnabas had left Judea, and had settled in the island of Cyprus, for what purposes we know not. There Barnabas was born. He was called at first Joses, but after his conversion to Christianity, Barnabas, which signifies &ldquo;the son of consolation.&rdquo; For this change in his name, two reasons, not at all incompatible with each other, are assigned. First, Because of his benevolent disposition. He was a wealthy man, and had disposed of his landed property, and &ldquo;brought the money and laid it at the Apostles&rsquo; feet,&rdquo; for the purpose of relieving the necessities and miseries of the poor and afflicted members of the church.<p>And secondly, Because of the distinguishing character of his preaching, it being eminently calculated to console the people of God, and to encourage poor awakened sinners to come to Christ; and because, being full of the Holy Ghost himself, in his public ministering he always dealt much in &ldquo;the comforts of the Holy Ghost.&rdquo; In this respect ministers often differ very considerably from each other.<p>Some may be called &ldquo;Boanerges,&rdquo; that is, &ldquo;Sons of thunder,&rdquo; their ministrations being bold and striking, and very alarming to the consciences of the unconverted. Others are more gentle and persuasive, having &ldquo;the tongue of the learned, that they should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.&rdquo;<p>Ministers should never be placed in opposition to each other, or be put in comparison with each other, thereby to inflame or blow up one pile of straw, and trample under foot another. But they should be viewed in reference to their station and circumstances, to their work, and to their adaptation. If this is always done in charity, they will be found equally respectable and worthy of regard. However they may differ in their situation, their position, their natural or acquired endowments, their gifts, or their graces, the church needs them, and can fully employ them all. Let Paul therefore plant, and Apollos water; let one &ldquo;comfort the feeble-minded,&rdquo; another be &ldquo;set for the defence of the gospel;&rdquo; one lay the &ldquo;foundation,&rdquo; and another build thereon. Each has his own proper work assigned him, and each shall have his own proper reward.<p>It was Barnabas who introduced Paul to the disciples of Jerusalem, when they were afraid of him, and drew back as he approached them, as a number of sheep and lambs would have drawn back in a field if a wolf was approaching them; and it was not until Barnabas had convinced them of Paul&rsquo;s conversion that they received him into fellowship with them. From thence he was now sent on a missionary business to the newly-planted church at Antioch, where the disciples were first called Christians. It is much to be regretted that they have ever been called by any other name. And &ldquo;when he was come to this city, and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Who when he came and had seen the grace of God. - <a href='B:510 11:23'>Act 11:23</a>. </i><p>THE dispositions of persons may to a very considerable extent be discovered by the objects which awaken their attention and desire, when they first enter a country, or a town, or a village. Some are immediately looking about for rural scenery, some for natural curiosities, some for modes and kinds of trade and commerce, some for public buildings and the mansions of the great and the noble, some for libraries, some for paintings and statuary. Barnabas was alive to something else. This was the one thing, the chief object of his solicitude and regard. He immediately looked after the cause of God, the last about which some professing Christians at this season, in their travels for health or recreation, concern themselves. In the administration of the gospel, the reception of it by those who heard it, whether it came in word only, or in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance, he saw the grace of God, and was &ldquo;glad, and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.&rdquo;<p>The discovery he here made is the subject of the present meditation. &ldquo;He saw the grace of God.&rdquo; The grace of God is a principle; how then could Barnabas see it? Seen it must be by God, &ldquo;to whom all hearts are open, and from whom no secrets are hid;&rdquo; and known it may be by the individuals themselves when they look within, and in examining themselves, become conscious of the working of their own minds. And it may be seen by others, and that by its effects, and this is the only way it can be seen. We cannot see life in itself, but we can see the individual alive and in motion. We cannot see health in itself, but we can see the freshness and vigour of the eye, and the hue of the countenance, and the eagerness of the appetite, and the strength of the arm, and the swiftness of the foot.<p>A tree is known not by its rind or its fibres, but by &ldquo;its fruits.&rdquo; God says, &ldquo;I will put my Spirit within them.&rdquo; But who is to know, or who can see this? Let us read on. &ldquo;And I will cause them to walk in my statutes, and they shall keep my judgments and do them.&rdquo; And this will be visible enough. &ldquo;Show me thy faith,&rdquo; says James to the professor of religion, &ldquo;without thy works; I will show thee my faith by my works.&rdquo; I will show thee the spring by the stream; I will show thee the sun in the shining, and I will show my creed by my conduct; I will show thee my principles by my deeds, and will &ldquo;show thee my faith by my works.&rdquo; This was wise and well; for though it is faith, objectively and instrumentally, alone which can justify the soul, it is its practical development, that is, by works alone, that proves it to be the operation of God.<p>God has determined to be glorified by his people in this world; therefore he has said, &ldquo;This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise;&rdquo; and &ldquo;all nations shall acknowledge them that they are the seed whom the Lord hath blessed.&rdquo; If God&rsquo;s grace is to be thus visible in his people, it is necessary, therefore, that there should be something in them more than experience; though this experience in itself is invaluable, for without it there is no genuine religion.<p>It is the inward dispositions which must satisfy our own minds that we belong to God. But there are those around us who are to be impressed, and convinced, and edified by our religion; these cannot read our hearts, but they can read our lives; therefore the Saviour said, &ldquo;Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The wrath of God. - <a href='B:520 1:18'>Rom 1:18</a>. </i><p>IT is delightful to contemplate God&rsquo;s goodness, and his abundant mercy, and the exceeding riches of his grace. It is delightful to dwell on the glory and blessedness of the heavenly world. But here with Paul, who is called by Augustine the herald of grace, our reflection will turn upon the wrath of God.<p>Observe, first, its nature; it is difficult to speak of wrath in connection with God. Among men it is known to be a passion; it is well known also seldom to be a righteous passion. But it is not a passion in God. &ldquo;Fury is not in me.&rdquo; &ldquo;Wrath&rdquo; in him is a principle; in him it is the love of order, a determination to maintain equity, a resolution to punish sin. It results, therefore, from the perfection of his nature, and is not the effect of malignity but the conviction of judgment. The legislator is not angry when he promulgates his laws, the judge is not under the influence of passion when he pronounces sentence of death on the criminal. Yet it does him honour when he does it with tears.<p>The case is this: that society cannot be maintained without laws, and laws are nothing without penalties and sanctions. In all well-ordered countries crime is punished and must be punished; and can it escape in the empire of a Being &ldquo;who is righteous in all his ways and holy in all his works?&rdquo; It is essential to the very character of God; we could not esteem him nor love him if we supposed that he viewed equally truth and lies, honesty and injustice, cruelty and benevolence. An earthly magistrate would not be &ldquo;a praise to them that do well,&rdquo; nor &ldquo;a terror to evil doers,&rdquo; if, when he had before him the incendiary who had burned down the house of one, and the murderer who had killed the child of another, he would smile and say, This does not concern me; go in peace. God is the dictator of the universe, and he is of &ldquo;purer eyes than to behold iniquity.&rdquo; &ldquo;The wicked,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;shall not stand in my sight; I hate all workers of iniquity.&rdquo; Therefore he has pronounced in the Scriptures a peculiar curse upon the man who presumes upon impunity. &ldquo;If it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace though I walk in the imagination of my heart, to add drunkenness to thirst, the Lord will not spare him; but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven.&rdquo; So much for the nature of this wrath.<p>Secondly, The dreadfulness of it. &ldquo;It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.&rdquo; If the wrath of a king be, as Solomon says, as the roaring of a lion, what must the wrath of God be? Who knoweth the power of his anger? Can the angels that sinned tell us? No, they cannot; they are &ldquo;reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day.&rdquo; And there is as much difference between their present and future state as between imprisonment and execution. Neither can lost souls in perdition tell us the dreadfulness of Jehovah&rsquo;s wrath: they are yet only Spirits. All the miseries that rushed into them through the body, and by the eye, the ear, and the other senses; all these parts of woe are necessarily postponed till after the resurrection, for want of a system of organization to receive them. &ldquo;Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.&rdquo; In many cases the evil is far less than the fear, and when the reality comes it is found to be nothing compared with the apprehension. But here the reality will equal, yea will surpass all imagination.<p>When one drop of his wrath has fallen upon a man judicially from God, he has been driven into despair, his soul has preferred &ldquo;strangling and death rather than life.&rdquo; And even when a little of it has been felt by the Christian himself, under conviction of sin, he has &ldquo;eaten ashes like bread;&rdquo; he has &ldquo;mingled his drink with weeping;&rdquo; he has slept, but he has been scared with dreams and terrified with visions; he has said with David, &ldquo;When I suffer thy terrors I am distracted;&rdquo; he has said with Solomon, &ldquo;A wounded spirit who can bear?&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The wrath of God is revealed from heaven. - <a href='B:520 1:18'>Rom 1:18</a>. </i><p>LET us consider the revelation of this wrath. It is made known in various ways. First, It is revealed to our faith. And this is done by the sacred Scriptures; faith sees it plainly enough in this book; there &ldquo;hell is naked before it, and destruction has no covering;&rdquo; there faith beholds the outer darkness, where there is &ldquo;weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.&rdquo; Those who believe this volume must admit the misery, and those who deny the misery must get rid of the volume, that is, get rid of the truth of it; before they can feel satisfaction, they must believe that this book is &ldquo;a cunningly devised fable.&rdquo; And who can believe that a scheme so harmonious in its parts, so sublime in its discoveries, so wise in its contrivances, so holy in its nature; breathing such a pure morality; so benevolent in its tendency, so conducive to the welfare of man individually and socially considered-a scheme preserved by Providence, established by miracles, in defence of which the best of men have died, and the wisest of men have lived-who, we repeat, can believe that all this is the offspring of a weak or wicked mind?<p>Secondly, It is revealed to the conscience. Thus it is revealed in those uneasinesses and apprehensions which attend the commission of sin. It is hard, if not impossible, for an individual to deliver himself from these. And why so? We are generally referred to the apprehension of human detection and human punishment; but what are we to do when we find these apprehensions where no human detection is expected, where no human punishment is reckoned upon? Whence is it that any unusual appearance or awful occurrence gives to the mind a kind of fearful perturbation? When Joseph&rsquo;s brethren were in the prison, they said one to another. We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.&rdquo; What was there here to remind them of Joseph? O there was enough.<p>Inhumanity deserves and demands punishment, and conscience knows it. And when Belshazzar was at his feast and saw the fingers inscribing some characters on the ceiling, his face and his heart were filled with terror, the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. Why? Since he does not understand the writing, how does he know but that it is an eulogium upon his character, or an announcement of the raising of the siege by Cyrus, or that it is a prediction of the extension of his reign? There was something within him foreboded of evil, and the interpreter, therefore, only came in to confirm the exposition of his own feelings.<p>It is commonly supposed that Herod was a Sadducee; and if so, he denied the existence of Spirits, and the resurrection of the dead; and yet, when he heard of the fame of Jesus, he said, &ldquo;It is John the Baptist: he is risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works are done by him.&rdquo; His conscience was too strong for his creed.<p>Thirdly, It is revealed to our senses. This is conclusive; all nature abounds everywhere with tokens of God&rsquo;s displeasure against sin. Proofs of the Deluge, for instance, are everywhere to be found. What diseases, famines, hurricanes, and earthquakes sometimes desolate our earth; sufferings of every kind have been inflicted upon individuals, upon families, and upon nations. These result by the appointment of him who has established a connection between sin and misery. And to a reflective mind there is enough to be seen to produce the conviction that there is such a tendency in sin to produce misery; and that, were the obstruction that now hinders the tendency in various particulars to be removed, it would work out and issue in all the dreadful things the Scriptures have made known.<p>Thus the wrath of God is revealed from heaven, to our faith, to our conscience, and to our senses. And we observe that while the existence of this wrath shows the holiness and justice of God, the revelation of it displays his mercy and, his grace. He would not take sinners by surprise; he would not strike before he spoke. He has revealed his wrath-why? To inflict it? No, but that we may escape it: revealed it in order to make sin terrible, that sin may produce flight, and that flight may induce us to enter the refuge of hope set before us in the gospel. 


devotion:
<i> He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death. - <a href='B:230 68:20'>Psa 68:20</a>. </i><p>IT is thus the church makes her boast in the Lord, and calls him the God of salvation; and so he is in every sense of the word; for every kind of deliverance is from him. If we have been raised from a bed of sickness and suffering, if we have been delivered from wicked and unreasonable men, if we have escaped fires and floods, it is to be ascribed alone to him to whom belong the issues from death. He is the &ldquo;preserver of men,&rdquo; and &ldquo;in him we live, move, and have our being.&rdquo; And none of these deliverances should be overlooked by us.<p>There is a deliverance emphatically in the Scriptures called &ldquo;salvation,&rdquo; &ldquo;a great salvation;&rdquo; &ldquo;so great a salvation;&rdquo; &ldquo;an everlasting salvation;&rdquo; a &ldquo;deliverance from the wrath to come,&rdquo; from the power of darkness, from the tyranny of the world, from the slavery of sin, from all its remains and consequences; &ldquo;salvation with eternal glory.&rdquo; And of this salvation the purpose, the plan, the execution, the application, and the consummation are of God and of grace, according to the language of the Apostle, &ldquo;for by grace are ye saved through faith.&rdquo;<p>The church also exults in God&rsquo;s relation to them. &ldquo;He that is our God.&rdquo; This every Christian can join in expressing. A child of God may be poor, but, &ldquo;having nothing,&rdquo; may yet possess all things; he may have no portion in this world, but he has a portion in God. Yea, and God is his portion. He can therefore say, with Jeremiah, &ldquo;The Lord is my portion, saith my soul, therefore will I hope in him.&rdquo; And every Christian has a much greater proprietary in God than he has in anything else. Indeed, there is nothing else that is his own; neither his substance, nor his time, nor his children, nor his body, nor his soul is his own, but God is his own. And he may say, &ldquo;God, even our own God, shall bless us. &ldquo;As he is his really, so is he eternally and unchangeably his, and surviving all other dissolutions. &ldquo;This God,&rdquo; says the church, &ldquo;is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even unto death.&rdquo;<p>The relation between God and his people is such as to authorize us to call him ours, and results from two things: donation on his side, by which in the covenant of grace he makes himself known to his people, saying, &ldquo;I am thine, and all that I have is thine; and by dedication on our side, giving ourselves and submitting ourselves unto God, saying, &ldquo;Lord, I am thine, save me; and fully surrendering ourselves up unto him to be at his disposal, inquiring, &ldquo;What wilt thou have me to do?&rdquo; Thus, in the prophecy of Zechariah, God says, &ldquo;I will bring the third parts through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on my name and I will hear them. I will say, It is my people, and they shall say, The Lord is my God.&rdquo;<p>God chooses them and they choose him. God loves them and they love him. God takes pleasure in them, and they rejoice and glory in him. The latter indeed is the effect of the former, and therefore it becomes the evidence, and we are to judge of the one by the other. 


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 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 love is God&rsquo;s character, inasmuch as he is peculiarly distinguished by it: and that all his perfections are, so to speak, so many parts and modifications of his love.<p>His wisdom is love devising; his power is love executing; his truth is love fulfilling; his holiness is love forbidding whatever would be injurious to us. His anger, chastising us for our faults and reducing us to reformation and repentance, is the expression of his love to us, and it is our guard and our warning, and is designed to prevent the very evil it denounces. Let us, then, illustrate the doctrine, &ldquo;God is love.&rdquo; We observe, therefore, that God has written two huge volumes upon this subject. It would take years and ages to read them through properly: all we can do 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 let us fix upon our own world, with its seas and continents, and all the seasons of day and night, summer and winter, succeeding each other in a regular order, so that they are prepared to melt into each other without any disruption, and all of them bringing forward their appropriate advantages and pleasures, so that the year is crowned with his goodness. There, we may observe, it is that God intended not only to provide for our wants, but for our gratification; not only for our support, but our delight. Eating and drinking are essential to our support; but our God might have rendered our food as nauseous as medicines. He has rendered them agreeable, so that, in partaking of them, we never think of necessity, but only of gratification. The perfume and the beauty of the rose and the lily 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 precious power of blossoming; this was intended to charm us before it enriched us.<p>But let us 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; as sings good Dr. Watts- <p>&ldquo;God, in the person of his Son, <p> Hath all his mightiest works outdone.&rdquo; </i><p>But general reflections impress little compared with facts and incidents. The one is like surveying a province from a high hill; the other is like descending into the vale and examining each particular scene or object. The author of the book of Job, &ldquo;the finest drama,&rdquo; says the poet-peer, &ldquo;in the world,&rdquo; shows his genius when he would display the perfections of God in the universe; he brings forward from the universe four or five specifications, each of which he has rendered a perfect picture; and who does not know that the very essence of poetry is to be found in the absence of abstract terms used in the blending of individualities. Upon the same principle John proceeds in this epistle. Having asserted &ldquo;God is love,&rdquo; he immediately mentions an instance of it, from which the angels fetch their fairest and fullest proof of our doctrine; for, says 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>THIS fact and incident is mentioned by the Apostle in order to set forth and illustrate the doctrine that &ldquo;God is love.&rdquo; Let us notice, first, the grandeur and the dearness of the gift. He sent not an angel, but the Lord of angels; not a servant, but a Son. His &ldquo;own Son,&rdquo; his &ldquo;only begotten Son,&rdquo; the &ldquo;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;With him he will freely give us all things.&rdquo;<p>Observe, secondly, the condition he entered. It was not the angelic state; this would have been a mighty condescension, but he became lower; &ldquo;the Word was made flesh.&rdquo; Then our Saviour appeared in the most inferior forms of our nature. He lived a life of penury, of reproach, and of persecution. Peter had a home of his own. John had a home. &ldquo;The foxes have holes,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.&rdquo; 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 comforters, but I found none.&rdquo; There are none who are strangers to sorrow of some kind; but he was a &ldquo;man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.&rdquo; But who can imagine or describe his inward sufferings, when he was in the garden and was &ldquo;&lsquo;sore amazed,&rdquo; and &ldquo;very heavy,&rdquo; when he said, &ldquo;My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death;&rdquo; when his sweat was &ldquo;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. &ldquo;God is love.&rdquo;<p>Observe, thirdly, the unworthiness of the persons for whom he was sent to suffer and to die. Paul has been beforehand with us here. &ldquo;While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.&rdquo; We were all criminals, we lay entirely at his mercy, and he could both righteously and easily have destroyed us, but he did not. Herein is love.<p>Behold, fourthly, the beneficial consequences of the dispensations. &ldquo;In this was manifested,&rdquo; says the Apostle, &ldquo;the love of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.&rdquo; God, says the Saviour himself, &ldquo;so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoso believeth in him might not perish, but have everlasting life.&rdquo; What is it to perish? Not the loss of worldly substance, but the loss of the soul -not the physical loss of the soul-not the loss of its being, but the loss of its well-being, the loss of its happiness, the loss of it for ever.<p>And what is everlasting life? &ldquo;It doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.&rdquo; And is it a light thing for my soul to be like his soul; my body to be like his body; my condition to be like his condition? Is it a light thing that when he who is my life shall appear I shall appear with him in glory, and walk with him in white, and sit with him at his table in his kingdom, and &ldquo;inherit all things?&rdquo; And even now this everlasting life is begun, even now our emancipated Spirits feel a freedom already, and &ldquo;do enter into rest,&rdquo; and &ldquo;rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.&rdquo;<p>Fifthly, the number of the partakers. It is a multitude which no man can number, compared in the Scriptures to drops of morning dew, to the stars of heaven, and to the sand of the seashore. Half mankind die in a state of infancy; and surely if &ldquo;of such is the kingdom of heaven,&rdquo; here is half of the human race mercifully disposed of already. Oh how many would appear if we knew all! for the Lord has his &ldquo;hidden ones.&rdquo; How many have been saved since the foundation of the world! How many are the subjects of Divine grace, now passing through this vale of tears!<p>And we are looking forward to better times, when &ldquo;a nation shall be born in a day,&rdquo; when &ldquo;he shall sprinkle many nations, when all nations shall fall down before him, and all flesh shall see the salvation of our God together.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. - <a href='B:620 1:12'>2Ti 1:12</a>. </i><p>THIS knowledge, which the Apostle possessed with regard to personal salvation, was not miraculous. He was &ldquo;a man in Christ&rdquo; as well as an &ldquo;Apostle of Christ.&rdquo; Paul&rsquo;s official character did not interfere with his private character as a Christian. Neither was it the knowledge of an enthusiast, but a rational knowledge, in which the end was sought for in the use of means; a knowledge derivable from sources open to ourselves. It was derivable from the perfections of God, from his power, goodness, wisdom, patience, and his faithfulness. It was derivable from the &ldquo;everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure.&rdquo; It was derivable from the &ldquo;exceeding riches of God&rsquo;s grace in his kindness toward us by Christ Jesus;&rdquo; and the Apostle found it so by his own experience. It was thus Asaph checked his despondency, saying, &ldquo;This is my infirmity;&rdquo; and thus the Apostle says, &ldquo;We know that all things work together for good to them that love God;&rdquo; and thus also David said, &ldquo;I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right;&rdquo; and thus Paul here says, &ldquo;I know whom I have believed,&rdquo; &c.<p>Thus, while the religion of the Bible enjoins us to be humble, and forbids everything like presumption, yet it admits of confidence and assurance; and what a recommendation is this to our religion. Nothing is more distressing to our feelings than uncertainty with regard to any invaluable interest, such as the issue of a malady, the title to an estate, or the success of an enterprise; and the wretchedness must be greater if there be no confidence and certainty possessed with regard to &ldquo;things which are unseen and eternal.&rdquo; But this confidence and certainty are attainable.<p>A Christian is not like a man who is floundering in the mud and mire, and pressed down lower by the weight of his own person. No: his feet are &ldquo;upon a rock, and his goings are established.&rdquo; &ldquo;A new song is put into his mouth, even praise unto our God; many shall see it, and fear, and turn unto the Lord.&rdquo; The Christian can gain this confidence and assurance with regard to the doctrines of the gospel. We cannot exercise too great candour; but nothing can be more pernicious than to apply this to the great leading and fundamental truths of Christianity. &ldquo;It is a good thing,&rdquo; says our Apostle, &ldquo;that the heart be established with grace.&rdquo; This assurance may be gained with regard to the privileges of the gospel. There is such a thing as enjoying &ldquo;the comforts of the Holy Ghost,&rdquo; &ldquo;peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,&rdquo; and relief under a distressed conscience, by the application of the blood of sprinkling.<p>Christians can gain this confidence also with regard to their own personal interest in all this. We do not affirm that all the subjects of divine grace have this assurance, or we should &ldquo;break the bruised reed and quench the smoking flax.&rdquo; &ldquo;We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.&rdquo; And Christians may gain this certainty with regard to the end and issue of afflictive dispensations. So did the Apostle.<p>Did he say, &ldquo;I desire, I hope?&rdquo; No: &ldquo;We know that all things work together for good.&rdquo; And this is the very Spirit of the text which serves as a motto for this morning&rsquo;s meditations. 


