FROM THE LIBRARY OF 
 REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON, D. D. 
 
 BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF 
 
 PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
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COUNSELS AND KNOWLEDGE 
 
 FROM 
 
 THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 REV. FREDERICK WHITFIELD, M.A., 
 
 -i NIOB OUBATH OF QBRR5WICH, 
 
 LATR INCUMIiKNT OF K IRH Y-RA VKNSWOKTH , YORKSHIRE, 
 AND ASSISTANT MINISTER OF ST. GILES-IN-THE FIELDS, LONDON. 
 
 EDITED BY REV. CHARLES W. QUICK. 
 
 THIRD AMERICAN, FROM THE SECOND LONDON EDITION. REVISED. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 JAMES A. MOORE, 
 
 1222 ami 1224 sanmiM STRUT. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 TO THE FIRST AMERICAN EDITION 
 
 The distinguishing feature of the instructions of the author 
 of this volume is his supreme exaltation of the word of 
 God. The reader is not asked to compare his experience 
 with previous frames and feelings, nor to measure himself 
 by any human standard, however excellent and spiritual 
 they may be. And further, he is neither required nor ex- 
 horted to adopt inspired patterns for his own guidance fur- 
 ther than they arc 4 , shewn by the Holy Spirit to have fol- 
 lowed Christ. Such a feature and characteristic in these 
 days of creature worship and of self-reliance cannot be too 
 highly commended, and by those who prize the lively ora- 
 cles of God those traits should be appreciated, and the works 
 in which they appear conspicuously ought to be made 
 available for doing good. 
 
 The reader of the following volume will find due honor 
 given to the work of the Holy Spirit in calling, regenerat- 
 ing, and preparing covenant souls for "the inheritance 
 of the saints in light." The entire dependence of the car- 
 nal and unregenerate sinner upon the sovereign and cove- 
 nant work of the Third Person of the Trinity is brought 
 out frequently, naturally, and without any strained effort. 
 
 (iii) 
 
IV INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST AMERICAN EDITION. 
 
 " The wind bloweth where it listeth," but " the wind also 
 goeth according to its circuits." In spiritual things the 
 Spirit moves or rests, is strong or gentle; it whispers in 
 the still small voice of sadness and seriousness, or roars in 
 the conscience with the loud storms of deep and pungent 
 conviction, all as He pleaseth, " dividing to every one sev- 
 erally as He will." " For, thus saith the Lord, as the 
 rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and return- 
 eth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it 
 bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, 
 and bread to the eater : so shall my word be that goeth forth 
 out of my mouth : it shall not return unto me void, but 
 shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper 
 in the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah lv, 10, 11. 
 
 The careful and experienced author also brings out the 
 revealed fact that the Holy Spirit uses the word of God 
 written, and the testimony of Jesus as therein contained, 
 for the chief and God-glorifying means of all his operations. 
 He may be pleased to work immediately -upon some minds, 
 but whenever means are used, the word of God is exclu- 
 sively used. The public or private teacher can have no 
 warrant for any other means, and no hope for success in 
 the use of any other truth than that which is in Jesus and 
 presented as it is in Jesus. 
 
 The reader will not find a systematic arrangement of 
 .Bi^le truth, nor any connected series of expository dis- 
 courses. The familiar expositions of different portions of 
 Scripture are reproduced as they were given, and arising 
 out of the varied occurrences of a pastoral and parochial 
 connection. They show that the mind of the under shep- 
 herd was carefully watching the dealings of Providence 
 connected with the people of his charge, and, as far as pos- 
 
INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST AMERICAN EDITION. V 
 
 sible, the progress of the Spirit's work in their ever chang- 
 ing and fresh Christian experience) or in the want of such 
 experience. And, according to his discernment, the faith- 
 ful watchman divided to each a portion of the word of truth. 
 This accounts for the familiar, personal, and affectionate 
 style of writing. The flow of thought, and the tone of 
 earnestness show a deep personal interest and anxiety for 
 the welfare of the people instructed, which cannot be sup- 
 posed applicable to others remote from his field of labor. 
 But in proportion as any one making use of the volume 
 for public instruction and effort has a burden of interest in 
 the soul's welfare of those providentially brought in contact 
 with him, in the same degree he will enter with entire sym- 
 pathy into the fervid spirit, the tender persuasiveness, and 
 the solemn engagedness of the gifted author. 
 
 We feel convinced that the promoter and prompter of 
 that earnestness which characterizes the writings and 
 preaching of the author will not escape the notice of the 
 reader, as we trust it will not fail to charm and influence 
 him. It is stated in the preface, and felt all through his 
 works, and is the hope of the waiting Church, " the glori- 
 ous appearing of our Great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ." 
 [Gr. T.] This hope was the strong anchor and the strong 
 consolation of the Apostles and of their immediate con- 
 verts. For ages it remained the great comfort of the per- 
 secuted and tried household of the faith, and in late years 
 it has been revived and is now hailed and cherished by an 
 increasingly large proportion of those who enjoy " the com- 
 mon salvation." There is "one hope of our calling," and 
 that is the hope, not of the individual, but of the body of 
 Christ as such. It is not varied by frames and feelings, 
 and according to its brightness will be the believer's dead- 
 
VI INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST AMEBIC AN EDITION. 
 
 ness to the world and his conformity unto the image of t- 
 Son of God. 
 
 In the making up of the present volume it was found 
 that several pages were needed to complete the last form, 
 and these have been filled with matter of the same general 
 kind, and, as far as possible, imbued with the same evan- 
 gelical spirit. And now, with the sole desire of promot- 
 ing the Gospel, and of enlarging the extent and influence 
 of a testimony for Christ of peculiar directness and clear- 
 ness, this box of spikenard is presented to the readers to 
 whom God in His providence may, through the efforts of 
 the Lord's people, send it. To them we would say in the 
 words of the Apostle Paul, " Therefore, my beloved breth- 
 ren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the 
 work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor 
 is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Cor. xv, 58. 
 
 C. W. Q. 
 
 July, 1873. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 " Have not I written to thee excellent tilings in counsels 
 and knowledge, that I might make thee know the cer- 
 tainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer 
 the words of truth to them that send unto thee?" (Prov. 
 xxii, 20, 21). I trust that my book may in some small 
 measure fulfill this, the great design at all times of the 
 Holy Spirit, in making known the truth as it is in Jesus. 
 
 At the request of several correspondents, I have pur- 
 posely made the chapters of this book shorter than those 
 of my previous volumes, in order that they ma*y form 
 family readings for Sunday or week-day; tin 1 chapters in 
 the previous works being too long for this purpose. 
 
 They have been written in the intervals of pressing du- 
 ties, and form the outlines, many of them, of sermons 
 preached in the parish church of Tunbridge, while it was 
 my privilege to be there as its temporary minister. I 
 trust, though there is little about them worthy of meeting 
 the public eye, there may be some few grains of truth in 
 the midst of the chaff by which they are surrounded, which 
 th< i God of all grace may use for His glory. 
 
 How solemn and startling are the times in which we 
 
 Whether we look at them nationally, politically, 
 
 illy, or religiously, clouds are gathering over our hori- 
 
 . of a deep and dark hue, and with which no previous 
 
 (vii) 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 history of our world furnishes a parallel. The tragical 
 character of the murders which of late years have stained 
 the columns of our press, the startling revelations of trades- 
 unionism, the atrocities of Fenianism, the increasing worth- 
 less account in which human life is held, all are lines in 
 the dark picture, of a unique character. If we look at 
 the Church, we see a picture equally saddening. Roman- 
 ism, Rationalism, and Ritualism are advancing with giant 
 strides. Mark the fierceness of the contending parties, as 
 the thick of the battle is approaching, threatening to cul- 
 minate in deadly feuds. If we look at the general aspect 
 of Europe, at those kingdoms over which imperial Rome 
 once bore sway, what do we see ? Under the appearance 
 and profession of friendship, there is a universal prepara- 
 tion for war by increasing their respective armaments. If 
 we look at things generally, is it not true that with regard 
 to everything, both of good and evil, the lines of things 
 are becoming more distinctly marked? The reserve of 
 past years is giving way to definite utterances. Each year, 
 as it rolls over our heads, seems to give a coloring to the 
 outline, to intensify the picture. And though it is true 
 that as each wave beats upon the shore of time, and the 
 echoes of it still linger on our ears, we are apt to regard 
 it as more important than that of any previous year, sim- 
 ply because the lines of the previous ones have faded from 
 the memory, yet notwithstanding all this, does not each 
 one as it comes round assume an importance possessed by 
 no previous one ? Is it not pregnant with more startling 
 events, and with a deeper meaning ? Where will all this 
 end ? What shall be the issue ? The child of God is at 
 no loss for an answer. They are hastening on the goal of 
 his wishes. The night grows darker, but it only shrouds 
 
PREFACE. l\ 
 
 an nnsetting sun. Tli« • day-dawn shall soon arise. With 
 all the constellations of the universe encircling His brow, 
 the clouds so big with judgment shall shortly discloa 
 our enraptured view the King of kings and Lord of lords. 
 
 But in the meantime the night is growing darker, and 
 many a weary and foot-sore traveler to Zion is out on the 
 open plain. As the deepening shadows fall around, they 
 bid him gird his garments about him and hasten his foot- 
 Bteps. They warn him to tarry not in all the plain, to look 
 not behind him, but to press onward with renewed energy 
 to the city of light that gleams in the distance. The faint 
 echoes of the trumpet cry are falling on his ears from that 
 city, "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh." Burnish the 
 rusted armor ! Brighten the waning lamp ! Gird up the 
 trailing garments ! Grasp the sword of the Spirit firmly 
 in hand ! The foe is at the door ! Woe to him who is 
 found slumbering on the field! "Rise, and let us go 
 hence." Watch and pray. Clear the hands of every in- 
 consistency. Let no cloud or shadow hinder the light of a 
 Saviour's countenance falling on the soul. Have done with 
 compromise and concession. Be whole-hearted for Christ. 
 Whatever you neglect, beware of neglecting secret com- 
 munion with God. Whatever it may cost you, see that 
 you are found clearly and unmistakably on the Lord's side. 
 If you would have Him faithful to you in an hour which 
 will be of all others most trying, see that you are His now 
 — wholly His, clearly His, and none but His. 
 
 Reader, may the Lord find you so when He shall come ! 
 
 Bozeat Vicarage, 
 
 Wellingborough, 
 
 March, 1868. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 grace abounding . 
 living sacrifices . 
 Paul's address at antioch 
 the passage of the jordan 
 the syrian leper . 
 the ascended saviour . 
 israel in the wilderness 
 the good profession 
 the supper chamber 
 thirsting for god 
 
 god's ANSWER TO the sinner's QUESTION 
 
 THE WOMEN AT THE SEPULCHER 
 
 THE BLIND MAN OF BETHSAIDA 
 
 LESSONS FROM THE WELL OF SYCHAR 
 
 BREAD CAST ON THE WATERS 
 
 CONTRASTS 
 
 SIMEON IN THE TEMPLE . 
 
 PARTING WORDS 
 
 THE COMING OF CHRIST . 
 
 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS 
 
 PAGE 
 . 11 
 
 . 21 
 
 . 29 
 . 43 
 . 53 
 . 66 
 . 81 
 . 83 
 . 97 
 . 102 
 . 110 
 . 118 
 . 125 
 . 133 
 . 148 
 . 159 
 . 168 
 . 183 
 . 194 
 . 203 
 
 M 
 
COUNSELS AND KNOWLEDGE FROM THE 
 WORDS OF TRUTE 
 
 GEACE ABOUNDING. 
 Psalm cv, 39—43. 
 
 m 
 "He spread a cloud for a oorering, and fire to give light in the night. 
 The people asked, and he brought quails, ami satisfied them with the bread 
 of heaven. He opened the rock, ami the waters pushed «»ut; they ran in 
 the dry placet like a river. F«.r he remembered his holy promise, 
 Abraham his servant. And he brought forth his people with Joy, and Ins 
 . with glad i. 
 
 The history of Israel in the desert is but the counterpart 
 of the history of the Church of the living God in her 
 passage through this world. It is a history of God's 
 grace triumphing over man's sin. On the one hand, we 
 behold murmuring, rebellion, unbelief, and sin; on the 
 other, long-suffering, forbearance, wondrous grace, and 
 unchanging love. Such are the striking features in the 
 portion of Scripture we have selected for consideration. 
 
 How graciously the Spirit of God in these v 
 throws a veil over the failings and sins of Israel! The 
 people ask, but nothing is said of the sin connected with 
 their asking. The people have the rock opened for them, 
 but their unbelief connected with that opening is 
 over. True, this part of their history has its place, but, 
 
 1] 
 
12 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 not here. The Spirit of God is, throughout this chapter, 
 bringing to view all the sins and iniquities of their 
 enemies. When His own people are placed alongside of 
 them, He seems to say, " I have not beheld iniquity in 
 Jacob." When, however, He deals with them apart from 
 their enemies, in the next chapter, when they are alone in 
 the desert, then all their sins and failings are drawn with 
 the point of a diamond, and the needed discipline to correct 
 it. Before their foes, Israel is all perfection, and God all 
 grace. Alone in the desert, He causes them to pass under 
 the rod to purge away their dross. Thus is God at all 
 times. To the world He says, " He that toucheth one of 
 these little ones, it were better for him that a millstone 
 were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea." 
 To them He says, " You only have I known of all the 
 families of the earth : therefore will I punish you for your 
 iniquities." 
 
 " He spread a cloud for a covering : and fire to give light 
 in the night." This cloud was the vehicle of the Divine 
 presence (see Exodus xiv, 19-24). It is referred to again 
 in Isaiah vi, 4. It is the cloud of glory alluded to so 
 frequently in Ezekiel's vision. It is the same as that on 
 the mount of transfiguration, and on the mount of ascen- 
 sion. The Lord Jesus is seen in the cloud. He is the 
 true " covering" of His people. He it is that is " spread " 
 over them by day and by night during their wilderness 
 iourney. He is their " light " in the night. He " goeth 
 before them," calling them by name, and leading them in 
 and out of the fold that they may find pasture. He is 
 their " covering " from every charge of sin, in every hour 
 of sorrow, in every moment of danger. Whatever foe 
 might advance to assail Israel, it had to meet the cloud, 
 
LCE A B0T7H Dl I 13 
 
 and the arrow that would reach th< 
 ranks mu.<t first go through it. The Shepherd "goeth 
 His sheep, not only as their Lead r, but first to 
 
 ►unter the foe, and to remoi in their 
 
 way. Such was the God-spread covering of Israel. Such 
 
 Ihrist, the true covering spread by 11- iv m ov r • 
 child of the kingdom. 
 
 only so, it was theirs What' ver else 
 
 might be taken away, that would never be removed 
 
 dus xiii, 22). They fell into sin, but the cloud was 
 there. They murmured, rebelled, wandered from G 
 still the cloud left them not So it is with Jesus. Pet r 
 fell ; the sons of Zebedee fell; all the disciples forsook Him 
 and fled: their history, like Israel's of form -r days, and 
 like ours in this day, was one of constant failure and sin. 
 
 He never left them. When all others failed He 
 true. And God's continued word to His people, whether 
 in Old or New Testament history, is, " Fear not: for I am 
 with thee;" "Lo, I am with you always." "He took 
 not away the pillar of the clou 1 by day, nor the pillar of 
 fire by night from before the people." "Having loved 
 His own which were in the world, He loved them to the 
 end." "I will never K nor forsake thee." "I 
 
 have graven thee on the palms of my hands; thy walls 
 
 ." l> Why sayest thou, Jacob, 
 and • Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and 
 
 my judgment is >ver from my God ? Hast thou 
 
 not known hast thou not heard, that th ■ everlasting God, 
 the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth 
 not, neither is weary ? there is no searchin - under- 
 
 standing. Ih- giveth power to the faint; and to them 
 that have no might lie mereaseth strength. Even 
 
II COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall 
 utterly fall : but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew 
 their strength ; they shall mount up with wings as eagles ; 
 they shall run, and not be weary ; and they shall walk, 
 and not faint." 
 
 The " cloud " was indeed a " covering." It was the 
 most perfect expression of the Lord Jesus on record. It 
 went with Israel from the very midst of Egypt to the very 
 borders of Canaan — that is, from the very moment it was 
 needed, till it was needed no longer. It was in the wil- 
 derness, because Israel was there. It was just whatever 
 Israel needed it to be. No man dwelt where Israel was 
 about to travel. There were no sign-posts there, no bread, 
 no water. It led them to the rock and brought food to 
 ieed them. It made them independent of highways and 
 sign-posts in the trackless wilderness. If they needed 
 cloud and fire, it was that. If they needed light and 
 darkness, it was that ; and this at the self-same moment. 
 It is destruction and death if they need that; for the 
 glory of Egypt withers under the Eye that looks through 
 it, and the host is troubled and overthrown. And is not 
 Jesus all this now to His people ? Mark the moving of 
 this holy cloud in the New Testament ! See if He was 
 not then all this and much more to His people ! And 
 such is He still to each one, the weakest and feeblest in 
 the camp. " I am the Lord, I change not ; therefore ye 
 sons of Jacob are not consumed." 
 
 " The people asked, and He brought quails, and satisfied 
 them with the bread of heaven." A veil is thrown over 
 the sin connected with their asking. God meets us ac- 
 cording to the riches of His grace, and not according to 
 our deserts. They ask, and the quails, or small red par- 
 
GRACE ABOUNDING. 15 
 
 bridges, come and surround the camp. He satisfies them 
 with the bread of heaven. Christ is the living bread 
 which came down from heaven. If the soul of man is 
 indeed to be satisfied, it must be by something above this 
 world. Over every stream of joy on earth there is written 
 with the pen of heaven, " Whosoever drinketh of this 
 water shall thirst again." Only Jesus can fill man's crav- 
 ing void. The world may tempt and dazzle and excite; 
 but man, to be satisfied, must look elsewhere. The eye 
 on Jesus, there is satisfaction. The heart filled with 
 Jesus, there is joy. The burden laid on Jesus, oh, there 
 is rest ! Header, do you know it ? Do you know it by 
 experience f You can never enter into joy till joy enters 
 into you. The only joy which is not mockery is, to know 
 Jesus. To know Him is to have passed from death unto 
 life. That soul has eternal life now, and only waits for 
 the resurrection body. The new life must have a new 
 body to match it. The one we have in knowing Jesus ; 
 the other we shall have very shortly. 
 
 " He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out." In 
 1 Corinthians x, 4, we are told that " that Bock was 
 Christ." By referring to the Books of Exodus and 
 Numbers we see how that rock was opened. The first 
 command to Moses was to " smite the rock." On the 
 second occasion he was told to " speak to the rock." 
 Moses, however, in rashness and unbelief disobeyed God, 
 and instead of speaking to the rock, he smote it again. 
 For this he was visited with judgment. The application 
 of this truth is most instructive. Christ is the Rock. 
 He was once smitten; and on the cross of Calvary the 
 living streams to cleanse the soul of the sinner issued forth. 
 But having been onoe smitten, He needs not to be smitten 
 
16 COUNSELS FEOM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 again. " By one offering He hath perfected forever them 
 that are sanctified." We need no repeated sacrifice. We 
 have now only to " speak to the Rock." Nay, to attempt 
 a repetition is to show our unbelief in the efficacy of that 
 perfect sacrifice. To smite the Rock again, is simply to 
 say we do not believe in the finished work of the Lord 
 Jesus. The Rock has been smitten ; the blood has been 
 shad; the work is "finished." Now, the command is, 
 Speak to the Rock." This is all that is needed to bring 
 down the healing streams — " the living waters from the 
 river of life." The moment the soul that has- looked to 
 Jesus and found peace begins to doubt, he smites the 
 Rock again — he doubts the efficacy of the atoning blood. 
 No, no. The work is done. Sin is gone. God sees none 
 on your soul. Hear His cry to thee, trembling one, from 
 the cross, "It is finished." Thy pardon is sealed. Thy 
 salvation is finished, even thine. Smite not that Rock 
 again. Speak to the Rock, speak in confidence, speak in 
 thankfulness, speak in praises, speak, and plead the smit- 
 ten virtues of the one offering once offered for thy sins. 
 Art thou burdened? speak to the Rock. Art thou 
 wounded? speak to the Rock. Art thou forsaken and 
 alone ? speak to the Rock. Do troubles assail ? do looks 
 change ? do smiles vanish ? speak to the Rock. Does dis- 
 ease invade the trembling house of clay ? are the pillars 
 of thy heart's shrine crumbling beneath thee? does the 
 cold river of death spread itself before thy view ? speak to 
 the Rock. At all times, in all places, for all purposes, in 
 the battle of life or in the stillness of the dying chamber, 
 "speak to the Rock," " speak to the Rock." 
 
 11 He opened the rock." Not thy prayers, but God's 
 grace. Not thy speaking, but His deep compassion. Not 
 
GRACE ABOUNDING. 17 
 
 because of anything in thee, but because He has set His 
 love upon thee. Oh, yes ! Remember it always, "lie 
 opened the rock." 
 