devotion:
<i> I will wait upon the Lord that hideth his face from the house of Jacob. - <a href='B:290 8:17'>Isa 8:17</a>. </i><p>THE providence of God is oftentimes very mysterious. Thus it was here with the ancient Church. And Jacob their progenitor also said, &ldquo;All these things are against me;&rdquo; but he judged prematurely, and partially, and after the flesh; for while he said this, at the very time &ldquo;all these things&rdquo; were working for his good and subserving his real welfare. How perplexed and embarrassed Joseph must have been to reconcile his being thrown into a pit, and sold to the Ishmaelites, and imprisoned as a criminal; how difficult he found it to reconcile all this to those dreams which assured him of his future elevation.<p>Yet we see at length it was made perfectly plain. &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;you sold me, but God sent me.&rdquo; You &ldquo;meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.&rdquo; Thus will it be with all Christians by-and-by, when in his light they shall see light; for &ldquo;when Messias, who is called Christ, is come, he will tell us all things.&rdquo; And we can gain this confidence with regard to distressing providences even now. Let us seek after it, and keep this thought in our minds under all these dark and painful dispensations, that &ldquo;though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion;&rdquo; that though he afflicts, &ldquo;he does not afflict willingly;&rdquo; that though &ldquo;no chastisement for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous, yet nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peace- able fruits of righteousness to them that are exercised thereby.&rdquo;<p>Thus shall we be able to &ldquo;walk by faith&rdquo; until we shall &ldquo;walk by sight,&rdquo; and be able to see that all the paths of the Lord have been mercy and truth. However perplexed we may now be by the dealings of Providence, we shall then find that all things have been working for our good, the darkness as well as the light, afflictions and pain as well as health and comfort, the opposition of foes as well as the kindness of friends, losses as well as gains. &ldquo;Behold, we count them happy which endure; ye have heard of the patience,&rdquo; as well as the perplexities, &ldquo;of Job,&rdquo; &ldquo;and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy.&rdquo; <p>&ldquo;Yet a season, and we know, <p> Happy entrance shall be given, <p> All our sorrows left below, <p> And earth exchanged for heaven.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. - <a href='B:540 4:17'>2Co 4:17</a>. </i><p>HOW important it is that we should be able to derive this confidence with regard to the end and issue of our afflictions. From these none are exempted. &ldquo;Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.&rdquo; If there be no outward trouble, there is the hearts bitterness, which is known only to the sufferer. If the &ldquo;thorn in the flesh&rdquo; be so deeply inserted as not to be seen, it may be on that very account the more painful. A pious female who had been much indulged by the providence of God, once said to the writer, &ldquo;You see my sails, but you do not see my ballast;&rdquo; and there is always something as &ldquo;ballast&rdquo; connected with the successes and indulgences of Christians.<p>While the cup of affliction is going round from family to family, and individual to individual-while one is saying, I am &ldquo;made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me&rdquo;-and while another is saying, &ldquo;Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness&rdquo;-these afflictions may be very useful, they may &ldquo;work for us&rdquo; the most blessed results; they may subserve the very purpose of our salvation, and they are much more likely to do this than mere successes. The Christian character is more formed from trials than from indulgences; for &ldquo;Happy is the man whom the Lord correcteth.&rdquo;<p>Many can bear testimony to this, and how many can say, &ldquo;It is good for me to have been afflicted!&rdquo; They have found in &ldquo;the valley of Achor the door of hope.&rdquo; The first meeting with God was on the bed of affliction or in the chamber of sickness. &ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; says one, &ldquo;if it had not been for these trials and bodily infirmities I might have gone astray: I might have lived according to the course of this world, and perished at last along with it.&rdquo; If the vine had reason, it would be thankful for the sharpest cuttings of the gardener&rsquo;s knife; or if the fallow ground had reason, it would be thankful for the ploughshare which tears it up, and prepares it by this process for the reception of the seed. If we are in trouble, it is blessed to know how light and momentary will be every trial, and that &ldquo;all things are working out for us a far more exceeding and an eternal weight of glory.&rdquo;<p>Oh! what will all outward losses be if we can only add, &ldquo;I have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes. - <a href='B:230 119:71'>Psa 119:71</a>. </i><p>HERE we see what will be the disposition of mind under sanctified affliction. And it is very desirable for us to know, if we are in trouble, whether we are of the number of those of whom it is said, &ldquo;Happy is the man whom the Lord correcteth,&rdquo; or if we are able to say with David, &ldquo;It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes.&rdquo; Then when the affliction is sanctified, man is the scholar and God is the teacher, and though the man may be restive at first, yet under his influence he will be brought to the state of mind in which God heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus:-&ldquo;Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned, for thou art the Lord my God. Surely after that I was turned I repented, and after that I was instructed I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.&rdquo; And so will it be with every man when God is thus dealing with him, and sanctifying his afflictions. &ldquo;He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him; he putteth his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope.&rdquo;<p>We see also how we may improve our afflictions, and how to render them not only harmless, but even beneficial. And this will be when, like David, we are turned towards him, and ask, &ldquo;Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night?&rdquo; and &ldquo;though no affliction for the present is joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness unto them that are exercised thereby.&rdquo; The ploughman is not angry with the ground, but he drives the ploughshare through it to prepare it for the reception of the seed; the gardener is not angry with the vine, but he cuts it and prunes it, in order that it &ldquo;may bring forth more fruit.&rdquo; As constantly as the ox is in the field of labour he must have the yoke on; and Jeremiah compares affliction to a yoke, and says, &ldquo;It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.&rdquo;<p>Let but the Lord impose it upon us, and it will sit easy and wear well; and we shall not be anxious to put it off till we put off the body. And thus we are comforted concerning the care of our hearts and of our hands; thus while we learn that godliness does not exempt its votaries from afflictions, it supports them under them, and turns them into blessings. And let us remember that we need every one of them- <p>&ldquo;They all are moat needful, <p> Not one is in vain.&rdquo; </i><p>And while they teach us &ldquo;what an evil thing and bitter it is to sin against God,&rdquo; they are often the &ldquo;fruits to take away sin.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. - <a href='B:300 10:23'>Jer 10:23</a>. </i><p>THESE are three ways of speaking with regard to God. There is a speaking for him, defending his truth and his cause from cavils and misrepresentations and falsehood. &ldquo;I have yet to speak,&rdquo; says Elihu, &ldquo;on God&rsquo;s behalf.&rdquo; There is a speaking of God, making his purpose, his doings, his works, the subject of our discourse. &ldquo;Hence,&rdquo; says David, &ldquo;I will speak of the glorious honour of thy Majesty, and of thy wondrous works, and men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts, and I will declare thy greatness; they shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.&rdquo; And there is a speaking to God, addressing him as if he were present- and he is present; as if he heard us-and he does hear us; as if he concerned himself in our affairs-and he does concern himself in our affairs.<p>There are many who speak for God and of God, who rarely, if ever, speak to him, and yet in this our sincerity and Spirituality must principally appear. In this it is we hold communion with him; and when a man has once through the mediation of the Saviour and under the agency of the Holy Spirit sought and found God in Christ, and feels that he has &ldquo;boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him,&rdquo; &ldquo;a glorious high throne from the beginning&rdquo; will be the &ldquo;place of his sanctuary.&rdquo; He will find it good to draw near to God to pour out his heart before him, sometimes in adoration, sometimes in confession, sometimes in supplication, sometimes in complaint, and sometimes in acknowledgment. Here is an address to God: &ldquo;O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.&rdquo;<p>Observe here a representation of human life. &ldquo;The way of man.&rdquo; All writers, profane and sacred, have been accustomed to speak of life under various comparisons; sometimes it has been by a state of servitude, wherein the term of labour is prescribed and the season of release appointed; and hence Job says, &ldquo;The servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and an hireling looketh for the reward of his work.&rdquo; Sometimes it is represented as a state of warfare, in which there is always something to be resisted, something to be overcome, something to be obtained, in every relation and in every condition. And it will be well for us if, when we come to the close, we can say with Paul, &ldquo;I have fought the good fight,&rdquo; and can &ldquo;lay hold on eternal life.&rdquo; But it has been more commonly represented by a way.<p>In this way we are all travellers. We begin our journey at our birth. We travel on through the successive stages of infancy, childhood, and youth, and of manhood, and old age, and we end in the grave, where we say to corruption, &ldquo;Thou art my father and my sister.&rdquo; Now the weather is not always the same with us, the road is not the same, our companions are not the same, the treatment we meet with is not the same. The course of some is very rough-oh, how rough!-while the passage of others is comparatively smooth. Some go straightforward and uniformly, but as to others there are many wanderings and turnings, and they can seldom see any distance before them. But whatever diversities there are among all these travellers, one thing belongs to them all equally: they are all under a higher appointment, and guidance, and influence, than their own.<p>&ldquo;O Lord, I know that the way of a man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> O Lord, I KNOW that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. - <a href='B:300 10:23'>Jer 10:23</a>. </i><p>LET us consider the conviction here expressed in its sources. &ldquo;I know,&rdquo; says he. It was not a matter of opinion and conjecture, but certainty. &ldquo;I know that the way of man is not in himself.&rdquo; Yes, but Jeremiah was a prophet; and prophets were called seers, and can see when other people are in the dark, and &ldquo;they reveal things to come.&rdquo; But the sources from which Jeremiah derived his convictions on this subject are the very same which are open to us all, and some of them have been much enlarged since. They are five. The first is the nature of our condition. It is a dependent one; we are not our own, and therefore are not at our own disposal. We belong to God entirely; we are his servants, his subjects, his children, and he has over us the rights of a master, of a sovereign, and of a father. He has an absolute property in us. He has &ldquo;made us, and not we ourselves,&rdquo; and in him &ldquo;we live, move, and have our being.&rdquo; If God were to summon us before him and to say to us, Take what is thine own, what should we be told to take away with us, what faculty, what possession, what comfort? Could we retain even our own existence? No, we should immediately relapse into our original dust.<p>The second source of this conviction is the limitation of our powers. Men think more highly of themselves than they ought to think. There are thousands of our fellow-creatures who would much rather be considered as knaves than fools. The last offence people ever forgive from others is a reflection upon their understanding. &ldquo;Vain man,&rdquo; says Zophar, &ldquo;would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass&rsquo;s colt.&rdquo; When he grows up, even when he comes to what is called years of maturity, of discretion, how liable is he to be deceived and deluded! How narrow then is his horizon of vision, and how foggy and cloudy is it! How liable to bias and to misconception, and therefore unable to distinguish between appearances and realities!<p>The third source of conviction is history. Take the case of Abraham and Lot. They differed, and it was found necessary that they should separate. Abraham said unto Lot, &ldquo;Is not the whole land before thee? if thou depart to the right hand then I will go to the left, if thou take the left hand then I will go to the right.&rdquo; Lot was the nephew and the youngest, he therefore should have suffered Abraham to take the preference; but observe not only the indelicacy but the principle of his choice. It was his senses, his passions, his vanity, his love of worldly things, regardless of moral and religious considerations. And Lot chose all the plain of Sodom. What was the consequence? He was burnt out of house and home by a storm of fire and brimstone. Then his wife having become attached to the place, looked back, and became a pillar of salt.<p>An instance in the history of David will furnish another illustration. In his fear of Saul he said, &ldquo;There is nothing better than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines. In doing so he took the worst step he could have taken; a step which was calculated to alienate from him the affections of Israel, justify the reproaches of his enemies, deprive him of the means of grace; that would familiarize him with the usages and the evils of the heathen round about; that would put himself out of the Divine protection; and that would lay him under obligation to those whom he could not oblige without betraying the cause of God. We know the embarrassment and distress which soon followed, and yet he thought this was the best thing he could do.<p>Paul spake with much confidence to the elders of Ephesus, that they would see his face no more, and yet he did see them again after his first imprisonment. He said to the Romans,&rdquo; I long to see you that I may impart to you some Spiritual gifts, to the end ye may be established.&rdquo; How little did he imagine, when he wrote that letter, he was to see them at Rome; that he should go there not as an Apostle but as a prisoner; that he should be wrecked on his voyage; that they would edify him before he could edify them; for when he came to Appii-forum and the three taverns, and saw the brethren from Rome who came to meet him, &ldquo;he thanked God and took courage.&rdquo;<p>Joseph went forth in the morning to inquire after the welfare of his brethren who were in the plain of Dothan, but he never came back; he was soon thrown into a pit, then sold a slave into Egypt, then he was imprisoned, and &ldquo;the iron entered into his soul.&rdquo; There is the case of Hazael, who, when a private individual, was met by Elisha, and told what evil he would do to the children of Israel, said, &ldquo;Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing?&rdquo; But though sincere in his feeling then, he did not know what a change in his character, a change in his condition would produce; for when he became king of Syria, he became all that he had execrated, and that the man of God had predicted.<p>The fourth source of conviction is experience. God commanded the Jews to remember all the way by which they had been led in the wilderness; and in doing so we shall not fail to see that the same things will appear to us very different according to the prospective or retrospective aspects under which we view them. How surprised we should have been, had some of our situations in life, and the principal events which have transpired in our history, been previously made known to us. So true is it, the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.<p>Lastly, Scripture is another source of conviction. Its concurrent testimony is, that &ldquo;a man&rsquo;s goings are of the Lord; how then can a man understand his own way?&rdquo; &ldquo;He performeth the thing that is appointed for me, and many such things are with him.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Even to-day is my complaint bitter. My stroke is heavier than my groaning. - <a href='B:220 23:2'>Job 23:2</a>. </i><p>THIS is not always the case; sometimes our &ldquo;groaning&rdquo; is much &ldquo;heavier &ldquo;than our &ldquo;stroke.&rdquo; This often induces God to employ severer measures, and to resemble in his dealings with us the father of a proud child, who, when he finds him crying for nothing, sometimes makes him smart that he may cry in earnest.<p>We have all things &ldquo;given to us richly to enjoy,&rdquo; and yet are prone to murmur and repine, and if a trial befall us, however common to man, or however alleviated, we become all uneasiness in ourselves, and occasion distress in those around us by our sighs and our lamentations. In some this may be considered as a natural infirmity arising from a morbid constitution. In others this is a moral infirmity arising from pride, and unbelief, and discontent, against which it becomes us always very carefully to guard.<p>But there are some whose &ldquo;complaint&rdquo; is indeed &ldquo;bitter,&rdquo; and whose stroke is heavier than their groaning, real mourners, deep sufferers, who if they mourn do not murmur. They can hardly be considered as &ldquo;groaning;&rdquo; if they open their mouths it is only meekly to say, &ldquo;I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.&rdquo; See this good man before us, how well might he have said, &ldquo;I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath; he hath led me and brought me into darkness and not into the light.&rdquo; Behold him one day in the possession of more than heart could wish, then suddenly despoiled of all, deprived of his substance, of his servants, and of his children, bereaved of his health, covered with sore boils from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot, railed at by his wife, abandoned by his relations, misunderstood and condemned by his friends, sitting among the ashes, scraping himself with a potsherd, his head bare to the pitiless storm of adversity.<p>As we look at him let us resolve never to say again, when we are afflicted, &ldquo;Behold and see if ever there was sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted in the day of his fierce anger.&rdquo; Ah, we shall do well to compare ourselves with others. Those who have lost some property should compare themselves with those who have lost all. Those who have been bereaved of one child, should compare themselves with those who have been bereaved of five. Those who are walking on crutches should compare themselves with the bedridden.<p>There is no situation in which we can be placed that is incapable of being worse. 


devotion:
<i> The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. - <a href='B:230 37:23'>Psa 37:23</a>. </i><p>THOUGH God has declared that the way of man is not in himself, and it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps, still he has not left us without encouragement. For he has given us the assurance that if we acknowledge him in all our ways he will &ldquo;direct our paths.&rdquo; And we may notice here three grounds of encouragement. First, God is able to direct our paths. His understanding is infinite. He sees the end from the beginning, and knows what is best upon the whole and in the end. And- <p>&ldquo;Since all the downward tracts of time <p> His watchful eye surveys, <p> O, who so wise to choose our lot <p> And regulate our ways.&rdquo; </i><p>Secondly, God is willing to direct our paths. He is so condescending as to bestow upon us his counsels and his care. There is something exceedingly wonderful in this, and we may well exclaim with David, &ldquo;Lord, what is man that thou art mindful of him; and the son of man, that thou visitest him? and with Job, &ldquo;What is man that thou shouldest magnify him, and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?&rdquo; Yet so it is; the Lord careth for us. And when we come to the cross, and when we reflect upon what God has done there, there is nothing incredible in this assurance; for &ldquo;he that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely give us all things?&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, God has engaged to direct our paths; he has said, &ldquo;The meek will he guide in judgment, the meek will he teach his way.&rdquo; And he says by Isaiah, &ldquo;I will bring the blind by a way that they know not; I will lead them in paths that 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; These are the true sayings of God; and as these promises are &ldquo;exceedingly great and precious,&rdquo; so they are all, &ldquo;yea and amen in Christ Jesus, to the glory of God by us.&rdquo; Talking and doing may be different things with men, but they are not so with God. &ldquo;Heaven and earth may pass away,&rdquo; and will pass away, &ldquo;but not a word shall fail of all that the Lord hath spoken.&rdquo;<p>Let us endeavour to realize this, and to &ldquo;commit our way unto the Lord, trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass,&rdquo; or render the failure a blessing. Thus our &ldquo;soul shall dwell at ease.&rdquo; Thus we shall&rdquo; live in quiet from the fear of evil.&rdquo; Thus &ldquo;he will keep our mind in perfect peace, being stayed on God.&rdquo;<p>What can we want more than to be able to say, as we may say, &ldquo;This God is our God for ever and ever. He will be our guide even unto death.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Ye call me Master and Lord, and ye say well, for so I am. - <a href='B:500 13:13'>Joh 13:13</a>. </i><p>OBSERVE the title they ascribe to him: &ldquo;Ye call me Master and Lord.&rdquo; Nothing can be more honourable; and yet he acknowledges that it was just and true. He is then the Master and Lord of his people. They learn in his school as disciples, and they serve in his house as attendants. He is their Master as he teaches them, and he is their Lord as he governs them. In both titles the main idea is authority; the one is the authority of the master over his pupils, and the other is the authority of a lord over his servants. The latter is here principally, though not exclusively, intended.<p>Let us consider, first, That he is our Lord by creation. He made us, and as our Maker he has an infinitely greater proprietary in us than one creature can have in another creature; for they derive their possession, their power, yea their very existence itself, from him. His life, favour, and visitation preserve and indulge them. If, therefore, he were to call into his presence a monarch or a philosopher, a Boyle or a Newton, and say, &ldquo;Take that thine own is and go thy way,&rdquo; what could either of them take away with him? Why, not even his existence.<p>Secondly, He is our Lord by the claims of redemption. &ldquo;Know ye not,&rdquo; says the Apostle to the Corinthians, &ldquo;that ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price.&rdquo; And we are not left to conjecture what that price was, for we are told that we are &ldquo;redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot&rdquo;-a price to which nothing can ever be added. Now redemption gives him a greater claim than even creation. Redemption advances us to greater blessings than creation. Redemption is accomplished by a much more expensive process than creation.<p>When he had to make us, he had only to speak; when he had to redeem us, he had to suffer; he made us at the expense of his breath, he redeemed us at the expense of his blood. And where is he when he prefers his claims? Why, in the garden of Gethsemane, on the cross of Calvary. How is he apparelled when he comes effectually to rule in us? Dressed in a garment dipped in blood.<p>Thirdly, He is Lord of all as Mediator, and even as a partaker of our flesh and blood. &ldquo;The Father loveth his Son, and hath given all things into his hand.&rdquo; There is not a being in the universe that is not either his servant or his slave; all the angels of God worship him; devils are under his control; he is King of kings and Lord of lords. They are all raised by his power, governed by his providence, amenable to his authority; they all subserve his purposes: &ldquo;the very wrath of man praises him, and the remainder of wrath he will restrain.&rdquo; God has given his Son &ldquo;the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession.&rdquo; It is therefore a matter of promise, and therefore he will be able to realize it in due time. He has all the resources of nature and providence at his disposal. &ldquo;The nation and the kingdom that will not serve him shall perish.&rdquo; But &ldquo;he is head over all things to the Church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.&rdquo; He reigns over them particularly.<p>Let us therefore observe, Lastly, that he is our Lord by our own choice and submission. Once he did not rule over us, that is, not as he does now. We were not called by his name. But he opened a passage to our hearts, and made us willing in the day of his power. A look or a word from him was enough, and he knew where to find us and how to call us. He turned and looked upon Peter, and his poor heart was melted, and he went out and wept bitterly. He said to Matthew, as he was sitting at the receipt of custom, &ldquo;Follow me,&rdquo; and he arose and followed him. He said to Saul of Tarsus, only, &ldquo;I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest,&rdquo; and he was disarmed of his enmity, and the lion became a lamb, and at his dear feet he exclaimed, &ldquo;Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?&rdquo; Thus they gave themselves to his service; and the glory of his dominion is here, that he reigns over the souls of his people; and that he does not govern them only by external rule, but by internal influence; that he enthrones himself in their consciences; and that he puts his laws into their hearts, and so renders their obedience wholly natural, pleasant, and delightful.<p>He illuminates their understanding, and displays to their view his loveliness as well as his power. And then they run after him, for he draws them with &ldquo;the cords of a man, and with bands of love.&rdquo; Thus they call him their Master and Lord, in their addresses to himself, in speaking of him to each other, in their profession of his name, and in joining with his Church in holy communion. 