 "And the waters gushed out." What a sweet expres- 
 sive word, they "gushed " out ! See the illustration ! 
 A compassionate loving being visits the abodes of wretch- 
 edness in one of our large towns. Suddenly a haggard, 
 shattered wreck of our fallen humanity is presented to her 
 notice. For a moment she gazes ; then the bosom heaves, 
 and the pent-up heart gives way to a flood of tears. This 
 is the gushing of the heart at the sight of misery. Pent- 
 up compassion is drawn out in a flood-tide of love. Such 
 was the Rock. It was full to overflowing. It needed but 
 the word to disclose its refreshing streams, so that the 
 waters ran in the dry places like a river. Such was Christ. 
 Oh the deep compassions that were pent-up in the bosom 
 of that humble Man ! Mark two or three instances in 
 which the waters gushed out from this smitten Rock, and 
 ran in the dry places of our world like a river. "And 
 tht -re came a leper to Him, beseeching Him, and kneeling 
 down to Him, and saying unto Him, If Thou wilt, Thou 
 < -a nst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, 
 put forth His hand and touched him, saying, I will ; be 
 thou clean." Mark another. "And Jesus, when He came 
 out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion to- 
 ward them, because they were as sheep not having a shep- 
 herd, and Be began to teach them many things." Again: 
 u When He beheld the city, He wept over it, saying, If 
 thou hadst known, even in this thy day, the things that 
 belong to thy peace : but now they are hid from thine eyes." 
 Oh how the living waters gushed out from this Rock, 
 and filled the dry places of many a poor wanderer's heart 
 2 
 
13 COUNSELS FROM THE WORTS OF TRUTH. 
 
 in tne highways of Galilee and Judaea ! There was no 
 short measure, no half-opened hand, no mental reservation. 
 No ; grace came forth from the bosom of infinite Love in 
 an overflowing stream. Wherever He went, men " spake 
 to the Hock;" spake by their sins, their sorrows, their needs ; 
 and " the waters ran in the dry places like a river." 
 One who had experienced the grace of that Eock more 
 deeply than most, exclaims, " My God shall supply all 
 your need, according to His riches in glory in Christ 
 Jesus." Sinner, see what a precious Saviour is thine ! 
 See, poor trembling one, the gushing tide of love in that 
 bosom ! Measure it not by thy thoughts ; it infinitely 
 exceeds them all. Judge not of that heart by any picture, 
 even the most exalted. No thought can conceive its full- 
 ness, no line can sound its depth. " The well is deep," 
 deeper far than all the needs of thy needy soul. Say not, 
 " Can He love Tne?" Say not, "I fear Jam too bad." 
 Say not, " Will He receive me?" Behold the gushing tide 
 of love in that bosom ready to roll " like a river " over 
 all thy sin and guilt and misery ! Behold it all thine ! 
 Grieve that love no longer by such sinful doubts. Cast no 
 dishonor on that precious Saviour's name. "Speak to the 
 Rock ; " speak now in faith, in thankfulness and praise — 
 "My Lord and my God ! " 
 
 Child of God, are there no dry places in thy soul ? are 
 there none around thee ? " Yea," thou art ready to ex- 
 claim, " My soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for 
 Thee, in a dry and thirsty land where no water is." Oh 
 then, "speak to the Rock," "speak to the Rock." Let 
 nothing come between thy soul and God. Let no careless- 
 ness of walk, no inconsistency of conduct, no compromise 
 with what is grievous to God's Spirit, dim thine eye, or 
 
GRACE ABOUNDING. 19 
 
 draw a cloud between thy soul and Jesus. " Spcal: to the 
 peak often. Let nothing rob thy soul of secret 
 fellowship with Jesus. Let no earthly claim, how 
 important, allow thee to cut short the time devoted to this 
 end. Live in His presence. Let the light of His counte- 
 nance shin.' clearly on thy soul. Be found, "in sea* 
 and out of season," near the Hock. Then will all go weD 
 with thy soul. 
 
 the covering of His people ? Is He their light 
 in the night? Does He satisfy them with the bread of 
 
 yen? Does He open the rock that the waters gush 
 out? Then remember the source of it all, "for He re- 
 membered His holy promise and Abraham His servant." 
 
 i ember, they all proceed from the covenant recorded 
 in the fifteenth chapter of Genesis. Those divided pieces 
 were a type of the smitten Lamb of God. In blessing 
 Israel with all these blessings, it was because He remem- 
 
 •d that covenant. It was before God's eye continually. 
 Love makes memory retentive. God beholds and remem- 
 bers the sacrifice of His dear Son on Calvary. It is very 
 precious to Him. He so loved Him that memory ever 
 brings before Him that sacrifice. For the sake of that 
 sacrifice we are blessed. For the sake of that sacrifice 
 "joy and gladness" are the heritage of His people, 
 and the smile of heaven falls unceasingly upon us. 
 Let us not forget the little word with which this passage 
 op mis, "for He remembered His holy promise and Abra- 
 ham His servant. And He brought forth His people with 
 joy and His chosen with gladness." 
 
 Precious Saviour ! what a treasure art Thou to Thy 
 people 1 sinner, taste and see how gracious He is 1 
 
20 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH, 
 
 " But what to those who find ? 
 Ah this no tongue can utter ; this 
 No mortal tongue can show. 
 The love of Jesus, what it is, 
 None but His loved ones know." 
 
 Blessed be God, our God ! 
 Who gave for us His well -beloved Son, 
 The Gift of gifts, all other gifts in one. 
 
 Blessed be God, our God I 
 
 What will He not bestow, 
 Who freely gave this mighty Gift, unbought, 
 Unmerited, unheeded, and unsought, 
 
 What will He not bestow ? 
 
 He spared not His Son ! 
 'Tis this that silences each rising fear ; 
 'Tis this that bids the hard thought disappear ; 
 
 He spared not His Son ! 
 
 Who shall condemn us now, 
 Since Christ has died, and risen, and gone above, 
 For us to plead at the right hand of Love ? 
 
 Who shall condemn us now ? 
 
 'Tis God that justifies. 
 Who shall recall His pardon or His grace ? 
 Or who the broken chain of guilt replace f 
 
 'Tis God that justifies ! 
 
 The victory is ours ! 
 For us in might came forth the mighty One ; 
 For us He fought the fight, the triumph won ; 
 
 The victory is ours 1 
 
 BONARo 
 
LIVING SACRIFICES. 21 
 
 LIVING SACEIFICES. 
 Eomans xii, 1, 2. 
 
 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye pre- 
 sent your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your 
 ice. And be not conformed unto this world: but be ye 
 transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that 
 good, and acceptable! and perfect will of God." 
 
 The word " therefore " occurs very frequently in the New 
 bament as we open the chapter. It is the golden 
 link which connects the chapter with that which has 
 preceded it. We shall always do well to look back and 
 see this connection before we proceed. It is a word that 
 in every case throws light on what is to follow. Mark it 
 in these opening verses. In the previous chapter (verses 
 27 ; 30 — 32) the apostle had been speaking of God's m< 
 to Jews and G. -utiles, by the putting away of sin. The 
 word " therefore " in the opening words of this portion of 
 Scripture connects the " mercies of God" with the pass* 
 
 rred to. The basis of entreaty to holiness are these 
 11 mercies of God." All exhortation to holiness of life must 
 have a motive from which that holiness is to spring. To 
 exhort a man to give up sin and to be holy, without that 
 man having a motive for it, is simply impossible. Man 
 
22 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 loves sin, and cannot give it up. It is his nature to love 
 it. But let the Spirit of God only show him his sin, and 
 the love of God in having forgiven that sin, then he has 
 a powerful lever within for throwing off sin. " The love 
 of Christ constraineth " him. Now this is what is set 
 before us here. Men are "besought" to be holy u by the 
 mercies of God." All attempts at holiness without this 
 are only so many self-righteous efforts. Do not ask men 
 to give up sin, give up the race-course, the ball, the dance, 
 the concert. They cannot do it. They love the world, 
 and to it they will go. It is the very height of folly to 
 preach in this way. But let the " love of the Father " 
 enter ; let them see Jesus ; then such exhortations may be, 
 ought to be, addressed. Men love these things because 
 " the love of the Father is not in them." Let that enter 
 in, and they cannot "love the world." Their language 
 will be that of Ephraim of old, " What have I to do any 
 more with idols ? " 
 
 But what is it believers are to " present"? Their 
 " bodies." We should have expected to hear the apostle 
 say " your souls." But no, it is the body. Why is this? 
 Because it is the avenue through which all sin enters the 
 soul. The eyes, the ears, the tongue, the hands, the feet ; 
 these are some of the avenues to the soul by which sin 
 enters. And therefore the Spirit of God begins with the 
 body, the broad road by which all travelers enter the 
 citadel. These members of the body, both individually and 
 corporately, the believer is to "present." The word is an 
 allusion to the " presenting " of the sacrifices by the priest 
 on the altar. Each part of the slain lamb was to be pre- 
 sented, piece by piece, in due order. So the believer is now 
 a "priest unto God." Like the priest of old, he stands in 
 
LIVING SACRI FICES. 23 
 
 the very presence of God. He Is uever out of it. Like 
 the priest of old, too, each member of the sacrifice is to be 
 laid on the altar, Christ Jesus, to His glory. His e; 
 his ears, his hands, his Feet, are to be laid out, hour after 
 hour, to God's glory. Not indeed now, like the sacrifices 
 of old, having the blood, the life, poured out, but having 
 the life in. But what life? The new life; the life of 
 Christ. That life is now in the soul, because Christ Him- 
 self is there. " Know ye not that your bodies are the 
 temples of the Holy Ghost?" Therefore it is that the 
 sacrifices are "living sacrifices." Only this can make any 
 believer be a "living" man. Christ is in him, "the hope 
 of glory." Therefore all is life, real life, everlasting life. 
 Therefore the whole man in all his parts is to be presented 
 as a " sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God." It is a "reason- 
 able service." God is not unreasonable. He asks not 
 more than we by His Spirit's power can give. Has He 
 indeed shown such mercy to us while sinners ? Has He 
 multiplied His mercies every day and every hour ? Then 
 indeed it is only "reasonable" that we should lay out all 
 to His glory. It is the service of an intelligent creature. 
 He has bought us. We are not our own. Therefore we 
 are to glorify God in our bodies, and in our spirits, which 
 are the Lord's." 
 
 We may notice two aspects in these verses. In the first, 
 the believer is brought before us in relation to God. In 
 the second, he is viewed in relation to the world in which 
 he lives. He is to "present his body a living sacrifice" to 
 God. But then he is in the " world," and that world is 
 the great hindrance to this. On every side and in every 
 hour of the day, influences are playing upon him counter- 
 acting God's work. This is the dazzling, blinding, ensnar- 
 
24 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 ing world, under the government of "the prince of the 
 power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the 
 children of disobedience." In this world lies all his danger. 
 There are two moulds; one is the Spirit of God, the other 
 is the world. The Christian is like the molten metal. 
 Into which of these moulds will he be cast ? He may be a 
 Christian, and yet so walk as to be moulded by " this present 
 world." Do we not see Christians on every side with the 
 marks and shadows of the world written but too plainly on 
 them ? Do we not see one who shows only too clearly that 
 he has fallen into the world's mould, and it has shaped him ? 
 Surely the sad picture is on every side of us. Here then is 
 the danger. He is a Christian in the world, and that is a 
 terrible thing ! He is in a place of continued and immi- 
 nent danger. By which will he be moulded? The com- 
 mand is, "Be not conformed," or moulded, into its likeness; 
 not only so, but "be ye transformed; " that is to say, be the 
 very opposite. If the world goes one way, do you go the 
 opposite. There is to be no compromise, no extenuation, no 
 meeting it half way, no saying, like Lot, of old, " Is it not 
 a little one?" No; "be ye transformed" Say to it, as 
 Abram said to Lot, "If thou go to the right hand, I will 
 go to the left; and if thou go to the left, I will go to the 
 right." 
 
 Then how is this moulding of the Christian into the very- 
 opposite shape of the world to be carried out ? The apostle 
 tails us; "by the renewing of your mind." Here, again, 
 he would seem to take us back to the temple. No doubt it 
 was before his mind. We know that in that service it was 
 the duty of the priest, morning and evening, to renew the 
 lights of the tabernacle by pouring the oil into the vessels. 
 As the light became dimmer and dimmer, its brilliancy was 
 
LIVING SACRIFICES. 25 
 
 "renewed" by replenishing the vessel with oil. The be- 
 liever is that vessel, the light shining in the dark p] 
 But that light must bo daily renewed or it will burn dimly. 
 The Holy Spirit must be poured day by day into that v< 
 in largo measure. He must take of Christ and daily show 
 Him to the soul. He must work in that vessel, bringing 
 his thoughts and affections, his desires and hopes, his 
 words and ways, into subjection to the word of God. He 
 must show him more and more of his own heart, more of 
 his helplessness and emptiness, and make him cling more 
 closely than ever to Jesus. Thus the vessel will be replen- 
 ished. Thus the light will shine. Thus the man will be 
 transformed, cast into the very opposite mould of the 
 world. Thus will he be shaped and moulded into the like- 
 ness of the Son of God. Thus, but, reader, lay it well to 
 heart, only thus. 
 
 But mark one caution. This transformity to the world 
 must not be according to some standard of our own. It 
 must not be transformity according to some fancy of ours 
 as to what this worldliness is. How sad are the mistakes on 
 this point! How often have we heard of rank renouncing 
 its title; of one in a high position of life renouncing volun- 
 tarily that position, and coming down to the lowest level of 
 ety, instead of using it for God! How often have we 
 seen the»neat apparel ronounoed for slovenliness of dress? 
 how often the well furnished house for bare boards and plain 
 faro? How often has all this been the case, with the 
 secret, undetected self flattery that we have done something 
 for God; that we have come to that spiritual standing and 
 tion superior to other Christians around us! How 
 often with the spirit of renunciation has another spirit 
 crept in and gradually gained ascendancy, so as to leave the 
 
26 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 soul in a far worse state than before. Ah ! let us beware of 
 this kind of transformity. True transformity to the world 
 is to stay in our position, to maintain our rank and dignity, 
 to hold our office, our duty, or our calling, whatever it may 
 be, but to bring Christ into all, to use them all for His 
 glory. It is "as using the world and not abusing it." It 
 is easy by one gigantic effort of the mind to give all up. 
 It is hard to hold them, and yet use all for Christ. 
 There is no cross in the other, there is the daily cross 
 in this. The undetected hope of being something in the 
 Church may suggest the one; nothing but the love of 
 Christ can lead us to carry out the other. Let us see that 
 the transformation be " according to the renewing of our 
 minds," according to the Word, according to the Spirit of 
 God, according to wisdom, judgment, and understanding. 
 Let us see that it will commend the gospel of Christ to the 
 conscience and not disgust. Let us see that it be indeed 
 transformity to the world, transformity of the right kind, 
 true, real, spiritual, heavenly. 
 
 And mark the effect : "that ye may prove what is that 
 good and acceptable and perfect will of God." It is by 
 thus being moulded by the Spirit of God that you will 
 "prove" to your own satisfaction, to your joy and peace, 
 and comfort and increase of faith, what it is that is good 
 and acceptable and perfect, according to God's mind. You 
 will thus know what the will of God is in everything, and 
 it will be to you a good will, an acceptable and perfect will. 
 You will have no doubt of it. You will prove it by the 
 Spirit's testimony to your own heart. You will prove it 
 and delight to do it; and it will be your joy and rejoicing. 
 
 Reader, do you know God's mercy to you as a lost sinner? 
 Pq you know it in having forgiven you all your sins? 
 
LIVING SACRIFICES. 27 
 
 Have you the Spirit's witness in your soul that Pic in your 
 Saviour? Oh, what is Christ to you? Is He precious to 
 you, or only a name without power? 
 
 Christian, beware of this present evil world, with its 
 Beductive influences on every side of you. Let it not 
 mould you into its image. It surely will if you are not 
 living very near to God. Beware of indecision. Be whole- 
 hearted for Christ. The bane of Christianity in this day is 
 compromise, concession, expediency. These things are 
 eating out its real life, and will leave it a name without 
 any living power when the Lord comes. Beware! Watch, 
 pray, live near to God! "Watch ye therefore, and pray 
 always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all 
 these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before 
 the Son of man." 
 
 Guide me, my Father ! Thickly falls the night 
 
 Around my head. 
 My heart is weary for the blessed light. 
 
 The path I tread 
 May be the dark, drear vista of the tomb, 
 For it is hidden in the gathering gloom. 
 
 Guide me, my Father ! other arms are weak 
 
 To lean upon ; 
 The strong and mighty Comforter I seek; 
 
 All else is gone ! 
 Oh for the everlasting arms to be, 
 In my deep weakness, closely wrapped round me I 
 
 Guide me, my Father, or my feet will stray 
 
 From Thee, my God, 
 "Will fettering Leave the strait and thorn-strewed way 
 
 Which Jesus trod : 
 I would be with Him where the holy meet; 
 O Friend Omnipotent, guide Thou my feet! 
 
28 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 Guide me, my Father ! Take my outstretched hand, 
 
 And lead me on, 
 Until the mists and pitfalls of this land 
 
 Are ever gone ; 
 Until my spirit is at rest with Thee, 
 From these dark griefs and dangers ever free. 
 
 FROM FAMILY PRAYERS. 
 
 And since it is of Thy mercy, gracious Father, that 
 another day is added to our lives, we here dedicate both 
 our souls and bodies to Thee and to Thy service, in a so- 
 ber, righteous, and godly life : in which resolution do Thou, 
 merciful God, confirm and strengthen us; that as we 
 grow in age, we may grow in grace, and in the knowledge 
 of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. 
 
 FROM THE COMMUNION SERVICE. 
 
 And here we offer and present unto Thee, Lord, our- 
 selves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and 
 living sacrifice unto Thee : humbly beseeching Thee, that 
 we and all others who shall be partakers of this holy com- 
 munion, may ... be filled with Thy grace and heavenly 
 benediction, and made one body with Him (Christ), that 
 He may dwell in them, and they in Him. 
 
 The above extracts from the Form of Prayer to be used in Families 
 and from the Communion Service of our Church, are so appropriate, and 
 so fully embody and illustrate the doctrinal exposition of the preceding 
 discourse, that we feel no apology is required for inserting them.— Ed. 
 
Paul's address at antioch. 29 
 
 PAUL'S ADDRESS AT ANTIOCH 
 Acts xiii, 16 — 41. 
 
 Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand, said, Men of Israel, 
 and ye that fear God, give audience. The God of this people of Israel 
 chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in 
 the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it. And 
 about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness. 
 And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of C'hanaan, he 
 divided their land to them by lot. And alter that he gave unto them judges 
 •bout the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet. 
 Ami afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son 
 of < is, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the spaee of forty years. And 
 when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; 
 to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of 
 . a man alter mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will. Of 
 this man's seed hath God, according to his promise, raised unto Israel a 
 Saviour, Jesus: when John had first preached before his coming the 
 baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John fulfilled 
 his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he: but, behold, 
 there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to 
 loose. Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whoso- 
 ever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent. For 
 they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, 
 nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every Babbath Day, 
 they have fulfilled them'wx condemning him. And though they found i.o 
 cause of death in him, yetdesired they Pilate that he should be slain. And 
 when they had fulfilled all that w;us written of him, they took him down 
 from the tree, and laid him in a sepulcher. Hut God raised him from the 
 dead : and he was seen many days of them which came ii]> with him from 
 Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. And we do- 
 
30 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 clare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto 
 the lathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he 
 hath raised up Jesus again ; as it is also written in the second Psalm, Thou 
 art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. And as concerning that he 
 raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said 
 on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore he 
 saith also in another Psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see 
 corruption. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will 
 of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption : 
 but he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption. 
 
 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this 
 man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins : and by him all that be- 
 lieve are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by 
 the law of Moses. Beware therefore, lest that come upon you which is 
 spoken of in the prophets : Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish : 
 for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, 
 though a man declare it unto you. 
 
 True religion is large-hearted. The love of Christ has no 
 bounds, no limits. It shone forth from the bosom of Jesus 
 in all readiness to embrace the outskirts of fallen humanity. 
 Wherever a soul could be found, there it would go ; and the 
 deeper fallen, the more deeply loved. 
 
 Every system of religion that does not go out of itself 
 falls short of the true model. Every church, every de- 
 nomination, yea, every soul that does not go out of itself, i- 
 unlike Christ. To wrap ourselves up in our own system 
 to appropriate the promises and blessings of the Gospei 
 exclusively to ourselves, without going out in largeness, of 
 heart to the utmost bounds of human kind in earnest desire 
 to draw them into the same privilege, is one of the most 
 palpable and widespread evidences of the fall of man, and 
 one which still clings to God's people. 
 
 We see this principle in the opening words of this text. 
 It contains a principle of universal application. "Men of 
 Israel, and ye that fear God." It is true, Israel is not 
 
Paul's address at antioch. 31 
 
 forgotten, must not be. But while our own may come 
 first, the Btream must run on to the utmost bounds of the 
 earth, wherever a God-fearing soul is to be found, , 
 
 under whatever uniform. 
 
 "The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and 
 exalted the p«-ople when they dwelt as strangers in the 
 land of EgyjpL" Three instructive points are brought 
 
 re us in these words. God chooses His people. Ti. 
 whom lie chooses lie " exalts." And the people "chosen" 
 and "exalted" are not chosen and exalted because of 
 anything in themselves to recommend them, but simply 
 because "they dwell as strangers in the land of Egypt.'' 
 
 all, doubtless, know the application of this truth. 
 It comes first in Paul's address, and should be first in every 
 address. It is the foundation on which the superstructure 
 is reared. Without this there is nothing. We v 
 
 rangers" to God. We were in "Egypt;" in bondage 
 to a far worse taskmaster than Pharaoh, even " the prince of 
 the power of the air." We were of those who "had no 
 hope and were without God in this world." In this state 
 God looked upon us. He "chose" us in Jesus. He 
 
 tlted "us in Jesus. Why? We cannot tell. His own 
 
 wondrous love is the only answer. The depths of that 
 
 can never be sounded. Its heights can never be 
 
 bed. Its breadth can never be grasped. It is un- 
 fathomable, unsearchable, unexplainable. "He loved me" 
 and that is the only answer I can give to any question. 
 But it is the answer, and the answer to every question. 
 Those He "chose," He "exalted," and they were sin: 
 sinners of deepest dye, lost, ruined, undone. "M 
 whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom 
 
32 COUNSELS FEOM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, 
 them He also glorified." 
 
 " And about the time of forty years suffered He their 
 manners in the wilderness." The correct rendering of 
 this verse is in the margin, and is very different from 
 that which at first sight presents itself : " He bore or fed 
 them, as a nurse beareth or feedeth her child." What a 
 beautiful simile! The nurse bearing with the wayward- 
 ness of the child; feeding them as she would feed the infant. 
 Vv hat tenderness and compassion, what long-suffering and 
 watchfulness, what care, consideration, and love! This 
 was the history of Israel in the wilderness, and is the 
 history of God's people now. What are we, and what is He ? 
 What have we been to Him, and what has He not been to 
 us ? Say, dear Christian reader. Can you not tell, even 
 though every tongue on earth were silent? What has He 
 been! " Wondrous grace, and love and compassion, every 
 hour of the day ! " What has He been ! " Oh, angels can- 
 not tell, thought cannot conceive, what He has been, nay, 
 what He is to my soul!" See how the tender, watchful, 
 loving nurse leads her child, removing every obstruction 
 from its path, facing every danger first herself, and lov- 
 ingly, yet wisely, giving to the child every choice portion 
 that will make it happy. So God dealt with His people of 
 old; so He deals with them now. Mark it here: — "And 
 when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, 
 He divided their land to them by lot. And after that, He 
 gave unto them judges, about the space of four hundred 
 and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet." 
 
 "And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto 
 them Saul, the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, 
 by the space of forty years. And when He had removed 
 
taul's ADDRESS AT ANTIOTir. 33 
 
 him, He raised up unto them David to be their king; to 
 whom also He gave testimony, and said, I have found Da- 
 vid, tne son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which 
 ! l fulfill all my will. Of this man's Beed hath God, ac- 
 cording to J lis promise, raised unto Israel a Saviour, 
 ia : when John had first preached before His coming 
 the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel." 
 
 Here we see the erring child crying out for its toy; Is- 
 rael demanding a king. God answers their desire, though 
 it was the rejection of Him. God chastises His people 
 often by granting their foolish prayers, their sinful worldly 
 desires. The answer proved a scourge to Israel, and for 
 forty years delayed the blessing God had purposed to send 
 them in raising up David. True, their sin could not hin- 
 der the blessing, but it could and did delay it. "Accord- 
 ing to promise" that blessing came, but not till after forty 
 years' reaping the fruit of their sin. So it is now with 
 God's people. God has in store for them every needful 
 blessing. His blessings are "after His own heart." But 
 they must look to Him for them. They must wait His 
 time. This they will not do. They try to anticipate God. 
 They run before Him. They plan, and carry out their 
 plans. "They desire" and God answers their desires. 
 Thus they defeat the very end they are aiming at. A 
 blessing not "after His heart" is no blessing at all. A 
 blessing that will not "fulfill all His will" must be eventu- 
 ally a curse. Thus we bring sorrow upon ourselvos. 
 Thus we delay, perhaps for "forty years," the blessing God 
 had in store for us. Thus Israel made that wildem 
 which was only a few days' journey, a wearisome march of 
 forty years. Lord, what is man? Weak, wandering, 
 foolish, sinful; always going against his very best interests; 
 3 
 
34 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 always bringing trouble upon himself, and dishonor upon 
 God. 
 