devotion:
<i> If I then, your lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another&rsquo;s feet. - <a href='B:500 13:14'>Joh 13:14</a>. </i><p>HERE is their obligation involved in the title they ascribe to him! In exemplification of this let us notice, First, He claims our exclusive service. If he then is our Lord and Master, we ought to renounce connection with every other. This is not only becoming, but it is absolutely necessary, for &ldquo;no man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other: ye cannot serve God and Mammon.&rdquo; &ldquo;Call no man master upon earth, for one is your Master even Christ, and all ye are brethren.&rdquo; Thus he releases his subjects from every other authority as to conscience but his own; and if we &ldquo;stand fast in the liberty wherewith he has made us free,&rdquo; we shall never implicitly resign our understanding, our creed, or our obedience to any man, nor shall we follow him further than he followeth Christ; let us therefore remember that our Saviour here designs to set us free from the yoke of bondage to custom, to tradition, to councils, to superstition, to will worship, and to all authority in religion but his own.<p>Secondly, Then we ought to obey his commandments. There cannot be a better evidence of sincerity than this. &ldquo;If ye love me,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;keep my commandments.&rdquo; We are not our own masters, and therefore we are not &ldquo;to live to ourselves,&rdquo; &ldquo;nor to the lusts of men, but to the will of God,&rdquo; ever saying, &ldquo;Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.&rdquo; For a knowledge of his orders we must repair to the Scriptures. &ldquo;If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them,&rdquo; and do them impartially; for though imperfect obedience may be sincere, partial obedience cannot. We must avoid all he forbids, and do all that he enjoins, &ldquo;esteeming all his commandments concerning all things to be right, and hating every false way.&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, Then we ought to submit to his appointments. And he gives us our work when, and where and how we shall labour and serve him.<p>Fourthly, Then we ought to imitate him. &ldquo;If any serve&rdquo; me, he says in another place, &ldquo;let him follow me.&rdquo; &ldquo;If any man will be my disciple, let him deny himself and take up the cross and follow me.&rdquo; We see this exemplified and enjoined here: &ldquo;If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye ought also to wash one another&rsquo;s feet, for I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.&rdquo; This does not regard the letter but the Spirit of the action. Why, the letter may be maintained without the Spirit. The Pope annually washes the feet of a few paupers in a silver vessel. And, on the other hand, the Spirit may be maintained without the letter.<p>Fifthly, We should esteem all we have as his, and act accordingly. Our endowments and our talents, whatever they may be, these are to be preserved, employed, and improved for him.<p>Sixthly, We should be willing to partake with him in his estates. If we are to &ldquo;reign with him&rdquo; hereafter, we must &ldquo;suffer with him&rdquo; now. If we are to live with him in heaven, we are to be dead with him on earth. Do we feel anything of this now? When his word has free course, and runs and is glorified; when sinners are added to the Church daily; when professors walk worthy their high vocation, does this delight us? On the other hand, are we grieved for the afflictions of his people; and is the reproach of Christ our burden; and are we humbled and grieved when we hear of the miscarriages of professors? How desirable is it that we should feel this oneness of mind and heart with the Lord Jesus. And this will be the case if we are found faithful to the obligations under which we are placed.<p>Seventhly, Then we may depend upon him for all the advantages of the relation. The Apostle writing to the Colossians says, &ldquo;Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord and not unto men, knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> They which run in a race rim all, but one receiveth the prize. - <a href='B:530 9:24'>1Co 9:24</a>. </i><p>EARTHLY good is always uncertain. Here we must always reckon upon disappointment: all cannot win; and where one succeeds there are numbers who grieve over mortifying disappointments, and after a long and painful pursuit in the competition of it, we too, perhaps, may find that just as we are about to grasp the prize, another bears it away. The truth is, that worldly distinction and eminence depend on a concurrence of events and circumstances such as rarely take place. &ldquo;I saw,&rdquo; says Solomon, &ldquo;that the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill, but&rdquo; what we call&rdquo; time and chance happeneth to them all.&rdquo; The truth is, that a great deal of what is called earthly greatness is placed beyond the reach of many, whatever they may do. Many are poor, and they have not the opportunities and the means of becoming affluent; many cannot fill the seats of learning and science: they have not capacities to acquire the needful treasures.<p>Here is a reason why we should seek those which are always sure in their attainment. Over these is inscribed always, &ldquo;Ask and it shall be given; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you; for whosoever asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.&rdquo; No condition in life, however disadvantageous it seems, is a barrier to elevation here. In the work of the Lord the servant may become equally great with the master; for moral greatness does not consist in doing great things, but in doing little things with a great mind. And these are accessible to all. &ldquo;The poor have the gospel preached unto them,&rdquo; and may be &ldquo;rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which God hath promised to them that love him.&rdquo; All may obtain, however destitute, those blessings which are to be bought &ldquo;without money and without price.&rdquo; &ldquo;The wayfaring man, though a fool, shall not err&rdquo; in the heavenly road, under the Divine guide.<p>A man, however illiterate, can acquire the knowledge which makes wise unto salvation, under the heavenly Teacher; for the Teacher here affords not only light but eyes, not only sound but ears, not only lessons but the faculty to receive them. Hope is the mainspring of action; if probability will invigorate a man in his exertions, how much more will certainty, especially when the objects depending are of such unspeakable value.<p>We see, then, the advantage which the Christian has over all other candidates. The husbandman soweth in hope, but his hopes may perish by excessive moisture, or by mildew, or caterpillars; but here &ldquo;he that soweth in tears, shall reap in joy.&rdquo; The soldier fights in hope, but war is a precarious thing. &ldquo;Let not him that putteth on the harness,&rdquo; says the proverb, &ldquo;boast as he that putteth it off.&rdquo; Conquerors have been often conquered; but Christians will be found &ldquo;more than conquerors.&rdquo; They enter upon their warfare under peculiar advantages. If they have not struck a blow, they may strike with confidence; or if they have fallen through a blow received, they may look up and say, &ldquo;Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy; when I fall I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.&rdquo; So that we may say- <p>&ldquo;Assured that our King <p> Will put our foes to flight, <p> We&rsquo;ll on the field of battle sing, <p> And triumph in the fight.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> God hath made that same Jesus both Lord and Christ. - <a href='B:510 2:36'>Act 2:36</a>. </i><p>HERE we observe-First, That it is important that we should entertain proper apprehensions of Christ. He is not only a Saviour, but he is also a Sovereign. He is our Lord and Master. Is Christ divided? This is impossible in the reality. But there are some who would thus separate what God has joined together, in their views, in their creed, and in their practice too. There are some who would receive him as their Redeemer, and yet would not hail him as their Sovereign; and concerning these he says, &ldquo;As for those mine enemies, who would not that I should reign over them, bring them hither and slay them before me.&rdquo; Such is the doom of those who take his sceptre and dash it against his cross. Let us not forget that he came by water as well as by blood; that there is pollution in sin as well as guilt; that sin defiles as well as condemns; and that therefore we need cleansing as well as pardon.<p>Secondly, Let us beware of insincerity and inconsistency. &ldquo;Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say?&rdquo; Why do you wear my livery, while you are regardless of my concerns? &ldquo;If I am a master, where is mine honour?&rdquo; &ldquo;Not every one that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.&rdquo; &ldquo;What doth it profit, my brethren,&rdquo; says James, &ldquo;though a man say he have faith, and have not works? Can faith save him?&rdquo; Yes, faith can save him, but not such faith; so it is to be understood. Faith without works is dead.<p>Oh, the inconsistency that is observable in many professors of religion! Let us, therefore, make it manifest that we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, and that we are concerned to promote his cause and glory in the world. Thirdly, Let those in whom there is some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel, make it manifest by immediately and sincerely taking him for their Lord and Master. Oh that these would &ldquo;take with them words, and turn unto him,&rdquo; and say, &ldquo;Lord, take away all iniquity, receive us graciously, so will we render the calves of our lips.&rdquo; Oh that such may realize the language of Isaiah: &ldquo;One shall say I am the Lord&rsquo;s,&rdquo; and &ldquo;another shall call himself by the name of Jacob, and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and name himself by the name of Israel.&rdquo;<p>What a privilege is early dedication to God! Beza says in his will, &ldquo;Lord, I thank thee that at the tender age of sixteen I was enabled to give myself up to thy service.&rdquo; There are many who can say the same, and they are daily blessing God that they were enabled to remember him in their youth; excited and encouraged by those blessed words that have adorned many an early tomb: &ldquo;I love them that love me, and those that seek me early shall find me.&rdquo; Those have found the Saviour worthy of all their homage and service; &ldquo;that his yoke is easy and his burden is light.&rdquo; And that &ldquo;godliness is profitable in all things, having the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> I will look unto the Lord. - <a href='B:400 7:7'>Mic 7:7</a>. </i><p>THE Church here resolves to look unto the Lord; that is, to seek him in prayer, for his help and relief. The Jews looked to the brazen serpent to obtain relief. God, in the prophecies of Isaiah, says, &ldquo;Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.&rdquo; David, speaking of the righteous, says, &ldquo;They looked unto him and were lightened.&rdquo; And thus we are to look to the Lord: First, For explanation under our afflictions. &ldquo;Of all troubles,&rdquo; says an old writer, &ldquo;my dumb ones are the most distressing; they strike, but say nothing; I put my ear down close to them, I listen, and hear nothing.&rdquo; This was the case with Job. He could neither find comment nor commentator. But he says, &ldquo;He knoweth the way that I take&rdquo;-though he did not know it himself. This was a very trying state, and a very disadvantageous one; for if we know not in our afflictions for what it is that God designs to reprove us, what it is that he would wean us from, what it is that he would urge us to pursue, how is it possible for us to apply ourselves to the purpose? We should therefore go to him for information, and address him as did Job: &ldquo;Show me wherefore thou contendest with me.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, We are to look to the Lord for support in our trouble. It is very honourable to religion when we can possess our souls in patience-when we can say, &ldquo;I know, O Lord, thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me; let thy loving-kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant.&rdquo; The Christian feels under the dispensation; and this is allowable, and even necessary -morally necessary. There is no grace in bearing what we do not feel-there is no submission or resignation where there is no sensibility. But sensibility may be excessive- may be breaking down our Spirits; and while we do not &ldquo;despise the chastening of the Lord,&rdquo; on the one hand, we may, on the other, &ldquo;faint when we are rebuked of him.&rdquo; What is to prepare us for this? &ldquo;If we faint in the day of adversity our strength is small.&rdquo; What is to prevent this? What prevented it in David? &ldquo;In the day that I cried,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;thou heardest me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, We are to look to him that our afflictions may be sanctified. That these afflictions, which are &ldquo;the fruit of sin,&rdquo; may have the effect to &ldquo;take away sin&rdquo;-that from the sins of our condition we may be preserved-that all the graces becoming the condition may be exercised and improved by us-that we may &ldquo;glorify God in the fires,&rdquo; and that we may come forth as gold purified and refined, and be &ldquo;found unto praise and glory and honour at the appearing of Jesus Christ.&rdquo;<p>Fourthly, We are to look to him for deliverance from our afflictions. This is allowable. Afflictions are not immutable dispensations. Our Saviour himself prayed, &ldquo;Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me,&rdquo; with perfect.submission; and we may do the same if we can add, as he did, &ldquo;nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.&rdquo; To this we are encouraged by God himself in his promise to prayer, &ldquo;Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.&rdquo; And we have records in the Scriptures of deliverances which he has wrought for his people in adversity. And his power and grace are still the same.<p>If we look unto him as the God of salvation, we shall find that he knows how to deliver- that &ldquo;nothing is too hard&rdquo; for him, and we shall exemplify the language of Watts-the &ldquo;beautiful language of Watts,&rdquo; as Cowper calls it (how capable was he of judging!)- <p>&ldquo;The Lord can clear the darkest skies, <p> Can give us day for night, <p> Make drops of sacred sorrow rise <p> To rivers of delight.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> Therefore I will look unto the Lord. - <a href='B:400 7:7'>Mic 7:7</a>. </i><p>AS if he had said, There is no confidence to be reposed in, and no consolation to be derived from creatures, friends, and relations; I will therefore go beyond them, I will repair at once to God. If they are weak, he is strong; if they are false, he is faithful; if they are unkind, he is merciful and gracious. &ldquo;I will look therefore unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation.&rdquo; He turned, away from creatures, knowing they were broken cisterns-cisterns that could hold no water; and turned towards God, knowing that he was &ldquo;the fountain of living waters.&rdquo; He turned away from creatures, who he knew were broken reeds, and turned to God, whom &ldquo;he knew to be the Bock of Ages. &ldquo;Therefore,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;I will look unto the Lord.&rdquo;<p>Observe, first, That this is a designed experience, and not a casual one, so to speak, on God&rsquo;s side. God is concerned for our welfare, infinitely more than we are ourselves; and, therefore, he does not wait for our application, but he excites it. For this purpose he has given us the Scriptures. He has also given us the Sabbath. He has given us the sanctuary, fie has given us the preaching of the gospel, and all these dispensations are arranged in the same subserviency with the purposes of his grace-and especially our afflictions. He therefore says, &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; So Elihu, reviewing afflictive dispensations, says, &ldquo;All 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>Observe, secondly, It is a necessary experience on our part. God does nothing needlessly, and we may be assured that he doth not &ldquo;afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.&rdquo; We have a strong propensity to turn away, and to make flesh our arm, and earth our home; but &ldquo;the prosperity of fools destroys them,&rdquo; &ldquo;their table becomes a snare,&rdquo; and the things ordained for their welfare prove &ldquo;a trap.&rdquo; Hence, these dispensations, however trying, improve us by the goodness of God. Hence the ploughshare goes through the fallow ground to prepare the soil for the reception of the seed. Hence God. &ldquo;hedges up our way with thorns,&rdquo; that we may not be able to &ldquo;find our paths.&rdquo; Hence he embitters earth, that heaven may be endeared, and verifies the truth of the language of Dr. Young- <p>&ldquo;Our hearts are fasten&rsquo;d to the world <p> By strong and various ties, <p> But every trouble cuts a string <p> And urges us to rise.&rdquo; </i><p>Oh, it is a blessed experience when, with the Church, we are thrown from ourselves and from creatures, upon the Divine resources. 


devotion:
<i> He turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. - <a href='B:490 9:55'>Luk 9:55</a>. </i><p>THESE are the words of our Saviour to two of his disciples. The circumstances which led him thus to address them are thus recorded: &ldquo;When the time was come that he should he received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before his face, and they went and entered into a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him. And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem&rdquo;-that is, these Samaritans perceived he was going to attend a Jewish festival, and not one of their own, and the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans.<p>Now it is remarkable that they were just by the very place where Elijah had inflicted those judgments of God which came upon the men Ahaziah had sent to apprehend him; this, probably, led these disciples to think of asking permission to follow his example. And so when his disciples James and John (oh sad!) saw this, that is, the conduct of these Samaritans, they said, &ldquo;Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?&rdquo; This showed some love to their Master, and also a willingness to do nothing without his consent and approbation. This was good; but there was something else with which he was acquainted. &ldquo;He turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of Spirit ye are of.&rdquo; Elias did not act from private resentment; he did not act as a man; he acted as a prophet of the Lord-he had a special call to do what he did. You have no such call. His was pure zeal for God; yours has in it a sad mixture of the leaven of prejudice, subsisting between the Jews and the Samaritans, above which you are not able at present to rise.<p>You should consider, also, that the dispensation under which he was placed, and the dispensation under which you are placed, are very different from each other; for &ldquo;the Son of man is come not to destroy men&rsquo;s lives, but to save them.&rdquo; Elias was under the Law; you are under Grace. &ldquo;Grace as well as truth came by Jesus Christ.&rdquo; Elias came in order to inflict judgment upon the wicked; &ldquo;I am come to seek and to save the lost.&rdquo;<p>Yes; the gracious and compassionate Saviour went about doing good. He never destroyed one life; he never injured one individual. No; &ldquo;he came to bless us, in turning every one away from his iniquities.&rdquo; And in him may we be blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. 


devotion:
<i> They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some have coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.&rdquo; - <a href='B:610 6:9-10'>1Ti 6:9-10</a>. </i><p>PAUL here refers to two classes of person. First, to evil men, who yet may have made a profession of religion. Of these Solomon speaks when he says, &ldquo;The prosperity of fools shall destroy them.&rdquo; &ldquo;Their table shall become a snare and a trap.&rdquo; The Apostle compares these to persons shipwrecked; they sink to rise no more; they are drowned in destruction and perdition.<p>Then, secondly, he refers to good men, and compares them to passengers or travellers going along the road, but instead of pursuing their course only, they happen to see some inviting fruit at the roadside, entangled all round with thorns and briars, and they must get it, and they tear their garments and their flesh to reach it, and tear them again in getting back from it. &ldquo;These pierce themselves through with many sorrows.&rdquo; The fact is, that even good men, with regard to earthly riches, want peculiar grace, or they will not be proof against their evil influences.<p>Christians seldom, if ever, improve by their rising in the world; but many have been greatly injured by it. Many have been less constant and regular in their attendance on the means of grace, though they have had more leisure. Many have given less afterwards-not less comparatively, but less absolutely. We believe the Scriptures, where God testifies of the danger of temporal prosperity. If these things were safe and good for Christians, they would have them; for &ldquo;God taketh pleasure in his people.&rdquo; But he sees they would operate as manure to their depravity-he sees they would provide for the lusts of the flesh, and so tend to cherish and keep alive those evils which it is our duty and our privilege to have starved to death, as far as possible-such as pride, and vanity, and self-importance, attachment to earth, and an unwillingness to leave it and go to the Father.<p>Let us seek durable riches and righteousness. These are not only attainable, but safe. These are not only blameless, but profitable-profitable unto &ldquo;all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.&rdquo; These, instead of polluting the mind, will purify it; they will draw us from the earth, instead of allowing us to settle here. Instead of elevating us, they will clothe us with humility; instead of leading us away from God, they will connect us with him; they will prepare us for every condition in which we can be found. Therefore let us fix no bound to our desires; God does not. He says, &ldquo;Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it.&rdquo; &ldquo;Ask and receive, that your joy may be full.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush turned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. - <a href='B:20 3:2'>Exo 3:2</a>. </i><p>THIS immediately refers to the state of Israel in Egypt; they were greatly afflicted and oppressed. The Lord said, &ldquo;I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them.&rdquo; God has always had a people for his name; and the Jewish Church and the Christian are substantially the same. And the bush burning with fire, yet unburnt, represented the Church of God blessed with his presence-suffering yet sustained, and exposed yet secure.<p>Observe, first, the emblem in which the Church is here held forth. Not a tall tree-not a lofty cedar of Lebanon, but a &ldquo;bush,&rdquo; a common bush; and very probably a bramble bush. If numbers and splendour are the marks of a true Church, where should we find for many ages the Church of God? Seldom in the Old Testament, never in the New. At this time it consisted of a number of slaves and brickmakers. And the prime ministers in the kingdom of Christ were a few fishermen taken from the lake of Galilee. The followers of our Saviour were the common people. &ldquo;They heard him gladly.&rdquo; &ldquo;Have any of the rulers,&rdquo; it was asked, &ldquo;believed on him?&rdquo;<p>Observe the condition in which it was found. &ldquo;It was burning with fire.&rdquo; Fire is in Scripture one of the emblems of distress and suffering. Hence we read, &ldquo;Glorify God in the fires.&rdquo; &ldquo;I have also chosen thee in the furnace of affliction,&rdquo; and of &ldquo;fiery trials.&rdquo; Israel was now grievously oppressed and persecuted. And this has ever been the case with the Christian Church. And we ought to call to remembrance the former times in which our forefathers, &ldquo;of whom the world was not worthy,&rdquo; suffered for God; and to be thankful for our exemption, and that we are permitted to &ldquo;sit under our own vine, and under our own fig-tree, and none daring,&rdquo; lawfully, &ldquo;to make us afraid.&rdquo; &ldquo;In the world ye shall have tribulation,&rdquo; says our Saviour; therefore, we find that private, personal, or relative privation and distresses may, under the providence of God, subserve the same purposes as did the persecutions of former times, and they actually do so.<p>Thirdly, Observe its preservation. It was &ldquo;not consumed.&rdquo; Thus the Church has continued till this hour. Other cities with their memorials have perished, but Mount Zion abideth for ever. The Saviour assures us that the &ldquo;gates of hell shall not prevail against it.&rdquo; Yea, we see from history, the more it has been oppressed and persecuted the more it has multiplied and grown, and that the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the Church. And this is true of every individual believer, as well as of the whole Church of Christ. Not a limb from his body-not a child from his family-not a gem from his diadem has been destroyed, or ever shall be destroyed.<p>Observe, fourthly, The cause of this security. Why was it not consumed? Was it not combustible, and will not fire pervade and overcome everything? The cause was that the angel of the Lord was in the midst of it. &ldquo;Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel,&rdquo; says Isaiah, &ldquo;in the midst of thee.&rdquo; And David says, &ldquo;God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved.&rdquo; And thus saith the Lord, &ldquo;I will be unto her a wall of fire round about her, and will be the glory in the midst of her.&rdquo; And God is with his Church, and is in it now. He is with his people in their low estate; with them in their sufferings; in a way of sympathy, assistance, and succour. &ldquo;In all their afflictions he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them.&rdquo;<p>He still says, &ldquo;I will be with thee in trouble;&rdquo; and &ldquo;when thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. - <a href='B:20 3:3-5'>Exo 3:3-5</a>. </i><p>HERE observe the attention and inquiry this extraordinary appearance awakened. &ldquo;Moses said, I will turn and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.&rdquo; And what Moses did we should do. &ldquo;I would magnify thy works,&rdquo; says David, &ldquo;which men behold.&rdquo; &ldquo;The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure in them.&rdquo; Let us, therefore, turn aside and contemplate the same object. Moses had here much to excite his surprise. He saw no fire around him; he saw no fire descend from heaven. How could it be? Though this was surprising, there was something still more so. The fire continued; yet not a spray or leaf of the bush was consumed. Then he found a living personage also uninjured, and addressing him from the midst of the bush. So that we see attention and inquiry was naturally and unavoidably excited in him. And when are we not in danger? When are our motives entirely pure, or our actions sinless? Even things innocent in themselves, and things that are commanded may be carried too far through our depravity, and our imperfections become injurious.<p>Let us observe, secondly, God&rsquo;s prohibition, or rather the regulation of the disposition in Moses, to turn aside and inquire why the bush is not burned. &ldquo;And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.&rdquo; We may observe that this was designed to be a check upon our curiosity. This principle operates naturally in us all, though in some much more than in others, and we should be careful not to give way to it, even in the common affairs of life, but much more in religious matters. There is no countenance given to this in the word of truth; for when a man asked our Saviour, &ldquo;Are there few that be saved?&rdquo; he did not answer him, but said to them who were present, &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;&rdquo; and when Peter asked, &ldquo;Lord, what shall this man do?&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;What is that to thee? Follow thou me.&rdquo; And Moses himself delivered the maxim which all religious people should remember: &ldquo;the secret things belong unto the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever.&rdquo;<p>We should be satisfied with the facts of Christianity without the philosophy of them. The religious controversies which have occupied so much time, and which have injured so many fine tempers, have commonly been concerning things too deep for human reasoning to fathom, too lofty to be inquired into without presumption, or too insignificant to merit regard.<p>Observe, also, that this was to be considered an intimation of the humility with which God ought to be approached. The tokens of reverence have differed in many ages and places. The taking off the shoes here was much the same as taking off the hat with us. Therefore Solomon says, &ldquo;Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear than to offer the sacrifice of fools.&rdquo; Nothing like trifling is to be indulged in drawing near to God. &ldquo;I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me.&rdquo; &ldquo;God is greatly to be feared, and to be had in remembrance of all them that are about Him.&rdquo;<p>We should always remember that &ldquo;God is a Spirit,&rdquo; and that He &ldquo;seeketh such to worship Him.&rdquo; And that God is to be glorified in our bodies as well as in our Spirits, which are his. &ldquo;Therefore,&rdquo; says the Apostle, &ldquo;let us have grace whereby we may serve Him with reverence and godly fear.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. - <a href='B:20 3:1'>Exo 3:1</a>. </i><p>THERE is hardly an instance to be found recorded in Scripture, in which God appeared in the way of distinction and privilege to any who were not engaged at the time in some useful employment. Satan visits people when they are idle; God comes to them when they are employed. Matthew was called while sitting at the receipt of custom, and James and John while mending their nets. The woman of Samaria found the Saviour while drawing water. The angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds while they were watching over their flocks by night. And Moses was here extraordinarily indulged when he was tending the charge of his father-in-law. Though learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians- though very delicately brought up in a palace as the son of Pharaoh&rsquo;s daughter, he does not think the employment beneath him. &ldquo;I keep sheep-a man of my breeding, and education, and talent!&rdquo; He says nothing like this.<p>Humility is a noble virtue; it enables us to accommodate ourselves to the will of Providence, and teaches us how to be abased as well as how to abound. There are many who know what it is to be abased as well as to abound; but they do not know how. Their minds do not come into harmony with their situations. They are humbled, but not humble; they would rather break than bend. How much more respectable is a trade or a profession, than idleness? What are hands given for? Are they to be folded, and to do nothing? The Jews have a proverb, that if a man brings up his son without business, he teaches him to be a thief.<p>Saul of Tarsus had a university education, yet he was taught the craft of tent-making; and we see in a particular emergency of what advantage it was to him. To this day no man can be the Sultan of Turkey unless he understands some mechanical business. Adam and Eve were placed in Paradise, not only to enjoy, but &ldquo;to keep it.&rdquo; Moses was neither degraded by this employment, nor miserable inconsequence of it.<p>There is no drudgery in the world which is not far preferable to the situation of men who have nothing to do. Oh, it is easily imagined that these were the happiest days of Moses&rsquo;s life. There, by the side his innocent charge, he had time for reflection. There he could enjoy his poetical musings; for he was a poet of no mean order, if we may judge by the Divine songs which he composed. There he wrote the book of Genesis, and sang how the earth rose out of chaos; and there, probably, he wrote the book of Job, with its numberless beauties. 