 And observe the Divine order here. Eepentance first 
 preached, and thus the way made ready for Jesus. So it 
 is now; repentance first. But what is repentance? 
 Sorrow for sin? No, no! This is the error of Eome, 
 and of every anti-christian system. It is change of mind. 
 Man must first change his thoughts about God, about 
 himself, and about the way in which he is to be saved. 
 Man's thought is, " I must do something to commend 
 myself to God ; " or " I must try and do better before I can 
 expect to win His favor." He must change all these 
 thoughts. God requires nothing from him. He gives 
 him salvation freely, fully, now, and simply as a sinner. 
 When man's thoughts are thus changed by the Holy 
 Spirit, then follows — but not till then — sorrow for sin. 
 Then Jesus comes and enters the heart thus prepared by 
 the Spirit. He, like the Baptist of old, " goes before " 
 the Lord, "to prepare His way." There is no real con- 
 version to God without this. There never was; there 
 never will be. Yet we are not to preach the Spirit. " He 
 shall not speak of Himself." We are to preach Jesus. 
 " He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you." 
 Jesus is to be our word, Jesus only. Come to Jesus. 
 Come this very moment. Come just as you are. Wait 
 for nothing, but come. Come! God bids you, Jesus 
 welcomes you, the Spirit beseeches you. Why stand 
 waiting ? Your waiting implies that you are waiting for 
 something. Thus you do not believe that that something 
 has been done. You show by your hesitation and doubt 
 that you do not yet believe that "your salvation is 
 finished," that Jesus has done the work. You doubt Him, 
 
Paul's address at antioch. 35 
 
 deny Him, set the seal of unbelief to the declarations of 
 His word. You do it deliberately. The guilt of denying 
 the Saviour's word and work is weighing upon you. You 
 " make God a liar, because you believe not the record He 
 has given of His Son." 
 
 " And as John fulfilled his course, he said, "Whom think 
 ye that I am ? I am not He. But, behold, there cometh 
 One after me, whose shoes of His feet I am not worthy 
 to loose." Mark this, reader. John had a course to 
 fulfill. So has every Christian minister, so has every 
 Christian ; so have you and I. We each stand in relation 
 to God as he did. How did John fulfill that course? By 
 bringing himself and those to whom he preached to the 
 test. What was that test? It was hdw he stood in rela- 
 tion to Christ. " Whom think ye," he says, " that /am?" 
 Have I been setting myself before you instead of Christ ? 
 Is Christ eclipsed, and is it John you see? No, "I am 
 not He." Let me hide myself. Let Jesus be all. Direct 
 your thoughts to Him. I am only a "voice," a "messen- 
 ger." Ah, this was indeed li fulfilling his course." The 
 Christian or the Christian minister may be in his course, 
 but is he fully filling it? Is he bringing himself and all 
 his words and thoughts and ways to this test? Is he 
 setting himself before men instead of Christ. Do those 
 with whom he mingles think of him with such thoughts 
 as should only be directed to Christ ? How does he stand 
 to others; how do others think of him? "What think ye 
 of Christ? 1 ' Oh how many a Christian minister is rob- 
 bing Christ of His glory, by taking to himself that 
 honor and applause which belong only to Jesus! How is 
 he secretly courting it by his preaching] How it gratifies 
 him to be well spoken of! How he resents being eclips. d 
 
3G COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 by another! And all this time, while ostensibly he is 
 preaching Jesus, he is really preaching himself. And 
 how many a congregation, too, is robbing Christ of His 
 glory by putting it upon man! Christian minister, 
 test yourself; test yourself often, as John did. Say to 
 yourself, say it in God's presence, with God's all-searching 
 eye upon you, Who am I setting before my people ? what 
 do my people think of me? what place has Christ in it 
 all? While ostensibly all is Jesus, am I not so shaping 
 myself, my sermons, my ministry, as to catch the soft 
 breath of human applause? Am /indeed only a "voice," 
 heard but not seen! Oh self, self, self! How it predomi- 
 nates in many a Christian's heart ! How we are living 
 under its power, even under the humblest and holiest of 
 all garbs, the name of Jesus ! Christian, let your lan- 
 guage, your conduct, your works and ways at all times 
 say, "I am not He." Only thus will you "fulfill your 
 course." 
 
 And mark the solemn reason for this. " Behold, there 
 cometh One after me." Yes, Christian, whoever you are, 
 Christ cometh after you. Then how are you preparing 
 His way ? What will He find in your course ? Will He 
 find yourself or Himself? Oh solemnly, earnestly, I ask 
 it, which? Which, Christian, which? He cometh after 
 you. Surely He does. Will He find "wood, hay, 
 stubble?" or will He find "gold, silver, precious stones?" 
 
 And in view of this solemn truth what should be your 
 place? Just what John's was here. God, grant that 
 it may ! " Whose shoes of His feet I am not worthy to 
 loose." Yes, dear Christian reader, He is indeed "coming 
 after you" in your "course." Oh under the solemn 
 thought may you be found at His "feet!" Nay more, 
 
Paul's address at antiocii. 37 
 
 unworthy to be there! May the very duet Jesus treads 
 QpOD be the gold of your lifel May you be bo hidden, 
 H >us, that nunc but He may ever be seen! 
 
 Mark, now, another truth! "For they that dwell at 
 Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew Him not, nor 
 yet the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath- 
 day, they have fulfilled them in condemning Him." How 
 man may hear the gospel every Sunday, and yet not know 
 Him! How the truth may be read day by day, and yet 
 the voice of the Spirit of God speaking in it may never be 
 heard ! And what does this familiarity with truth without 
 the heart being brought under the power of it, lead to? 
 To commit the greatest of all crimes, the murder of the 
 Son of God. Familiarity with truth has the effect of 
 blinding the heart, and of leading us into the commission 
 of those very sins which it condemns. We may be hearing, 
 day after day, the most awful denunciations on sin and 
 sinners, and yet we ourselves be unconsciously the very 
 sinners described, and doing the very sins condemned. It 
 is in this way we have a fearful truth brought before us, 
 namely, that truth unreceived by the heart avenges itself by 
 blinding the hearer, and allowing him to fall into sin. 
 This passage is an instance of it. Men who hear the truth 
 know the truth, but those whose hearts are brought under 
 the power of it little know what they are bringing upon 
 themselves. Truth must harden, must blind, must make 
 a man eventually insensible to sin, unl 88 it be received 
 into the heart by the power of the Spirit of God. We 
 do not wonder, after years of listening to the truth, that 
 men become insensible to the most earnest appeals, the 
 most startling warnings. The heart and conscience have 
 become hardened. "Ephraim is joined unto idols," and 
 
38 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 God has uttered His solemn verdict from heaven, "let 
 him alone." And what is the remedy for this state of 
 things? The first word of this passage contains it, " be- 
 cause they knew Him not, nor the voices of the prophets." 
 It is to know Christ, as revealed in the word of God.. 
 Hearer of the truth, and yet unconverted, mark it well. 
 You are "dead" in the midst of all your religion. You 
 are "without God," in the midst of all your knowledge. 
 You are, you must be, till you know Jesus. To know 
 Him, this is life, life everlasting. But only this. 
 
 " And though they found no cause of death in Him, yet 
 desired they Pilate that He should be slain. And when 
 they had fulfilled all that was written of Him, they took 
 Him down from the tree, and laid Him in a sepulcher." 
 Two truths are presented here. The first is, that enmity 
 of heart was the cause of Christ's death. There was no 
 cause of death, yet "they desired" it. "Out of the 
 heart proceed murders." Here is the source of all evil. 
 But let us not forget the second truth, that in all this 
 work they were only fulfilling the Divine counsel. Faith 
 looks behind the scene, and sees at every bend and turn 
 in this diabolical act the work of God. This makes us 
 calm when everything around us is going wrong. But if 
 faith be not in exercise, if we are walking by sight, no 
 wonder we are cast down and troubled. Nothing can live 
 in the present scene but faith. Everything is out of 
 course, and will be more so. But if each day we live 
 within the veil; if we look at the "things unseen and 
 eternal," we shall not be distracted. Lord, grant this to 
 each one of Thy people, as the darkness thickens, and the 
 midnight mists envelope us ! 
 
 " But God raised Him from the dead, and He was seen 
 
Paul's address at antioch. 39 
 
 many days of them which came up with Him from 
 ilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses unto the peo- 
 ple." So must it be with each one of us. Would we 
 Jesus? We, too, must come up with Him from the sinful 
 world to the heavenly Jerusalem. We must come up 
 from the wilderness, "leaning on the Beloved." None see 
 Him hut those who come up with Him. They hold sweet 
 fellowship with their risen Lord. They gaze into His 
 heart of love. They hear His voice and see His counte- 
 nance. To them He is " the chief of ten thousand, the 
 altogether lovely." Their hearts give utterance again and 
 n to the language of the loved one in the Canticles, 
 "Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth." Th« y 
 have left Galilee, and the heavenly Jerusalem is before 
 them, and, precious thought! they are "coming up with 
 Him." 
 
 Not only so, but they are "His witnesses unto the 
 people." Not the half-hearted Christian. Not the com- 
 promiser with the world. Not the one who knows little 
 of Christianity beyond the name. No. These are no 
 witnesses for God. These are disfigured and blotted 
 "epistles," known indeed of men, but not known and read 
 as God's living epistles. No, dear Christian reader, to be 
 "His witnesses to the people," we must "come up with 
 Him" from this wilderness. Our back must be on the 
 world, our face toward the heavenly Jerusalem. Only 
 thus shall we witness for God. Only thus shall we declare 
 plainly that we " look for a city which hath foundations, 
 whose builder and maker is God." This world has no 
 foundations. It is the house built on the sand, and the 
 storm is beginniiiLT to rise. But that city has "founda- 
 tions" yea, many foundations. It is stability itself, for 
 
40 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 it is the city of the living God, the " inheritance of the 
 saints in light." reader, is your eye on it? Is your 
 heart in it? Are you "coming up with Jesus?" What 
 witness are you giving for God, hour alter hour, as you 
 live here? Are you a marked man? Are you wholly 
 on the Lord's side, or are you relaxing your strictness, 
 and trying to meet the world half-way? A thousand 
 times better err on the other side than on this. Christ- 
 ians are not decidedly on the Lord's side. Mark them, 
 and beware of their example! If yours is not a "pecu- 
 liar" path, a marked conduct, you are no "witness for 
 Christ," though you be a Christian. 
 
 And now mark the great blessing flowing to us from 
 the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. It is 
 stated in one word. "I will give unto you the sure 
 mercies of David." What streams of mercy now come 
 down from that great source, and each one is endorsed 
 with that precious covenant w T ord, "sure!" "He hath 
 made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all 
 things, and sure." Every promise "sure." Every need- 
 ful temporal blessing "sure." Everything in our daily 
 lot provided for and "sure." "Not one good thing of all 
 that the Lord our God has promised wanting;" and all 
 "sure," because made sure by the death and resurrection 
 of the Lord Jesus. The only "sure" thing on this side of 
 heaven is that which is connected with Him. 
 
 But, unconverted reader, if grace is so full and free, 
 there is a note of warning. " Beware therefore, lest that 
 come upon you which is spoken in the prophets." In 
 proportion to the fullness and freeness of the gospel, will 
 be the guilt of rejecting it. Notwithstanding the "open 
 door" of late years, and the great blessing that has at- 
 
Paul's address at antiocii. 41 
 
 tended the preaching of tho Gospel, never has there been 
 in the history of our world so much knowledge of God's 
 word combined with so little of the power of godliness 
 manifested in the life. Never has "the truth as it is in 
 Jesus" been so trampled under foot as it is in these days. 
 Let men call them "happy times" if they please, but they 
 are "perilous times." And none of the judgments visited 
 upon the nations of old can compare with the judgments 
 with which this professing Christian nation will shortly 
 be visited. They will be poured out without measure, and 
 tlnir record is in the Book of Revelation May we take 
 warning in time. Reader, and especially unconverted 
 reader, "beware, lest that come upon you." You may 
 smile incredulously at these warnings, but it is the smile 
 of a man on the verge of a precipice. You are taking a 
 step which can never be retraced. "Beware" then, and 
 make sure of a refuge from the storm, by hiding in the 
 clefts of the Rock of ages. 
 
 O Jesus ! the glory, the wonder and love 
 
 Of angels and justified spirits above, 
 
 And saints, who behold Thee not, yet dearly love, 
 
 Rejoicing in hope of Thy glory; 
 Thou only, and wholly, art lovely and fair, 
 "Who robb'st not Jehovah, with Him to compare, 
 Jehovah's own image glows in Thee; shines there 
 In visible bodily glory. 
 
 Worth divine dwells in Thee, 
 
 Excellent dignity, 
 
 Beauty and majesty, 
 
 Glory environs Thee; 
 Power, honor, dominion, and life rest on Thee, 
 O Thou ehiefest among the ten thousands! 
 
 "Wherever we view Thee new gloriee arise ; 
 
 The man who's (Jod's fellow, who rich s on the skies, 
 
42 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 Made flesh, dwelt among us ; brought God to our eyes ; 
 
 In grace and truth showing His glory. 
 Thou spak'st to existence the heavens and their hosts, 
 The earth and its fullness, the seas and their coasts ; 
 Time hangs on Thy word, and eternity boasts 
 
 To crown and adorn Thee with glory. 
 Worth, etc. 
 
 But how lovely dost Thou appear in our eyes, 
 
 When we view Thee incarnate in childhood's disguise, 
 
 Thy love's past all knowledge, while raptures surprise 
 
 And ravish our hearts with Thy glory. 
 Thou in Thine own body, on th' accursed tree, 
 Did'st bear all our sins, while Thy God frowned on Thee, 
 Expiring in blood in our stead ; and now we 
 
 Exult in Thy merit and glory. 
 Worth, etc. 
 
 Thy power all divine from the grave back again 
 Brought Thee, King of glory, Thou Lamb who wast slain I 
 First-born of the dead, crowned with honor supreme ; 
 
 Thy throne is established in glory. 
 There reign in Thy glory, O Thou great Adored ! 
 Till Thy foes, crush'd under Thy feet, be no more; 
 Thy Throne shall triumph over all things restored, 
 And eternity blaze with Thy glory. 
 
 Worth divine dwells in Thee, 
 
 Excellent dignity, 
 
 Beauty and majesty, 
 
 Glory environs Thee ; 
 Power, honor, dominion, and life rest on Thee, 
 O Thou chiefest among the ten thousands ! 
 
TIIE TASSAGE OF THE JORDAN. 43 
 
 THE PASSAGE OF THE JOBDAN. 
 Joshua iii, 3 ; 4. 
 
 And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the 
 Covenant of the Loud your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, 
 then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it: Yet there shall be 
 a spaee between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come 
 not near onto it; that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye 
 have not passed tit is way heretofore. 
 
 One of the most beautiful types of the Lord Jesus Christ 
 in the Bible is the ark of the covenant. It is brought 
 before our notice in the passage we have selected for con- 
 sideration in connection with Joshua and the camp of 
 Israel. The subject is beautifully instructive and emi- 
 nently practical. 
 
 Joshua and the host of Israel have a great work before 
 them, the passage of the Jordan, and the destruction of 
 the guilty city of Jericho. Judgment was about to do its 
 terrible work in the land. But mercy always precedes it. 
 "He delighteth in mercy." "He willeth not the death 
 of a sinner." Judgment came upon Jerusalem to the 
 uttermost, but not till mercy had gone beforej in a large 
 and overflowing stream, in the person and work of the 
 Bon of God. Not till His tears had fallen upon her soil, 
 
44 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 and last of all His blood, was wrath poured out. It is so 
 always with God. "I will sing of mercy and judgment," 
 says the psalmist. But mercy is first. So was it with 
 Jericho. Before Joshua and the host are allowed to take 
 one step in the direction of judgment, grace is seen at 
 work. Bahab in the doomed city hangs out the scarlet 
 line, leans upon it as her only hope of safety, in depend- 
 ence upon the promise made to her, and is safe in the hour 
 of judgment. Thus we see mercy to the guilty-, the safety 
 of the trusting sinner, and, the source of it all, the scarlet 
 line; all brought before us in the very midst of that 
 scene over which the wrath of God was impending. How 
 sweet to see that with our God this is always the first step, 
 the background of the picture, bringing out in bold relief 
 the righteousness of all His subsequent dealings. 
 
 The next thing we mark before one step is taken in the 
 direction of judgment, is living faith in active exercise in 
 the hearts of God's people. (See Josh, ii, 24.) These 
 two features then are the Divine pencilings of the Spirit of 
 God before He draws the darker lines of judgment; 
 namely, grace before judgment, and faith before victory. 
 These are, in one form or another, the background of 
 every picture in the Bible where the darker colors of 
 wrath are made to follow. Blessed be His name, who is 
 "rich in mercy" and "the God of all grace," that it is so! 
 
 The next thing brought before us, in Divine and beauti- 
 ful order, is the ark of the covenant. For if the streams 
 of grace and faith run on before, where do they take their 
 rise but in Him whom that ark represents, the Lord Jesus 
 Christ? It is He that is to be the subject of all our 
 praises; "for of Him and through Him and by Him are 
 all things, who is over all, God blessed forever." 
 
THE PASSAGE OF THE JORDAN. 45 
 
 Mark, first, how Christ ia exalted. "When ye Bee tin- 
 ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests 
 and the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your 
 place, and go after it." No matter what Israel might be 
 doinL r , no matter how important, the moment the ark 
 moved they were "to leave their place, and go after it." 
 There was to be readiness of heart towards it. 77 was to 
 have the first claim. The ark, the ark, that was to be the 
 signal to the whole camp and to each member of it. The 
 ark, that was to awaken in each heart a response and a 
 movement. And the movement of that ark and its fol- 
 lowers wis only in one direction, towards the promised 
 land. How clearly one eye was on that ark in after-days, 
 and how ready to "remove from his place and go after it," 
 that man who exclaimed, "I am determined to know 
 nothing among you sav e Jesus Christ and Him crucified : " 
 "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, 
 and I unto the world." 
 
 Like the cloud of glory in the wilderness in earlier 
 days, so was the ark now. Where it stood, the camp 
 stood; when it moved, the camp went after it. So also 
 Him whom they both represent: "And when He putteth 
 forth His own sheep, He goeth before them, and the Bheep 
 follow Him, for they know His voice." So also with the 
 redeemed in glory: "And when the living creatures went, 
 the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures 
 w<-rc lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. 
 Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was 
 their spirit to go." " When those stood, these stood; when 
 those went, these went, . . . for the spirit of the 
 living creatures was in the wheels. And there was a 
 
4o COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when 
 they stood, and had let down their wings.-" Mark it in 
 later days: "For the Lamb which is in the midst of the 
 throne shall feed them, and shall lead them to living foun- 
 tains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from 
 their eyes." "These are they which follow the Lamb 
 whithersoever He goeth." 
 
 "Ye shall remove from your place, and go after it." 
 Eeader, what is your place? I do not know. But this I 
 say, if there be this day anything your heart is placing 
 before Christ, anything you are placing on a level with 
 Christ, God's word to you is, "Ye shall remove from your 
 place, and go after it." Is there anything at this moment 
 which conscience tells you you are loving more than Him, 
 any loved member of your family, any future prospect, 
 any present plan, any way of your own which is of value 
 to you? Is there anything that occupies more of your 
 thoughts, and consequently more of your affections, than 
 Christ does? Then I say, to you is this word sent, "Ye 
 shall remove from your place, and go after it." Is there 
 any place of amusement to which you are going, on which 
 you cannot previously ask God's blessing, and which will 
 not be the means of leading you nearer to Christ and to 
 heaven? Is there any evening party at which you cannot 
 speak for Christ? Is there any business transaction in 
 which you are taking secret advantage over some unsus- 
 pecting tradesman? Is there any secretly nourished sin, 
 any habitual cross temper or sour disposition, anything in 
 you before others that is contrary to the mind of the holy 
 Jesus ? Then I say, to you is the word from God this day, 
 "Ye shall remove from your place, and go after it." 
 
 Oh solemn, searching word for all! For Rationalism, 
 
Tin: PASSAGE OF THE JORDAN. 47 
 
 with its sophistry, Betting up the human understanding in 
 the place of Christ. For Ritualism, by fascinating c 
 monial, hiding Christ. For Evangelicalism, with its scrip- 
 tural form, but lack of spiritual life and power, equally 
 hiding Christ. For individual Christianity, ever treading 
 the dead level, the beaten path of Christians around, 
 without the distinctive mark of the life and love and 
 power of the Spirit of God raising them above it so as to 
 distinguish them as Christ was distinguished. To each 
 one comes the word of God now as to Israel of old, " Ye 
 shall remove from your place, and go after it." 
 
 '* Y<'t tlure shall be a space between you and it, about 
 two thousand cubits by measure : come not near unto it, 
 that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye 
 have not passed this way heretofore." The reason of the 
 space between the ark and the camp was that every eye 
 might see it. If it had not been far in advance, it could 
 not have been seen by those in the background. There- 
 fore the necessity for a space between of two thousand 
 cubits. This was the great design of God, that each one 
 of the mighty moving throng should see it for himself 
 One object alone engaged the thoughts and occupied the 
 attention as they moved onward, the ark. Not the 
 Twites who bore it, or the equipage, however beautiful, 
 but the ark itself. Surely this has a lesson for us! 
 Christ must be very conspicuous. The eye of every one 
 of God's chosen should be on Him and Him only. He 
 should be so clearly presented to every soul that the 
 weakest, the feeblest, the blindest in the ranks, though 
 they may be able to see nothing else, may see Him. 
 
 And why? "That ye may know the way by which ye 
 must go." If Israel had not seen that ark, if the eye had 
 
48 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 rested on anything else, they must have lost their way. 
 " There is none other name given among men whereby we 
 must be saved but the name of Jesus." It might have 
 seemed narrow or exclusive to make the question of inherit- 
 ing or losing the land dependent upon looking to the ark, 
 but so it was. It was God's appointment, and whoever 
 looked not to it forfeited the inheritance. Just so is it 
 now. Men are making many ways to heaven. Latitudi- 
 narianism is for setting aside the cross of Christ as nar- 
 row and exclusive. Men are beginning to think that, do 
 what they may, or live as they pleas 3, it will somehow be 
 all right at last. Ah ! if the ark be not before them, and 
 the eye of faith resting upon it, the end will be that the 
 waters of judgment will overwhelm them. Only one way; 
 that is, Jesus. 
 
 And mark the warning. "Come not near unto it." 
 Any one coming near to that ark hid it by his own person 
 from the view of others. Thus it is that self in any form 
 obscures the glory of the Lord Jesus. How often instead 
 of Christ man is seen! How often the shadow of some- 
 thing is between the eye of faith and Christ the true ark! 
 How stealthily the flesh gains ground and comes near to 
 the ark, so that our true joy and peace and glory are hid- 
 den ! Oh retire, from view ! Fall back into the ranks and 
 let nothing be seen but the ark. Let self in every form, 
 good and bad, go out of sight. Make the way between 
 your soul and Jesus very clear. Let nothing, however 
 valued, come between. Let the eye rest undividedly on 
 Jesus. Then will you see the way before you. You 
 will walk in the right path. You will go through the 
 dark waves of sorrow and trial without fear. You will 
 conquer the foe, however "great and strong." Faith will 
 
THE PASSAGE OF THE JORDAN. 49 
 
 triumph, and you will raise your trophy of victory as 
 a memorial of the loving-kindness of the Lord from the 
 wavea that threatened to overwhelm you. 
 
 "For ye have not passed this way heretofore." Dear 
 Christian reader, whatever may have been your experience 
 of the past, the way before you is untried. You know 
 not what it may be. Oh trust it not! It is still the 
 wilderness. It is still a deceitful heart you carry. It is 
 still the deep darkness and the dreary mist of the last 
 watch of the night. Look now more than ever to Jesus, 
 Jesus only. "Ye have not passed this way heretofore." 
 Be sure that the eye of faith is steadily fixed on the ark. 
 Be sure that Christ is the undivided object of your affec- 
 tions, in all things, great and small. "Ye have not passed 
 this way heretofore." Then beware of anything coming 
 between your soul and Jesus. Look not to man, not even 
 to good men. Cease from man altogether. Have no con- 
 fidence in the flesh. All fail when put to the test. Only 
 Christ is "faithful and true." The soul that trusts in 
 aught else than Jesus is trusting a bruised reed, and will 
 soon feel the piercings of disappointment and sorrow. Oh 
 look only to Jesus ! You have proved Him, and tried 
 Him, and found Him faithful. Is He not worthy of all 
 your trust? 
 
 Mark one truth more brought before us in connection 
 with the passage of the Jordan. "And 'it came to pass, 
 when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that 
 the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, Take you twelve men 
 out of the people, out of every tribe a man, and command 
 ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jor- 
 dan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, 
 twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and 
 4 
 
50 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 leave them in the lodging place where ye shall lodge this 
 night." What were these stones for? One for every 
 tribe! representing the whole congregation of Israel. 
 They were to be taken out of the midst of the waters of 
 death; they were to be reared up on the other side, as 
 trophies of victory. They told their tale, how that Israel 
 had come up out of the place of death and judgment. 
 They were standing memorials of victory over death. 
 This, too, in the country which as yet was in the enemy's 
 hands. The rams' horns had not yet been blown. The 
 walls of Jericho still stood formidably before them. The 
 inheritance was not yet in possession. Still they had the 
 witness of resurrection-life among them, the victory over 
 death. 
 
 So is it now with the Church of God. We are still in 
 the enemy's land. Its walls and bulwarks are still before 
 us. "The kingdoms of this world" have not yet become 
 "the kingdoms of our Lord Jesus Christ." The inherit- 
 ance is yet in reserve. But, blessed be God, the Ark has 
 been down in the waters of death. He has brought us up 
 "with Him," into resurrection-life. We have gotten the 
 victory. We have this victory, this resurrection-life, even 
 in the very land of the enemy. Soon the inheritance will 
 be in possession. Soon the shout will be heard that shall 
 shake the walls of "this present world" to the ground. 
 The guilty Jericho was never to rise again. This world 
 of sin and guilt, of sorrow and trial, of bondage and 
 misery, shall pass away forever. Soon shall be seen " the 
 King in His beauty." "His servants shall serve Him;" 
 and "sorrow and sighing shall flee away." 
 
 "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!" Christian, be 
 ready. The time is at hand, the hour draws near. 
 
THE TASSAGE OF THE JORDAN. 51 
 
 Another week may not pass before you see the Lord. 
 Keep your garments. Live near to Jesus. Especially 
 live much alone with God. It is the only safe place here. 
 There is no time now for anything else save to win souls 
 to Christ and to live near to God. reader, may it be 
 thy work and thy place, "till the shadows flee away!" 
 " Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, 
 and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they 
 see his shame." 
 
 Nothing between, Lord, nothing between; 
 Let me Thy glory see ; 
 Draw my soul close to Thee, 
 Then speak in love to me : 
 
 Nothing between. 
 
 Nothing between, Lord, nothing between ; 
 Let not earth's din and noise 
 Stifle Thy still small voice ; 
 In it let me rejoice : 
 
 Nothing between. 
 
 Nothing between, Lord, nothing between; 
 Nothing of earthly care, 
 Nothing of tear or prayer, 
 No robe that self may wear : 
 
 Nothing between. 
 
 Nothing between, Lord, nothing between; 
 Unbelief disappear, 
 Vanish each doubt and fear, 
 Fading when Thou art near : 
 
 Nothing between. 
 
 Nothing between, Lord, nothing between; 
 Shine with unclouded ray, 
 Chasing each mist away, 
 O'er my whole heart bear sway : 
 
 Nothing between. 
 
52 COUNSELS FKOM THE WOEDS OF TRUTH, 
 
 Nothing between, Lord, nothing between; 
 Thus may I walk with Thee, 
 Thee only may I see, 
 Thine only let me be : 
 
 Nothing between. 
 
 Nothing between, Lord, nothing between ; 
 Till Thine eternal light, 
 Rising on earth's dark night, 
 Bursts on my open sight : 
 
 Nothing between. 
 
 Nothing between, Lord, nothing between; 
 Till, the last conflict o'er, 
 I stand on Canaan's shore, 
 With Thee i'orevermore : 
 
 Nothing between. 
 
THE SYRIAN LEPER. 53 
 
 THE SYRIAN LEPER. 
 2 Kings v, 1-19. 
 
 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man 
 with his master, and honorable, because by him the Lord had given deli- 
 verance unto Syria : he was also a mighty man in valor; but he was a leper. 
 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away cap- 
 tive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's 
 wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the 
 prophet that it in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. And 
 one went in, ami told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is 
 of the land of Israel. And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will 
 send a letter to the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him 
 ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of 
 raiment. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now, 
 when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman 
 my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy. And it 
 came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his 
 clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth 
 send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy ? Wherefore consider, I pray 
 you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me. 
 
 And it was §0, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of 
 Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore 
 hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know 
 that there is a prophet in Israel. So Naaman came with his horses and 
 with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha 
 sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, 
 and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou fthalt be clean. But 
 Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will 
 surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his 
 God, and strike his hand over the place, and reeover the leper. .Ire" not 
 Abanu and l'harpar, rivers of Uamadcud, better thaii all the waters of la- 
 
54 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 rael ? may I not wash in them, and be clean ? So he turned, and went 
 away in a rage. And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and 
 said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest 
 thou not have done it? how much rather, then, when he saith to thee, 
 Wash, and be clean ? Then he went down, and dipped himself seven 
 times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God : and his flesh 
 came again like unto the flesh of a little cbild, and he was clean. 
 
 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came 
 and stood before him : and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no 
 God in all the earth, but in Israel; now therefore, I pray thee, take a 
 blessing of thy servant. But he said, As the Lord liveth, before whom I 
 now stand, I Will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he re- 
 fused. And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to 
 thy servant two mules' burden of earth ? for thy servant will henceforth 
 offer neither burnt-offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord. 
 In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into 
 the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I 
 bow myself in the house of Rimmon : when I bow down myself in the 
 house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing. And he said 
 unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way. 
 
 The history of Naaman is one of the most remarkable in 
 God's Word. It brings before our notice two striking 
 features of human character frequently found united, 
 human greatness and human misery. Along with these it 
 develops that which is the secret cause of all our misery, 
 pride. 
 
 Let us look at it; and, with the light of God's Holy 
 Spirit, learn solemn and holy lessons. 
 
 If you go down deep enough into any heart, you will 
 discover some secret sorrow, and at the root of that sorrow 
 you will often find some secret sin. " Now Naaman, captain 
 of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his 
 master, and honorable, because by him the Lord had 
 given deliverance unto Syria : he was also a mighty man 
 in valor, but he was a leper" Such was Naaman, a 
 great man, mighty in valor, honorable, a deliverer of 
 
THE S V II I A N L EPER. 
 
 
 others from bondage, one who had won golden laurels, "but 
 he was a leper." 
 
 How affecting are the words, "but he was aleper !" Ah, 
 in every record of human greatness, in every cup of honor, 
 in every sunny picture of human lit'-', there comes, at the 
 end a "but," something to shad.- or sadden; some thorn in 
 j.ath piercing our feet and making our secret hearts 
 bleed, while the garlands of human applause glitter on the 
 brow ! They are down in the heart of almost every man, 
 mocking the smile that would force its way to the counte- 
 nance. Many of the smiles of human life are but the glit- 
 tering actors on a stage, beneath which lies a smouldering 
 
 volcano. 
 
 So it was with Xaaman. Wherever he went he carried 
 with him a wasting disease, exposing him to the rude gaze 
 of the passer by. In the grandeur which accompanied him, 
 there was a pressing sorrow weighing down the heart be- 
 neath its load. 
 
 What a picture of multitudes ! Gay, brilliant, happy, hon- 
 orable before the world, the envy or the pride of thousands, 
 and yet in themslves restless, unsatisfied, weary. There is 
 a secret worm gnawing at the heart, and making man ill 
 at ease while surrounded with all the grandeur and luxury 
 of life. The moral leprosy of man, the hidden cause of all 
 his sorrow and misery, is rin. 
 
 Now let us notice how God dealt with this man to remove 
 his leprosy and make him happy, and see in it an exact 
 picture of the way in which lie acts in removing man's sin 
 and giving him p<'ace. 
 
 The first means brought before us is "the little maid." 
 '•And bus .-aid unto her mistress, Would God my lord were 
 with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would re- 
 
56 COUNSELS FROM THE WOEDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 him of his leprosy." Mark how she speaks. She knows 
 of the great healer in Israel. She longs for the leper to be 
 healed. She knows that he will be healed, if he will only 
 go. She speaks the language of confidence. Who is it 
 speaks thus ? A little waiting-maid. Oh how God brings 
 our great thoughts down ! How He " chooses the base 
 things of this world, yea, and things that are not, to bring 
 to nought things that are." "I thank Thee, Father, 
 Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these things 
 from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to 
 babes.' 1 Yes, a little waiting-maid beholds the leprous sin- 
 ner, longs for his salvation, knows Christ's willingness to 
 heal, and of the perfect cure for sin ! 
 
 Mark, again, through what little things God accomplishes 
 His wondrous works. The whole of this cure He builds on 
 the word of a little maid! "Give me to drink;" what a 
 little word, and yet see what God built on it, the conversion 
 of one guilty soul, and through her the drawing of multi- 
 tudes to hear the words of life from the Saviour's own lips ! 
 Lot's wife is turned into a pillar of salt by a look; the world 
 created by a word; man ruined by an apple; a great 
 nation humbled to the dust by a worm, an east wind, a 
 gourd, a, fish; a guilty land destroyed by an insect; a 
 leper healed by a touch; a wandering disciple restored to 
 the fold by the crowing of a cock; a loving heart, rent 
 with sorrow, by the sounding of her own name restored to 
 fullness of joy! How wonderful! and yet how different 
 from us. To accomplish great ends, we use great means. 
 God does exactly the reverse. And why ? Because our 
 ends are accomplished by the means we use. God's are 
 not. ^And that is God's object in this ? That we should 
 mark not the visible end t but the invisible will; not the 
 
THE SYRIAN LEPER. 57 
 
 process, but the Hand that is working; not the things seen 
 and temporal, but the mighty Worker unseen and eternal. 
 As creatures of sense we are arrested by the visible ends, 
 God would have us see, not them, but Him; and therefore 
 He works by the weakest means, in order that, by observing 
 the great disproportion between the means and the end, we 
 may recognize His hand. 
 
 But let U3 mar]; another striking feature in this narrative. 
 Observe what implicit confidence both the king and 
 Naaman place in the little maid's word. It must surely 
 have been Divinely overruled that just at this critical 
 moment both the one and the other should have listened to, 
 and acted upon, the words of a mere child ! But when God 
 is about to do His work, He so orders outward circum- 
 stances that they shall bring about His ends. He not only 
 changes external circumstances so as to meet our spiritual 
 state, but He changes our spiritual state that it shall meet 
 those circumstances. Adaptation is God's great law, both 
 in nature and providence. And He so adapts external cir- 
 cumstances to our spiritual state, and our spiritual state to 
 external circumstances, that His great end is accomplished. 
 
 We mark this further in the case of Naaman. If this 
 message had come shortly after he had become a leper, he 
 might probably have neglected it ; but long years of internal 
 misery and the heavy pressure of disease had brought him 
 down, and made him willing to listen to any proposal of 
 cure. How often we have heard the message, " Come 
 to Christ ;" but we did not go. God has made our burdens 
 press more heavily, has so emptied us from one vessel to 
 another, that we are broken. Then, how willing to listen! 
 Then, with the humbled spirit of a child, we come and bow 
 at the Saviour's feet. But oh, what a process God has had 
 
58 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 to employ to bring us to this ! What long years of disci- 
 pline ! What waves of sorrow rolling over our heads? 
 what withering of earthly gourds! what breaking of 
 human cisterns! what tear-dimmed eyes and bleeding 
 hearts! And what has all this been for ? To bring us to 
 listen, like a child, to the message from heaven, and to 
 take, as poor bankrupt sinners, the gift of eternal life. 
 
 Let us notice now, in the case of Naaman, how the pride 
 of the natural heart works, and learn from it what is the 
 sinner's greatest hindrance in obtaining salvation. Mark 
 how simple had been the message. " Go to the prophet." 
 And Naaman prepares to obey. But observe how the sim- 
 plicity of the message is encumbered. Naaman goes first 
 to the king of Syria, and the king of Syria writes a letter 
 to the king of Israel. Then he takes horses, chariots, sil- 
 ver, gold, changes of raiment, and thus he sets out. 
 
 And is not this the exact picture of the human heart ? 
 " Come to Christ," is the simple message to the sinner. 
 " Just as you are and without one plea." The message is 
 clear, the invitation to all. But see how he sets about it ! 
 See what a hill he makes for himself to get up ! See what 
 a long, tedious way he makes for himself ! See what he 
 prepares to take with him ! See how he resolves to be bet- 
 ter, how he intends to pray, how he determines to break 
 off some of his sins, what alms he purposes giving, what a 
 good life he makes up his mind to lead, with what earnest- 
 ness he sets about taking with him a number of things like 
 these, in order to get into the favor of God ! Just like 
 Naaman. The simple and straight road to Christ is not 
 to his mind, and he sets off in his own. 
 
 And why was this ? Naaman wanted to be healed, but 
 he wanted to be healed in his own way. He wanted to be 
 
TIIESYRIANLEPER. 59 
 
 cleansed, but in a way suited to his own dignity. He could 
 not come to the door of the prophet without any Letter of 
 recommendation from the king, without his chariot and 
 horses, without his silver and gold and raiment. Oh no ! 
 That would be beneath his dignity. That would be to come 
 like a beggar ! And that the pride of the natural heart 
 could not brook. 
 
 Oh how like man at all times ! To come to Christ, re- 
 nouncing everything ; to come poor, blind, leprous, and as 
 beggars to the gate of heaven ; the sinner's pride cannot 
 brook this. He goes to self first, before he goes to Christ, 
 and so self always leads him wrong, No; go just as you 
 are, straight to Jesus. Go with nothing ; go as a beggar ; 
 go feeling that you deserve only one thing at God's hands, 
 and that is condemnation. Those who go emptiest, come 
 away the fullest. Those who go with a burden of sin, come 
 away with joy and gladness. Take nothing to recommend 
 you. You want riches, take none with you. You want a 
 righteous robe, take none of your own patched-up garments 
 with you. Come as you are. The greater the sinner, the 
 greater your need of the Saviour. Your sin is your claim 
 to His mercy. Your wretchedness is your most powerful 
 plea. Your guilt and ruin are your strongest recommenda- 
 tion. These are pleas almighty, and ever prevail. These 
 find a way to the Saviour's ear and a Saviour's heart when 
 nothing else can. These are your passport to His throne 
 at all times. These, and only these, draw from the lips 
 of mercy to the ear of misery the joyous word, the sweet- 
 Bound on this side of heaven in a sinner's ear, " I will ; 
 be thou clean." 
 
 So Naaman, with his princely equipage and costly pre- 
 sents, starts off with the letter to the king of Israel. There 
 
60 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 he meets with no success. The king is in a rage with the 
 message and the messenger. Oh how would all this humi- 
 liation have been spared to Naaman had he gone straight 
 to Eiisha ! 
 
 " Weary, working, burdened one, 
 Why toil you so ? 
 * It is finished/ all was done, 
 Long, long ago. 
 
 Till to Jesus' work you cling, 
 
 By a simple faith, 
 Doing is a deadly thing, 
 
 Doing ends in death. 
 
 Cast thy deadly doing down, 
 
 Down at Jesus' feet ; 
 Stand in Him — in Him alone, 
 
 Gloriously complete." 
 
 Still this " weary, working, burdened one " must go sim- 
 ply to Christ. God will not abate one iota of His message 
 to meet the sinner's case. Again the word comes to Naa- 
 man, " Let him come now to me, and he shall know that 
 there is a prophet in Israel." Yes, God's cry to the " toil- 
 ing one " is, Come to Christ. It is a simple, royal road for 
 poor wandering sinners. 
 
 Again Naaman starts off, and stands with his train and 
 his presents at the prophet's door. Why did he not do this 
 at first, and " without money and without price " ? He 
 had made a short and simple journey a long and tedious 
 and humiliating one. And what does he expect God's mes- 
 senger to do? " Surely he will come out to me." Surely 
 with such a train, and such presents, he will honor me ! 
 Surely now there is that about me which must command 
 the healing I seek ! 
 
TnE SYRIAN LEPER. 61 
 
 No ; tli*- " great man " and u honorable " ifl lefl standing 
 outside at the door 1 The prophet remains in hia chamber, 
 
 and simply sends out a message by his servant. He do -s 
 not even condescend to look upon the " great man," or no- 
 tice his presents. He treats with inhospitalitj the man 
 
 whom he had invited to " come to him," and sends him from 
 his door with a short, abrupt message! Oh how humili- 
 ating to the " great man's " pride ! How God casts all the 
 " money and price " of the natural heart to the ground ! 
 
 And does this conduct on the part of Elisha startle us? 
 Does this treatment show that God does not love the poor 
 leprous sinner ? No, His heart yearns over him with in- 
 conceivable, unutterable love. But God will not stoop to 
 your way of being saved. You must adopt His. The voice 
 is, •• Wash, and be clean." But if you choose to take your 
 own way of being saved instead of His; if you prefer to 
 " work and toil " to make yourself worthy, instead of com- 
 ing and taking His salvation as a free gift; if you persist 
 in taking a course He has not set before you, to listening 
 to His voice and obeying it, He will not stoop to you. He 
 will humble you. He will empty you of your fine thoughts 
 and ways. He will rebuke you, and lay you very low in 
 the dust. He will treat you as Elisha did Naaman at the 
 door of his house, as a beggar. He will not look at you, 
 or vour fine load of self-righteousness you bring with you. 
 The healing is ready, the health is ready, the pardon is 
 iv, the joy is ready, the peace is ready, the crown and 
 glory are ready, all full, and free, and yours, j list as you 
 are. But if you choose to reject, if you turn away because 
 of the terms, if you cannot come down to His feet, if you 
 cannot stoop to be humbled, then you go on, and you die 
 in your sins. 
 
62 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 Mark the confirmation of this in the case of Naaman. 
 " And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go wash 
 in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to 
 thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, 
 and went away, and said, " Behold, I thought, He will 
 surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of 
 the Lord, his God, and strike his hand over the place, and 
 recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers in 
 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." 
 
 We observe Naaman's sin : he thought he ought to have 
 been treated in a way more worthy of his dignity. He 
 despised the means to which he was directed. He thought 
 much more highly of other means. He was wounded that 
 his own thoughts and ways of being healed had been so 
 completely set aside. 
 
 So is it with the sinner. He does not like to be treated 
 as if he was so very bad. He would rather be treated as 
 if he were somebody before God. He has a higher estimate 
 of his own means of being saved than he has of God's. So 
 the pride of his heart rebels, and he turns away. 
 
 Well, God will not relax. You must come to God's way. 
 God will never descend to yours. 
 
 So the servants draw near and expostulate with him. 
 He who had arranged all outward events to meet the spirit- 
 ual state of the leper ; He who so ordered it that the king 
 of Syria and Naaman should listen to the words ofa" little 
 maid," had so arranged that at this critical moment, on 
 which the whole matter seemed to hinge, Naaman should 
 be met by his servants, the humble ones again being used 
 by God to carry out God's purposes of grace. 
 
THE SYRIAN LEPER. 63 
 
 Yes, God makes outward events change to suit our spirit- 
 ual state, and our spiritual state to change, so as to meet 
 outward events. Thus, He carries out at all times His 
 i designs of sovereign grace. 
 
 So, by God's gracious interference, nothing else, the 
 leper was led to God's way from his own. He went and 
 washed, according to the saying of the man of God, and 
 "his flesh came again, like unto the flesh of a little child, 
 and he was clean." "The flesh of a little child;" this 
 was the " new nature." " Except a man be born again, 
 he cannot see the kingdom of God." Now, all the effects 
 of that new nature begin to show themselves. Now he 
 knows that only the God of Israel is the God. Now he 
 knows that there is none like Him. Now He would offer 
 a blessing, not to procure salvation, but as an offering of 
 gratitude and love. But no; Elisha will not take this. 
 Why ? To let Naaman see that nothing of Naaman's has 
 had any hand in the work of healing. It has all been grace. 
 It has all come to the poor leper without money and with- 
 out price. Had Elisha taken the reward, the weak con- 
 science of Naaman might have said, " Well, I have given 
 him something for it." The Spirit of God is very jealous 
 of Christ's glory. He will let Naaman know that all is 
 grace, and that the flesh has no place in His sight. So 
 God is glorified, and the leper is filled with humble, grate- 
 ful praises. As a poor sinner, he has nothing to say now, 
 but "worthy the Lamb." 
 
 Now mark another effect of the new nature. It is ten- 
 derness of conscience. See it in Naaman. " In this thing 
 the Lord pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth 
 into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth 
 on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon : 
 
64 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord par- 
 don thy servant in this thing" 
 
 Tenderness of conscience is ever the fruit of the new na- 
 ture. We tremble because the Spirit of God is in us. At 
 every step we challenge ourselves ; and at every step, too, 
 the tender conscience cries out, " Lord, pardon Thy ser- 
 vant." Yes, these are the " fruits of the Spirit." Con- 
 science is tender ; for God is before the soul in all His 
 glory. 
 