devotion:
<i> Call upon me in the day of trouble. - <a href='B:230 50:15'>Psa 50:15</a> </i><p>THIS is the privilege of the real Christian, that he knows to whom he can go in the hour of distress; that though all be rough under foot, all when he looks up is clear overhead; that when he has little of the creature he has more of the Creator,&rdquo; God over all blessed for evermore.&rdquo; Jeremiah found him in the dungeon, and Daniel in the lions&rsquo; den, and the three Hebrew worthies in the fiery furnace; thus, when David was stripped of all he had in Ziklag, he encouraged himself, it is said, &ldquo;in the Lord his God;&rdquo; and this enabled him to say afterwards, &ldquo;From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee; when my heart is overwhelmed within, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.&rdquo; Thus it was with Manasseh in his affliction; he sought the Lord his God, and he was found of him.<p>Had any of those who applied to our Saviour in the days of his flesh reason to complain either of those personal or relative troubles or afflictions which urged them to his feet? Here is the way, Christian, in which we are to learn, and to improve, and to sanctify the regrets, the disappointments, and the trials of life. We should be careful in our troubles that we do not fight against God, and creatures which are his instruments. Our troubles should lead us to God. And if they bring us to him, they can by no means hurt us. Our welfare can only be secured and promoted by intercourse and communion with God. It is well to be &ldquo;drawn to him&rdquo; by the &ldquo;bands of love&rdquo; and the &ldquo;cords of a man.&rdquo;<p>It is better to be driven to him, if we are driven as Paul was, by the buffetings of Satan, rather than that we should keep away from him. &ldquo;Now I am weary of the world,&rdquo; says a Christian; &ldquo;I would not live here always; such a comfort is gone, and another is gone, and all are going, and I am going; and I am come, O Lord, to deal with thee on the subject.&rdquo; &ldquo;Now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.&rdquo;<p>Our afflictions are sent us in mercy; they come and knock at the door of conscience, and say, &ldquo;Well, what think you of sin now? Is it not an &lsquo;evil and bitter thing?&rsquo; What think you of the world now? Is it not a poor resource? What think you of creatures now? Are they not &lsquo;vanity and vexation of Spirit?&rsquo; What think you of the Saviour now? Can anything sustain and comfort you but the resurrection and the life?&rdquo;<p>Are we burdened? God is a burden-bearer near us, who is saying, &ldquo;Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled. - <a href='B:230 104:29'>Psa 104:29</a>. </i><p>HERE is a reference to the saints of God who are bewailing the suspension of Divine manifestations. &ldquo;Thou hidest thy face.&rdquo; The sun is always in the sky, but it is not always visible. So God hides himself from the house of Jacob; and if we belong to the house of Jacob, we shall be affected by it as the Psalmist was when he addressed to God this complaint. Here it may be necessary to remark, that we must not consider this suspension of Divine manifestation as a mere effect of Divine sovereignty; for God doth not &ldquo;afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men,&rdquo; much less his own children, who are infinitely dear to him. He himself, by the prophet Isaiah, has explained the case both negatively and positively: &ldquo;The Lord&rsquo;s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you.&rdquo;<p>It is therefore either as a prevention of sin, or a correction for it. &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; Or is it to rebuke for some duty omitted, or some object idolized. We shall do well, therefore, to think, if this be our experience now, of the address of Eliphaz to Job: &ldquo;Are the consolations of God small with thee? Is there any secret thing with thee?&rdquo; Is there no worm at the root of our gourd? &ldquo;O,&rdquo; says Joab, at Beth-Maachah, &ldquo;I do not wish to injure the place, but I am pursuing a traitor, and I will have his head; throw this over the wall, and I will blow the trumpet, and withdraw all the besieging forces.&rdquo; And so it was. Thus we should apply this-thus should we say- <p>&ldquo;The dearest idol I have known, <p> Whate&rsquo;er that idol be, <p> Help me to tear it from thy throne, <p> And worship only thee. <p>&ldquo;So shall my walk be close with God, <p> Calm and serene my frame, <p> So purer light shall mark the road <p> That leads me to the Lamb.&rdquo; </i><p>There is a depth of distress experienced. &ldquo;They are troubled.&rdquo; But who can find language to describe the wretchedness produced in the minds of the godly by the hiding of God&rsquo;s face from them? How in such a case does the soul in its darkness mingle its drink with weeping!<p>The heart&rsquo;s bitterness is known only to itself. Distress of circumstances-worldly disappointments-bodily pains -the desertion of friends-family bereavements-all these could be borne, and borne well, if God is near; if God be with us, if God be in us-but, O the thought, I am forsaken, I am forgotten of God! This misery may be accounted for by three things. The first is, that the Christian loves God. He does not love him perfectly, but he loves him supremely; and we all know that love can never be reconciled to the absence of its object; distance is painful, but the thought of separation is intolerable.<p>Secondly, He entirely relies upon him. He knows and feels that he is to him all and in all-that his God is more necessary to him than the sun is to the earth, or the soul is to the body, and that without him all must be darkness, drear iness, desolation, and death. And thirdly, Because he has enjoyed him already. He has had an experience of communion with God, and this stimulates his desire, and makes him long for more. Thus it was with David: &ldquo;My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is, to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.&rdquo; <p>&ldquo;My God, repeat that heavenly hour, <p> That vision so divine.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> The Lord shall comfort Zion. - <a href='B:290 51:3'>Isa 51:3</a> </i><p>WE may observe here three things-First, That distresses and discouragements are not incompatible with religion. We may sometimes think that our case is peculiar and hard to bear, and that no one has ever been so exercised as we have been, or have experienced such depressing and melancholy feelings as ourselves; arising out of the unfounded and unfavourable conclusions respecting our state, character, circumstances, and prospects, which we have been more disposed to cherish than to suppress. In reference to these we may be ready to say with David, &ldquo;I shall one day fall by the hand of Saul.&rdquo; And with Paul, &ldquo;When I would do good, evil is present with me.&rdquo; &ldquo;O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me?&rdquo; And Zion had said just what we have feared: &ldquo;The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, We here see how concerned God is not only for his people&rsquo;s safety, but also for their comfort. Their doubts and fears might continue, and they at the same time would be perfectly safe, but he will not have them perpetuated; he is concerned to have them and the causes of them removed. He has left us &ldquo;exceeding great and precious promises,&rdquo; that we &ldquo;might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.&rdquo; He not only threatened the base prophets in the days of Jeremiah, who &ldquo;made the hearts of his people sad,&rdquo; when he had commanded them to &ldquo;make them merry,&rdquo; but he issues this commission to all his ministers: &ldquo;Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord&rsquo;s hand double for all her sins.&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, If the Lord has thus graciously promised to comfort Zion, and has made such ample provision that she may be comforted, we should fall in with his gracious design; we should be humbled, and mourn over our ignorance and perverseness, our impatience and unbelief; that we have entertained such hard thoughts of God; that we have charged God foolishly, unrighteously, and unkindly. Let us remember how dishonourable these conclusions are to him; how injurious to ourselves; and say, with David, &ldquo;Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance and my God.&rdquo; It is better that a Christian should err on the side of privilege than on the side of legality. It will have a better influence over his experience and practice. Let us take care that we are not in any measure or degree robbed of our confidence in a God of grace. Our confidence is our security. Without this, how can we rejoice, or ought we to rejoice? But &ldquo;my sheep,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;hear my voice, and I know them, and give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> A man&rsquo;s heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps. - <a href='B:240 16:9'>Pro 16:9</a>. </i><p>THIS is the testimony of Scripture, and it is important in all such cases as these to make our appeal to &ldquo;the law and to the testimony;&rdquo; and here we read in one place, &ldquo;Who knows what is good for a man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow.&rdquo; In another we read, &ldquo;The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither yet bread to the wise nor yet riches to men of understanding; nor yet favour to men of skill, but time and chance&rdquo;-what men call time and chance -&ldquo;happeneth to them all.&rdquo; And again in another place we read that &ldquo;the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps;&rdquo; and again, &ldquo;Man&rsquo;s goings are of the Lord; how then can a man understand his own way?&rdquo; And here is a parallel passage: &ldquo;The heart of man deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps.&rdquo;<p>This book assures us that &ldquo;he performeth the thing that is appointed for us, and many such things are with him.&rdquo; This book assures us &ldquo;that our God is in the heavens;&rdquo; that he has done &ldquo;whatsoever pleaseth him;&rdquo; that he &ldquo;worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.&rdquo; Not that God ever acts arbitrarily; he does act sovereignly, but we should remember that sovereignty always refers only to good, and never to evil. God blesses sovereignly, but never punishes sovereignly. He &ldquo;does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.&rdquo; He is always excellent in wisdom, and he doeth this or allows that, as our Saviour in addressing him says, &ldquo;because it seemeth good in his sight.&rdquo;<p>What seems good in our sight may often be an imposition, but what seems good in the sight of God must always be a reality. He has always reasons for what he does in the concerns of nations and churches, and families and individuals. These reasons are often &ldquo;far above out of our sight;&rdquo; for &ldquo;he giveth no account of any of his matters,&rdquo; but they exist, and he is always influenced by them, and these reasons now satisfy himself, and they will satisfy us when they come to be developed. <p>&ldquo;Since all the downward track of time <p> God&rsquo;s watchful eye surveys, <p> O who so wise to choose our lot, <p> Or regulate our ways?&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? - <a href='B:230 77:9'>Psa 77:9</a>. </i><p>THERE is an infinite difference between the judgments of God and the judgments of men. &ldquo;My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,&rdquo; saith the Lord; &ldquo;for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.&rdquo; This Divine assertion may be addressed not only to unenlightened sinners, who are &ldquo;alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them,&rdquo; but also to those who have &ldquo;received the Spirit of God,&rdquo; that they may &ldquo;know the things which are freely given them of God.&rdquo; Their illumination at present is partial; their views, in many cases, obscure; they frequently come to very erroneous conclusions, and sometimes they err where the glory of God and their own welfare are deeply concerned.<p>We have a striking instance of this in the passage which will engage our attention this morning. Here is a mournful complaint: &ldquo;Hath God forgotten to be gracious?&rdquo;-language which at least implies that God had ceased to be gracious towards the writer, and that he no longer exercised his care over him, and exhibited towards him no affection; while in reference to themselves, the wicked think too much of the goodness of God, by mistaking the effects of his general bounty for evidences of his peculiar friendship.<p>While living regardless of his praise, they yet persuade themselves that he will not be severe to mark what they have done. Yet the very reverse of this is the disposition of all the subjects of Divine grace. They know that self deception is tremendous-that it is probable; and they know, too, that self-deception is common, and therefore they are afraid of it. And they often carry their solicitude beyond the point of duty; and in reading and in hearing they will apply to themselves what was intended only for others; for, as an old divine says, &ldquo;There is no beating off the dogs without making the children cry;&rdquo; and therefore they still refuse to be comforted. They think too little of the favourable side of the question, and dwell too little on the kindness and tenderness of God. Though they are concerned to please him, they often &ldquo;walk mournfully before the Lord.&rdquo;<p>They are anxious as to how matters will go with them at last, and sometimes despair of ever seeing the goodness of God in the land of the living; and that he &ldquo;has in anger shut up his tender mercies, and will be favourable no more.&rdquo; Not that this is always the case. There are moments when their feelings are in unison with those of the Apostle when he said, &ldquo;In all these things we are more than conquerors, through him that hath loved us;&rdquo; &ldquo;for I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, 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; Then, again, the sky which was clear is overcast with clouds. Alas! he sighs, will the Lord cast me off for ever, and will he be favourable no more? 


devotion:
<i> I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. - <a href='B:230 130:5'>Psa 130:5</a>. </i><p>THIS supposes some delay in God&rsquo;s appearance on behalf of his people. These delays have always been common. God &ldquo;is not, indeed, slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness.&rdquo; He is never beyond his own fixed time, but is often after the time which we have fixed for him; and, according to our apprehensions and feelings, he seems frequently to be inclined to be &ldquo;favourable no more,&rdquo; and to have forgotten to be gracious. But can this be the fact? &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 not I forget thee.&rdquo; But &ldquo;hope deferred maketh the heart sick,&rdquo; and especially when we deeply feel our want of a thing, when we are exceedingly attached to it.<p>O, to look for God and see nothing of him! to inquire of all who pass by, &ldquo;Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?&rdquo; and to look upwards and say, &ldquo;When wilt thou comfort me? when wilt thou come unto me?&rdquo; Oh, how trying is this, when we have waited for important intelligence by letter, or with anxiousness and eagerness the arrival of a friend or relative from a distance! How has time flapped over us with leaden wing! If we were knocking at a door and we saw a lion at a distance coming towards us, should we not feel every moment an hour ere the door was opened to allow us to enter in and find safety? And have we not been in a situation similar to this when we were constrained to say, &ldquo;Make haste to help me, make no tarrying, O my God?&rdquo; Here is the need of patience, lest we should not persevere in the course of duty, waiting on the Lord, and still keeping his way.<p>The danger is, that we should abandon the door which we think is not open to us; or, in other words, that we should turn away from the throne of grace, saying, with the unbelieving prophet, &ldquo;Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?&rdquo; &ldquo;We may be assured that the enemy of souls will be busily at work, in order to act on our impatience, which is so natural to us; but &ldquo;he that believeth shall not make haste;&rdquo; he will &ldquo;both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.&rdquo; Faith will preserve him from making use of improper means in order to obtain premature deliverance. Trouble in Scripture is called a prison. When God places us in it, we are not to endeavour to escape by breaking open the door or the windows. We may indeed, through the bars, look to see if he is passing along; and we may then, when we see him, cry, &ldquo;Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name.&rdquo; &ldquo;The righteous shall compass me about, but thou shalt deal bountifully with me.&rdquo;<p>Here is the advantage of faith. It will tranquillize the mind at such a time. It will produce waiting by such considerations as these:-I will wait upon the Lord, for he is such a Saviour, and I have no claims upon him. I will wait for the Lord; how long did he wait for me-days, and weeks, and months, and years. I will wait for the Lord, for his time is the best time. He is a God of judgment; and &ldquo;blessed are all they that wait for him.&rdquo;<p>I will wait for him, for I know that in due time he will appear for my good, and I shall not be ashamed; for he has said, &ldquo;None shall be ashamed that wait for me.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Be content with such things as ye have. - <a href='B:650 13:5'>Heb 13:5</a>. </i><p>FOR if we are not content with such things as we have, we shall never be content with such things as we would have. Haman&rsquo;s riches and honours availed him nothing so long as he saw Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king&rsquo;s gate. Ahab was the king of Israel, yet he was not satisfied with his dominions. No, he covets Naboth&rsquo;s vineyard; and because he cannot obtain it he is sick forsooth, and taketh to his bed, and can eat nothing. Adam and Eve in Paradise had a whole new world to themselves, but they were not satisfied. No, they must have a little more indulgence and a little more knowledge. The angels in heaven, were they content? Oh, no; Lucifer says, &ldquo;I will set my throne among the stars, I will be like the Most High.&rdquo; Thus do we find that there is no worldly portion which can satisfy the longing of an immortal mind; that &ldquo;in the midst of their sufficiency&rdquo; the owners are &ldquo;in straits.&rdquo;<p>Let us look at Solomon in all his glory, and hear what he says, after looking on all the works his hands had wrought, and all his labours to obtain happiness. &ldquo;Behold,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;all is vanity and vexation of Spirit.&rdquo; So that we see that those who have attained to an affluence of earthly good, find themselves no nearer happiness than before, and that the fault lies in the things themselves. This is a reason why we should seek &ldquo;the things which are above,&rdquo; which are satisfying and produce heart contentment.<p>Moses prayed that he might be early satisfied with God&rsquo;s mercy. And God says, &ldquo;My people shall be satisfied with my goodness.&rdquo; Oh, says David, &ldquo;I am satisfied.&rdquo; &ldquo;My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness.&rdquo; And says the Saviour, &ldquo;He that drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.&rdquo; &ldquo;He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth in me shall never thirst.&rdquo; Among all the complainers, therefore, in our world there are some who have found what has set their poor hearts at ease; they have found the light of God&rsquo;s countenance; and this has put &ldquo;more joy into their hearts than when their corn and their wine and their oil increased.&rdquo; They want more indeed of this good, but they do not want more than this good. They can say with Paul, &ldquo;I have learned, in whatsoever state lam, therewith to be content.&rdquo;<p>Contentment is a kind of self-sufficiency. Contentment cannot suffer a man to desire or want more than the providence of God affords him; he is therefore happy. He has a sufficiency-he has other resources-he has other compensations. The grace of God produces in him anew character; it makes him a &ldquo;stranger and a pilgrim on the earth,&rdquo; and leads him to judge of himself, not by what he has in the way, but what he has in the end. It comes to him and says, in the homely verses of Bunyan&rsquo;s shepherd boy in the valley of Humiliation, <p>&ldquo;Fulness to such a burden is, <p> That go on pilgrimage, <p> Here little, and hereafter bliss, <p> Is best in every age.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. - <a href='B:690 4:16'>1Jn 4:16</a>. </i><p>CHRISTIANITY is the only religion of the heart, the only religion founded in love, and requiring only love in return. As to all other systems of religion, they always want the full assurance here expressed. Missionaries from abroad have declared that they never found anything among idol worshippers like love, real love, even to their gods and goddesses; they only dreaded them, and therefore hated them. No; there is no religion of love but the religion of Christianity.<p>If we compare Protestantism with Popery, observe Scotland, and compare it with Ireland. If we compare America with Spain, and England with France, it will be seen that Christianity operates according to the degree of the truth and Spirit of it which are received. See what Christianity has done; it has not only been the power of God to the salvation of many, but where it has not operated savingly, what great moral and social advantages has it produced! As persons have received the truth &ldquo;as it is in Jesus,&rdquo; they have always been distinguished by their humanity, by their benevolence, and by their exertions to do good. As Christians, we have reason to be fond of the religion which comes to us with this proclamation: &ldquo;Now the end of the commandment,&rdquo; that is, Christianity, &ldquo;is charity, out of a pure heart and a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.&rdquo; But while we admire, let us remember the words of Young in another case: &ldquo;Nor stop at wonder: imitate and love.&rdquo;<p>Let us keep this truth alive in our thoughts: &ldquo;God is love.&rdquo; Keep the belief of it in our prayers, that we may feel not again the &ldquo;Spirit of bondage again to fear,&rdquo; but the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry &ldquo;Abba, Father;&rdquo; that we may have boldness and access by the faith of Jesus. Let us keep alive the belief of this in all our efforts to do good, in seeking the welfare of souls, and in all our trials; it is this and this alone which will produce acquiescence. A view of God&rsquo;s power and of his authority may suppress murmurings and complainings; but it is a view of his love in these dispensations, that &ldquo;he does not afflict willingly;&rdquo; that it is for our profit, and that our advantage will be answered by it:-It is this that will bring us to his feet, saying, &ldquo;Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?&rdquo; Lord, here I am; &ldquo;do with me as seemeth good in thy sight.&rdquo;<p>We should think of this and recommend it to all around us, and say, &ldquo;O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in him.&rdquo; Let it induce us to render our obedience cheerfully and affectionately, and by the mercies of God may we &ldquo;present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service,&rdquo; and thus he followers of God as dear children, patient like him, forgiving like him, liberal like him, &ldquo;who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not;&rdquo; &ldquo;for if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The whole world lieth in wickedness. - <a href='B:690 5:19'>1Jn 5:19</a>. </i><p>THE world here means, First, The world of which the Saviour said, Satan is the prince, and of which Paul says, Satan is the god. &ldquo;The prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me.&rdquo; &ldquo;The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not;&rdquo; and therefore he grieved, and all Christians will like him grieve, that the world is ignorant of its real Spiritual character and condition, and of its eternal welfare. Satan is called &ldquo;the prince of this world,&rdquo; because the people of the world are his subjects, and he rules over them and in them. And he is called &ldquo;the god of this world,&rdquo; because they love him; and, however astounding, it is a fact, an awful fact, that Satan has his Sabbaths and his sanctuaries, his ministers, his preachers, his means and ordinances, as well as the God of Truth. When, therefore, a sinner is converted, he is said to be &ldquo;turned from the power of Satan unto God&rdquo;- turned from his power as a prince-turned from his power as a god.<p>Secondly, The world here means the disobedient and unbelieving world, and it is always in the Scriptures spoken of as being in the way of destruction, and therefore we are dissuaded from it, and charged not to be conformed to it, lest we perish with it. Thus we read, that to &ldquo;walk according to the course of this world,&rdquo; is to &ldquo;walk according to the prince of the power of the air, the Spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.&rdquo; Hence, says James, Whosoever will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. And hence, says John, &ldquo;Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, The wicked are called the world; not only because they are worldly, but because they have been, down to this time, immensely the majority of mankind. For there was a time when every imagination of the heart was evil continually, and when Noah was seen alone righteous in that generation. Ten righteous men would have saved Sodom and Gomorrah, but ten righteous men were not found there. How few would have preserved Israel in the time of Jeremiah! &ldquo;Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.&rdquo; And, says the Apostle John in the Scriptures, &ldquo;The whole world lieth in wickedness.&rdquo;<p>Oh, yes, some are ready to say, but it is not so now. But suppose we take a globe, and colour all the parts of the earth where Christianity in any form, in any degree, prevails, our feelings would be greatly shocked at the sight of the smallness of the dimensions, and we should be ready to fall upon our knees, and say, &ldquo;Let thy way be known on earth, thy saving health among all nations.&rdquo; And if we take a Christian country, and examine the inhabitants- take a single village, and observe the tempers and lives of the natives, and then see whether the stones in their churchyards are chargeable with truth or falsehood, when they tell us that all the parish is gone or going to heaven. Then, if we take a congregation, one of a more evangelical complexion, and follow the people out of the house of God into common life, and let candour itself tell us how many of these abide with God in their calling-how many walk in the fear of the Lord all the day long. <p>&ldquo;Broad is the road that leads to death. <p> And thousands walk together there,; <p> But wisdom shows a narrower path. <p> With here and there a traveller.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> Let thine eyes he on the field, that they do reap. - <a href='B:80 2:9'>Rth 2:9</a>. </i><p>WE are here called upon to be observant of what is transpiring at this interesting season of the year, and to magnify God&rsquo;s works which we behold in the valleys as they stand thick with corn, and the little hills which are rejoicing on every side. And the Christian has this special, advantage over other beholders: he can look upon the works of creation and say, &ldquo;My father made them all.&rdquo;<p>Many months have rolled over our heads since the joyful shout of &ldquo;harvest home&rdquo; imparted delight and gladness to the heart of the careful husbandman, to whom this interval has been one of active exertion and patient anxiety. He prepared the soil, into which he cast the precious seed, the rains and snows from heaven watered the earth and made it to bring forth and bud. The winter&rsquo;s winds howled over the spiral blade. The tender blade became a stalk, the ear burst from its soft and silken covering, and then appeared the full corn in the ear; and now the husbandman has given directions to his men to put in the sickle, for the time for them to reap is come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe. This is no new occurrence; these scenes are witnessed as regularly as the seasons revolve, and men think but little of him who controls the elements, that gives strength to labour, and blesseth the springing thereof, so that there may be seed for the sower, and bread for all.<p>Let us therefore look upon the &ldquo;fields that they do reap;&rdquo; and observe, first, The power of God. When our Saviour brake the five loaves, and multiplied the particles, sufficiently to feed five thousand persons, the people, after they had eaten and were filled, wondered exceedingly. God, however, performs, if possible, a greater miracle before our eyes every successive season, in causing the earth annually to yield her increase; the difference is in the manner in which this power was exercised; this one was sudden and unexpected, the other is slower in its progress and constantly occurring, and therefore expected; and men wonder not at the power of God thus put forth, while the constancy of the event magnifies rather than diminishes the importance of the fact.<p>Observe, secondly, The faithfulness of God. There was one year of universal famine on the earth, and but one, and Noah was full of fear; but to pacify his fears God set his bow in the cloud as an assurance that it would be so no more, but that so &ldquo;long as the world should continue in existence, winter and summer, seed-time and harvest should not cease.&rdquo; And every season displays the truth and faithfulness of God.<p>Observe, thirdly, The goodness of God herein displayed. What provision, how suitable, how abundant, how gracious. On whose behalf is all this accomplished? Why, on behalf of those who are not worthy of the least of all God&rsquo;s mercies; ungrateful, sinful worms, rebels, traitors, who try his patience and despise his long-suffering, who abuse his goodness and pervert his mercies; who are untractable under his teachings, incorrigible under his correction, ungrateful under his favours, and unimproved and unprofited under all the means provided for their welfare.<p>Observe, fourthly, The wisdom of God as displayed in the arrangement of the seasons; in the combined influences of earth, air, heat and cold, rains and snows, and the dew, which promote its growth; and in the connection between the providence of God and the exertions of the husbandman. It is the earth which produces the corn, but man must cultivate the soil; while it is God who produces the seed, man must sow it; and while it is God who ripens the corn, it is man who must reap it.<p>&ldquo;O that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. - <a href='B:290 49:14'>Isa 49:14</a>. </i><p>WE have here a mournful complaint. Let us trace it up to its source. There is a philosophical notion prevailing, and which is of a semi-infidel complexion, which supposes that the providence of God is general and not particular. It supposes that the Deity is engaged in managing concerns of whole worlds and systems at large, and regardless of individuality. As if it were beneath God to provide for what it was not beneath God to produce. But he who wings an angel guides a sparrow; and the mite lives by him as well as the elephant; and the glowworm shines by him as well as the sun. &ldquo;He clothes the grass of the field,&rdquo; and &ldquo;the very hairs of our head are all numbered.&rdquo; It is not, however, a philosophical notion, but a religious despondency, that thus affects Christians now, as it did the Church of old, and by whom the complaint was made.<p>First, This despondency arises from unbelief or weakness of faith. Faith may be real, and yet weak, and very weak too. Our Saviour said to his disciples, &ldquo;Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?&rdquo; Our comfort must always be therefore according to our faith. &ldquo;In whom,&rdquo; says Peter, &ldquo;believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.&rdquo;<p>There is always consolation here: in God&rsquo;s &ldquo;riches of glory by Christ Jesus;&rdquo; but these can only be apprehended by faith. There is always fruit enough on the tree of life, but faith is the hand by which alone we can gather it. There is always water enough in the wells of salvation, but by faith we must draw it; so true is the language of the prophet: &ldquo;If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, It arises from ignorance. This is very distinguishable from the former; a man may believe as far as his knowledge extends. There are persons who have a very defective acquaintance with the grounds of a sinner&rsquo;s acceptance in the Beloved, and of the efficacy of the Saviour&rsquo;s blood to cleanse from all sin, and of the perfection of his righteousness as entitling us to everlasting glory, and of the permanency of the everlasting covenant, &ldquo;ordered in all things and sure,&rdquo; and which places outstanding more secure than it was before we fell. <p>&ldquo;More happy, but not more secure, <p> The glorified spirits above.&rdquo; </i><p>Now, although it will be allowed that the believer&rsquo;s safety does not depend upon the degree of his religious knowledge, yet his comfort must always be very materially influenced by it; and this is a reason why it is &ldquo;a good thing for the heart to be established with grace.&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, It arises from desertion. There is a suspension of Divine manifestations. Jonah felt this when in the belly of the fish: &ldquo;Then I said lam cast out of thy sight.&rdquo; &ldquo;The Lord hath forsaken me,&rdquo; says the Church here.<p>Fourthly, It arises from the conflicting troubles of life; although these indeed might, if viewed properly, be considered as proofs that God has not forsaken and has not forgotten us; &ldquo;for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.&rdquo; But so it is that in our afflictions, and when they are various, and numerous, and some of them inexplicable, then we are ready to say- <p>&ldquo;If I am his why am I thus?&rdquo; </i><p>The fact is, all suffering is the consequence of sin, and therefore naturally reminds us of it. It seems to indicate wrath, and therefore we pray, &ldquo;Do not condemn me.&rdquo; God is the source of light and comfort; and when there is no light and comfort with us, it is not so easy to persuade ourselves that God is with us. &ldquo;If he be with us,&rdquo; said Gideon, &ldquo;why then has all this evil befallen us?&rdquo; When &ldquo;deep calleth unto deep,&rdquo; it is no easy thing for the Christian to possess the &ldquo;peace which passeth all understanding.&rdquo;<p>Lastly, It arises from the delay of God in the accomplishment of prayer. &ldquo;God is not slack concerning his promises, as some men count slackness.&rdquo; He always has a time of his own, and this is the best time; and he never goes beyond this time; but then we expect him at an earlier time; and so when he does not come, or come so soon, we are surprised and confounded, and &ldquo;hope deferred maketh the heart sick.&rdquo; Blessed are all they that wait for him. &ldquo;It is a good thing for a man both to hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.&rdquo;<p>We should always learn to distinguish between the acceptance of prayer and the answer to prayer. God always immediately hears the prayer of faith, but he does not always immediately answer it. He waits to be gracious. 