 But mark Elisha's reply. He says not, " Go." He says 
 not, " Do not go." He leaves the conscience of the renewed 
 one alone with God. He leaves it to act before God, under 
 the power of that Spirit that had awakened it ; well know- 
 ing that " He who had begun a good work would perfect 
 it." He speaks the word of his Master, " Go in peace." 
 He leaves the awakened conscience of the washed soul to 
 act under its own responsibility to God, and whispers over 
 it the word of heaven, "Peace." 
 
 Unconverted reader, " wash, and be clean." God's voice 
 to you is not " work," not " do," but " wash," " wash," " wash, 
 and be clean." It is not " keep on washing till you become 
 cleaner" No. It is " wash, and be clean." It is a wash- 
 ing that once and forever fits the soul for God's presence. 
 Sinner, cast every thought and every way of thine own to 
 the winds. Take God's and leave thine own forever. 
 " Wash, and be clean." Remember the solemn words of 
 the Lord Jesus to thy soul, " If I wash thee not, thou hast 
 no part with me." 
 
 Not what I am, O Lord, but what Thou art t 
 That, that alone can be my soul's true rest ; 
 
 Thy love, not mine, bids fear and doubt depart, 
 And stills the tempest of my tossing breast. 
 
THE SYRIAN LEPER. G5 
 
 Thy name La Love I I hear it from yon eroas; 
 Thy name is Love ! I read it on yon tomb; 
 And meaner lore ii perishable dross, 
 
 Put this .shall light me through time's thickest gloom. 
 
 It blesses now, and shall forever bless, 
 
 It saves me now, and shall forever save; 
 It holds me up in days of helplessness, 
 
 It bears me safely o'er each swelling wave. 
 
 'Tis what I know of Thee, my Lord and God, 
 That fills my soul with peace, my lips with song; 
 
 Thou art my health, my joy, my staff, my rod, 
 Leaning on Thee in weakness, I am strong. 
 
 I am all want and hunger : this faint heart 
 
 Pines for a fullness which it finds not here; 
 Dear ones are leaving, and, as they depart, 
 
 Make room within for something yet more dear. 
 
 More of Thyself, oh, show me hour by hour, 
 
 More of Thy glory, O my God and Lord ; 
 More of Thyself in all Thy grace and power, 
 
 More of Thy love and truth, Incarnate "Word! 
 
CG COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH 
 
 THE ASCENDED SAVIOUK AND HIS 
 GIFTS TO THE CHURCH. 
 
 Ephesians iv, 1 — 16. 
 
 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord,) beseech you, that ye walk worthy 
 of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, 
 with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love ; endeavoring to keep 
 the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one 
 Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling ; one Lord, one 
 faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through 
 all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to 
 the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended 
 up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that 
 he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts 
 of the earth ? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far 
 above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave 6ome, 
 apostles ; and some, prophets ; and some, evangelists ; and some, pastors 
 and teachers ; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, 
 for the edifying of the body of Christ ; till we all come in the unity of the 
 faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto 
 the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ ; that we henceforth be 
 no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of 
 doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie 
 in wait to deceive; but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him 
 in all things, which is the head, even Christ; from whom the whole body 
 fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, 
 according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh 
 increase of the body, unto the edifying of itself in love. 
 
 What a comprehensive and instructive portion of God's 
 word is that now before us ! It is one of the addresses 
 
TIIE ASCENDED SAVIOUR. G7 
 
 delivered by Paul when in prison ; and it would seem as if 
 the apostle spoke from his dungeon chains with a power 
 an«l an earnestness which only " fellowship with Christ's 
 Bufferings" can impart to the heart and pen. Let us listen 
 to his words, and strive to catch the echo of his voice, as 
 the Spirit of God speaks through it in solemn, earnest, 
 searching tones. 
 
 We mark again the word " therefore," showing us a con- 
 nection with some previous utterance. This connection is 
 not with the third chapter, but with the closing verses of 
 the second chapter. The third chapter is (excepting the 
 first verse) in a parenthesis. At the end of the first verse 
 the apostle enters on explanatory matters, and in the first 
 vise of our present chapter begins where he had broken 
 off. There are many instances in St. Paul's letters of this 
 parenthetic style, and the reader would do well to notice 
 them, lest they prevent his seeing clearly the apostle's 
 line of thought. 
 
 " I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that 
 ye wall; worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called." 
 And why? Mark the connection of the word "therefore " 
 with the closing verses of the second chapter, and we shall 
 then see the reason. " In w T hom ye also are builded to- 
 gether for an habitation of God through the Spirit ;" there- 
 fore " walk worthy of the vocation." 
 
 But how ? " With all lowliness and meekness, with long- 
 suffering, forbearing one another in love." It is as if the 
 le would say, "You are God's habitation. He dwells 
 in you. Therefore be very lowly, meek, long-suffering, 
 forbearing." This is the way to "walk worthy." Mark 
 rresponding passage, Phiiippiana ii, 12, L3, and as- 
 signing for humble walking the same motive, an indwelling 
 
68 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 and inworking God. Therefore the need of watchfulness 
 and prayer lest the flesh should work, and not God; lest 
 we should run before Him ; and so take the matter out of 
 God's hands into our own. Oh, what need of constant, 
 wakeful, watchful, prayerful waiting upon God, for with the 
 flesh cleaving to every thought and word and deed, every 
 motive and plan and duty, we are never out of the place of 
 danger! May our prayer, dear reader, always be " Hold 
 Thou me up, and I shall be safe: " "Search me, God, and 
 know my heart : try me, and know my thoughts ; and see if 
 there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way 
 everlasting." 
 
 The next subject the apostle brings before us is the unity 
 of the Church. The Church is one. The Father, the Son, 
 the Holy Ghost, and the Church are all one. The Church 
 proceeds out of the Triune Godhead, "which, were born, 
 not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of 
 man, but of God." Just as of old the cherubim and the 
 mercy-seat were made out of one and the same piece of 
 beaten work, so the Church is the body of the Godhead. 
 We have the same truth brought before us in the living 
 creatures of the Prophet Ezekiel. " Also out of the midst 
 of the fire came the likeness of four living creatures. And 
 this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man" 
 (Ezek. i, 5). We see the living Church coming out of the 
 fire, the symbol of the Triune God. Not only so, but we 
 see whose image this God-born Church bears; "they had 
 the likeness of a man" even the man Christ Jesus. The 
 " living creatures" are here a picture of the Church in glory, 
 made like unto Christ. So the Apostle John also shows 
 us, "we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." 
 Connected with \k\& first " likeness of a man" is the likeness 
 
TnE ASCENDED SAVIOUR. f»9 
 
 of the " lion," the "ox," igle:"but the "man" ia 
 
 first. It shows us thai the animal creation will be 
 and exalted by connection with this man Christ Jesus. It 
 was cursed because of th • first man's sin: it Bhall be blessed 
 because of the second. man's redemption. "For we know 
 that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain to- 
 gether until now;" "the creature itself also Bhall be de- 
 livered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious 
 liberty of the children of God." 
 
 Still, though the Church and the Triune God are one, 
 we are b ©ought to "keep the unity." This is th.; prayer 
 of our blessed Lord for all His people (John xvii). We 
 are one. We are to aim to keep one. And yet all in " the 
 Spirit." 
 
 And we notice how all is traced up to God the Father. 
 There is "union," "peace," the "body," the "Spirit," the 
 "hope," "faith," "baptism," the "Lord:" all are made to 
 culminate in "God the Father," who* is " above all" as to 
 Hie Godhead, "through all" as to His operations, "in you 
 all " as to His indwelling. 
 
 From this ascended God-man, Christ Jesus, every bless- 
 ing comes down. There is " grace given to every one of 
 as." The weakest and feeblest, the most peculiar, the 
 most infirm and helpless, the one least thought of by the 
 Church or the world; not one lacks the blessing from oh 
 high. 
 
 We have a beautiful commentary on these words in the 
 Old Testament. "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is 
 for brethren to dwell together in unit;/! It is like the 
 rimis ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the 
 beard, even Aaron's heard: that went down to the skirts of 
 his garments" (Psalm cxxxiii). We notice the precious 
 
70 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 « 
 
 ointment, the emblem of the Holy Spirit, on the head of 
 Aaron, going down to the very skirts of the garment. So 
 does the Holy Spirit come down from our ascended High 
 Priest, Christ Jesus, to the least and to the lowliest of the 
 body. With such a Spirit poured out from on high on each 
 of the Lord's little ones, there must be unity, even " the 
 unity of the Spirit." Such union must indeed be "good 
 and pleasant." There is in it the fragrance and per- 
 fume of the "precious ointment." It is in each member 
 "a sweet savor of Christ," binding heart to heart in indis- 
 soluble bonds, and leaving an impression for God. Oh that 
 it were more manifest in our Churches and in our families, 
 and were poured out in large measure on our own souls indi- 
 vidually! The character of the last days, in one of its 
 saddest forms, will be, " without natural affection ;" and 
 again, "these be they who separate themselves, sensual, 
 having not the Spirit." reader, let nothing induce you 
 to be on discordant or unhappy terms with any member of 
 your family or with any one of God's people around you ! 
 Ask for a larger measure of God's Spirit on your soul, that 
 you may stoop, that you may sacrifice your own claims, 
 even though right, and be able to banish the distant look, or 
 reserve, or frown on the brow of one near to you ? Let the 
 Spirit of God make you united, and bind your hearts together 
 in bonds of love. That distance so kept up has long since, 
 perhaps, hindered you from enjoying the smile and love of 
 your Saviour. It has done so ; it ought to do so. The 
 withholding of His sweet presence from your soul in secret 
 must be the result of your distance and your unforgiving 
 spirit towards one you are bound to love. Oh banish it, 
 and live in unity and godly love ! 
 
 But in what measure is this grace given ? " According 
 
Til EASCENDED SAVIOUR. 71 
 
 he measure of the gift of Christ." One of the i 
 striking marks of the Deity, in nature and providence, is 
 
 adaptation. So is it in grace. God gives His spiritual 
 blessings wisely as well as lovingly. lie gives just what 
 the child can hoar to receive, so much as lie sees that child 
 will he able to use for His glory. He adapts the treasure 
 to the vessel, and the vessel to the treasure to be put into 
 it. He sees our natural failings, our idiosyncrasies, our 
 delicate bodies, our tender minds, our sensitive disposition. 
 Our whole framework is open before Him, and He gives 
 that which is adapted to each one. If we have small grace, 
 the fault is not His. No. " He giveth more grace." He 
 may deepen the vessel to receive larger measures of grace. 
 He will if we ask Him. He often does by casting it into 
 the furnace of trial. There is sadly too little of His grace 
 in the vessel. He sees it, and is determined that that 
 vessel shall hold more. Sorrow, trial, afflictions, " deeps 
 calling unto deep," all His " waves and billows going over 
 08," these are generally the means He uses. As to our- 
 selves, while we are the subjects of this strange dealing, 
 we seem to be going back. But no; we are advancing. 
 This is God's way. "We advance by going backward, we 
 grow strong by becoming more weak. The vessel is deep- 
 ening ; and just now we shall see more grace in it. It will 
 shine forth before men. That hasty temper will yield, that 
 selfish disposition, those hard thoughts of others. There 
 will be less grasping after this world's vanities, a deeper 
 humility, a kinder spirit, a gentler tone, a readier disposi- 
 tion to condemn ourselves. All this will be. The process 
 may be long. It may take years to produce it. But the 
 man is now a contrast to what he formerly was. Ah, there 
 
72 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 is more grace ! The " vessel " is deepened. There is more 
 of " the treasure " in it now. 
 
 And let us remember, if we have little grace the fault is 
 ours, not His. He giveth " grace according to the measure 
 of the gift of Christ." And what is Christ's measure? 
 Love, infinite love. We are not straitened in Him, but in 
 ourselves. When Abram interceded for Sodom, God did 
 not stop granting, till Abram stopped asking. When 
 Elisha poured the oil in the Shunamite's vessels, the oil 
 ceased not till the vessels ceased. There was " not a 
 vessel." When Jesus opened His treasures on the mount, 
 and fed the multitude, His supply did not stop till they 
 ceased in their demand. " As much as they would," this 
 was God's measure. So it is now. Christ's measure is 
 infinite. We are straitened, not He. We draw so little on 
 His ocean fullness, and therefore we have so little to praise 
 Him for. Therefore we see so little of the fullness of 
 Christ to meet our necessities. He is the same now as on 
 the mount of old. If we are hungry, He is all fullness. If 
 we are in a desert place, we have all things in Jesus. He 
 asks us to sit down to rest even in our " desert places," and 
 let Him feed us out of His Almighty resources. God often 
 brings us into a desert place, but it is only that we may 
 learn something of Jesus that we knew not before. Oh 
 these are lessons we have not learned yet with all our 
 learning ! They are lessons learned only in the desert, 
 only at the feet of Jesus. 
 
 " Wherefore He saith, When He ascended up on high, He 
 led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. Now that He 
 ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into 
 the lower parts of the earth ?" Mark, dear reader, how 
 Christ is our example here. He " descended first" before 
 
THE ASCENDED SAVIOUR. 73 
 
 He "ascended up on high." Every gift from on high is 
 made to depend on this : He "descended -first" So must 
 it bo with us. If we would ascend, we must first descend. 
 We must go down in ourselves, if we would be spiritually 
 great. We must be nothing if we would be anything in 
 God's sight, We must be humble if we would rise. It is 
 now the order with all the members, as it was with the 
 living Head, wo must "descend first." Oh to have this 
 spirit deepened within us ! Oh to be descending here ! If 
 we would indeed ascend, it must be so. If we would, like 
 our ascending God and Saviour, " give gifts to men," be 
 of any real spiritual blessing to others, we must " descend 
 first." It is the law of nature. The tree whose branches 
 rise highest in the air has its roots deepest in the earth. 
 The lofty peaks of the Andes have at their base the deepest 
 depths. If we had of old stood on Ebal, the mount of 
 cursing, we could not have crossed over to Gerizim, the 
 mount of blessing, 'without going down to the bottom of 
 the intervening gorge. So must it be with us. To de- 
 scend is to rise. To be little is to be great. To be humble is 
 to be a blessing to others. 
 
 " He that descended is the same also that ascended up 
 far above all heavens." What a comforting word ! Though 
 at the right hand of the Father, He is " the same " as 
 when, in lowliness and grace and love, He trod our earth. 
 No word is sweeter to the child of God than this : " the 
 same." Behold Him, all grace and love, jaded and wearied 
 at the well of Sychar ! See the dust on His sandals, and 
 the sweat on His brow ! Listen to His loving words and 
 earnest tones to a guilty outcast. The thirst is forgotten. 
 The drink of water is lost sight of in the earnestness of 
 His soul to win a sinner's heart. Is He still the same in 
 
74 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 that glory, where angels and archangels veil their faces 
 before Him ? Yes. He who thus descended is " the 
 same," though far above all heavens. Behold Him again 
 in the temple. Hear His words of grace to one whose life 
 was scarred and blotted with sin. How sweet the accents 
 as they fall on the sinner's ear ! " Neither do I condemn 
 thee ; go and sin no more." Yes, though high in glory, 
 though cherubim and seraphim pant with delight to do 
 Him honor, precious thought, He is still " the same." 
 Mark Him in the house of the Pharisee. See how He 
 throws His shield over another sinner. Hear His word of 
 commending love : " She hath done what she could." 
 Behold His tears at the grave of one whom He loved ! See 
 how He weeps over the guilty city, as with words of 
 anguish, He exclaims, " Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often 
 would I have gathered thee, as a hen gathereth her 
 chickens under her wings, and ye would not !" Hear His 
 dying prayer, while the taunts of the soldiers, and the yells 
 of the rude rabble were ringing in His ears : " Father, 
 forgive them ; for they know not what they do." Yet is 
 He who thus " descended'" who thus emptied Himself of 
 His glory, and " made Himself of no reputation," still 
 ({ the same " Jesus. Time has not changed His love. Sins 
 and shortcomings, failings and provocations have drawn no 
 chill over His heart. He is still the same true and trusted 
 Friend and Brother as of old. " The same," though in 
 highest glory ; " the same yesterday, to-day, and forever." 
 Yes, and when that world's glory shall dawn upon the soul, 
 when the opened heavens shall disclose to our view the 
 King in His beauty, the eye and the heart of each waiting 
 child of God shall be cheered and gladdened by beholding 
 u that same Jesus so coming as He went away." Each one 
 
TIIE ASCENDED SAVIOUR. 75 
 
 shall hear that voice as of old, whispering to his soul, amid 
 the Btorm and desolation around, " Good and faithful 
 nt, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." 
 
 Bnt mark the purpose for which He ascended. "He 
 that descended is the same also that ascended up far above 
 all heavens, that He might fill all things." Dear Christian 
 I r, it is Dot heaven nor the heaven of heavens that can 
 fill thy soul. That poor thirsty spirit of thine can be filled 
 only by One who is "far above all heavens." Oh yes, 
 heaven is a poor thing without Jesus ! We need One far 
 above the highest heavens. Our emptiness can be filled by 
 no angel or archangel, by no harp of gold or crystal sea, or 
 jasper walls, or pearly gates. The soul stretches its wings 
 higher and higher still. The panting spirit feels the poverty 
 of all these. It finds no rest but in soaring. And not till 
 it has found the Saviour, does it find that which " fills " its 
 aching void. When the glories of the highest heavens have 
 passed in review before it, still its language is, " Whom 
 have I in heaven but Thee ? and there is none upon earth 
 that I desire in comparison of Thee." 
 
 And if Christ has indeed gone up on high for the pur- 
 pose of " filling all things," what does this imply ? A great 
 and glorious truth, that everything in which He is not, is 
 unfilled. Yes, reader, if "Christ, the hope of glory," be 
 not in thy soul, with all thy fullness — intellectual fullness, 
 moral fullness, religious fullness — thou art an empty man. 
 If there be in thy heart any affection unshared by Him, it 
 has vanity written upon it with the finger of God. If tl 
 be any aim, any plan, any duty, any way of thine whal 
 
 that does not culminate in His glory, it is all empty, 
 and thou wilt find it so in the end. The handwriting of 
 heaven may be seen on everything which Christ does not 
 
76 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 "fill :" " Thou art weighed in the balances, and found 
 wanting." There is only one thing can give stability, sub- 
 stance, weight, or reality to anything under heaven, or in 
 heaven, and that is Christ. Eeader, remember this, and 
 beseech Him to give character and solidity and reality to 
 everything pertaining to thee, by filling it with Himself. 
 
 But, before we pass on, let us notice another striking 
 truth contained in this passage. The words rendered 
 " into the lower parts of the earth," may be more correctly 
 rendered "into the parts lower than the earth," and are 
 placed in antithesis to " far above all heavens." Thus no 
 creature can rise to the height to which He has risen, nor 
 descend to the depth to which He has descended. He has 
 gone lower than the earth, and higher than the highest 
 heavens. And why beneath the earth and higher than all 
 heavens ? That He might embrace " all things," both in 
 the one and the other. This is God's purpose concerning 
 His dear Son : " that He might gather together in one all 
 things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are 
 on earth;" " that at the name of Jesus every knee should 
 bow, in heaven and in earth and under the earth, and that 
 every tongue," not only of men and angels, but of inani- 
 mate nature, for everything has a tongue, " should confess 
 that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." 
 This, then, is the reason why " He descended lower than 
 the earth, and ascended far above all heavens" that all 
 things might be gathered within the embrace of our Jesus, 
 " that He might fill all things." And soon we shall see it. 
 The possession is already "purchased." The inheritance 
 has been redeemed by blood. Soon shall the King of kings 
 claim it as His own. Then shall man reflect His image. 
 The likeness of a " man" the man Christ Jesus, shall be 
 
THE ASCENDED SAVIOUR. 7? 
 
 rything. The dumb creation shall be blet 1 
 in Him. Th'' blade of grass and the opening flower shall 
 
 refl «t His beauty. The trees of the wood shall rejoice 
 and sing. We shall breathe a holier atmosphere, a more 
 genial air. The desert shall blossom as the rose. On the 
 very bells of the horses shall be inscribed " Holiness to the 
 Lord." Yea, " every pot in Jerusalem shall be holy to the 
 Lord of hosts." The name of Jesus shall be written on the 
 very forehead of every child of God. Then shall " He Jill all 
 things." Nature shall know of no vacuum, for all things 
 shall be filled, as now they are empty, with the fullness of 
 Him " in whom all fullness dwells." 
 
 And mark God's design in the gifts of the ascended 
 Saviour. " And He gave some, apostles ; and some, 
 prophets ; and some, evangelists ; and some, pastors and 
 ihera ; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of 
 the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till 
 we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge 
 of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of 
 the stature of the fullness . of Christ." All God's gifts, 
 whether to His Church corporately, or to His people in- 
 dividually, are for this end, to make them like Christ. AH 
 th ) processes of nature, all the actings of Providence, all 
 the discipline of nations, all that passes from day to day, 
 and from generation to generation, in our world, are for 
 this end, that the glory of Christ may be ultimately 
 evolved. Everything in nature, providence, and gr 
 since man fell, has been going on for this end. 
 
 And mark what rest, what calmness, what stability, the 
 \ssion of Christ gives to the soul. "That we hence- 
 forth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried 
 about by every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and 
 
78 COUNSELS FEOM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 cunning craftiness." The unconverted are constantly com- 
 pared in the Bible to chaff } and the Lord's people to wheat. 
 The chaff has the shape and the likeness of the wheat, but 
 it has not the internal substance (see Psalm i. 4). It is 
 mere profession without substance. Therefore, the chaff 
 is " carried away by every wind," while the wheat remains. 
 The chaff is " tossed about " like a withered leaf, from one 
 place to another, and no human foresight can perceive 
 where it will be next. All this is because it is hollow. It 
 lacks substance. The " sleight of men " is a remarkable 
 expression. In the original it signifies " the diceboard," 
 that great instrument of cheating and deception by which 
 so many are ruined. Such is the danger to which every 
 soul is exposed that has not weight within it, that has not 
 Christ. 
 
 And let us mark, in closing, one more striking passage. 
 " But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him 
 in all things, which is the Head, even Christ ; from whom 
 the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that 
 which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual 
 working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of 
 the body unto the edifying of itself in love." 
 