devotion:
<i> Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. - <a href='B:290 49:15'>Isa 49:15</a>. </i><p>OBSERVE, first, The improbability of the fear thus affectionately reproved. &ldquo;Zion said the Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me;&rdquo; but, by a striking and touching metaphor, God here shows us how unreasonable and unrighteous were those fears. &ldquo;Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?&rdquo; It is not probable that she should, but it is possible. It is the honour of females, that they are not only the fairer but the tenderer sex.<p>The young of all creatures are lovely and attractive always; but let us survey the image here. Here is a child, a harmless object, a helpless object, an endeared object, and towards which any one may feel compassion and tenderness. But we may observe that the child here is the mother&rsquo;s own, &ldquo;the son of her womb,&rdquo; lately a part of herself, and endeared by the anxieties of bearing it, and the pain and peril of bringing it forth. Nor is this all; for the mother is a nursing mother, and the child is a sucking child, looking up with ineffable satisfaction to his benefactor, and with his little hands stroking the cheeks of her who feeds him.<p>This is the image, and therefore you must allow that it is not likely that a woman should &ldquo;forget her sucking child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb.&rdquo; But then, though it is improbable, it is a possible case. &ldquo;Yea, they may forget.&rdquo; More than one of them: &ldquo;they may forget.&rdquo; There are two supposable cases here. The first is, the mother may be bereft of reason, or not survive, and so not be able to remember. And the other, that she may be criminally and unnaturally led to hide herself from her own flesh. The instances are not rare in which the wretched mother has destroyed her own offspring- sometimes under the pressure of want, and sometimes to hide her shame.<p>When, therefore, we apply images to God, we must strip them of all their imperfections; we must apply them to him completely, and as far as possible divinely. The feelings of nature are nothing compared with the kindness of God. The heart of a Thornton and Howard was all ice and all steel compared with the benevolence of our God. He inspires all the tenderness that creatures feel; and he infinitely surpasses them himself. &ldquo;If ye being evil,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him.&rdquo; &ldquo;As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;yea, and much more abundantly; &ldquo;she may forget, yet will I not forget thee.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> &ldquo;Yet will I not forget thee.&rdquo; - <a href='B:290 49:15'>Isa 49:15</a>. </i><p>OBSERVE the certainty of the assurance: &ldquo;Yet will I not forget thee.&rdquo; Here we have to assure us his word-his own word-the word of a God of truth and of faithfulness- a God &ldquo;whose faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds&rdquo; -who is as unchangeable as he is incomprehensible. A Being concerning whom Balaam, all wicked as he was, could say, the Lord &ldquo;is not a man that he should lie, nor the son of man that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?&rdquo;<p>The word of a Being who is free from all the sources of unfaithfulness-such as forgetfulness- such as a change of mind-such as a failure of resources- to make his word good. To render all this more striking to us, but not more binding to him, he has been pleased to add to his word his oath; and because he could swear by no greater he sware by himself; and, says the Apostle, &ldquo;An oath for confirmation is an end of all strife.&rdquo; &ldquo;Wherein God willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise&rdquo;-not to make, but to show-&ldquo;the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two immutable things,&rdquo; for his word was as immutable as his oath-&ldquo;that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.&rdquo; Hence, says God in the fifty-fourth chapter, &ldquo;This is as the waters of Noah unto me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee nor rebuke thee; for the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee.&rdquo;<p>Here we find that God&rsquo;s oath interposed with regard to two things-the drowning of the world, and the desertion of the Church. We believe the former, entirely believe it. Why do we not dread a second deluge? It is not because we think there is not water enough to drown the earth again; but it is because he hath sworn that he will not. We rely upon his oath; and whatever enemies may assail his Church, he has said, &ldquo;Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.&rdquo; How then can the Church, that is, his Church, be in danger? In all this, as Dr. Watts says, he- <p>&ldquo;Lays the foundation of our hope, <p> In oaths and promises and blood.&rdquo; </i><p>Covenants formerly were ratified not only by oath but also by sacrifice. So was this covenant of God by the sacrifice of his own Son-a sacrifice of infinite value. Is not this enough? No, he has not only given us the assurances in all these modes, but he has done everything he can do at present in the way of pledge and earnest; for we are not &ldquo;yet come unto the rest and inheritance which the Lord God giveth us.&rdquo;<p>All this will be done as surely as he hath remembered us in our low estate; as surely as he has given his own Son for us; as surely as he has called us by his grace; adopted us into his family; loved us with an &ldquo;everlasting love, and with loving-kindness he has drawn us.&rdquo; &ldquo;For he that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?&rdquo; &ldquo;If while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Many will intreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts. - <a href='B:240 19:6'>Pro 19:6</a>. </i><p>WE all naturally look towards creatures, especially if they are placed above us, if they are wealthy or powerful, and seek to gain their countenance and their assistance. But there are four differences between our seeking after the favour of a mortal and our seeking after the favour of God.<p>First, In seeking after the favour of a mortal we may debase ourselves; we maybe required to submit to mean compliances, and to make improper sacrifices in order to please such an individual. But in seeking the favour of God the very exercise elevates us; it dignifies, it improves, and profits us.<p>Secondly, In seeking after the favour of a mortal we are never sure of success. After toiling for weeks or years we may find that we have been labouring in vain, and spending our strength for nought; but if we seek the favour of God we are sure of succeeding. &ldquo;Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find;&rdquo; &ldquo;Their hearts shall live that seek God.&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, If we gain the favour of a mortal we are never sure of retaining it. Who has not been tempted, in passing through life, with David to say in his haste, &ldquo;All men are liars.&rdquo; This appears to be uncandid and uncharitable; yet, after all, the Scripture says, &ldquo;Men of high degree are vanity, and men of low degree are a lie: if they are tried in the balance together, they are altogether lighter than vanity.&rdquo; &ldquo;Confidence,&rdquo; says Solomon, &ldquo;in an unfaithful friend is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint,&rdquo; not only useless but painful to us. Whereas if we obtain the friendship of God we are sure of keeping it. There is no changeableness with him; he is &ldquo;without variableness, or the shadow of turning.&rdquo; &ldquo;The gifts and calling of God are without repentance.&rdquo;<p>And then, fourthly, If we could not only gain but even retain the favour and friendship of a superior mortal, yet what, after all, could it do? What could it do for us in the many emergencies and incidents of life? What could it do for us in the agonies of conscience-in the adversities of life-in a dying hour- and in the judgment of the great day? But when God says, &ldquo;I will never forget thee,&rdquo; this is saying everything; this meets every want, every feeling, every fear. Oh, his presence can sustain us under the loss of every possession, or comfort us under the loss of every relative or friend; and we may say with our Saviour, &ldquo;I am alone, and yet not alone, because the Father is with me.&rdquo; If he says, &ldquo;I will never leave thee nor forsake thee,&rdquo; why, what is it but saying, I will guide thee with my counsel; I will keep thee with my power lest any hurt thee; I will sympathise with thee in all thy sorrows; I will attend thee in all thy afflictions; I will not suffer thee to be tempted &ldquo;above that ye are able to bear;&rdquo; &ldquo;my grace is sufficient for thee;&rdquo; and &ldquo;my strength shall be made perfect in your weakness?&rdquo;<p>On this assurance we may rely, and say with David, &ldquo;Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.&rdquo; Leaning on this assurance we may witness with composure the dissolution of the universe; and looking beyond it say, &ldquo;We look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Who went about doing good. - <a href='B:510 10:38'>Act 10:38</a>. </i><p>THIS is the eulogium which Peter pronounced upon our Saviour. The eulogium is indeed short; but oh, how beautiful and glorious. It reminds us of David&rsquo;s acknowledgment with regard to the Supreme Being: &ldquo;Thou art good and doest good;&rdquo; and the Saviour was the image of the invisible God.<p>Let us hearken to his own language, and observe what his humility must have been if he was conscious that he was only a man or a mere mortal. &ldquo;He that hath seen me hath seen the Father;&rdquo; &ldquo;my Father worketh hitherto and I work;&rdquo; &ldquo;believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very work sake;&rdquo; &ldquo;I and my Father are one.&rdquo; But here we can contemplate God in the face of Jesus, and are fully persuaded that the power and the patience, and the tenderness and the readiness to relieve and pardon by which he was distinguished in the days of his flesh, are the attributes of the Deity. In him we may place all our confidence; in him our peace is secured; and in him our joy is fulfilled. We here find what only can meet our souls&rsquo; necessities: &ldquo;God manifest in the flesh.&rdquo; And here we hold communion with the Father of our spirits- <p>&ldquo;While Jews on their own works rely, <p> And Greeks of wisdom boast, <p> I love the incarnate mystery, <p> And there I fix my trust.&rdquo; </i><p>Oh, how delightful it must have been to have followed him, while he was upon earth, from place to place, as in these journeys of mercy he went about doing good; and to have stood by him while he fed the hungry multitude upon the grass; while he opened the eyes of the poor beggar by the wayside; while he raised the widow&rsquo;s son to life and delivered him to his mother; while he was preaching the gospel of the kingdom to the poor; while the common people heard him gladly; and while he healed all manner of diseases among them.<p>This pleasure we may in a degree enjoy even now, as we peruse by faith the evangelical history, where the sacred writers have recorded the works of their honoured Lord with unexampled simplicity and faithfulness. 


devotion:
<i> We have known and believed the love God hath toward us. - <a href='B:690 4:16'>1Jn 4:16</a>. </i><p>This is the language of all those in whose hearts the love of God hath been shed abroad, who have been made to differ from those whose hearts are at enmity with God. These are blessed with &ldquo;all spiritual blessings in heavenly places with Christ,&rdquo; and are made willing to stand forth and declare- <p>&ldquo;-to sinners round, <p> What a dear Saviour they have found.&rdquo; </i><p>Thus, as God&rsquo;s witnesses, they gratefully and practically testify of the love God hath towards them. &ldquo;Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and hath sent his Son to be the propitiation of our sins.&rdquo; They are ready to say: "Ah, he found me under the curse of the law, a wanderer from himself, yea, in rebellion against him, and he spared me; he fed me, he clothed me, he called me by his grace; he has forgiven all my trespasses as if they had never been committed; he has admitted me into his house and into his family, and he holds communion with me now; and I walk with God, I lean upon his arm, and I am waiting for the &ldquo;manifestation of the sons of God,&rdquo; when &ldquo;that which is in part shall be done away,&rdquo; and I shall be &ldquo;presented faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.&rdquo;<p>Yes, &ldquo;God is love,&rdquo; and if there were no other proof in the universe, I am the everlasting monument of this truth. I am a monument of this truth, inscribed TO THE GLORY OF GOD. And what then will it be when this acknowledgment comes, not from an individual, but from myriads-from all the redeemed, from all the sanctified? And even then the exemplification of the subject will not be absolutely complete; it will be always growing, for ever and ever it will be growing, in the evidence &ldquo;God is love.&rdquo; <p>&ldquo;Glory be to him who gave us, <p> Freely gave his Son to save us, <p> Glory to the Son who came, <p> Honour, blessing, adoration, <p> Glory from the whole creation, <p> Be to God and to the Lamb.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. - <a href='B:20 3:6'>Exo 3:6</a>. </i><p>ALL along from the beginning God showed favour to some for the sake of others. The principle of his dispensations has ever been the promotion of personal godliness for relative considerations; teaching men that if they were blessed, they were also to prove blessings to others; and above all it was intended to turn them to the belief of the mediation of the Lord Jesus, for whose sake all the nations and all the families of the earth were to be blessed.<p>Under the law the Lord was addressed as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because the covenant made with them was for Israel, in whom they were blessed, and for whose sake they received all things. But now the covenant made for the Spiritual Israel was made with a far more glorious character, who was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, ere the earth was. His name is Jesus; it is in him that we are accepted, and &ldquo;blessed with all Spiritual blessings in heavenly places;&rdquo; and it is for his sake that we receive all things; and therefore, while to the patriarchs and to the Jews he was known and worshipped as &ldquo;the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,&rdquo; he is now under the gospel addressed as &ldquo;the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.&rdquo;<p>There are two things derivable from this address-&ldquo; I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.&rdquo; The first is, that unquestionably Moses had some knowledge of a future state. The very promise which God had made to the patriarch implied this. He said to Abraham, &ldquo;I am thy God;&rdquo; &ldquo;I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession.&rdquo; How was this verified with regard to his life? He never had actual possession of the land of Canaan. All the possession he ever had there was a burying place, and that he dearly paid for. &ldquo;By faith, therefore, he sojourned in the land of Canaan, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;&rdquo; for &ldquo;he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and whose maker is God.&rdquo; Wherefore the Apostle says, &ldquo;God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city.&rdquo;<p>Therefore our Saviour referred to this when, addressing the Sadducees, he said, &ldquo;Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he called the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.&rdquo; Their Spirits were living in an intermediate state. But even this is not the principal thing: their bodies were to live in the resurrection of the just. And he speaks of it as if it were already accomplished; for purpose and fulfilment with God are the same. He does not say he was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; but &ldquo;I am the God of Abraham,&rdquo; &c; &ldquo;their Spirits are with me now; their renewed bodies shall be by-and-by, as certainly as they are now in the dust.&rdquo;<p>We also observe that God sustains his relationship to those of our connections who are gone before. Delightful considerations! Where is the heart that has not bled?-where is the person who has not said, &ldquo;Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness?&rdquo; How pathetic was the reflection of Jacob when he was dying. He looked back to the cave which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, in the land of Canaan. &ldquo;There,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah; and there I buried Leah.&rdquo; There is one now ready to say, &ldquo;There I buried my darling child.&rdquo; &ldquo;There I buried,&rdquo; says another, &ldquo;my precious husband.&rdquo; &ldquo;There,&rdquo; says another, &ldquo;I buried &lsquo;the desire of mine eyes, removed from me with a stroke.&rsquo;&rdquo; Where are these dear Spirits now? With God. Where are their bodies? Sleeping in his bed; not perishing; but by-and-by to be raised up; they are all living unto him. <p>&ldquo;God their Redeemer lives, <p> And often from the skies <p> Looks down and watches all their dust, <p> Till he shall bid it rise.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> And there are diversities of operations; but it is the same God which worketh all in all. - <a href='B:530 12:6'>1Co 12:6</a>. </i><p>IF we take a comprehensive view of the whole human family, we shall find existing among them numberless and striking differences. They differ in their country, their condition, their complexion, in their stature, in their speech, in their apparel, and in their manners. Yet there is also a great resemblance among them. They all walk erect; they all reach maturity by degrees; they all eat, and drink, and sleep; they all decay and die. And we should observe that the things in which they agree are far more important than those in which they differ. The resemblance regards what is essential in human nature. The variety is what is accidental only. That which makes us rich or poor, European or African, is far inferior to that which constitutes us men.<p>This may be considered an image of the Church of God. Let Christians differ in their opinions, in their speculations, in their discipline, in their various religious usages, in their forms and ceremonies-these are only the dress of religion; the body is essentially the same. God has promised &ldquo;I will give them one heart and one way.&rdquo; And he has ever since been fulfilling this in every age of the world.<p>Under every dispensation and in every grade of society, his people have been the same; their wants the same; their dependence the same; their tastes the same; and their principles the same. Hence the prayers and praises of those who lived very remote from us, both as to time and place, furnish mediums for the expression of our own desires and complaint. Whatever differences may characterise them, they can all adopt as their own the language of David, when he says, &ldquo;Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right Spirit within me;&rdquo; or the language of Jeremiah, when he says, &ldquo;Heal me, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved; or the language of Nehemiah, when he says, &ldquo;Remember me, O my God, for good.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The good will of him that dwelt in the bush. - <a href='B:50 33:16'>Deu 33:16</a>. </i><p>A VERY touching and striking incident occurred in connection with these words being spoken. Moses, the servant of the Lord, had received an order to ascend up unto Mount Nebo, and die there. He readily obeyed, but before he left the people whom he had brought up out of Egypt, he was determined to leave a blessing behind him, and so he blessed all the tribes of Israel. But when he came to Joseph, he said, &ldquo;Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, and for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things brought forth by the moon, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, and for the precious things of the earth, and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.&rdquo;<p>We here see how he was impressed with the scene which happened forty years before. How vividly he called to remembrance the place whence he had seen the burning bush, and had heard the voice of God out of the midst of the bush. How many things are impressive in remembrance. Distressing things are the most impressive, and the most adapted to enter into our feelings. But there are also many pleasing scenes which will be remembered, if we have possession of our faculties and the exercise of our reason, even when we come to die.<p>Thus David says, &ldquo;My soul is cast down within me, therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites from the hill Mizar,&rdquo;-the little hill where probably he had received some signal tokens of the divine favour which he could never forget. And thus it was with Jacob, when he was returning after a very improper journey: &ldquo;Let us arise and go to Bethel, and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.&rdquo; And when Moses was looking back to this period, he said, &ldquo;The Lord was with Jacob.&rdquo; It was as much as if he had said, There is nothing like it for a nation, or a tribe, or an individual, or the dearest connection- nothing like &ldquo;the good will of him that dwelt in the bush.&rdquo;<p>Oh! what sacrifices some persons make, and what pains they take, what meanness they submit to, in order to gain the goodwill of some fellow-creature, who is elevated above them, and able to serve them, but who can do little for them in their principal exigency. Oh! let us seek the Lord, who is infinite in all his resources. Our fathers tried, and trusted him, and all the multitudes before the throne speak well of his name. If we had all the world we should be miserable, unless we had his good will. &ldquo;The good will of him that dwelt in the bush&rdquo; will be sufficient for us, and nothing else. He will thus remove the curse of affliction, and the sting of death, and thus enable us to &ldquo;rejoice in hope of the glory of God.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The inheritance of the saints in light. - <a href='B:580 1:12'>Col 1:12</a>. </i><p>NOW are believers the &ldquo;sons of God;&rdquo; though the period of their manifestation is not arrived, though they are minors now, and under age, they are &ldquo;heirs,&rdquo; and they receive their remittances, and their supplies, and they have their trainings, and their attendants, and their preparations. Witness the language of the Apostle here: &ldquo;Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.&rdquo; Let us notice the inheritance itself.<p>Observe, first, Its character. It is spoken of as one common state. As there is one common salvation, so there is one common inheritance. An earthly inheritance is impaired and diminished by division, but it is otherwise here. Here the number of pensioners really adds to the happiness of every individual partaker. And if we consider its magnitude, how shall we estimate this inheritance? by what standard shall we judge it? Compared with this, what is the inheritance of the worldling, abounding with all the honours, riches, and pleasures of the earth? Compared with this, what the inheritance of the Jews in the land of Canaan- &ldquo;a land flowing with milk and honey, and the glory of all lands?&rdquo; What was the inheritance of Adam previous to his fall? what was Eden? what was the tree of knowledge, compared with the tree of life, in the midst of the paradise of God? What is the inheritance of angels? He who is their Lord is our elder Brother. <p>&ldquo;Never did angels taste above <p> Redeeming grace and dying love.&rdquo; </i><p>John, therefore, in the vision, saw the saints nearer the throne than the angels. What are we to think of that blessedness that it is intended to display-the value of that blood which purchased it, the blood of God-that blessedness which is designed to show in the ages to come, the exceeding riches of his grace-that blessedness which exhausts all the world of nature in furnishing images to express it-that blessedness which after all the Scriptures have told us concerning it, is glory that is to be revealed.<p>Observe, secondly, Its possessors. &ldquo;It is the inheritance of the saints.&rdquo; This is a term abused and ridiculed by many but it is the language of Scripture, and &ldquo;God is not mocked.&rdquo; The word simply means, holy beings. Of such importance is the possession of this attribute, that we are assured that &ldquo;without holiness no man shall see the Lord.&rdquo; The design of the gospel is to make us holy. We are not such by nature. &ldquo;Therefore,&rdquo; says the Apostle, &ldquo;we are called to be saints.&rdquo; This will apply to the external call by the Word, and to the internal call by the Spirit-the one requiring, the other producing it.<p>All God&rsquo;s people are to be considered as saints: they partake of holiness now; they love holiness, but they are not completely holy: at present they are &ldquo;encompassed with infirmities,&rdquo; and &ldquo;groan, being burdened,&rdquo; but it will be otherwise at death. Then they will drop their imperfections; then they will join the &ldquo;Spirits of just men made perfect;&rdquo; then they will be &ldquo;presented faultless&rdquo; before the throne of God; then they will be as innocent as Adam in Paradise, as holy as the Son of God himself. For though &ldquo;it doth not yet appear what we shall be,&rdquo; we know that &ldquo;when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.&rdquo;<p>Observe, thirdly, The region in which it is to be enjoyed. &ldquo;The inheritance of the saints in light.&rdquo; Hell is darkness, &ldquo;outer darkness,&rdquo; where there is &ldquo;weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.&rdquo; The world is darkness, therefore our deliverance from it is represented as being &ldquo;called out of darkness into marvellous light.&rdquo; But the Church is light; all the members of it are &ldquo;children of light and of the day;&rdquo; they are &ldquo;not of the night nor of the darkness.&rdquo; And yet while they are here, they are able only to survey the dawning and the glimmering of the day.<p>Now we &ldquo;walk by faith, not by sight;&rdquo; now &ldquo;who can understand his errors?&rdquo; now how often do we mistake appearances for realities? now how often does evil cheat us under the notion of good? now how often are we baffled in our inquiries, turn which way we choose, in order to move on? now what is conjecture but a thorny maze? now how unable are we to discern our own privileges, and what distress arises from our doubts and fears? now how frequently we mistake our best friends for our enemies, and charge God with foolishness and unkindness, while his wisdom and goodness are peculiarly at work to advance our happiness. But- <p>&ldquo;There is a land of pure delight, <p> Where saints immortal reign, <p> Infinite day excludes the night, <p> And pleasures banish pain.&rdquo; </i><p>This is the &ldquo;inheritance of the saints in light.&rdquo; And heaven is light-all light; there is no darkness at all- perfect light; endless light. Our sun will &ldquo;no more go down by day, nor our moon withdraw her shining, for God shall be our everlasting light, and the days of our mourning shall be ended.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Which hath made us meet to he partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. - <a href='B:580 1:12'>Col 1:12</a>. </i><p>HAVING noticed the inheritance, let us now proceed to consider the meetness for it. In order to take a correct view of our fallen condition, it is necessary to remember that we are both guilty and depraved, and therefore, in order to our restoration and to the enjoyment of this inheritance, two things are necessary-a change of state and a change of nature; the one is derived from, the righteousness of Christ, the other is derived from the Spirit of Christ; the one is accomplished for us, the other in us. The one gives a title to the inheritance, the other gives us the meetness for it.<p>Observe, with regard to this meetness, first, The nature of it. This meetness consists in what the Scripture calls the &ldquo;renewing of the Holy Ghost,&rdquo; giving us new views, principles, and inclinations, and gendering in us heavenly habitudes. We are made meet for heaven by doing the work of heaven, and by enjoying the pleasures of heaven. Now, what is the work of heaven? It is to praise and serve God. And thus Christians are praising and serving God. Now, what is the happiness of heaven but to see his face and hold communion with him? And Christians are doing this now. All adventitious circumstances are there unknown; all physical, local, social, and religious distinctions will be there done away for ever, and none remain but those which have resulted from character. And if I am made meet for heaven, I must be rising above all adventitious distinctions already, and be prepared to say, &ldquo;Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.&rdquo; No bigot, therefore, will be meet for such a state. The party to which he belonged in this world will then, as such, have no existence; and if it had, it must be very small indeed compared with the multitudes which no man can number, gathered out of all kindreds and nations, and people and tongues.<p>Secondly, Its necessity. The higher the destination an individual has in view, the more necessity is there for a meetness for it. This is the case with a prince; this is the case with a minister. And Christians are exalted to both these dignities; they are &ldquo;made kings and priests unto God.&rdquo; And can this require no meetness? All aptitude is the relation of two things to each other, by which they approximate and touch and unite. It is obvious a man under the influence of bodily disease cannot enjoy the pleasures of the healthful. Without an ear for music, even melody or harmony will be regarded with irksomeness or indifference. The pleasures of temperance have no charm for the drunkard.<p>God does not therefore, as some people imagine, exclude any as unregenerate from heaven; they exclude themselves. The impossibility does not arise from his decree, but from the nature of things. Therefore, &ldquo;except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of heaven.&rdquo; Happiness does not arise merely from the excellence of an object, but from the faculty of being rightly suited to it. That makes us happy which meets our wants, accomplishes our hopes, and affords gratification and indulgence to our minds and feelings. Thus it is with regard to heaven, and so necessary is this meetness for it.<p>Observe, thirdly, The author of it. It is God &ldquo;who hath made us meet.&rdquo; As the Apostle finely remarks in another place: &ldquo;He that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.&rdquo; If we are a building, we are his workmanship; if we are fruitful, in him &ldquo;is our fruit found.&rdquo; We indeed bear it, he produces it. By the grace of God we are what we are.<p>Observe, fourthly, The certainty of it. &ldquo;Who hath made us meet?&rdquo; &ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; says the Apostle, &ldquo;the thing is done, and it is done in us; and we know it is accomplished.&rdquo; Many will readily acknowledge that God is the author of this meetness, who are afraid they are not the subjects of it; they fear frequently they have no part nor lot in the matter, and that their heart is not right with God. But the &ldquo;full assurance of the hope&rdquo; unto the end is not only desirable, but it is also attainable.<p>A Christian may be destitute of the assurance-he never can be destitute of the desire, and therefore he will be found upon his knees continually praying, &ldquo;Say unto my soul I am thy salvation,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Give me a token for good.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> He that cometh unto God must believe that he is. - <a href='B:650 11:6'>Heb 11:6</a>. </i><p>IT is very desirable and absolutely necessary to be fully and correctly informed concerning God. Our consolation and our duty equally require that we should know who and what he is, what his connection with us, and what are his purposes towards us; for our apprehensions of God are in the quality of first principles; and if the first principles be erroneous, all the consequences deducible from them will partake of the error.<p>The standard of all perfection must be his nature; the rule of all worship and obedience must be his will; the source of all happiness must be his favour and friendship. But where is this all-important knowledge to be obtained? Pythagoras was a heathen philosopher; he believed in the transmigration of souls; he possessed great talents and learning and reputation; and it is reported of him that when he was asked, &ldquo;What is God?&rdquo; he required two days to consider it; at the expiration of which he required four days; at the expiration of which he required eight days; and so continued to enlarge the period of reflection; and at length confessed that the more he considered, the more he was at a loss to determine.<p>We take up the same question this morning; but we are going to address it, not to a heathen philosopher, but to a fisherman of Galilee, John-&ldquo;What is God?&rdquo; &ldquo;God is love.&rdquo; But here another question immediately arises: &ldquo;How came this fisherman of Galilee to be possessed of this knowledge, and to be prepared to answer this question so satisfactorily and so readily?&rdquo; &ldquo;Because he was a partaker of revealed religion, was one of those to whom were committed the oracles of God; one of those who knew the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make us wise unto salvation.&rdquo; &ldquo;For the world by wisdom knew not God.&rdquo; Men soon learned indeed to construct ships, build houses, and to handle the harp and the organ, long before the Flood; and ages afterwards we find Assyria, Greece, and Rome successively improving upon each other; in the arts and sciences they excelled. And if we would see a fine piece of statuary now, we must fetch it from the ruins of past ages.<p>But as to the knowledge the heathens had of the things of God, we have not only the testimony of the Apostle, but we have their own history and writings to convince us that &ldquo;professing themselves to be wise they became fools,&rdquo; they were &ldquo;vain in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened.&rdquo; And there is not a peasant in this country who possesses the Bible, however unlearned he may be, but knows more of God and of his gracious purposes towards mankind than all the sages of antiquity. Yes- <p>&ldquo;&rsquo;Tis God&rsquo;s own sovereign power and love <p> That crowns the gospel with success, <p> And makes the babes in knowledge learn <p> The heights, and breadths, and lengths of grace. <p>&ldquo;But all this glory lies concealed <p> From men of prudence and of might, <p> The prince of darkness blinds their eyes <p> And their own pride resists the light.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. - <a href='B:20 3:6'>Exo 3:6</a>. </i><p>HERE we see, first, that Divine manifestations always produce self diffidence and abasement. &ldquo;Moses hid his face.&rdquo; Those are always pleased with little things, who have not been abroad to see great ones; but those who have travelled much, and have had their attention directed to great and noble objects, have had their minds proportionately enlarged. Such will no longer think their own little hills and rivulets ahead of the Nile and the Alps. So if a man who thinks more highly of himself than he ought to think, is placed in the company of men of real intellectual greatness, how soon his little swelling self-importance will subside; how soon is he reduced to his proper level; so is it with the man who has become acquainted with the glorious God. He will say with Job, &ldquo;I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee, wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes;&rdquo; or with Isaiah, &ldquo;Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts;&rdquo; or with Peter, &ldquo;Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord,&rdquo; on his perceiving his power in the miraculous draught of fishes.<p>We see here also how little we can physically bear. &ldquo;Moses was afraid to look upon God;&rdquo; &ldquo;Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.&rdquo; The splendour would be too much for the eye; the sound would be too much for the ear; the poor frame would break down under that &ldquo;far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.&rdquo; We can only bear a certain degree of sensation. How soon is nature overpowered! When Jacob heard of the prosperity of Joseph, &ldquo;there was no more Spirit in him.&rdquo; And when John saw his Redeemer, though he knew him well, and had often reclined on his bosom, and we should imagine that he would not be afraid to meet him again, yet, &ldquo;When I saw him,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;I fell at his feet as dead.&rdquo;<p>God proportions his dispensations to our present condition. It was commonly said in those days, &ldquo;No man can see God&rsquo;s face and live.&rdquo; Moses believed this. But then, do we not often forget our principles? Some time after this, Moses even prayed for this manifestation; in mercy God did not grant him his request. Moses prayed, &ldquo;I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And the Lord said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man see me and live. And the Lord said, Behold there is a place by thee, and thou shalt stand upon a rock, and it shall come to pass while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee into a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by; and I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts, but my face shall not be seen.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain. - <a href='B:290 45:19'>Isa 45:19</a>. </i><p>HERE is an intimation, and more than an intimation, a gracious assurance, that God is the hearer and answerer of prayer. According to some, the success of prayer is confined entirely to its exercise and influence. That there is an influence derivable from the exercise of prayer cannot be doubted. But though this is truth, it is not the whole truth, nor the principal truth. Prayer benefits us by its very operation, because it brings us into a proper state and frame of mind, and because if we pray sincerely we shall act correspondingly. But if we look into the Scriptures, we shall find many cases where the blessing could not have resulted from the operation of the prayer, but from the interposition of God as manifested in answer to prayer.<p>Jacob&rsquo;s prayer did not soften Esau&rsquo;s heart by its exercise, for Esau knew not that he was praying for him, but it was softened by the answers of God. The same with Hezekiah. The addition of fifteen years to his life was not the result of the sanative operation of his prayer, like the application of the bunch of figs to the boil, but it was the answer of God to it. And if there be any meaning in the Scriptures, there is something to be done, something to be communicated by God himself as a God hearing and answering prayer.<p>The husbandman&rsquo;s labour does benefit him, for it aids his harvest; but he wants a crop: and he manures, and ploughs, and sows with this view and expectation, and he obtains one. And if a man prays aright and according to the Scriptures, he will believe in this, and be affected by it: that God does something, that God conveys something in the course of his providence and grace in answer to prayer. The answer to prayer should be always regarded, but there are many persons who pay no regard to their prayers. Nothing can be such a mockery of the majesty of God as appearing to draw forth his attention when there is no intention of noticing his benefits. In reference to answers to prayer it must, however, be allowed there is some difficulty in explaining and understanding the subject.<p>God does not always answer by granting the same things we implore, but he acts like a wise and kind father who gives not according to the child&rsquo;s desire, but according to the child&rsquo;s necessities; not according to what he asks, but according to what he requires; not according to his wishes, therefore, but according to his wants. The child may wish for a holiday, but he wants school; he may wish for sweetmeats, but he wants medicine. The goodness and wisdom of the Father must appear in giving him not what he asks or wishes for, but what would be really good for him. So it is with God; many of these answers to prayer come in the way of great troubles and huge afflictions, and so they are not recognised, they are the last things in the world we should suppose to be answers to prayer.<p>God is the Lord of all, and without going out of his ordinary course of nature and providence, he can answer prayer; and thus many answers escape our notice, because we look for something too particular and too remarkable. After all, if we do find a difficulty in the case, if we cannot easily determine what is an answer to prayer, let us adhere to the language of Scripture, and remember that we cannot pray in vain, for he hath not said unto the seed of Jacob, &ldquo;Seek ye me in vain.&rdquo; Here we may rest, here we may have a full persuasion that &ldquo;it is good for us to draw near unto God.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The Lord shall choose our inheritance for us. - <a href='B:230 47:4'>Psa 47:4</a>. </i><p>HOW much very often depends upon a single step in life. Our reputation, our comfort, our usefulness, our character, may depend upon the movement, and repentance may be quartered upon us for life. The effects with regard to the present state may be irretrievable. We are commanded therefore to walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise. We are morally to keep always awake; to have our senses exercised to discern between good and evil. We are always to watch and pray. This should induce us to repair to God in humble and earnest prayer and say, Thou, Lord, shalt choose our inheritance for us; for if we do not pray as well as watch, we shall watch in vain. And those who are just stepping into life, who are issuing into the world, should say from this time unto God, &ldquo;Thou art my Father, he thou the guide of my youth.&rdquo; And those who are in perplexity, and in difficulty, should wait upon God, and let integrity and uprightness govern them in all their movements; and not only wait upon God in prayer for direction, but they should wait for the manifestation of God&rsquo;s will as displayed in the events of providence.<p>Always remember the case of the Jews; they had a pathless wilderness before them, and how were they to find the way? Oh, there was a fiery cloud and pillar to guide them-fiery by night and cloudy by day. By this they were always to be influenced; and if the cloud began to move, though it were at midnight, the watchman immediately ran through the camp exclaiming, &ldquo;The pillar is moving.&rdquo; &ldquo;In what direction?&rdquo; &ldquo;In such a direction,&rdquo; and they immediately followed it: if it turned to the right, they turned; if it turned to the left they turned; when it paused, if it were for a day, or a week, or a month, or a year, they rested too. They would not go without their guide, and they would not suffer their guide to go without them. <p>&ldquo;Through each perplexing path of life <p> My wandering footsteps guide, <p> Give me each day my daily bread, <p> And raiment fit provide. <p> Such blessings from thy gracious hand, <p> Lord, humbly I emplore, <p> And thou shalt be my chosen God <p> And portion evermore.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. - <a href='B:520 1:18'>Rom 1:18</a>. </i><p>HERE we have the objects against which the wrath of God is revealed. It is against ungodliness. Ungodliness comprehends all the sins against the first table of the law. Ungodliness consists in a disregard of God. The ungodly do not fear him, do not love him, do not worship him, do not confide in him. God is not in all their thoughts; they practically say unto him, &ldquo;Depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.&rdquo; It is a dreadful mistake which many make in supposing that they may be very godly characters, provided, they are moral, for religion is nothing without godliness.<p>What can be the duty we owe to any of our fellow creatures compared with what we owe to him who is our Maker, our Preserver, our Benefactor, our Governor, our Saviour? The servant that regards every one but his master, and the child that is dutiful to every one but his father, would be very inadequate images to hold forth the condition of the man who professes to pay a proper regard to other beings, while he lives without God and without hope in the world. On the other hand, though there may be morality without godliness, there can be no godliness without morality.<p>We are therefore reminded that the wrath of God is revealed against unrighteousness. Unrighteousness comprehends all the sins against the second table of the law. Unrighteousness is injustice in our dealing with our fellow creatures. &ldquo;Let no man,&rdquo; says the Apostle, &ldquo;go beyond and defraud his brother.&rdquo; But this does not go far enough; a person may be unrighteous and yet keep within the bounds of law and civil decency, and yet be unrighteous in other respects and instances. It is unrighteousness &ldquo;if we render not to all their due.&rdquo; It is unrighteousness if we do not afford relief to those who are in distress when we have it in our power to do it. &ldquo;Withhold not,&rdquo; says Solomon, &ldquo;good from them to whom it is due.&rdquo; &ldquo;Whosoever hath this world&rsquo;s goods,&rdquo; says the Apostle John, &ldquo;and seeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?&rdquo;<p>It is impossible if we regard the commands of God, and the design of Providence, and the claims of our common nature. And this is not all. It is revealed against &ldquo;ALL unrighteousness&rdquo;- the concealed and the open, the refined and the gross. Men are for ever laying down rules which God does not sanction, and distinguishing between things which have no difference in his sight. They do not &ldquo;worship a graven image,&rdquo; but they &ldquo;take the name of God in vain.&rdquo; Others do not swear, but they &ldquo;profane God&rsquo;s holy day.&rdquo; Many who would deem it sinful to employ a carpenter or a mason on the Lord&rsquo;s day employ others. Some would not for the world steal, but they can surround the tea-table and bear witness against their neighbours by the hour. They would not murder, but they covet. And are not all these forbidden? And we are to regard all these without partiality; for all unrighteousness is sin. 


devotion:
<i> O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. - <a href='B:230 104:24'>Psa 104:24</a>. </i><p>GOD is wonderful; and in his works the Most High has displayed the glory of his infinite perfections. Not only are they great and marvellous works, they are also great and manifold. Who can estimate their number? If we only consider the heavens, the work of his fingers, and think of the stars which cannot he numbered, &ldquo;Our thoughts are lost in reverent awe.&rdquo; Infidelity has displayed its gross ignorance in mocking at the idea of comparing the number of stars to the sands upon the sea shore; for the discoveries of astronomers have proved the comparison to be perfectly consistent with facts.<p>And if we turn our attention from the heavens and look upon the face of the earth, how &ldquo;manifold&rdquo; are God&rsquo;s works there; how numerous and diversified its inhabitants; what numbers visible; and what vast numbers are there which are invisible. If we look at the trees, herbs, plants, and flowers, are we not compelled to exclaim, &ldquo;How manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.&rdquo; Let us consider their diversity. How large are some! how minute are others! If we take up the microscope and the telescope, and examine them, we shall be constrained to say of each, This is &ldquo;the finger of God.&rdquo;<p>What vastness in the sun! what smallness in the mite! And the animalculæ, all of them, however imperceptible to the naked eye, have their peculiar qualities, their tribes, their families, their birth, their breeding, their education, their government. Only observe the commonwealth of the ants, and the monarchy of the bees; how manifold and how marvellous are these works!<p>Thirdly, If we consider the means of their support, they are all provided for; there is sufficient for all and for all seasons; so that we are constrained to say, &ldquo;The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season;&rdquo; &ldquo;thou openest thy hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.&rdquo;<p>Then, lastly, What wisdom do we behold in their structure! If we examine only one of the vegetable tribes, how mysterious its growth, how simple its form, and yet how beautiful! so that our Saviour said of one of them, &ldquo;Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.&rdquo; What man contrives man can comprehend; and the more admiration is excited the more disappointed we feel because we see that what we behold admits of improvement. Whereas in the works of God, all fully answer the ends for which they were intended; and the more frequently and minutely we examine them, the more abundantly are their beauties seen and admired.<p>We sometimes wonder how we shall employ the successive ages of eternity; but we need not be at a loss here. In the human frame-the soul, the mysterious junction of the two, the particles of earth, an insect, a blade of grass; here is more than enough to engage the study of the longest life. We find that we are in the region of perfection; and also in the region of infinity. &ldquo;The earth is full of thy riches.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> This is the Lord&rsquo;s doing; and it is marvellous in our eyes. - <a href='B:230 118:23'>Psa 118:23</a>. </i><p>ALL that the Lord hath done and is doing is worthy our attention and admiration. It is pleasing to contemplate his agency in nature, especially the successive seasons of the year; and to observe how he maketh the &ldquo;outgoings of the morning and the evening to rejoice;&rdquo; and how he is at the present season &ldquo;crowning the year with his goodness.&rdquo; so that &ldquo;his paths drop fatness.&rdquo; It is pleasing to contemplate his providence in presiding over the affairs of empires and nations, and families, and individuals, so that a sparrow falls not to the ground without his knowledge; and &ldquo;the very hairs of our head are all numbered.&rdquo;<p>But it is much more interesting still to see him, as the &ldquo;God of all grace,&rdquo; go and fetch a soul to himself; to see him go and take a sinner from the ruins of the fall, and make of him an eternal excellency; to see him go and call a sinner from a state of nature into a state of grace, and then from a state of grace usher him into a world of glory and happiness. And God is perpetually doing this thing. This is the Lord&rsquo;s doing, and displays marvellous wisdom and loving-kindness; and we are called upon to &ldquo;magnify the works of God which men behold.&rdquo; But where are we when God is doing these great and marvellous things, that we are not observing and admiring and adoring? This is a representation, not of visionary scenes, but of veritable facts, of interesting and important realities: &ldquo;We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen.&rdquo;<p>And there are four things connected with the Lord&rsquo;s doings in grace and salvation which should never be lost sight of by us. First, That we either are or may become the subjects of this blessedness, arising out of these manifestations of God&rsquo;s mercy.<p>Secondly, That we may become the means of this blessedness and glory to others, being &ldquo;fellow helpers to the truth;&rdquo; and though we cannot efficiently, yet we may instrumentally, &ldquo;convert the sinner from the error of his way, and save a soul from death, and hide a multitude of sins.&rdquo;<p>Thirdly, That the partakers of this blessedness, and the monuments of this mercy, are continually increasing in numbers; and notwithstanding some desponders who are ever looking on the dark side of things, and are expecting the end of the world to be nigh at hand, we are looking for a more extended and universal evangelisation of it.<p>And, lastly, That the Lord&rsquo;s doings will go on attracting the notice and eliciting the adoring admiration of his people, until &ldquo;all flesh shall see the salvation of our God together.&rdquo; Oh, there is nothing of which we can be more sure than that the cause of Christ, on whose behalf the Lord&rsquo;s doings are specially put forth, is the noblest of his works in the world; and that of the day in which they shall become objects of universal interest and admiration we as yet have only witnessed the dawn; but that this dawn will shine more and more unto the perfect day. 