 We would ask the reader's careful attention, Bible in 
 hand, to this passage. The figure in the apostle's mind is 
 that of the human body, and conveys the most accurate 
 view of the truth contained in it. The mind, the under- 
 standing, the will, are all strengthened and developed from 
 the growth of the body. Thus believers grow, and their 
 growth is the development in them of the Head, even 
 Christ. He becomes strong in them. They " grow up 
 into Him in all things, which is the Head." Observe how 
 the apostle from this point extends the figure. All the 
 
THE ASCENDED SAVIOUR. 79 
 
 members of the human body being "fitly joined," the 
 Bhoulder-bone to the shoulder, the hand to the hand, the 
 to the foot, become " compacted" or joined together 
 by the circulation of the blood, w by that which every joint 
 Bupplieth." The members thus being set by the skillful 
 Anatomist, they adhere by the internal circulation. Like 
 the picture of the valley of dry bones. Man's spiritual 
 members are all disjointed by sin. God comes into the 
 scene. He, the skillful Anatomist, sets the disjointed 
 members, " bone to his bone." Thus they are "fitly joined 
 together," for everything done by God is "fitly " done. 
 Then the Spirit of God, the life-blood of the spiritual body, 
 circulates, and thus the members "fitly joined," become 
 " compacted " by that inner circulation. And that com- 
 pacting depends again upon the healthy action of the heart, 
 Bending forth its currents unimpeded through every 
 "joint" of the body. Thus it is that by "that which 
 every joint supplieth " from the " effectual working in the 
 measure of every part " the body is increased, and grows 
 up " an holy temple in the Lord." 
 
 der, see that you are not the chaff, having the shape, 
 the form, the profession of the wheat, but without the sub- 
 stance. Oh see that you make no mistake here I See that 
 you have Christ in you. See that you know Him, love 
 Him, follow Him. See that you can say, " He loved me 
 and L r av.' Himself for me." See that it is no mere words, 
 no mere scriptural phraseology, no mere profession of your 
 cr<'cd, but with reality, with depth, with earnestness, with 
 intensity of truth, you can say, "Lord, Thou knowest all 
 things, Thou knowest that I love Thee." " Whom have I 
 in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth 1 desire 
 in comparison of Thee." All religion without this is a 
 
80 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 sham, a cheat, a hollow mockery, and odious in the sight 
 of God. 
 
 Do you love Christ? I ask not if you feel 
 
 The warm excitement of that party zeal 
 
 Which follows on while others lead the way, 
 
 And makes His cause the fashion of the day. 
 
 But do you love Him when His garb is mean ; 
 
 Nor shrink to let your fellowship be seen ? 
 
 Do you love Jesus, blind and halt and maimed? 
 
 In prison succor Him, nor feel ashamed 
 
 To own Him, though His injured name may be 
 
 A mark for some dark slanderer's obloquy? 
 
 Do you love Jesus in the orphan's claim ? 
 
 And bid the widow welcome in His name ? 
 
 Say not " When saw we Him ?" Each member dear, 
 
 Poor and afflicted, wears His image here ; 
 
 And if unvalued or unknown by thee, 
 
 Where can thy union with the body be ? 
 
 And if thou thus art to the body dead, 
 
 Where is thy life in Christ, the living Head ? 
 
 And if dissevered from the living Vine, 
 
 How canst thou dream thot thou hast life divine? 
 
 Sweet is the union true believers feel, 
 
 Into one spirit they have drunk, the seal 
 
 Of God is on their hearts, and thus they see 
 
 In each the features of one family ! 
 
 If one is suffering, all the rest are sad ; 
 
 If but the least be honored, all are glad. 
 
 The grace of Jesus, which they all partake, 
 
 Flows out in mutual kindness for His sake. 
 
 Here He has left them for awhile to wait 
 
 And represent Him in their suffering state ; 
 
 While He, though glorified as yet alone, 
 
 Bears the whole Church before His Father's throne. 
 
ISRAEL IN THE WILDERNESS. 81 
 
 ISRAEL IN THE WILDERNESS 
 Psalm cvii. 1 — 8. 
 
 O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good ; for his mercy endureth for 
 ever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from 
 the hand of the enemy ; and gathered them out of the lands, from the east* 
 and from the west, from the north, and from the south. They wandered 
 in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry 
 and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord in 
 their trouble, cud he delivered them out of their distresses. And he led 
 them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. Oh 
 that mm would praise the Lord fur hia goodness, and for his wonderful 
 works to the children of men! 
 
 The dark background of every picture of God's dealings 
 with man is mercy. It is that on which every line is pen- 
 cilled. Therefore every line is beautiful, and every picture 
 
 ect. The soul gazes with wonder and delight on each 
 sketch; and returns, again and again, to gaze with un- 
 
 ried delight. It is the landscape of the great Artist, 
 every touch of whose hand is perfection, light, and beaut v. 
 So is it here. " give thanks unto the Lord ; for He 
 is good ; for His mercy endureth forever." This mercy is 
 the first verse of the chapter. Everything that follov. 
 found. m1 on it. It is the dark background. The redemp- 
 tion, the discipline, the care and watchfulness, the lore and 
 6 
 
82 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 grace recorded in the chapter, are characters drawn upon 
 this. The blessings of the gospel are built upon the death 
 of Christ, out of which they all flow. 
 
 " Let the redeemed of the Lord say so." Yes, it is their 
 hearts that should be filled with gratitude, and their lips 
 with praises. What has not Christ done for us? What 
 is He not to us, day by day, and hour by hour? What 
 will He not be in the countless ages of eternity ? Surely 
 our lips should be vocal with praise ! Only eternity can 
 tell how much we owe to Him. Only when we stand in 
 His presence, and see with unsinning heart and unveiled 
 eyes, shall we know how much He has done for us. 
 
 Then, Lord, shall we fully know, 
 Not till then, how much we owe." 
 
 " And gathered them out of the lands, from the east and 
 from the west, from the north and from the south." Yes, 
 He has " gathered " and still gathers His people. It is the 
 Shepherd's voice they hear, as He seeks them, and brings 
 each one home to the fold. He " gathers the lambs in His 
 arms." He gently places them in His bosom. He leads 
 them safely across the desert. He finds them where the 
 shepherd often finds his sheep, in strange hiding-places. 
 Some in the thicket, or the deep morass, or the dark 
 jungle ; their fleece torn and they bleeding. Thither the 
 good Shepherd bends His steps, stoops down, and gently 
 lifts on His shoulders the bleating wanderer, and carries it 
 home to the fold. Oh, out of what strange hiding-places 
 have God's people been gathered, in this cloudy and dark 
 day ! And still He is seeking and gathering them, and 
 not one shall be missing. There shall be " a multitude 
 
ISRAEL IN THE WILDERNESS. 83 
 
 which no man can number, of all nations and kindreds and 
 le and tongues." And the Land), who gathered each 
 
 one in His grace, shall lead them in everlasting love " to 
 living fountains of waters ; and God shall wipe away all 
 from their eyes." 
 
 " They wandered in the' wilderness in a solitary way; 
 they found no city to dwell in." After the Lord has re- 
 lied His people they find themselves in the wilderness. 
 From the moment we came to know, to love, to follow 
 Jesus, we felt the world to be a " wilderness," and we but 
 "strangers and pilgrims" here. Now, the pillar of cloud 
 and the pillar of fire are our guide, our light, our all. 
 Now, we live on the manna from heaven, and drink the 
 living waters from the smitten rock. 
 
 Nor do we find the world a wilderness only. It is also 
 " a solitary way." So long as we lived in Egypt, and on 
 Egypt's plenty, we felt none of this cross, this loneliness, 
 this severance from all earthly attractions. But now we 
 have to walk a lonely path. The world will have none of 
 us. It casts out our name as evil. It rejects and despises 
 the Lord we love and live upon. It calls us narrow- 
 minded, weak, and enthusiastic. Smiles that once greeted 
 us and gladdened our hearts have given way to alien looks 
 and estranged affection. Yes it is " a solitary path," and 
 we feel it is. And yet it is full of sunshine, full of joy, full 
 of gladness, full of peace ! We go not back in heart to 
 Egypt. We would not exchange places with theirs for t<n 
 thi >usand worlds ! We have one Companion and Friend and 
 Brother. He is with us and we are with Him, Oh the 
 path is very bright, and never brighter than in the deepest 
 darkness! We arc alone, but indeed we are not alone. 
 Each one can say in his most lonely hour: — 
 
84 COUNSELS FLOM TEE WORDS OF TRUTH 
 
 " Oh ! I know the Hand that is guiding me, 
 
 Through the shadow to the light; 
 And I know that all betiding me 
 
 Is meted out aright. 
 I know that the thorny path I tread 
 
 Is ruled with a golden line ; 
 And I know that the darker life's tangled thread, 
 
 The brighter the rich design. 
 
 When faints and fails each wilderness hope, 
 
 And the lamp of faith burns dim, 
 Oh ! I know where to find the honey-drop 
 
 On the bitter chalice brim. 
 For I see, though veiled from my mortal sight, 
 
 God's plan is all complete, 
 Though the darkness, at present, be not light, 
 
 And the bitter be not sweet. 
 
 I can wait till the day-spring shall o'erflow 
 
 The night of pain and care ; 
 For I know there's a blessing for every woe, 
 
 A promise for every prayer. 
 Yes ; I feel that the Hand which is holding me 
 
 Will ever hold me fast ; 
 And the strength of the Arm that is folding me 
 
 Will keep me to the last." 
 
 Here " they find no city to dwell in." Their hearts are 
 with the Saviour on His throne. They "look for a city 
 which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." 
 This world has no foundation. It and all that is in it is 
 built on the sand. The storm is at hand which shall rock 
 it to its base. But they, "according to His promise, look 
 for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth right- 
 eousness." Their city has many foundations. For it they 
 are waiting. They long for its appearing, and they cry, 
 " Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly." Their citizenship is 
 
ISRA i: L IX THE WILDEi: 85 
 
 ii. Their sun ia about to rise. Their glory is 
 it to appear. And that morning Bhall dawn in glory 
 and beauty, a " morning without clouds," never to know a 
 shadow again. 
 
 Yet here they have their troubles, their sorrows, their 
 sins. But the Lord is with them. He hears their cry, 
 and delivers them. He fills their mouth with prai 
 u Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then 
 they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered 
 them out of their distresses." Their trials only bring out 
 ;or praise ; their conflicts, more of the Lord's 
 grace to meet them ; their sins, more of the value of His 
 ious blood which has put them all away. 
 
 u And He led them forth by the right way." Yes, 
 though it often seemed to them a wrong way, though they 
 were " at their wits' end," though Pharaoh was often be- 
 hind and the deep sea before, yet was it a " right way." 
 Though often they had, while here, to pass through floods 
 and (lames, often hungry and thirsty, and having no city 
 to dwell in; often with the heavens over their heads as 
 38, and their feet bleeding with thorns, yet was it after 
 all a " right way." Often that way was through the 
 chambers of death, the heart bleeding and desolate, the 
 mind staggering under its load, and the eye Bcalded with 
 bitter tears; often all God's waves and biilows rolling one 
 after another over their soul; often Btooping down and 
 looking into the sepulcher of buried hop s and fund affec- 
 tions ; often with the piercing cry bursting from the heart, 
 " My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" yet it 
 was a " right way." Yes, it may b • a Btrange way to us. 
 God may often have to say to us as He said to Israel of old, 
 " Ye have not passed this way heretofore ;" yet be sure, 
 
86 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 tried and tempest- tossed child of God, it is a " right way." 
 He is too loving to lead you by any other; He is too wise, 
 as well, to let you lose your crown. 
 
 And what is the object of all this ? " That they might 
 go to a city of habitation ?" Yes, to a city of habitation. 
 It is the sweet word "home" that sounds in our ears in 
 this verse. There is no city to dwell in here. There is no 
 habitation for the heart in a wilderness. No; "we look 
 for a city." Our home is with Jesus. Till then with joy 
 would we walk a solitary path. It was His when here, 
 and it shall be ours " till He come." Meanwhile, He is 
 "leading us forth by a right way to a city of habitation." 
 Then let us praise Him for His goodness. Let us dwell on 
 His love. Let us lean on His arm. Let us come up out 
 of the wilderness. " Only a few more shadows, and He 
 will come." The morning is near, very near. Oh to be 
 ready, waiting, watching, working for our precious Lord ! 
 Let us cast off every work of darkness. Let us put on now 
 more than ever the armor of light. Let us have no 
 cowardly shrinking, no indecision for Christ marking us. 
 Let us " in season and out of season," too, be faithful to 
 Him. The times we live in are solemn. The form of 
 godliness is increasing, but the power of it is fast going out. 
 Compromise of principle, indecision for Christ, half-hearted- 
 ness for His glory, concession to error, and secret com- 
 munion of soul with God dying out ; these are some of the 
 saddest features of the Christianity of our day, and are 
 rapidly on the increase. Christian, be warned ! watch and 
 pray. "Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that 
 watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, 
 and they see his shame." 
 
ISRAEL IN THE WILDERNESS. 87 
 
 Oh abide, abide In Jesus, 
 Who for us bare grieft untold, 
 
 And Himself, from pain to ease us, 
 
 Buffered pangs a thousand-fbld; 
 
 'Bide with Him, who still abideth 
 When nil else shall pass away ; 
 
 And, as Jndge rapreme, presideth 
 In that dread and awful day. 
 
 All is dying; hearts are hreaking, 
 
 Which to ours were once fast bound; 
 And the lips have ceased from speaking, 
 
 Which once uttered such sweet sound. 
 Ami the arms are powerless lying, 
 
 Which were our support and stay ; 
 And the eyes are dim and dying, 
 
 Which once watched us night and day. 
 
 Everything we love and cherish 
 
 Hastens onward to the grave ; 
 Earthly joys and pleasures perish, 
 
 And whate'er the world e'er gave ; 
 All is fading, all is fleeting, 
 
 Earthly llarnes must cease to glow; 
 Earthly beings cease from being, 
 
 Earthly blossoms cease to blow. 
 
 Yet unchanged, while all decayeth, 
 
 Jesus stands upon the dust ; 
 "Lean on me alone," He sayeth, 
 
 " Hope and love, and firmly trust." 
 Oh abide, abide in Jesus, 
 
 Who Himself for ever lives, 
 
 Who from death eternal frees us, 
 Yea, who life eternal gives. 
 
88 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 THE GOOD PBOFESSION. 
 1 Timothy vi, 10 — 16. 
 
 For the love of money is the root of all evil ; which while some coveted 
 after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with 
 many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things ; and follow after 
 righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good 
 fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and 
 hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. I give thee charge, 
 in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, 
 who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession, that thou keep this 
 commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ ; which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only 
 Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords ; who only hath immor- 
 tality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto ; whom no 
 man hath seen, nor can see; to whom be honor and power everlasting. 
 Amen. 
 
 It may be said, perhaps, without fear of contradiction, 
 that most of the ills humanity is heir to spring from mis- 
 placed affection. Looked at in a spiritual point of view, 
 it receives a strong confirmation. God, who should be, in 
 a healthy state of mind and body, the first object of man's 
 affection, is actually the last. Nay, more, in man, as we 
 behold him at present, there is not one throb of affection 
 for God in his heart. There may be for God's gifts, but 
 for God Himself there is none. Hence we conclude that 
 
THE GOOD PROFESSION. 
 
 riust have come over man. It is the con- 
 clusion of intelligent reason, unaided by the light of r 
 lation. 
 
 It is only in lovo to God Himself that any soul can find 
 true resting-place. But man loves anything and every- 
 thing rather than God. His heart is full of idols. And 
 when he can find none around him, he makes an idol of 
 himself. Hence the misplaced affection and its natural 
 results, the "piercing through with many sorrows." 
 
 This is the first truth brought before us in the passage 
 chosen for consideration. " For the love of money is the 
 root of all evil ; which while some coveted after, they have 
 erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with 
 many sorrow*." Mark it, reader; it is simply misplaced 
 tion. It is the love of something: else than God. And 
 it is immaterial what that something else is. It is not 
 Christ, and that is enough. It may be money, or fame, or 
 pleasure, or sin. It matters not what it is. It is some- 
 thing else than Christ. Something that has taken His 
 place in the heart, which is His; and whatever it may be, 
 that is idolatry. 
 
 And mark the eff-cts of this misplaced affection. They 
 are two, and named in this passage: error in faith, and 
 sorrow of heart. The heart is wrong with God, and every- 
 thing else becomes wrong. The heart wrong with God, 
 and there inevitably follows error in faith, in doctrine, and 
 in all our view of God's character. There can he no true 
 spiritual vision where the heart is wrong with God. II »w 
 much error there is abroad in the Church, how much 
 spiritual blindness ! How is such a state of things t 
 remedied? By education, by instruction, by teaching? 
 No. You have no guarantee that, with all its instruction, 
 
90 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 the heart will not be carried away again into error. To 
 begin thus is to begin at the wrong end. Set the heart 
 right with God. See that it be first true to Christ. Till 
 then all your teaching is vain, though you may enable the 
 intellect to hold the soundest creed on earth. Set the heart 
 right towards God. See that there be no misplaced affec- 
 tion. This done, you may then graft instruction on the 
 heart and understanding. The heart right with God, then 
 will there be purity of faith, and the soul will be preserved 
 from those " piercings through of sorrow " which are the 
 result of misplaced affection. 
 
 "But thou, man of God, flee these things; and follow 
 after righteousness, godliness, love, patience, meekness. 
 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life." 
 Let us notice a very important truth in these words. Two 
 things are brought before us. First, that our Christianity 
 is to be negative with regard to evil, " 'flee these things ;" 
 secondly, that it is to be positive with regard to good, 
 " follow after," "fight," "lay hold." We find these two 
 things continually brought before us in the New Testa- 
 ment, and in the same order. We invariably find them, 
 too, united. If we are told to " put off the old man," we 
 are told in the same place to "put on the new man." 
 Many Christians, if they are only negative with regard to 
 evil, are satisfied. If they do " no harm," they are uncon- 
 cerned as to whether they are actively doing " good." 
 Christianity is no negative principle, contenting itself if it 
 be clear of what is wrong. It is positive. It is aggressive. 
 It is a " following after," a "fighting," a "laying hold." 
 And yet how often do we hear the cry, " What harm is 
 there in it ?" Suppose there be " no harm." Were you 
 placed in this world merely to do no harm ? Did your 
 
TIIE r.OOD PROFESSION. 91 
 
 1 and Mast t live in this world doing " no nar: 
 Did He not go about " doing go<> What kind of 
 
 Christianity is yours it" it Leads you merely to keep your- 
 self from doing "no harm?" Is it positive? Is it agg] 
 
 ? Is it telling ? Is it "pre* rard the mark?" 
 
 Lot the reader look at his Bible, and he will find that the 
 Spirit of God never tells us to "put off," without at the 
 same time telling us to "put on" showing God's great 
 
 gn that the character of His people's religion should be 
 a positive, aggressive thing. And even if in every hour of 
 the day we could live without any charge of inconsistency 
 being brought against us, we should not be acting up to 
 the mind of God, unless there were upon us the clear marks 
 of heaven bearing; witness for God. Absence from evil is 
 not then the ground we are to take, but the "putting on 
 of Christ." 
 
 " Lay hold on eternal life." Let us not mistake these 
 words. They are not addressed to the unconverted, to lay 
 hold of salvation. The unconverted are so addressed in the 
 word of God, but not in these words. They are addressed 
 to one who is air ved. The one who has come to 
 
 Christ, who has be n brought nigh by the blood of Jesus 
 through the leading of God's Holy Spirit, is exhorted to 
 grasp firmly that Saviour who is holding him. It is like 
 the passage, "Work out your own salvation with fear and 
 trembling, for it is God which worketh in you" The one 
 so addressed has u r ot salvation. lie has not to GET it. lie 
 has only to work it out. It is like a workman ; he has 
 been u r iv<'ii fin- material, and has now only to make it into 
 a vessel. And yet he cannot even do this. lie scon 
 be '" working out " that salvation himself. But no. It is 
 God that "worketh in him, both to well and to do of Sis 
 
92 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 good pleasure" So in the passage under consideration. 
 It is to get a firmer grasp of Him who is holding you. 
 Like the child snatched half exhausted from the destructive 
 waves- grasping firmly the loving parent who has rescued 
 him, and holding him securely. We have a similar truth 
 corresponding with this in St. Peter (2d Epistle i, 5, 10, 
 11); "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your 
 faith virtue." "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give 
 diligence to make your calling and election sure. For so 
 an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into 
 the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ." The early part of the chapter tells us what has 
 been given to us, and from this to go on adding. There 
 is the entrance to the kingdom through the finished work 
 of the Lord Jesus. No doins; of ours can add to that. But 
 there is the " abundant entrance" which depends upon 
 ourselves, upon our increase in faith, and holy walk with 
 God, upon our " pressing towards the mark." So we have 
 eternal life, but we are exhorted to "lay hold" on it. 
 Reader, are you doing this ? It is easy to make the passage 
 plain, to talk about it, but oh, are we living to God? 
 
 The apostle now goes on to speak of the "good profes- 
 sion" professed by Timothy "before many witnesses." 
 There is a great amount of " profession " on every side, 
 but it is not "good." It is the name without the reality. 
 It is the form without the life and power. It is the sicken- 
 ing malaria of the day in which we live. Still the profes- 
 sion is not wrong, it is the absence of life from it. It wants 
 only one thing to make it a "good profession" the power 
 of God's Holy Spirit quickening, renewing, energizing it. 
 How is our profession to become the " good profession ?" 
 The apostle tells us: "I give thee charge in the sight of 
 
TIIE GOOD PROFESSION. 03 
 
 God, who quickerieth all things." Strange that he should 
 connect this passage with the "profession." But we see 
 th< i Spirit's reason for it. "God, who 'quickeneth' or 
 
 'maketh alive' all things." This then is the way to make 
 our profession "good," to bring it to the living God. Let 
 i into His presence, have continued and dose dealings 
 with Him. Our profession lacks this. It has no lit'.', none. 
 It is a poor dead thing. The life is only in God. Let us 
 bring the vessel there to be filled. Oh that our profession 
 were quickened ami made a more tclli/uj thing than it is, 
 by being brought more into the presence of a quickening 
 God ! We want it, oh how deeply ! We never wanted it 
 so much as in this clay. More secret prayer, more getting 
 out of thi' crowd into solitude with God, more being alone 
 with Jesus, more living under His eye, more living above 
 the opinion and the smile of men. Ah, reader, this is what 
 w want now ! See to it, see to it, reader, that thy pro- 
 ton has something of God's breath in it. See to it, for 
 all the living power, all that is value in God's sight, may 
 long ago have left it, and thou be, to all appearance, a 
 withered branch J a branch fit only for the fire. The 
 L >rd is at hand. See that thy profession is not the 
 " Laodicean " "to be spued out of His mouth." Whal 
 there of God in it, reader ? What is there of the taking 
 up of thy cross ? What is there that speaks of heaven in 
 it in each hour of the day? What that speaks for Jesus 
 among thy servants and family, at thy fireside, in thy 
 business, and in all thy dealings with men? What, reader, 
 what? Oh, fir better make no profession than one which 
 is a mockery of God. See that when God comes in judg- 
 ment lie finds His own breath in thy profession, something 
 of J I is own image in thy character. 
 
94 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 And how is this " good profession " still more effectually 
 to be maintained ? The apostle shows us. Mark it well, 
 reader. " I give thee charge in the sight of God, who 
 quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before 
 Pontius Pilate (or during the rule of Pontius Pilate) 
 witnessed a good confession." It is by " looking unto 
 Jesus." He is set before us here as the One to whom the 
 believer is continually to look, and whose example he is to 
 follow. The Saviour's good confession on earth is to be 
 before us at all times. Yes ; to have a good profession the 
 heart must be brought continually into contact with a 
 quickening God, and the eye of the soul be ever "looking 
 unto Jesus." 
 
 And how long is this to continue ? " That thou keep 
 this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the 
 appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 11 Yes, this is the 
 blessed hope which is to cheer and animate and encourage 
 the " good profession." This was the great center round 
 which St. Paul made all his exhortations to revolve. It 
 was ever before him. He led everything up to that. That 
 was his climax. 
 
 And so it should be ours. Brighter and brighter should 
 the "day star" shine before us. The streaks of morning 
 are over the hills. The Sun is beginning to rise, never 
 again to set. " What manner of persons ought ye to be 
 in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and 
 hasting unto the coming of the day of God ?" How should 
 we now be "keeping the commandment without spot and 
 unrebukeable!" How should we be keeping the word in 
 our hearts and in our lives ! How should we so keep it 
 that there be no " spot " upon it by our inconsistency of 
 conduct! How should we aim to be "without rebuke," 
 
THE GOOD PROFK 
 
 "shining as lights in the world!" B bo it that 
 
 thy profession is L" one, that thy life bo a living 
 
 mony foi 
 
 '• Which in His times He shall show, who is the blessed 
 and only Potentate, the King of I. I Lord of lords." 
 
 is at hand. Man has had his times; sin 
 and the world, the flesh and the devil have had their 
 times; but then Christ shall have His. Every rule of this 
 world has failed to "show" the truth. Everything has 
 i " shown" but Jesus and His word. For six thousand 
 - the world has witnessed Satan's triumph, and Christ 
 and His truth trampled under foot But the day is at hand 
 when God shall show His Christ, when truth shall be 
 manifested in righteousness, when "a Kins shall reisrn and 
 prosper," " Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and 
 forever," the " Kins of kings and Lord of lords." Oh how 
 different will "His times" be from the times the world 
 has ever yet seen! Reader, be ready. "Let your loins 
 be girt,", and your lamp3 trimmed, and you yourself as one 
 who waits for his Lord. "Blessed is that servant whom 
 his Lord, when He cometh, shall find watching." 
 
 Oh to be over yonder, 
 
 In that land of wonder, 
 Where the angel voices mingle and the angel harpers ring ; 
 
 To be free from pain and sorrow, 
 
 And the anxious dread to-morrow, 
 To rest in light and sunshine in the presence of the King! 
 
 Oh to be over yonder ! 
 My yearning heart arrows fonder 
 Of looking to the east to aee the day-star bring 
 Some tidings of the waking, 
 
 The cloudless, pure day breaking'. 
 
 My heart is yearning, yearning for the euiuing of the King. 
 
96 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 Oh to be over yonder ! 
 
 Alas ! I sigh and wonder, 
 Why clings my poor weak heart to any earthly thing ? 
 
 Each tie of earth must sever, 
 
 And pass away forever ; 
 But there's no more separation in the presence of the King. 
 
 Oh to be over yonder ! 
 
 The longing groweth stronger. 
 "When I see the wild doves cleave the air on rapid wing, 
 
 I long for their fleet pinions, 
 
 To reach my Lord's dominions, 
 And rest my weary spirit in the presence of the King. 
 
 Oh to be over yonder ! 
 
 In that land of wonder, 
 Where life and light and sunshine beam fair on everything ; 
 
 Where the day -beam is unshaded, 
 
 As pure as He who made it, 
 The land of cloudless sunshine, where Jesus is the King. 
 
 Oh when shall I be dwelling 
 Where the angel voices, swelling 
 
 In triumphant hallelujahs, make the vaulted heavens ring; 
 Where the pearly gates are gleaming, 
 And the morning star is beaming; 
 
 Oh when shall I be yonder, in the presence of the King ? 
 
 Oh when shall I be yonder ? 
 
 The longing groweth stronger 
 To join in all the praises the redeemed ones do sing 
 
 Within those heavenly places, 
 
 Where the angels veil their faces 
 In awe and adoration, in the presence of the King. 
 
 Oh soon, soon I'll be yonder, 
 
 All lonely as I wander, 
 Yearning for the welcome summer, longing for the birds' fleet wing. 
 
 The midnight may be dreary, 
 
 And the heart be worn and weary, 
 But there's no more shadow yonder, in the presence of the King. 
 
THE SUPPER CU Ail HER. 97 
 
 TEE SUPPER CHAMBER. 
 John xiii. 23— 2G. 
 
 Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus 
 loved. Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it 
 should be of whom he spake. He then, lying on Jesus' breast, saith unto 
 him, Lord, who is it ? Jesus answered, He it is to whom I shall give a sop, 
 when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to 
 Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 
 
 The incidents of the supper chamber on the night of our 
 blessed Lord's betrayal are full of spiritual instruction. It 
 is to some of these I would particularly direct the reader's 
 attention in the verses I have selected for consideration. 
 
 The Lord's Supper presents to our view the real distinc- 
 tion and difference between the sacrificial system of the 
 Old Testament and the spiritual nature of the present dis- 
 pensation. In the Old Testament the distinctive feature 
 of the sacrificial system was a remembrance of sin once a 
 year. In the Lord's Supper it is " in remembrance of 
 Me ;" that is, of Him who has put sin away. " In the same 
 night that He was betrayed," when our everlasting salva- 
 tion was being accomplished, at the same moment, the 
 foulest treachery was going on. Thus it may be that in 
 the midst of our highest privileges there may be the be- 
 trayal of Christ. The work of Christ has a double effect; 
 
 7 
 
98 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 it pardons the sinner in the court of heaven, while faith 
 brings that pardon into the court of conscience. Two 
 striking events are recorded together, connected with this 
 betrayal, the fall of Judas and the restoration of Peter ; 
 and they are recorded together in order that we may have 
 warning and encouragement side by side. 
 
 These are a few thoughts that will naturally suggest 
 themselves on glancing at this scene in the supper chamber. 
 Let us now direct our attention to the passage we have 
 selected for consideration. " Now there was leaning on 
 Jesus' bosom one of His disciples whom Jesus loved." 
 Mark, reader, when it was that the beloved disciple was 
 leaning on Jesus' bosom. It was when treason was going 
 on in the room. The darker things grow outside, the 
 nearer should we draw to Jesus. The more Satan puts 
 forth his power in things around, the closer should we 
 draw to our Beloved. 
 
 What a picture of the world was this supper chamber ! 
 There were together the Son of God and Satan. There 
 was one, and he a disciple, as far off from Christ as a sinner 
 can possibly be. There was another, and he too a disciple, 
 as near as saint can ever be, nearer even than an angel, 
 " leaning on Jesus' bosom." What opposite things were 
 going on in this chamber at the same moment, Christ and 
 Satan ; John and Judas ; another, Peter, half way ; one 
 leaning, another betraying ; one his whole soul penetrated 
 with the love of Christ ; another, his whole heart filled 
 with hatred and destruction. Surely it is a picture of our 
 world, drawn with the pen of the Spirit of God ! 
 
 But where, in the midst of all this, is the true disciple 
 found? " Leaning on Jesus' bosom." The weight is laid 
 on the permanent resting-place. (l Cast thy burden on the 
 
THE SUPTER CHAMBER. 99 
 
 Lord, and He Bhall sustain thee." The very posture of the 
 
 liple si lows us the repose of his affections in Christ. 
 
 What a sweet resting-place for the heart! He who had 
 
 not where to lay His head presents His bosom for us to 
 lean upon. Reader, may this place of nearness and repose 
 be your place, now that treason is gathering round the 
 person of the Lord and His truth on every side of us. 
 
 " Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should 
 ask who it should be of whom He spake." 
 
 .Mark, reader, there were three kinds of disciples in this 
 room, corresponding exactly with three in the world now. 
 There was one very near to Jesus, with a heart filled with 
 His love ; this was John. There was another, a true disci- 
 ple, but at a distance, and with the evidences of distance 
 in his character, hesitation, want of confidence, fear ; this 
 was Peter. There was another, bearing the profession of 
 disciple, but with Satan in his heart; this was Judas. 
 These are the three classes of disciples now in the world, 
 and there are no others. 
 
 But what use did the beloved disciple make of his 
 nearness ? He used it for the brethren's sake, to ask their 
 questions, to relieve their minds, and to solve their doubts 
 and difficulties. Peter, conspicuous on all occasions for 
 boldness of character, is not generally the last to ask a 
 question. In this case he is. As he looked on John in 
 that place of nearness and intimacy, he feels that he is the 
 one to ask the Lord that question, because the bosom of 
 Jesus is such a place to ask it from. Words which must 
 halt with fear and dread anywhere else, may flow freely 
 there. "Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him." Ah, 
 the boldest know how to value the disciple leaning on Jesus. 
 It is with us as with Peter here ; every degree of distance 
 
100 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 from the Saviour is a place of proportionate uncertainty in 
 our mind towards Him. There is a fellowship and com- 
 munion with Jesus which can only be had there, "leaning 
 on His bosom." There are words which a disciple is per- 
 mitted to speak to the Lord, and which he may need to 
 speak to Him, and which can be uttered nowhere else. And 
 the position of the beloved disciple, in this narrative, be- 
 tokens the entire absence of all doubt. There was no 
 thought in his mind about personal acceptance with Christ, 
 not a shadow. It was communion of a much higher order. 
 In Peter there was doubt and uncertainty, characteristic 
 of the distance at which he stood. In John there was not 
 a shadow. He was in the place of the Beloved in the Song, 
 reposing on the bosom of Jesus, and exclaiming, " lietHim 
 kiss me with the kisses of His mouth." Blessed posture of 
 soul \ How few now rise up to it ! And yet it is the 
 blessed privilege of every child of God. 
 
 Mark, dear Christian reader, also, that it was in that 
 posture the Lord gave His " new commandment," His 
 commandment of " love " (verses 34, 35). The circum- 
 stances in which the Lord's words find us affect very much 
 the manner or degree in which we receive them. If they 
 come to us reposing on the bosom of Jesus, they will affect 
 our hearts and minds in a manner and to a degree very dif- 
 ferent from that in which they will affect us if we are in 
 the place of distance, like Peter. Contrast the calmness 
 and quietness and quick spiritual perception of John with 
 the restlessness and disquiet of Peter. (See verse 37, and 
 chapter xxi, verse 21, contrasted with John's following 
 without a command, in verse 20.) What is so noiseless as 
 the love of Christ ? What makes the heart so calm and 
 quiet? Hearts make homes. If it be leaning on Jesus' 
 
THE SUPPER CHAMBER. 101 
 
 bosom and drinking in His love, there is its home. It 
 knows no higher, not even in heaven. This is heaven. 
 
 Dear Christian reader, if you should have to ask the 
 Lord a trying and difficult question, go and lay your head 
 on His bosom first : " He then lying on Jesus' breast saith 
 unto Him, Lord, who is it?" Depend upon it we can wait 
 for the answer, whatever it may be, if we are only resting 
 in Him, reposing on His bosom. Depend upon it, all our 
 strange prayers and restlessness and disquiet may be 
 charged upon the distance we live from Christ. Live near 
 to Christ. Let your prayer be, " Nearer and yet nearer, 
 Lord, to Thee." Rest satisfied with no place save the 
 bosom of Jesus, on which you may fully and freely lean 
 your aching head, with every weight that shades your 
 brow or presses upon your heart. Live near, very near, 
 and there may you be found when God sends for you. 
 
 Child of my love, lean hard, 
 
 And let me feci the pressure of thy care. 
 
 I know thy burden, child, I shaped it, 
 
 Poised it in mine own hand, made no proportion 
 
 Of its weight to thine unaided strength. 
 
 For even as I laid it on, I said, 
 
 " I shall be near, and while she leans on me 
 
 This harden shall be mine, not hers; 
 
 So shall I keep my child within the circling arms 
 
 Of mine own love." Here lay it down, nor fear 
 
 To impose it on a shoulder which upholds 
 
 The government of worlds. Yet closer come, 
 
 Thou art not near enough ; I would embrace thy care, 
 
 So I might feel my child reposing on my breast. 
 
 Thou lovest me } I know it, doubt not then ; 
 
 But loving me, lean hard. 
 
102 COUNSELS FEOM THE WORDS OF TRUTH 
 
 THIRSTING FOE GOB. 
 Psalm lxiii, 1 — 8. 
 
 O God, thou art my God ; early will I seek thee ; 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 1 have seen thee in the sanctuary. 
 Because thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. 
 Thus will I bless thee while I live ; I will lift up my hands in thy name. 
 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness ; and my mouth shall 
 praise thee with joyful lips ; when I remember thee upon my bed, and 
 meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, 
 therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth 
 hard after thee ; thy right hand upholdeth me. 
 
 The believer's resting-place is God Himself. Not in God's 
 gifts, however blessed, but in Himself. And when a clouc 1 
 comes between his soul and the Saviour, not all the gifts c ' 
 heaven nor all the treasures of earth can compensate for 
 the clouded light of that Saviour's countenance. He will 
 turn away, even from angels in heaven, and exclaim, with 
 a shadowed brow and a heavy heart, " They have taken 
 away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him." 
 It is with this feeling the psalm wo have selected for 
 consideration opens. It is the cry of the soul after God, 
 the living God. Still it is the soul in the enjoyment of 
 His presence, but thirsting for more of it. To know God 
 
THIRSTING FOR GOD. 103 
 
 is to long to know more of Him. The soul is full of joy, 
 and yet thirsts for more. One who had known the Saviour 
 as few know Him, exclaimed after a life of devotedness to 
 His service, "That I may know Him." 
 
 "0 God, Thou art my God." Mark the sweet appro- 
 priating word, " my God." On this hangs everything else 
 in the chapter. We can say nothing if we are not able to 
 say this. It is as if David would say, " Thou great and 
 almighty Being, the framer of the heavens and the earth, 
 in whose hands the nations are as a drop in the ocean, 
 Thou art my God." Oh the joy of being able to say at the 
 opening of every chapter in life, " My God!" Oh the bles- 
 sedness of being able, though as a worm of the dust, yet to 
 look up, and gazing on the ten thousand times ten thou- 
 sand worlds above, exclaim, " My God !" Yes, mine, and 
 I am His ! Let the chapter now be what it may ; let it 
 come freighted with sorrow or laden with joy ; let it come 
 in tears of grief or beaming with smiles, I am ready. 
 
 " Early will I seek Thee." Yes, the soul that can say 
 " My God," will seek Him early. The new nature which 
 leads that soul to the personal appropriation -of Christ, 
 impels it to seek Him first in everything. The opening 
 thought in every duty, in every pleasure, will be towards 
 Him whose presence fills it with joy. Other claims will 
 indeed come in, but they will come in afterwards. The 
 heart will then fully understand and carry out the Saviour's 
 command, " Seek ye first the kingdom of God." God's 
 charge against Christians now is, not that they do not seek 
 Him, but that they do not seek Him first. Other claims 
 come in between them and the Saviour. Thus the heart is 
 " divided," and they are " found faulty " before Him. 
 
 " My soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee 
 
104 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is." Mark, 
 reader, two experiences here which always run side by 
 side ; the thirsting after God, and the insufficiency of the 
 world. Do we indeed thirst for Him? then we shall 
 feel deeply that this world is " a dry and thirsty land, where 
 no water is." But mark, reader, the converse, which is 
 equally true. Do we not feel that this world is a dry 
 place ? do we feel at rest in it, or find that it occupies 
 unduly our heart's affections ? Then there will be no 
 thirsting for God. The two things are inseparable. Oh 
 that we would try our hearts by this test, and learn how 
 we stand experimentally towards God ! Ah, the man who 
 finds this world even a tolerable place, can have no longing 
 after Jesus ! If he has tasted and is daily tasting the pre- 
 ciousness of Ghrist, the world is a very, very dry place. 
 Header, what is it to you ? What is Jesus to you ? 
 
 But what is this thirsting and lons-inor for ? " To see 
 Thy power and Thy glory, so as I have seen Thee in the 
 sanctuary." It is for the sanctuary, for the presence of 
 God. Alone with Him it has learned His power and His 
 glory. It has seen God. It has heard His whisper. It 
 has gazed upon His smile. It has been filled with His 
 breath. The liejht of heaven has surrounded it. Oh the 
 glory of God's secret presence ! What lessons we learn 
 there ! What " glory " fills the soul ! What " power," to 
 lift us above the world, and above the trials which press 
 sorely upon us ! How unspeakably precious the blood on 
 which we have gazed, and which has again and again given 
 peace to our conscience, when we have been all alone with 
 Him ! How He has unveiled His face to us, and cheered 
 us with His sympathy, and strengthened us with His love ! 
 How He has whispered, " Peace, be still," in many a storm ! 
 
THIRSTING FOR GOD. 105 
 
 How He has clasped us, fainting and falling, in His arms ! 
 How He has wiped away the tears from our eyes ! How 
 near we have felt Him, so near that we scarcely knew 
 whether we were " in the body, or out of the body!" Yes, 
 we have experienced all this in the sanctuary, time after 
 time. "We have seen His " power " and His " glory " there, 
 in ways that nature could never show it ! And we long 
 for it again. Our " soul thirsteth " for Him, our " flesh 
 longeth " for Him. It is a " dry and thirsty land " we 
 are in, and His sweet presence makes us feel it so. There 
 is only one green spot in the desert, and that is " the sanc- 
 tuary." We long to see Him, as we have seen Him before ; 
 and our cry is, " Turn us again, Lord God of hosts, cause 
 Thy face to shine, and we shall be saved." 
 
 " Because Thy loving-kindness is better than life, my 
 lips shall praise Thee. Thus will I bless Thee while I live ; 
 I will lift up my hands in Thy name." Mark, reader, the 
 psalmist's estimate of God's love, " better than life." Life 
 is everything to us. Yet here is something he values more 
 than even his life ! reader, what is Christ to you ? Can 
 you say sincerely, truly, heartily, " I value my Saviour 
 and His love more than my own life f" If you cannot, you 
 are unworthy of Him. If you cannot, you do not know 
 Him. If you cannot, suspect your religion. It is not 
 genuine ! If you cannot, then the only solid, reasonable, 
 intelligent conclusion you can come to is, that you have 
 " neither part nor lot in the matter." reader, try your- 
 self by this test ! See that your religion is real. See that 
 it will stand the evil day that is at hand, the shaking of 
 all hearts, and of all things in the world. What are you ? 
 Whose are you ? Is your religion worth a straw f Make 
 no mistake, reader. " What think you of Christ ?" 
 
106 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 But observe, further, the psalmist's estimate of Christ : 
 " I will lift up my hands in Thy name." When Moses* 
 hands were lifted up, Israel prevailed; when they fell, 
 Amalek prevailed. Prayer is victory. The neglect of 
 prayer is defeat. " I will lift up my hands in Thy name." 
 In the name of Jesus is victory. The psalmist associates 
 with that name the " lifting up of the hands," or victory over 
 all foes. The " lifting up of the hands " is thus not only 
 the expression of prayer, but also of victory, and that 
 through the " name." He who can look up and say, " My 
 God," knows " in whom he has believed." He knows of 
 no uncertainty. There is nothing doubtful in his course. 
 His eye is on Jesus, Jesus only, and there all is victory. 
 " The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous 
 runneth into it, and is safe." 
 
 " My soul shall be satisfied, as with marrow and fatness ; 
 and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips ; when I 
 remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the 
 night watches." Every remembrance of Christ to the soul 
 of the believer is precious. There is such joy in the thought 
 of Him that it can only be faintly expressed. And yet we 
 must use figures to convey some idea of what Christ is to 
 our souls, though all are so poor. The psalmist uses two 
 here to express it, " marrow and fatness." These are the 
 very life and strength and value of the animal. The " fat 
 of fed beasts," " the fat of lambs," these are the figures 
 constantly used in the Old Testament to express what is 
 most precious in God's sight. This is the figure under 
 which Christ is presented to us in this psalm. The recol- 
 lection of His dear name is so sweet and " satisfying " to 
 the soul ; yea, it is " marrow and fatness." It comes to the 
 
THIRSTING FOR GOD. 107 
 
 soul through the corridors of memory, bringing with it 
 fullness of joy to the longing, thirsting spirit. 
 
 " Tongue never spake, ear never heard, 
 Nor heart hath e'er conceived, 
 A dearer name, a sweeter word, 
 Than Jesus, Son of God." 
 
 " Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the 
 shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice." Again, the psalmist's 
 heart goes back to the presence of God as his home. The 
 " shadow of Thy wings " refers to the cherubim on the 
 mercy-seat. There was the ark, the mercy-seat, the 
 cherubim with outstretched wings, and over all, the sheki- 
 nah. Here God manifested Himself. And it is to this 
 presence the soul goes back with " rejoicing." " In Thy 
 presence is fullness of joy." It is the home of the heart. 
 There is but one step beyond, and that is into the unvailed 
 glory of His presence, to see " eye to eye and face to face." 
 Another sweet truth is conveyed under this figure, that of 
 protection and safety. " Because Thou hast been my help, 
 therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice." Christ 
 is said to be as " the shadow of a great rock in a weary 
 land." And His weeping lament over Jerusalem was, 
 " How often would I have gathered thee, as a hen gather eth 
 her chickens under her wings ! and ye would not." Yes, 
 in the presence of Jesus is protection, safety, and fullness of 
 joy. Happy the man who has learned this from experience. 
 Reader, have you ? 
 
 " My soul followeth hard after Thee ; Thy right hand 
 upholdeth me." Mark, reader, whence the psalmist derives 
 his sense of security, from " following hard " after God. 
 All God's people, from the least to the greatest, are " kept 
 
108 COUNSELS FEOM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 by the power of God unto salvation." Bat if, reader, you 
 want to have the sweet assurance of this in your own soul, 
 the realization that He is indeed holding you up, and will 
 keep you to the end, then " follow hard " after God. The 
 finished work of the Lord Jesus has secured your everlast- 
 ing safety ; but your " following hard " after God will 
 bring the sweet assurance and joy of it to your soul. The 
 finished work of Jesus has given you an " entrance " into 
 the kingdom, bat your u adding to your faith" will give 
 you an "abundant entrance." Oh u make your calling and 
 election sure !" " Follow " after Jesus, but " follow hard!' 
 " Press toward the mark." " Fight the good fight of faith." 
 " Lay hold on eternal life." " Wrestle with the princi- 
 palities and powers" of evil around you. It will be but 
 for a few days longer. Your labor is now nearly over. 
 Your trials and sorrows are now nearly at an end. Your 
 crown is now almost in your grasp. How near " the day" 
 is now ! "Only a few more shadows, and He will come." 
 Follow Christ. Follow hard. Follow in the face of the 
 world, the flesh, and the devil. "Hold that fast which 
 thou hast, that no man take thy crown." 
 
 No shadows yonder ! 
 
 All, all light and song 
 Each day I wonder, 
 
 And say, How long 
 Shall time me sunder 
 
 From that dear throng? 
 No shadows yonder ! 
 
 All, all light and song. 
 
 No weeping yonder ! 
 