devotion:
<i> Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ. <a href='B:520 1:6'>Rom 1:6</a>. </i><p>OBSERVE here the calling of the Gentiles by Jesus Christ. This work was assigned to him in ancient prophecy, &ldquo;Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee.&rdquo; Among whom, says the Apostle, addressing a Gentile Church, &ldquo;are ye the called of Jesus Christ.&rdquo; Mankind were always under a dispensation of forbearance and mercy, founded on the mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He therefore &ldquo;never left himself without witness in the world, in that he was continually doing men good, sending them rain and fruitful seasons, and filling their hearts with food and gladness;&rdquo; as if he would have &ldquo;called&rdquo; them to himself by the seasons of the year, by the beauties of nature, and by all the comforts of life.<p>And he has &ldquo;called&rdquo; men also by affliction; he has called them to consider the evil of sin, the vanity of the world; he has called some by the mortality of others to remember their own; and to live as dying creatures. He has &ldquo;called&rdquo; them by conscience, sometimes in whispers, sometimes in thunders. We too are &ldquo;among the called of Jesus Christ.&rdquo; And thus he has called us a thousand times.<p>Observe the calling here intended is principally by the gospel, and especially by the labours of his servants. As to his own ministry he was the minister of the circumcision only; he was only &ldquo;sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.&rdquo; And yet, says the Apostle to the Ephesians, &ldquo;He came and preached peace to them that were far off, and to them that were nigh.&rdquo; Them that were &ldquo;nigh&rdquo; were the Jews, them that were &ldquo;far off &rdquo; the Gentiles; but he never preached to them personally. The Apostle therefore in that place of Scripture, as also in this, refers to the dispensation which the Saviour had established after his resurrection, when he said to his Apostles, &ldquo;Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.&rdquo;<p>Go forth preaching &ldquo;repentance and remission of sins among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.&rdquo; And Jesus appeared to Paul, and sent him to the Gentiles, to &ldquo;open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light; from the power of Satan unto God;&rdquo; to call them from &ldquo;dumb idols, to serve the living God;&rdquo; from superstition to worship &ldquo;the Father in Spirit and in truth;&rdquo; from the vileness and misery of sin to the beauties, the glories, and the blessedness of genuine religion, and the comforts of the Holy Ghost. And wherever the Bible comes, if a man is able to read it, he is there &ldquo;called &ldquo;according to this testimony by the Lord Jesus.<p>It is however chiefly by the preaching of the Word. This was at first ridiculed; it was called the &ldquo;foolishness of preaching.&rdquo; Yet by this God chose to &ldquo;save them that believe.&rdquo; The wisdom of the plan is however generally acknowledged and sanctioned. The Saviour when he ascended up on high, and received gifts for men, gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the ministry to be perpetuated to the end of time.<p>Observe, secondly, His gospel was not only to inform them, but to accomplish their pardon. But his calling them was to awaken their attention. Before then there were none seeking after God. Though they all felt their want of happiness, they were seeking after it where it could never be obtained; and therefore he came forth in the gospel and called them, &ldquo;Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters,&rdquo; &c.<p>And thirdly, his call was to justify the appropriation of the blessings displayed. When a man becomes convinced of the wrongs and dishonour his sins have done to God, he will find it no easy thing to believe that God is willing upon his return to receive him graciously. There will always be something within that will always be ready to check him, and to say to him, But what warrant have you for this? The man in this case can immediately reply, Here is my warrant, here is my authority; I am allowed, I am invited to come and partake of these blessings; I am called to do it. An invitation to go to court is called a command of her Majesty; an invitation to us to come and partake of these blessings must be considered as a command from the King of kings and Lord of lords. And it is thus expressed in the Scriptures: &ldquo;This is his commandment; that ye believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent.&rdquo;<p>Oh, here is enough to meet the tremblings of conscience; here is enough to show us that if we decline to accept these blessings, even if it be from a sense of our own guilt and unworthiness, it is an act of disobedience against the will of heaven. This is his commandment, &ldquo;Look unto me and be ye saved.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The wiles of the devil. - <a href='B:560 6:11'>Eph 6:11</a>. </i><p>Satan, says one, had not been a devil if he had not first been an angel of light, and therefore he was originally a superior being; but he has been improving his skill by experience in his beguiling and seductive artifices for near six thousand years. Hence the Apostle thus speaks of the wiles of <p>&ldquo;Satan, the fowler, who betrays <p> Unguarded souls a thousand ways.&rdquo; </i><p>This fowler never &ldquo;spreads his net&rdquo; in the sight of any bird; he covers it, conceals his guns and his snares, till unaware we are entangled or caught. Sometimes he falls upon us from quarters where we had little or no apprehension of danger. Sometimes, and indeed how frequently, how invariably, he approaches us in the hour of success, and while enjoying the smiles of prosperity, when our fears are laid asleep. It is very true, as Watts says- <p>&ldquo;We should suspect some danger nigh <p> When we possess delight.&rdquo; </i><p>Some of his greatest temptations come even after Spiritual enlargements and privileges. We see Paul was in danger of being exalted above measure, owing to the abundance of revelation; and good Hezekiah, after he was delivered from the Assyrian invasion, and recovered from his sickness, and had fifteen years added to his life, was puffed up with pride, &ldquo;therefore there was wrath upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem.&rdquo; We sometimes think of being safe when alone. David was alone when he was overcome; and how can we be safe in solitude if this being has access to us, and possessed as we are of a deceitful heart? How secure Peter seemed; he said: &ldquo;Though all men shall be offended yet will I never be offended.&rdquo; And when our Saviour came so much the nearer, and said to him, &ldquo;Peter, before the cock crow twice thou shalt deny me thrice;&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.&rdquo; A few hours only after this &ldquo;he began even to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man.&rdquo;<p>Oh, how often does Satan overcome us by &ldquo;the deceitfulness of sin,&rdquo; and by false and flattering names! He comes to one and says, I would not have you covetous-covetousness is a very bad thing, but only lay up for the children. To another he says, I would not have you proud; pride is a very bad thing, but only show a becoming degree of Spirit. I do not wish you to be revengeful: this is very unchristian; but when you forgive, never forget. Ah, says the Apostle, &ldquo;We are not ignorant of his devices.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> For there is no difference. - <a href='B:520 3:22'>Rom 3:22</a>. </i><p>NOTHING is more strikingly apparent, when we survey mankind, than the differences which obtain among them, in country, complexion, in language, in feature, and in manners. Indeed, the differences seem to be almost endless. And yet there may be general points of resemblance, and they are, after all, the most important, inasmuch as they make manifest the fact that, amid all the circumstantial variety in the human family there is an essential sameness; so that the Apostle says, &ldquo;There is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.&rdquo;<p>We have heard much about the doctrine of equality. If this equality intends an equality of substance, it is a very foolish and absurd thing, for, in the first place, it is unattainable; secondly, if it were obtained it could not be continued one year, one month, one week, perhaps not one day; and, thirdly, if it were attained and continued it would be far less desirable and useful than the distinctions designed by Divine Providence, for it would preclude or injure the exercise of those virtues and the performance of those duties which are now called forth by the various relations and ranks in the community.<p>Yet there is such a thing as equality, and this equality is of three kinds: First, There is a civil equality, an equal right to unequal things; that is, a poor man has as much right to his cottage as the nobleman has to his mansion; a journeyman has as much right to his wages as the master has to his services. The law which secures the privileges of the peer, also secures the rights of the poor. The mower in the field lays his homely garments and food under the hedge, while he works freely on, and the law says, he that toucheth them, toucheth the apple of mine eye.<p>Secondly, There is also physical equality. This is both original and final: &ldquo;He has made of one blood all nations of the earth;&rdquo; the human race derive their existence from the same father, Adam, the same mother, Eve, and the same maker, God. &ldquo;The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the maker of them both.&rdquo; They have the same limited faculties and the same wants, are subject to the same pains and diseases, and they are heirs to the same immortality; they are doomed to the same grave: &ldquo;the small and the great are there, and the servant is free as his master.&rdquo;<p>There is, thirdly, Amoral and Spiritual equality. All men are in the same Spiritual condition as men, and all Christians are in the same state and have the same privileges as Christians. There is no difference, says the Apostle. There is no difference as to men, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is no difference as to Christians, all of them &ldquo;being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> The Son of man. - <a href='B:470 20:28'>Mat 20:28</a>. </i><p>THIS was the testimony our Saviour here gave to his own character. It is not, perhaps, peculiar to the New Testament; at least, David speaks of &ldquo;the Son of man whom God had made strong for himself.&rdquo; This probably alludes to the Messiah. Daniel also speaks of &ldquo;one like the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven.&rdquo; This certainty refers to the Messiah. But we find the expression constantly in the four Gospels; and it is used there not by the four evangelists, but always by himself. And how frequently, how constantly he calls himself &ldquo;the Son of man!&rdquo; and yet how often did he give intimations of his divinity!<p>There are things spoken of him which are certainly not true of him as man: &ldquo;In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.&rdquo; And here are things spoken which do not apply to him as God: &ldquo;Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.&rdquo; He hungered and thirsted as man: he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; as man he suffered; as man he sympathized and wept with other sufferers; and as man he died. How, then, is this difficulty to be solved? Why, only by this-that there are the Divine and the human natures conjoined in his wonderful person. While thus he called himself the Son of man, he gave frequent and distinct intimations as to his divinity.<p>First, By proclaiming himself always the subject of his own ministry: and though he was meek and lowly in heart, yet he was always preaching himself: &ldquo;I am the bread of life;&rdquo; &ldquo;I am the light of the world;&rdquo; &ldquo;No man cometh unto the Father, but by me;&rdquo; and &ldquo;I am the resurrection and the life.&rdquo;<p>Secondly, By claiming the attributes peculiar to Deity; as, for instance, with regard to one-and one is enough; for if he be so possessed of one attribute peculiar to Deity, he must possess all. As to his omnipresence: &ldquo;Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world;&rdquo; &ldquo;Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.&rdquo;<p>And, thirdly, In suffering others to ascribe the same perfections to him, and allowing himself to be adored and worshipped without rebuking the adorers and the worshippers. This being premised, we may notice two satisfactory reasons why he was accustomed to call himself &rdquo; the Son of man.&rdquo; The first is, because he would gradually develope himself This aim continued with him even to the end. Just before he was leaving the world to go to the Father, he said to them,&rdquo; I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now;&rdquo; &ldquo;Howbeit, when the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself;&rdquo;-he will not be the author of a new dispensation, but will confirm and establish mine;-&ldquo;He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you.&rdquo; And the other is, because our concern with him principally lies in his assuming human nature. <p>&ldquo;Till God in human flesh I see, <p> My thoughts no comfort find.&rdquo; </i><p>And therefore the Apostle, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, says, &ldquo;We have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh.&rdquo; He makes the incarnation of the Saviour the very medium of our salvation; and so it is, and every view of it will convince us of the necessity of it. Being man, as our teacher, his terror does not make us afraid.<p>Being man he becomes our complete example; which he could not have been had he been God only. How could he have gone before us with regard to all that impulse and reverence, obedience and humility, tenderness and suffering, which we see in his character? And yet, how much of our religion is connected with this! Being man, he can gain our confidence and be able to sympathize with us in our distresses, which he could not have done as God only. &ldquo;In that he himself has suffered, being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.&rdquo; And being man he could become perfect therein, and &ldquo;put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber, that was in Samaria, and was sick. - <a href='B:120 1:2'>2Ki 1:2</a>. </i><p>THE Bible abounds with biography. We do not, indeed, meet with many full-length likenesses, but we have many sketches of characters which enable us to distinguish them, accompanied with facts the most interesting, instructive, and profitable. The Scripture not only encourages, but warns; not only records good examples, but evil; and he who said, &ldquo;Remember Lot&rsquo;s wife,&rdquo; calls upon us this morning to remember Ahaziah. Ahaziah was the son of Ahab and Jezebel. Where both parents are wicked, and notoriously wicked, as in this case, what depravity may be looked for from their united example, authority, and influence! &ldquo;One sinner destroyeth much good;&rdquo; and although his course was short-for he filled the throne of Israel only two years, but during these two years what guilt did he contract, and what misery did he produce!-we have here his affliction. This was two-fold. First, national. Moab, who had been tributary to the king of Israel, now rebelled against him, and thus his revenue was curtailed. And, secondly, personal; &ldquo;he fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber, that was in Samaria.&rdquo;<p>To how many evils are we exposed! How much do we owe to the providence of God as the preserver of men! There are many who think they are only in danger when they travel by land or by water, in winds, or tempests, or in hurricanes; but we are daily and hourly, yea we are always in danger, when we are walking in our gardens, and in danger even when we are walking in the rooms of our dwellings. His affliction was the result of accident, that is, as to the sufferer himself; but &ldquo;shall there be evil in a city and the Lord hath not done it.&rdquo; Though his providence is never to be blamed, it is always to be owned and acknowledged; and of every affliction we may say, as our Saviour did to Pilate, &ldquo;Thou couldst have no power at all against me, unless it were given thee from above.&rdquo;<p>He was also sick, but whether from the fall and the fright, which was probable, or whether it was an addition to the accident, cannot be determined; but he was sick. Afflictions seldom come alone. The clouds return after the rain. But as God &ldquo;doth not willingly afflict, nor grieve the children of men,&rdquo; why is this? He himself asks the question: &ldquo;Why should ye be stricken any more? Ye will revolt more and more.&rdquo; &ldquo;Many are the afflictions of the righteous.&rdquo; And we often speak as if they were peculiar to the righteous, whereas Paul says to the Corinthians, &ldquo;There has no temptation befallen you but such as are common to men.&rdquo;<p>Yea, there are some troubles and sufferings from which religion secures its possessors. Though afflictions be the effect of sin, according to Isaiah, &ldquo;they are the fruit to take away sin,&rdquo; they are designed for our profit. Yet they could do little of themselves. When they find principles in us, they can actuate those principles, but they cannot produce them. Seed, sun, and showers may cause vegetation, but where nothing is sown nothing can be brought forth. It is well when chastening and teaching go together. As David says: &ldquo;Happy is the man whom the Lord chastens, and teaches him out of his law,&rdquo; and which was his own experience; &ldquo;It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes.&rdquo; But how seldom is this the case! How many there are concerning whom we exclaim with Jeremiah, &ldquo;Thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved. Thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than a rock. They have refused to return.&rdquo; And this was the case with Ahaziah under all his complicated afflictions; on his bed of languor and pain he is devising mischief, and seeking to work wickedness. 


devotion:
<i> Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. - <a href='B:120 1:6'>2Ki 1:6</a>. </i><p>&ldquo;SKIN for skin,&rdquo; says even Satan, &ldquo;yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.&rdquo; Who does not &ldquo;love life and wish to see many days?&rdquo; But a man of the world like this man, what can wrench him from life except violence? Observe then, first, His inquiry. He sent messengers to inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron. If the inquiry showed a love of life, the manner of it displayed the love of idolatry. Ekron belonged to the Philistines, and Baalzebub was the god of flies; the heathens made gods of everything which they imagined would secure them from apprehended evils; guilt is always fearful, fear is always superstitious, infidels are often some of the most credulous of mankind; it is only the testimony of God they cannot believe.<p>They can believe any thing else, every thing else- improbabilities, yea, impossibilities. Those who would condemn others as guilty of the folly of idolatry, would do well to remember that a man may make gold his hope and fine gold his confidence; he may make an idol of reputation, of friendship, or of anything else; and if Ahaziah is worthy of censure for inquiring of a heathen god, what shall be said of those who go to fortune-tellers, and to prophetic almanacks, and to dreams and inspirations, or to anything else in order to obtain the knowledge of futurity which God has designed to keep from us! It is not for us to know the times and the seasons which the Father hath put in his power; &ldquo;secret things belong unto God, but things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children.&rdquo;<p>Now we see that God considers himself insulted even by neglect, or by preferring others to him as our portion, our guardian, or our guide. And thus he might, by a similar mode of interrogation, reprove many. But it is not because there is no help in God that we make flesh our arm. It is not because God refuses to direct our steps, that we neglect to ask counsel of him, but lean to our own understanding. It is not because there is no power in the gospel that many go about to establish their own righteousness, and will not submit themselves unto the righteousness which is of God.<p>Let us therefore observe, secondly, The rebuke and the threatening he received. The messengers were now on their way to Ekron; the Lord knew all. He saw them going from the sick chamber, and he knew the way by which they were going, and sent Elijah to meet them, who gave them this message of rebuke and threatening, which he charged them to deliver to their royal master. Although the messengers appeared to have been ignorant of the person who addressed them, they however soon returned with the message they had thus received from the prophet. Alarming and confounding as it was, Ahaziah was not so affected by it-or at least he pretended not to be affected by it-as not to inquire concerning the person charged with such a declaration, or reproof and foreboding; and after hearing the description they gave of him, he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.<p>We see from hence that Ahaziah was not ignorant of the character of his reprover, and therefore he sinned against light and knowledge, and this aggravated his following conduct. Now let us see the effect of this message, which he knew to come from the prophet of the Lord. We know how it was with Hezekiah, when Isaiah came to him with this message: &ldquo;Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die and not live.&rdquo; &ldquo;He turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, and said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight; and Hezekiah wept sore.&rdquo; And surely we shall find Ahaziah with a broken heart, and with a contrite Spirit; surely we shall find him in the dust of self-abasement, crying, &ldquo;Lord, save me or I perish,&rdquo; &ldquo;God be merciful to me a sinner.&rdquo;<p>He believed the message; at least it is probable that he did, but he is not influenced by his convictions. Does this seem strange? And who are influenced by their knowledge? Whose practice is conformable to their principles or belief? Are we not continually meeting with persons who have the sentence of death in themselves; who by years, or accident, or disease, or infirmity, are forbidden to think of their return to life, and yet are no more concerned to be prepared for the grave than the young and the healthful. It is not the certainty of the thing that sways with men. No, but it is the thinking of it; it is the realizing of it by meditation, bringing it home to ourselves. It is thus the belief becomes practical. 


devotion:
<i> I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts. - <a href='B:230 119:63'>Psa 119:63</a>. </i><p>MAN is a social being, and as soon as he comes under the power of religion, the social principle will be sanctified as well as other things. The man who before could not be even pulled away from scenes of vice and vanity, is now able easily enough to give up his sinful pleasures and ungodly companions. Another party now rises in importance in his view; these draw away his mind, and respecting whom he now says, <p>&ldquo;In such society as this <p> My willing soul would rest, <p> The man that dwells where Jesus is <p> Must be for ever blest.&rdquo; </i><p>Oh now he feels his need of the blessings which constitute their portion, and therefore prays, &ldquo;Remember me with the favour thou bearest unto thy people; look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto them that love thy name.&rdquo; He loves the same exercises in which they are engaged; delights to go with them to the throne of grace; to the house of prayer and of praise; to the table of the Lord; and to walk with them henceforth in all the ordinances and commandments of the Lord, blameless. How often Christians look back to the period when everything pertaining to the people of God became attractive and inviting to them. If they saw the name of one known to be a sincere Christian, it seemed to endear him to them. As they have been passing the meadow, or the field, or the house of a pious individual, they could not help saying: O, how I envy those to whom this belongs, and who live under that roof. And could they have turned to the individual they would have said, as many have injudiciously done, Oh that I were like you; Oh that I were in your state. And as they have looked upon the communicants at the table of the Lord, they have been ready to exclaim, &ldquo;How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob; and thy tabernacles, O Israel.&rdquo;<p>They were companions of them that feared the Lord in principle, and by inclination; before they might have been so by circumstances or by profession; and if they did not &ldquo;take hold of the skirts of him that was called a Jew,&rdquo; it was not from want of love, but from shrinking back through fear, and by a sense of their unworthiness to be associated with them. But after a while, after they had sung and sighed, <p>&ldquo;Oh, let me see thy tribes rejoice, <p> And aid their triumphs with my voice, <p> This is my glory, Lord, to be <p> Join&rsquo;d to thy saints and near to thee.&rdquo; </i><p>Oh then they united themselves with them in the bonds of a covenant which shall never be broken. We here see what it is that makes people valuable: not worldly distinctions, not adventitious circumstances, but this, that they feel and exemplify the qualities which David ascribes to the citizen of Zion, whatever be his circumstances, &ldquo;They fear the Lord,&rdquo; and &ldquo;keep his precepts.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Let him do what seemeth him good. - <a href='B:90 3:18'>1Sa 3:18</a>. </i><p>WE are not at our own disposal here. We should therefore submit ourselves to the will of our Lord and Master, and say, &ldquo;Here am I, let him do with me as seemeth him good.&rdquo; We must not, therefore, complain if he restrain us; we must not murmur if he tries us; we must not repine if he bereaves us. The gardener having a rare and beautiful flower, feels interested in it, and views it with pleasure, but when he goes by the parterre some day he finds it is gathered, and he says angrily, Who has gathered this flower? looking around. One says to him, &ldquo;The master, he gathered it,&rdquo; then he is silent.<p>So was another when he sustained such a loss. &ldquo;And Aaron held his peace.&rdquo; And David, referring to his feelings under similar bereaving circumstances, said, &ldquo;I was dumb; I opened not my mouth because thou didst it.&rdquo; And God himself says, &ldquo;Be still and know that I am God.&rdquo; He has a right to determine our connections, the bounds of our habitations, and the way in which we are to glorify him. And he never exercises the right but for our own welfare, because he is infinitely wise and infinitely kind; we may therefore well resign ourselves to him.<p>He calls some to public stations; he orders others to walk in the shade; some at his bidding cross over land and sea. They also &ldquo;serve that wait,&rdquo; and they also that suffer. And frequently Christians have been the most useful in glorifying their Lord in the fires of tribulation. Thus they have awakened attention, and when their temper and their demeanour have said in their sorrows, Though I mourn I do not murmur; I know, &ldquo;O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.&rdquo; &ldquo;Let thy loving-kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word, unto thy servant.&rdquo; &ldquo;Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.&rdquo;<p>When this has been the language and the experience, what an impression has often been made. How it has displayed the excellency and the efficacy of the gospel in showing its rich supports and consolations. 


devotion:
<i> Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee. - <a href='B:730 2:4'>Rev 2:4</a>. </i><p>IT is very desirable to have a friend: one who will wipe off the dew of an unwholesome evening from our brow, soothe us in our sorrows, guide us in our perplexities and in our weaknesses; and, above all, one who will kindly tell us of our faults, for they are our own faults, and we ought to know them; and they are our own faults which, if we are wise for ourselves, we shall endeavour to correct, and however we may be pained we shall not be offended at the discovery. We shall rather say with David, &ldquo;Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness; and let him reprove me, it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head.&rdquo; &ldquo;Faithful are the wounds of a friend,&rdquo; and such a friend is Christ. &ldquo;He is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.&rdquo; &ldquo;He is a friend who loveth at all times,&rdquo; &ldquo;a brother born for adversity;&rdquo; and as his friendship is without change, so is it without flattery. He can praise, but he can also censure. Therefore he says, &ldquo;As many as I love I rebuke and chasten;&rdquo; an instance of this we have in these words: &ldquo;Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee.&rdquo; This reproof was prefaced by a very high commendation, which this Church received from the lips of the Saviour: &ldquo;I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil, and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles and are not, and hast found them liars, and hast borne and had patience, and for my name&rsquo;s sake hast laboured and hast not fainted.&rdquo;<p>But after all this he adds, &ldquo;Nevertheless.&rdquo; Oh this regretful word! how painful to hear praise followed by censure. How mortifying to see beauty associated with blemish. Who does not lament to see an exquisite piece of workmanship marred by some one defect? In this case the proximity and prominency of these excellencies render the fault more offensive. &ldquo;Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee;&rdquo; and where is the individual against whom he has not some charge to bring? Alas! in many things we offend all. We ourselves, with all our self-love and all our ignorance, can see much in ourselves which is amiss; how much more can he discern who is infinitely wise and infinitely holy-who sees more vileness in our duties than we ever saw in our sins.<p>Has he nothing against thee, O my soul? Nothing against thee in thy prayers, in thy services, in the state of thy heart, and in thy motives as well as in thy actions? Our prayer should ever be, &ldquo;Cleanse thou me from secret faults.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Thou hast left thy first love. - <a href='B:730 2:4'>Rev 2:4</a>. </i><p>WE should always make a difference between unavoidable infirmities and those declensions which, by the grace of God, we may escape. None of us advance as we ought to do; but this is still very distinguishable from turning into by-paths, or drawing back when in a proper road. How then are we to understand this charge? If we consider the words as applying to the Church of Christ in the present day collectively, then the charge may refer to the declension in the number and graces of the present race of professors, as compared with their predecessors; and this is no unusual thing.<p>The gospel, when introduced into a place, is commonly more successful at first. The Church resembles a newly-opened mine, which works freely at first, but afterwards requires much labour and yields little; so that by-and-by the owner abandons it, only leaving round the mouth some rubbish and cinders to tell the passengers there was once a mine. Everything in the Christian profession is prone to degenerate. Where is the denomination or church that has long remained in its glory? This reproof will apply also to individuals.<p>There were those who had fallen, and the charge is, the declension of their first love. In order to understand this, we may observe that a Christian&rsquo;s feelings towards Divine things are commonly very lively and warm at first. They have the charm of novelty, and there is a simplicity of character which is lost afterwards, through changes arising out of new connections, new conditions, new circumstances, which by their intermixture debase, though they do not destroy, its nature. The young convert resembles a child, more remarkable for affectionate feelings than for knowledge or courage or anything solid; and such a character is very pleasing.<p>&ldquo;A tree,&rdquo; says Mr. Newton, &ldquo;is most valuable in autumn, when laden with fruit; but more lovely in spring, when covered with blossoms.&rdquo; God himself notices this in his address to the Jews by Jeremiah: &ldquo;I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.&rdquo; God loves a warm heart in religion. This is peculiarly desirable, and more acceptable to God than dull, dry indifference; man judgeth by the outward appearance, but God looketh at the heart. If Christ were to address us from heaven, might not his language be, concerning us-It is true you serve me; but it is rather from a sense of duty than privilege. It is true you hear my word, but not with that lively attention as at the beginning. It is true you observe my Sabbaths; but you do not hail them as heretofore, singing at their dawn, <p>&ldquo;Welcome, sweet day of rest, <p> That saw the Lord arise, <p> Welcome to this reviving breast <p> And these rejoicing eyes.&rdquo; </i><p>It is true you do not altogether &ldquo;restrain prayer before God;&rdquo; but where are those strong crying and tears by which it was once distinguished? where are those frequent and fervent ejaculations, &ldquo;Lord, help me?&rdquo; It is true you do not verbally deny me before men; but how often do you find it difficult to confess me? You sometimes wish to escape the shame of the cross; how then can you glory in it? You have not abandoned my cause; but where is the zeal that induced you to say, &ldquo;Who is weak, and I am not weak! who is offended, and I burn not!&rdquo; But we may understand the charge generally. It is said of Jehoshaphat that he walked in the first ways of his father David; and it is a sad implication that his first ways were his best ways. We have reason to believe that the king never equalled the shepherd in devotion. 


devotion:
<i> Remember therefore whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works. - <a href='B:730 2:5'>Rev 2:5</a>. </i><p>THIS admonition includes three things. It enforces, first, Recollection: &ldquo;Remember whence thou art fallen.&rdquo; All religion begins in serious thought: &ldquo;I thought on my ways and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.&rdquo; There is nothing more useful than self-recollection. There is no means better adapted for reviving the soul than a review of former experience. It is therefore the very thing the Apostle makes use of to the fallen Galatians: &ldquo;Where is the blessedness of which you spake?&rdquo; as if he had said, &ldquo;Have you gained anything by the exchange?&rdquo; and in this case, sanctified recollection was the means employed to restore this church to her first love.<p>Secondly, It enjoins repentance. We are to view it as a state full of self-condemnation, self-abhorrence, and grief. This is enjoined not only on sinners, but also on saints, and they will be the subjects of it as long as they remain in the world, as long as the performance of duty has a deficiency in it; and how much of this does the believer discover if he looks back only a week, a day, or on a single exercise of religious worship. Some may think Christians thus circumstanced must live a very deplorable life; but he is never more blessed than when he can feel: indifference arises from our insensibility. The Christian&rsquo;s repenting day's he call his best days; he finds that to be the most blessed state, when he is under the cross pouring forth blessed tears of sorrow and joy, while he beholds him who was pierced by him and for him.<p>Thirdly, It enjoins upon us renewed obedience; &ldquo;do the first works;&rdquo; begin again, be as simple, as earnest, as patient, as circumspect, as at first. There had been a manifest declension in those performances which had previously distinguished this church. This is obvious by the reproof, Thou hast left thy first love, being followed immediately by this admonition, &ldquo;Do the first works:&rdquo; they abounded before in works, in labour, in patience, in faithfulness, in zeal; and they had long persevered in all these, and were actuated by a regard to his dear name. This was &ldquo;their first love,&rdquo; and these their &ldquo;first works.&rdquo; Now there was a deplorable declension; and the Saviour here enjoins a return to their former love and service. And as the Saviour demands this, so we must acknowledge he deserves it.<p>Provision is made not only for a Christian&rsquo;s perseverance in the ways of God, but for his increase; and this is commanded, &ldquo;Give all diligence to add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: … who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies. - <a href='B:230 103:1-4'>Psa 103:1-4</a>. </i><p>GRATITUDE is our subject this morning, and a very interesting subject it is. It is worthy of our observation, that when the Apostle is speaking of the heathen, he says that &ldquo;when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful.&rdquo; Gratitude to God is to be expressed in the thoughts of the mind, the language of the lips, in the actions of the life, which testify a concern to make suitable returns, while it is not in our power to make compensatory ones; these are David&rsquo;s words. By nothing was he more distinguished than a disposition of thanksgiving and praise. His gratitude here has three attributes.<p>First, It is personal; &ldquo;Bless the Lord, O my soul.&rdquo; Our religion must be social as well as personal; but while it must not end at home, it must begin at home; and relative religion without personal will always be found wanting in excitement, in energy, in extent, in continuance, and very commonly in success.<p>Secondly, It is fervent: &ldquo;And all that is within me bless his holy name.&rdquo; All my thoughts, my feelings, my understanding, my will, my memory, my conscience, my affections, and my passions.<p>Thirdly, It is rational and well founded: &ldquo;And forget not all his benefits.&rdquo; Nothing can properly affect or influence us when it is out of our recollection. Out of sight, out of mind: and out of mind, out of motive. Whence arose the ingratitude of the Jews of old? Bad memories. &ldquo;Of the rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten the God that formed thee.&rdquo; &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; It should, therefore, be our concern, not only to recall our mercies, but to reckon them.<p>Lastly, It is specific. David here specifies five things, but this morning we shall only dwell on one of these-the kindness of God in providence. How blessed have we been in the seasons? How is the year crowned with his goodness. How has the earth been filled with &ldquo;his riches.&rdquo; We depend upon the brutes more than they depend upon us; and nothing pertaining to their welfare can be indifferent even to our selfishness. And has not his tender mercies been over all his works, so that he has provided for the wants of every living thing? He has made the grass to grow for cattle, as well as herbs for the service of man. The cattle have never sinned; they have never forfeited the care and kindness of their Creator.<p>But where is man? the sinner, the rebel, the traitor. How has he been regarded? What has been done for him? We saw the sower going forth; a season always of peculiar solicitude-and then, after the months of winter, we went forth and saw God blessing the springing of the earth. We saw first the blade, then the ear, and after that the full corn in the ear. We heard the little hills rejoicing on every side; we saw the valleys standing thick with corn; we walked through the waving fields, and while we paused in the midst of the cross path, lifted up our eyes and hearts, and said, &ldquo;Thou hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor.&rdquo; And the heart preached from these words of thanksgiving. What clear shining after the rain, and what suitable weather afforded for gathering in the precious produce of the fields.<p>And after this shall we expose ourselves to the reproach of Jeremiah: &ldquo;Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God that giveth rain, both the former and the latter in his season. He reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> And nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee. - <a href='B:290 55:5'>Isa 55:5</a>. </i><p>IT early obtained belief in the Christian Church, that, for predicting thus freely the calling of the Gentiles by Messiah, the prophet Isaiah was sawn asunder- indeed, Paul mentions it as a proof of his moral heroism; for, says he, &ldquo;Isaiah is very bold,&rdquo; &c.<p>Let us notice First, The ignorance of the people: &ldquo;the nations that knew not thee.&rdquo; They were, as Paul says, &ldquo;without Christ;&rdquo; that is, without a revelation of him. They never heard of his name, and they knew nothing of his redeeming blood and renewing grace. He was unknown even to the princes of the world, who lived either near or among the people to whom pertained the oracles of God: for &ldquo;had they have known him, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.&rdquo; Jesus, when he was dying, said: &ldquo;Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.&rdquo; Peter says to the Jews: &ldquo;I wot, brethren, that ye did it in ignorance.&rdquo; Paul, educated at the feet of Gamaliel, referring to his persecuting the Church, declares that he did it&rdquo; ignorantly and in unbelief.&rdquo; And when the Saviour appeared to him, and addressed him, he said, &ldquo;Who art thou?&rdquo; It is not the reality of things, therefore, but the knowledge of them which must affect and influence us. &ldquo;God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him might not perish, but have everlasting life.&rdquo;<p>Let us notice, secondly, The Saviour&rsquo;s attraction. Observe the centre. &ldquo;They shall run unto thee.&rdquo; The dying patriarch said: &ldquo;Unto him shall the gathering of the people be.&rdquo; Israel also said: &ldquo;To thee shall men come.&rdquo; And Peter said: &ldquo;To whom can we go but unto thee, for thou hast the words of eternal life?&rdquo; Where else in the universe can we find one who is &ldquo;made of God unto us wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption?&rdquo; Where else can we find &ldquo;all Spiritual blessings in heavenly places?&rdquo;<p>If there were only one well belonging to a town, all the inhabitants must go to that for supplies, or perish with thirst. In the time of famine, all the multitudes that repaired to Pharaoh were authorised by him to go to Joseph. &ldquo;He has,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;all the storehouses and all the supplies.&rdquo; Thus the gospel says to sinners: Go to Jesus, &ldquo;in him all fulness dwells.&rdquo; There you can be blessed with all Spiritual blessings in heavenly places. Let us, therefore, repair to him and say: I am perishing, but thou hast bread enough and to spare. My heart is a stone, oh turn it to flesh. I am guilty, blot out my transgressions. I am sinful, &ldquo;Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right Spirit within me.&rdquo; And to encourage us, let us remember that he is as willing as he is able, and as free as he is full; that he is now saying, &ldquo;Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.&rdquo;<p>Observe also the swiftness ascribed to them. It is not said they shall walk, but &ldquo;they shall run unto thee.&rdquo; We should never overlook the words which the Holy Ghost uses. There are other terms of similar import. There is &ldquo;flying.&rdquo; &ldquo;Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as doves to their windows,&rdquo; away from the storm? The Apostle employs another term: &ldquo;Who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us;&rdquo; alluding to the manslayers, who were running away from the avenger of blood to a city of refuge.<p>What can there be in any case that might induce a man to run that might not be applied in a much higher degree to sinners who are seeking salvation by Jesus Christ? Would the nearness of danger make men run? They know that hell is pursuing them. Would the magnitude of the object make them run? They know that &ldquo;one thing is needful,&rdquo; and that compared with this everything else is less than nothing and vanity. Would extreme want make them run? Their earnest exclamation is- <p>&ldquo;Give me Christ or else I die.&rdquo; </i><p>Would the strength of desire make them run? &ldquo;They now hunger and thirst after righteousness;&rdquo; and now, &ldquo;as the heart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth their soul after&rdquo; him. Would the shortness and uncertainty of their opportunity of effecting it make them run? Would a man run if he saw the bridge ready to be drawn, and the door ready to be shut? They know that life is all their season; that &ldquo;now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> In whom we have redemption through his blood. - <a href='B:560 1:7'>Eph 1:7</a>. </i><p>REDEMPTION supposes a price; and here we see <p>&ldquo;The precious price that bought us <p> Was his atoning blood.&rdquo; </i><p>Observe, first, It is here only a poor burdened conscience can find relief. Under a sense of guilt, by the blood of the cross we can approach the footstool of mercy, and bow before the most high God. He hath showed us what is good. We hear the voice that cries: &ldquo;Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.&rdquo; And it is this that constitutes the gospel glad tidings of great joy. It assures us that &ldquo;the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth from all sin.&rdquo; There are those who have made the trial of it, and can therefore speak of its sufficiency from their own experience. By believing they have entered into rest; not only have their consciences been tranquilized, but they even joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, &ldquo;in whom we have redemption through his blood,&rdquo; and &ldquo;by whom they have now received the atonement.&rdquo; Let us follow their example, and say- <p>&ldquo;Jesus, my great High Priest, <p> Offer&rsquo;d his blood and died; <p> My guilty conscience seeks <p> No sacrifice beside. <p> His powerful blood did once atone, <p> And now he pleads before the throne.&rdquo; </i><p>Observe, secondly, That the love of the Saviour as herein displayed should powerfully impress our minds. The monarchs of the earth have often sacrificed the lives of their subjects for the safety of their own. Yea, and when their own has not been in danger they have immolated thousands and millions on the altar of their pride and vanity and revenge. Where was one of them ever to be found who gave his life for the lives of his subjects? But it is said of Jesus that &ldquo;he shall save the souls of the needy,&rdquo; that &ldquo;precious is their blood in his sight.&rdquo; He said himself, &ldquo;I give my life for the life of the world.&rdquo; &ldquo;Herein is love&rdquo;-truly &ldquo;greater love hath no man than this, that a man should lay down his life for his friends.&rdquo; Jesus has done this. He has done more-he died for his enemies.<p>Lastly, If &ldquo;in him we have redemption through his blood,&rdquo; we are not our own. What a man has purchased is surely his own. If he has purchased us, we have no right in ourselves to anything we are, or anything we have, but we belong entirely to him. And what a clear and undeniable claim has he to the whole. It is here he has wooed and here he has won. It is here he has drawn, and here he binds us &ldquo;with the cords of a man and the bands of love.&rdquo; It is, as Cowper says, &ldquo;a soul redeemed,&rdquo; and therefore passes through the world perpetually singing, &ldquo;To him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever.&rdquo;<p>And let this be said not only &ldquo;by our lips, but also by our lives,&rdquo; &ldquo;by giving ourselves up to his service and by walking before him in holiness and righteousness all our days.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Ye are not your own. - <a href='B:530 6:19'>1Co 6:19</a>. </i><p>CHRISTIANS are not their own; they are bought with a price, even &ldquo;with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.&rdquo; This, therefore, is not only a great, but oh! what a powerful claim. Therefore, we have no title to ourselves, and having no title to ourselves, how is it possible that we can have a title to anything we now call our own? &ldquo;No man liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself; but whether we live, we live unto the Lord, or whether we die, we die unto the Lord; so that living or dying we are the Lord&rsquo;s, for to this end he both died and rose again, that he might be the Lord both of the dead and the living.&rdquo; Our time, our talents, our endowments, whatever they may be, are to be employed and improved for him. &ldquo;Occupy till I come,&rdquo; he says; and when he comes, he will expect to receive &ldquo;his own with usury.&rdquo;<p>Let us therefore remember that, as our time is not our own, we may not lie as long in bed in the morning as we please, or that we may lounge and loiter in the day as we choose. We shall soon have to appear before a Being who has said to us, &ldquo;Redeem the time.&rdquo; Nor can we suppose that our tongues are our own, and that we may use them as we please. We shall soon be summoned into the presence of him who has said, &ldquo;For every idle word that men shall speak they must give account thereof in the day of judgment; for by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned;&rdquo; and who inspired his Apostle to say, &ldquo;If any man among you seemeth to be religious and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth himself, that man&rsquo;s religion is vain.&rdquo;<p>Nor is our substance our own, that we may either hoard it or expend it as we like. We shall soon be in the presence of a Being who has told us &ldquo;to do good and to communicate forget not, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.&rdquo; Our thoughts are not our own to be placed upon what subjects we please; but they are to cluster around him, and we should be able to say with David, &ldquo;How precious are thy thoughts unto me, O God, how great is the sum of them.&rdquo; We have passions, and we ought to be able to say with Watts- <p>&ldquo;If there be passions in my soul, <p> And passions, Lord, there he, <p> Let them be all at thy control, <p> My Saviour, all for thee.&rdquo; </i><p>And, whatever be our talents, &ldquo;as every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same.&rdquo; &ldquo;If any man speak, let him speak according to the ability that God giveth,&rdquo; &ldquo;that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Then came the mother of Zebedee&rsquo;s children, with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand and the other on the left, in thy Kingdom. - <a href='B:470 20:20-21'>Mat 20:20-21</a>. </i><p>NOTHING is said on this occasion of the father or husband. He might have been dead, he might have been absent, he might have been otherwise minded. Without indulging in illiberal reflections or in invidious comparisons, it is well known that the maternal heart is too easily accessible to the emotions of children, and a female heart too much alive to the distinctions of rank. Here we have a mother soliciting for her two sons places of trust and power.<p>And these two sons were James and John. We have reason to fear the motion originated with them, though it was proposed by the mother; and if so, it is humiliating in the extreme, that after all the instruction he had given them, his disciples should have been such dull scholars as yet to think his kingdom was of this world, that he was come to deliver them from the Roman yoke, to place them at the head of nations, and to lead them forth conquering and to conquer. In thus requesting precedence in this secular empire, as in all other places, for themselves, they betrayed not only their ignorance but their carnality, their pride, and their ambition.<p>The best of men are but men at the best. But Jesus answered and said, &ldquo;Ye know not what he ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said, We are able. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. But Jesus called them unto him and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them; but it shall not be so among you. But whosoever will be great among you let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant. Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto,but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.&rdquo;<p>Thus our Saviour not only rejects their motion, but seizes an opportunity to inform them concerning the end for which he came into our world, and by which they were to regulate their expectations and their lives. It regards three things: his character, his life, and his death. It shows us his condescension in life, his grace in death. In the one he was a servant, in the other, a sacrifice and a Saviour. May we ponder these thoughts and these reflections this morning, and say with Watts, <p>&ldquo;Be thou my pattern. Make me bear <p> More of thy gracious image here, <p> Then God, the Judge, shall own my name <p> Among the followers of the Lamb.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men, knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ. - <a href='B:580 3:23-24'>Col 3:23-24</a>. </i><p>IT is impossible a Christian can ever serve God for nought. Even Satan admitted the principle that &ldquo;godliness is great gain,&rdquo; although he attributed a mercenary Spirit to the patriarch, &ldquo;Doth Job serve God for nought?&rdquo; In this insinuation falsehood and fact were strikingly blended. &ldquo;Verily there is a reward for the righteous.&rdquo;<p>Oh, say some, but it is a reward of grace. Who would deny this? This renders it the surer and the sweeter-this renders it the greater. This enables us, since it is a reward of grace, to believe in its greatness. &ldquo;Great is your reward in heaven.&rdquo; But there is not only a recompense after the service, but even in it: &ldquo;In keeping his commandments there is great reward.&rdquo; If the Queen of Sheba envied Solomon&rsquo;s domestics and said, &ldquo;Happy are these thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom,&rdquo; how much more should we hail those servants of the King of kings and Lord of lords, &ldquo;who dwell in his house,&rdquo; and&rdquo; are still praising &ldquo; him, each of whom can say with David, &ldquo;On thee do I wait all the day.&rdquo;<p>Oh, as surely as he is our Lord and Master, he will support us; he, like a wise and good master, will consider all the injuries done to us as done to himself; he will not lay more upon us as his servants than he will enable us to bear. He will make our strength equal to our day. His grace shall be sufficient for us. He will not &ldquo;cast us off in the time of old age, nor forsake us when our strength faileth.&rdquo; No; he regards the &ldquo;hoary head as a crown of glory when found in the way of righteousness.&rdquo; And he beholds such with pleasure, and says, &ldquo;I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth.&rdquo;<p>Yes, in eternity, in time, in life, in death, in prosperity, in adversity, in all lively frames, and in all gloomy ones even, every servant of the Lord Jesus will be able to say, &ldquo;Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord.&rdquo; 


devotion:
<i> Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not he taken away from her. - <a href='B:490 10:42'>Luk 10:42</a>. </i><p>AND what was said of this pious woman will apply to all Christians. All other things, however good in themselves, and whatever &ldquo;part&rdquo; or portion we have in them, are transient, and perish with their using. What is all history but a relation of the revolutions to which all worldly things are liable; of the rich despoiled of their wealth; of nobles stripped of their honours; of princes dethroned, exiled, imprisoned, and put to death? If these instances are too peculiar, and too remote and national to produce impression, let us look nearer home.<p>What is honour, but a noisy breath? What is popularity? It hangs on the wavering tongue of the multitude, who are now crying &ldquo;Hosanna,&rdquo; and now &ldquo;Crucify him, crucify him;&rdquo; the people one moment called Paul a murderer, and not worthy to live, because a viper had settled upon his hand; and then the next moment they would have adored him as a god, because he had shaken it off into the fire, and had got no hurt. And what are riches? They are called in the Scriptures not only &ldquo;the mammon of unrighteousness,&rdquo; but &ldquo;uncertain riches.&rdquo; Riches, says Solomon, &ldquo;make to themselves wings, and fly away;&rdquo; not like an owl, towards the wood; but like an eagle, towards heaven, to carry thither the tidings how they have been received, used, and improved. Job Orton, in a note to one of his sermons, says, that a friend of his having received by legacy a sum of money to distribute in the way of charity, in a single year after he had come into possession of it, he was applied to for a share of it by no less than twenty-three individuals who had rode in their own carriages. And here is another thing to be taken into account too.<p>Allowing that these things were possessed by us, and could be perpetuated in our possession to the end of life, they can be possessed no longer. We have only a life interest in them. Shall we therefore set our heart upon that which, is not, and that from which we are so soon to be removed? This, therefore, is a reason why we should choose that &ldquo;good part which shall not be taken away&rdquo; from us. He that makes this his treasure has seized a blessedness which is independent of external accidents- independent of the revolutions of states, of the ravages of death, and of the universal conflagration.<p>When the earth and all the works therein shall be burnt up, at the last day, he will be able to stand upon the ashes of the universe and say, I have lost nothing. &ldquo;I look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.&rdquo; Oh, here all is sure and certain. Is the Christian pardoned? He is pardoned for ever; if his sins are sought for they shall not be found. Is he accepted in the Beloved? then he may exult and say with an Apostle, &ldquo;I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, 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 me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.&rdquo; Has he a &ldquo;building of God?&rdquo; it is a &ldquo;house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.&rdquo; Has he an inheritance? it is &ldquo;an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away.&rdquo; Does he &ldquo;return and come to Zion?&rdquo; &ldquo;it is with songs of everlasting joy upon his head.&rdquo; He is inspired with everlasting consolation, and good hope through grace, and may say and sing with Doddridge- <p>&ldquo;Engage this roving, treacherous heart <p> To fix on Mary&rsquo;s better part, <p> To scorn the trifles of a day <p> For joys which none can take away.&rdquo; <p>&ldquo;Then let the wildest storms arise, <p> Let tempests mingle earth and skies, <p> No fatal shipwreck shall I fear, <p> But all my treasures with me bear.&rdquo; </i>


devotion:
<i> Thus saith the Lord of hosts, In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirts of him that is a Jew. - <a href='B:450 8:23'>Zec 8:23</a>. </i><p>THESE words may be considered both as a prophecy and a promise. A prophecy and a promise agree in this: they both refer to futurity, but they differ in their nature. Any event may be the subject of prediction, but a promise only contains some good. A prediction only requires omniscience; a promise requires efficiency. God foretells evil, but he never produces it; but if he insures good he must accomplish it himself, for all goodness is from him alone.<p>Whenever a promise is given to us we immediately look to the fidelity and ability of the promise-giver. The giver of the promise may fail in the execution of his engagement, either from forgetfulness or change of mind, or through inability. But nothing of this will apply to the blessed God; he forgets nothing, for his understanding is infinite; he never changes his mind; with him is no variableness nor shadow of turning; he never feels weakness; he is the Lord Jehovah, in whom is everlasting strength-the Almighty. Therefore the prophet here prefixes to his promise a title, importing power, dominion, and resources, to show that he who has promised is able to perform; for &ldquo;thus saith the Lord of hosts.&rdquo;<p>And with regard to the period when the prophecy shall be accomlished. It may be considered as having reference first to the accession of proselytes to the Jewish religion, in consequence of the dispersion in Babylon and their return home, and the diffusion of their Scriptures and the lives and prayers of the godly, and the character and examples of such men as Ezra, and Nehemiah, and Daniel, and the three Hebrew children, and the marriage of Esther with Ahasuerus, and the deliverance thence resulting, and all the miracles performed in their favour, and their rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple, having overcome all opposition. In consequence of these, surprising events were to take place, and many were to become converts to the Jewish Church. We often find a reference to this in the prophecies, and especially in Isaiah.<p>But, secondly, These words were to be accomplished in the commencement of Christianity, when people from Greece, from Rome, from all countries under heaven, were by the preaching of the gospel turned away from dumb idols to serve and worship the only living and true God; and to believe in him who was the consolation of Israel, the desire of all nations, and the hope of all the ends of the earth. It will therefore be observed that the subject of this passage is attraction. And here let us notice what is said of the attractors.<p>They are called Jews. This is wonderful enough. The Jews were generally a very despised people; they had no commerce- they were not famed for arms, or distinguished by the arts and sciences, and yet they were to teach their conquerors wisdom after being overcome and enslaved, and degraded by them, and all the countries were to come to learn of them-yes, and to learn the knowledge of him &ldquo;whom to know is life eternal.&rdquo; They only were the depositaries of revealed religion; to them were committed the oracles of God. &ldquo;He showed his wisdom unto Jacob, and his statutes unto the children of Israel.&rdquo; But why is all this spoken of &ldquo;a Jew?&rdquo; Jesus Christ was a Jew; his immediate followers were Jews; the twelve Apostles were Jews; the seventy Disciples were Jews; all the first members of the Christian Church were Jews. And therefore if persons were to embrace revealed religion, or even Christianity itself, they must come to their writings, and must take hold of the skirts of him that is a Jew.&rdquo; Besides, as the Apostle says, &ldquo;He is not a Jew which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.&rdquo;<p>We are of the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.&rdquo; &ldquo;If ye be Christ&rsquo;s,&rdquo; says he to the Galatians, &ldquo;then are ye Abraham&rsquo;s seed, and heirs according to the promise.&rdquo; So that the word &ldquo;Jew&rdquo; is not used here to distinguish Israelites from Gentiles, but saints from sinners. It applies to all partakers of Divine grace; according to the address of the Apostle to the same Church, &ldquo;And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them and mercy, and upon the whole Israel of God;&rdquo; that is, the Church of God whose members may be derived from any nation, as they may live in any period. 


devotion:
<i> Ten men out or all languages of the nations shall take hold of him that is a Jew. - <a href='B:450 8:23'>Zec 8:23</a>. </i><p>HERE we have the subjects of this attraction. Observe, first, Their number, &ldquo;Ten men,&rdquo; &c. When we read the words &ldquo;ten men,&rdquo; we are not to take the number literally and definitely; it is here used to denote a large number, as we may see from the preceding verse: &ldquo;Many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.&rdquo; We use the word in common conversation in this sense; we say &ldquo;ten times further,&rdquo; or &ldquo;ten times worse,&rdquo; &c. Among the Jews it was a number of perfection. &ldquo;Thou hast changed my wages,&rdquo; said Jacob to Laban, &ldquo;ten times.&rdquo; &ldquo;You have provoked me these ten times in the wilderness,&rdquo; said God to the Jews. And when they would render a number countless, they did it by attaching the word ten, as we find in the prophecies of Daniel: &ldquo;I saw thousands standing before him, and ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,&rdquo; to intimate that according to our mode of calculation they were absolutely innumerable, By the ignorance of some, and the sneers of others, and the bigotry of many, the people of God are now often improperly diminished. If there be a sense in which they may be considered as few (as there surely is), so there must be a sense in which they are many, and very many.<p>This will appear to be the case peculiarly when we look forward. Down to this hour we have only seen individuals called, or now and then a whole family (that is indeed a lovely sight to see- God multiply such sights). But when we look forward we read of a nation that shall be born in a day, we read of &ldquo;the nations of them that shall walk in the light of the Lamb.&rdquo; Already the number is great, and we are fully persuaded the number is increasing, &ldquo;The Lord add to his people, however so many there be, a hundredfold.&rdquo; One thing we are perfectly sure of, namely, that these promises have not as yet been accomplished; there has been nothing as yet in the course of divine providence and grace sufficient to embody them; nothing sufficiently durable or wide in extent, or powerful in energy, or glorious in magnitude, to do anything like justice to these glorious assurances. Hence we infer there are better days for the world before us than the world has ever yet seen.<p>But, secondly, We see the variety as well as the number. &ldquo;Ten men out of all the languages of the nations.&rdquo; The Jews had been the peculiar people of God before, but it is obvious now that the Gentiles were to be made fellow-heirs of the same body, and partakers of the same promise in Christ by the gospel. The Jewish religion, though it was of divine original, never could in the nature of things have become a universal religion. For instance, and to specify one thing only, how could all the males of all the countries of the earth repair three times a year to &ldquo;Jerusalem to worship and to sacrifice?&rdquo; There is nothing in Christianity either local or restrictive. It regards man not so much circumstantially considered as essentially. It regards man in his grand wants.<p>Where man lives, or whatever his outward circumstances, we shall always find him guilty and depraved, and needing pardon and renovation-a great and dignified being destined to immortality, which immortality would be a curse instead of a blessing, separate from the forgiveness and holiness of the gospel. But the gospel provides for the whole of these wants. The civilized need its influence, and the savages are not excluded from its benefits; the illiterate can learn its lessons as well as the scholar; and the poor can purchase its blessings as well as the rich, because they are to be bought without money and without price. And even the poor slave can be the Lord&rsquo;s freeman. And the Apostle says, &ldquo;There is neither Greek nor Jew, there is neither male nor female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus.&rdquo; There is no difference, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. And therefore, when John &ldquo;saw a multitude whom no man could number,&rdquo; he tells us that it was extracted from all the differences of human condition; it was &ldquo;gathered out of every kindred, and people, and nation, and tongue.&rdquo; 