 All fled away ; 
 "While here I wander 
 
 Each weary day ; 
 
THIRSTING FOE GOD. 109 
 
 And sigh as I ponder 
 
 My long, long stay ; 
 No weeping yonder ! 
 
 All, all fled away. 
 
 No parting yonder ! 
 
 Time and space never 
 Again shall sunder. 
 
 Hearts cannot sever ; 
 Dearer and fonder 
 
 Hands clasp forever; 
 No parting yonder ! 
 
 Hands, hands clasp forever. 
 
 None wanting yonder ! 
 
 Bought by the Lamb ! 
 All gathered under 
 
 The ever green palm 
 Loud as night's thunder 
 
 Ascends the glad psalm, 
 None wanting yonder 
 
 Bought, bought by the Lamb, 
 
110 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OE TRUTH. 
 
 GOD'S ANSWER TO THE SINNER'S 
 QUESTION. 
 
 Micah vi, 6 — 8. 
 
 Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the 
 high God ? shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a 
 year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten 
 thousands of rivers of oil ? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, 
 the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul ? He hath showed thee, O man, 
 what is good ; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, 
 and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God ? 
 
 The word of God ever directs the sinner's eye to the 
 finished work of the Lord Jesus for peace. It tells him to 
 look to Jesus, to look now, and to behold in that finished 
 work his own eternal salvation, that which has brought 
 him nigh to God. It bids him accept it, and go in peace. 
 It is not generally, however, that the sinner looks 
 directly to Christ. He takes a circuitous path, and goes 
 through a, process, without which he conceives he cannot 
 attain salvation. Thus, instead of believing the finished 
 work of Jesus for his soul, and rejoicing in it, he makes his 
 salvation a matter of attainment. Hence the circuitous 
 path. Hence the long process. Very often this is not the 
 fault of the sinner so much as the obscure way in which 
 the gospel has been accustomed to be put before him. It has 
 been so hampered by conditions, or the finished work of 
 Jesus has been put forward in so unfinished a manner as 
 
god's answer to the sinner's question. Ill 
 
 to leave him under the impression that he dare not appro- 
 priate it without something of himself, of his good life, or 
 his prayers, or his repentance, to make it his. 
 
 To tell him that it is his without any of these, and 
 simply because he is a sinner, that his sin is his title to it, 
 and not his goodness, and that he has only to receive it and 
 rejoice, is to tell him that which he cannot believe. He 
 prefers working to believing. He cannot take it as a gift. 
 He must earn it. 
 
 The passage we have selected for consideration brings 
 before us the history of such a soul. Let us learn its 
 solemn lessons in the light of God's Holy Spirit. 
 
 It will be observed that the first five previous verses are 
 occupied with the testimony of God to Israel. Israel is 
 asked to hear, and to plead with God. God brings before 
 them His redeeming love, His watchful care, and declares 
 to them His righteousness. 
 
 One is brought before us as affected by this testimony. 
 He is represented as being awakened up by it to inquire 
 about his own relation to God and acceptance with Him. 
 He exclaims, " Wherewith shall I come before the Lord ?" 
 It is a blessed thing when we can get the sinner into any 
 state of concern about his soul. The crying sin of the 
 majority of those to whom the testimony of the Lord is 
 continually addressed is indifference. When through the 
 Holy Spirit's teachings we can get man to be concerned, 
 to exclaim, " What must I do to be saved ?" " Where- 
 with shall I come before the Lord ?" the sleep is broken, 
 and there is hope. 
 
 And this is the way the Spirit of God does it. He pre- 
 sents the Word, and bring3 it home to the conscience. 
 Concern is awakened. The state of the sinner's soul begins 
 
112 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 to occupy his thoughts more than it used to do. Again 
 and again he tries to banish it. He cannot. Again and 
 again the mournful cry comes up from his heart, " What 
 must I do ?" " Wherewith shall I come before the Lord ?" 
 
 Now comes the circuitous route the sinner takes, the 
 long process and weariness of soul. All this time Christ 
 has been presented and was presented at the very first 
 awakening. " He hath showed thee, man, what is good," 
 is the Lord's rebuke to him afterwards. The " good " had 
 been shown at first, but the soul would not look there, and 
 preferred a way of its own. 
 
 Mark the stages through which it passes. They form a 
 climax. " Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and 
 bow myself before the high God ?" This is the first stage. 
 There is a sense of the greatness and majesty and holiness 
 of God. The religious thoughts of the man are at work, 
 and he seeks to " bow " himself. He practices humility. 
 He mortifies the flesh. He says many prayers. Still all 
 is vain. He has not peace. Sin is there. It weighs 
 heavily. All he has done yet has not removed it. Again 
 he cries, " What shall I do ?" " Wherewith shall I come ?" 
 
 Mark the next stage. As the sense of sin increases, so 
 do the man's efforts. He makes greater sacrifices. " Shall 
 I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a 
 year old V These are great things, valuable, precious. So 
 he tries them. More attention to religious duties, longer 
 prayers, alms for charitable purposes, better attendance at 
 church, the observance of fasting and other such-like reli- 
 gious duties. Still there is no peace. The man is ill at 
 ease. The heart is not at rest. Sin is there, and con- 
 science holds it before the man. He cannot get rid of it, 
 turn what way he will. It is the specter in his path, night 
 
GOD'S ANSWER TO THE SINNEIt's QUESTION. 113 
 
 and day. Again the cry comes up from his perplexed heart, 
 " What must I do ?" " Wherewith shall I come ?" 
 
 Mark the next stage. " Will the Lord be pleased with 
 thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil V 
 Sin weighs more heavily, and with it the sinner again in- 
 creases his efforts. Larger sacrifices, longer prayers, scru- 
 pulous attention to religious duties, the poor heart deeply 
 probed to root out all its evil weeds ; what a process ! Still 
 there is no peace. Conscience is more uneasy than ever. 
 The soul is well-nigh in despair. Agony is reaching the 
 climax. Again it cries out with a mournful and bitter cry, 
 " What must I do ?" " Wherewith shall I come ?" 
 
 Mark the next stage. It is the climax. " Shall I give 
 my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body 
 for the sin of my soul ?" It has tried everything the mind 
 could invent or the heart devise. It has lacerated the flesh 
 and torn the limb. It has been on its bare knees for hours, 
 with head uncovered. It has punished the flesh in every 
 way. It has spent hours, or days, or weeks it may be, in 
 prayer. It has given alms of a prodigious character. It 
 has fasted till the flesh has forsaken the body. Still sin is 
 there. Still conscience holds up the dark picture to view, 
 now darker than ever. The heart is tossed to and fro in a 
 tempest of agony and despair. There is no peace, no, 
 none ! All is dreariness and misery. All midnight dark- 
 ness in the soul. One despairing cry comes up from the 
 heart, under the pressure of which it seems ready to burst, 
 " What must I do ?" " Wherewith shall I come ?" 
 
 Oh painful process ! Oh dreary and desolate route for 
 
 the sinner to take ! And yet it is the history of thousands ! 
 
 How does Satan darken the mind, and lead the soul astray ! 
 
 And what multitudes prefer the path he suggests, to the 
 
 8 
 
114 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 clear, simple testimony of God, " The Lord hath laid on 
 Him the iniquity of us all;" "It is finished;" "He that 
 believeth on the Son hath everlasting life ;" " Go in peace, 
 thy sins are forgiven thee ;" " He hath showed thee, man, 
 what is good." 
 
 The Spirit of God now reminds this soul of something 
 He had before presented to it. There is a rebuke implied 
 in the words for its unbelief. " He hath showed thee, 
 man, what is good." Look at that He has shown you long 
 ago. Look at that, and not to your doings, for peace. 
 How long will your soul go mournfully exclaiming, " Who 
 will show me any good ?" Look at Jesus, there is good, 
 the very good you need. The word " good " comprises 
 everything to be found in the work and life and character 
 of Christ. It contains within itself all that God can give 
 to the soul. Look there, sinner, and see all thy salvation. 
 There is the answer to thy troubled heart and sin-burdened 
 conscience. All is in that " good " thing, the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. - 
 
 And observe : " He hath showed thee." It is not some- 
 thing to do, but something done, look at it. It is not to 
 call forth fresh efforts after salvation from thee. It is to 
 behold salvation accomplished. Thou art the guilty one 
 bitten by the serpent's sting of sin ; " behold the Lamb of 
 God, which taketh away the sin of the world." " He hath 
 showed thee what is good." It is an object presented to the 
 eye of the sinner's soul, to which he is directed to look. 
 And the One thus "shown" is to be the attraction of the 
 soul ever afterwards. He is to be before the redeemed one 
 as the object of delight, of wonder, love, and praise. 
 " Looking unto Jesus," he is to " run with patience the 
 race set before him." The One whom God has shown to 
 
'god's answer to the sinner's question. 115 
 
 his soul is to draw him onward and upward till he stands 
 before the throne. 
 
 Now that Christ is presented to the soul, the creature 
 may, must begin to work. " What doth the Lord require 
 of thee, but to do j ustly, and to love mercy, and to walk 
 humbly with thy God ?" Mark, reader, in this passage, 
 how the order of the natural man is reversed. The one 
 who is here represented as saying, " Wherewith shall I 
 come before the Lord?" has all his thoughts directed to 
 doing and sacrificing first. God shows him the " good " 
 first, and then tells him to do. Thus the order of the 
 natural man is entirely reversed. He is not to work for 
 salvation, but from it. It is not " work," and you shall see 
 " good." It is " look at the good," and then work. It is 
 not "Go and sin no more," and then "Neither will I con- 
 demn thee;" it is "Neither do I condemn thee," then, 
 " Go and sin no more." It does not mock the sinner by 
 telling him to work for God while it gives him no motive 
 for working. No. It gives him a motive for working, 
 the love of Christ to his own soul in the full and free for- 
 giveness of all his sins, and says, " Now go and work for 
 me." " Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great 
 things God hath done for thee." 
 
 But mark what the redeemed one is told to do. First, 
 "Ho justly " Justice has reference to a law. That law is 
 the law of God, the word of God. This is now to be his 
 guide, the great rule by which he is to act in all the rela- 
 tions of life. 
 
 Second, "love mercy." And why? Because the Lord 
 has shown such mercy to him, therefore his heart is to be 
 full of it to every one else. He is to be merciful, as his 
 Father in . heaven is merciful. The censure, the unkind 
 
116 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 construction put upon another's words or deeds, the look- 
 ing at every one in the worst light instead of the best, all 
 this is to be forever put away. He is to" love mercy." 
 And this he will do if he knows anything of himself and 
 what the Lord has done for him. 
 
 And lastly, " humble thyself to walk with God " (see 
 margin). Why is this? Because God can only walk with 
 the humble. " The proud He knoweth afar off." And if 
 the Christian be not going down daily in dust and ashes at 
 the feet of Christ, God cannot walk with him. The simple 
 meaning of the passage is this, put yourself each day, each 
 hour, in such a posture of soul that you may have com- 
 panionship with God. reader, are you doing this ? What 
 does your daily life say to this ? What know you of having 
 God as a living, abiding companion ? Where is your holi- 
 ness, where your heavenly mindedness, where your self- 
 denial, gentleness, patience, forbearance, love ? Have these 
 indeed a conspicuous place in your daily life ? Oh see to 
 it! Have not the worst of all mockeries, the name of 
 Christianity without the power of it. If conscience tells 
 you that you have it not, seek it, pray for it, wrestle with 
 God for it. Rest not till you bear in your daily life a 
 brighter image of Christ than you have done. " Do justly, 
 love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God." Remember, 
 reader, this is no optional thing with you Forget it not, 
 the Lord " requireth of thee "to do this. May He find 
 you thus living when He comes ! 
 
 Judge not : the workings of His brain 
 
 And of His heart thou canst not see ; 
 What looks to thy dim eyes a stain, 
 
 In God's pure light may only be 
 A scar brought from some well-won field, 
 Where thou wouldst only faint and yield. 
 
god's answer to the sinner's question. 117 
 
 The look, the air, that frets thy sight, 
 
 May be a token that below 
 The soul has closed in deadly fight 
 
 With some infernal, fiery foe, 
 Whose glance would scorch thy smiling grace, 
 And cast thee shuddering on thy face. 
 
 The fall thou darest to despise, 
 
 May be, the angel's slackened hand 
 Has suffered it, that he may rise, 
 
 And take a firmer, surer stand, 
 Or, trusting less to earthly things, 
 May henceforth learn to use his wings. 
 
 And judge none lost ; but wait and see 
 
 With hopeful pity, not disdain ; 
 The depth of the abyss may be 
 
 The measure of the height of pain 
 And love and glory that may raise 
 This soul to God in after-days, 
 
 Adelaide Anne Procter. 
 
118 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 THE WOMEN AT THE SEPULCHER. 
 Mark xvi ; 1 — 8. 
 
 And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother 
 of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and 
 anoint him. And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they 
 came unto the sepulcher at the rising of the sun ; and they said among 
 themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepul- 
 cher? (And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away), 
 for it was very great. And entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young 
 man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment ; and they 
 were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted ; ye seek Jesus 
 of Nazareth, which was crucified; he is risen; he is not here; behold the 
 place where they laid him. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter 
 that he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him, as he said 
 unto you. And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulcher ; for 
 they trembled, and were amazed ; neither said they anything to any man ; 
 for they were afraid. 
 
 The circumstances in which Christ is placed ever draws 
 to light the true disciple. The death of Christ brings 
 Joseph of Arimathea on the stage of Divine revelation. 
 But for that, who would ever have heard of him ? It was 
 the same great event that drew to light another secret 
 disciple, Nicodemus. But for that, who would have known 
 that his Christianity had so grown since the night on which 
 he went to meet the Saviour ? It was the circumstances 
 in which that Saviour was placed that brought them out 
 of obscurity and tested their character. And it was simply 
 
THE WOMEN AT THE SEPULCHEE. 119 
 
 because of their connection with Jesus that the Holy Spirit 
 gives them a place and a name in the book of God. 
 
 It was so then, it is so now. If there was a true disciple 
 anywhere, the circumstances in which the Saviour was 
 placed drew him to light. In this respect He was indeed 
 the light of the world, making manifest everything and 
 every one around Him. It is the same now, for Christ is 
 still here in His members. If there be any reality in our 
 religion, the circumstances in which His people are placed 
 will bring it to light. "We shall be found gathering round 
 His members to minister to them for the sake of Jesus. If 
 we do not, then there is no reality in our religion. And 
 it is just as we thus gather round Christ, that we are re- 
 corded by the Spirit. We get a living name before the 
 throne. 
 
 These are the opening features of this narrative. The 
 women are seen round the person of the Lord Jesus. His 
 circumstances have drawn them to light, and given them 
 an imperishable record in the book of God. 
 
 Header, if you want a name in heaven, you must be in 
 connection with Jesus. He must draw you to light. You 
 will have no record on high but one of shame, if you are 
 not livingly associated with Jesus. 
 
 And how very different are the characters seen around 
 Him here ! " Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of 
 James, and Salome." The differences morally are great. 
 The difference of degrees of social rank may be great. The 
 world may think much of these things ; and man, on ac- 
 count of these things, may be severed from his fellow-man. 
 But not around Jesus. There all are equal. The Spirit 
 of God takes no note of such distinctions. They are seen 
 around Jesus, and that is enough. There is the aristocracy 
 
120 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 of heaven. There is the blood- royal. The Spirit of God, 
 the great Artist of heaven, draws the picture of these 
 women seen around the person of the Lord Jesus, and 
 hangs it up in the gallery of grace, that we may behold 
 and learn. 
 
 What urged them onward at this early hour of the day 
 with their spices ? Love, only love. " The love of Christ 
 constraineth us." This so filled their hearts that there 
 was no room for another thought. The difficulties were 
 never taken into account. The huge stone at the door of 
 the sepulcher, and how it was to be "rolled away," never 
 entered their minds. Love, only love, urged them on- 
 ward. Love had, no doubt, kept them awake all the pre- 
 vious night, watching for the dawn, and the moments, we 
 may be sure, were long and tedious. What will not the 
 love of Christ do ? 
 
 But now the difficulties of the way have to be faced. A 
 formidable one presents itself. " Who shall roll us away 
 the stone from the door of the sepulcher ?" There was 
 good ground, too, for this difficulty. They were weak 
 women, and the stone was " great." It was no trifling 
 obstacle. It would have turned any one else back. It 
 would have cooled any other motive than the " love of 
 Christ." Ah ! duties are ours ; issues are God's. Let us 
 go onward, and leave the " great stone," to God. The love 
 of Christ burns within us. We are going to see the 
 Saviour. Perish every other thought ! Leave difficulties 
 with God. " Roll thy way upon the Lord ; trust also in 
 Him : and He shall bring it to pass." 
 
 So they did. The difficulty, the "great stone,"' de- 
 terred them not. The love of Christ was stronger. And 
 God, always true to His promise, was true to their love. 
 
THE WOMEN AT THE SEPULCHER. 121 
 
 " And when they looked, they saw that the stone was 
 rolled away; for it was very great." 
 
 Christian, go onward. Let the love of Christ be thy 
 motive. And if difficulties arise, as they surely will, even 
 the " very great stone," yet pause not to ask " Who will 
 roll us away the stone ?" Leave that to God, and go on- 
 ward. Thy motto is, and must always be, " Onward." 
 
 Not only do they find the stone rolled away, but receive 
 the glad tidings of a living Saviour. The tomb is empty. 
 The herald of heaven is sitting in triumph amid the 
 trophies of death. What a reward for persevering love ! 
 Yes, if we go onward under the constraining influence of 
 the love of Christ, two things will always be the result, we 
 shall find difficulties overcome, and that our " labor has 
 not been in vain in the Lord." Love shall have a plain 
 path, though every step of it must be trod by faith. Love 
 shall have a bright reward, for a living Saviour is before it 
 to fill every niche of the heart with gladness and joy. 
 
 Still we are in the body. Sin and infirmity intermingle 
 with everything here. They are " affrighted." That 
 which should have filled them with the highest joy, fills 
 them with fear. The empty grave, the pledge of every 
 blessing to the believer, and the triumph of heaven over 
 death, is too much for the heart. Ah ! how much God's 
 truth has to contend with before it can find a home in our 
 affections. God comes to our souls with the hand full of 
 blessings, and we shrink and tremble, and hesitate and 
 doubt. We fear to take them. 
 
 Still, with all this infirmity and sin, the love of Christ 
 was there, and that shall always be corrected if under a 
 cloud, and shall never go unrewarded. " And he saith unto 
 them, Be not affrighted ; ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which 
 
122 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 was crucified ; He is risen ; He is not here ; behold the 
 place where they laid Him." This is ever the word of 
 Jesus to the loving yet fearful heart, " Fear not." It was 
 always on His lips to strengthen the drooping and to 
 encourage the weak. And why was this said to these 
 women? We are told the reason : " Ye seek Jesus." To 
 those who seek, "all things shall be added unto them." 
 The word of encouragement to every real, earnest seeker of 
 Jesus still is, " Fear not." 
 
 " But go your way, tell His disciples and Peter that He 
 goeth before you into Galilee ; there shall ye see Him, as He 
 said unto you." Yes, seeker of Jesus, " He goeth before 
 you." " Fear not ; it is I; be not afraid." At every bend 
 and turn of your pilgrimage-path you may hear His voice, 
 " Fear not ; ye seek Jesus ; He goeth before you." Through 
 the flood or across the plain ; through the dark valley, or 
 over the mountain-height ; in the dark path of sorrow, or 
 in the sunshine of prosperity, " fear not," seeker of Jesus, 
 for " He goeth before you." " All things shall work to- 
 gether for thy good." Thou knowest the voice of the Good 
 Shepherd, who " goeth before thee." Thou shalt see Him, 
 even as "He has said unto thee." Thou shalt see Him, 
 and be like Him. Only press on. " Seek Jesus ;" and in 
 every path thou wilt see His footprint. Not one good thing 
 of all that the Lord thy God hath promised shall be lacking. 
 
 " But go your way, tell His disciples and Peter that He 
 goeth before you." Mark how Peter is specially mentioned 
 here. Man would have said, yea, Christian man, " He 
 basely denied Thee three times. He cursed and swore, 
 and told lies. He acted the coward's part; leave him to 
 himself." Ah, God is not like man. This was the very 
 reason why he ought to be remembered. The man whom 
 
THE WOMEN AT THE SEPULCHER. 123 
 
 the world despises, whom the Church would cast out ; the 
 Son of God would send a loving message to. Because he 
 would be unthought of by man, the Lord would think of 
 him. Therefore the mention specially of Peter, and lest his 
 heart should be swallowed up of sorrow. Oh, the wondrous 
 grace of God, the love of Jesus ! How unlike men, even 
 the best of men ! Yes ; "go and tell " that Jesus is risen ! 
 Tell it to the poor downcast one, the wanderer, the far-off 
 one, that Jesus is risen. Tell the glad news that " cap- 
 tivity is captive led," that death is conquered, and the 
 grave rifled of its prey, for Jesus is risen ! Tell it to every 
 poor perplexed pilgrim, toiling his upward way to Zion, 
 Jesus is risen. Tell it ; and let every ear listen to the glad 
 sound of victory over death and the grave. Tell it ; and 
 bid every heart leap up with joy. He is risen, and we have 
 risen with Him. He is risen, and has left all our sins in 
 the grave where He lay. "He is risen ;" let us rise with 
 Him, in newness of .life. " He goeth before " us ; let us 
 keep our eye on the Conqueror, and follow in His path. 
 " Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 
 looking unto Jesus." It may be with fears; it maybe 
 with trembling; it may be in "amazement," with all the 
 infirmities of a sinful body cleaving to us ; still let us seek. 
 Still let us follow, with our eye fixed on Him ; and soon 
 the Conqueror's crown shall be placed on the brow of the 
 faithful servant, and everlasting joy shall be on his head. 
 
 What poor weeping ones were saying 
 
 Eighteen hundred years ago, 
 "We, the same weak faith betraying, 
 
 Say in our sad hours of woe. 
 Looking at some trouble lying 
 
 In the dark and dread unknown, 
 We too often ask with sighing, 
 
 " Who shall roll away the stone?" 
 
124 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH, 
 
 Thus with eare our spirits crushing, 
 
 When they might from care be free, 
 And in joyous song outgushing, 
 
 Rise in rapture, Lord, to Thee. 
 For, before the way was ended, 
 
 Oft we've had with joy to own, 
 Angels have from heaven descended, 
 
 And have rolled away the stone. 
 
 Many a storm-cloud sweeping o'er us 
 
 Never pours on us its rain : 
 Many a grief we see before us 
 
 Never comes to cause us pain. 
 Ofttimes in the feared " to-morrow'* 
 
 Sunshine comes, the cloud has flown ; 
 Ask not, then, in foolish sorrow, 
 
 " Who shall roll away the stone ?" 
 
 Burden not thy soul with sadness ; 
 
 Make a wiser, better choice ; 
 Drink the wine of life with gladness, 
 
 God doth bid thee, " Man, rejoice.'' 
 In to-day's bright sunlight basking, 
 
 Leave to-morrow's cares alone ; 
 Spoil not present joys by asking, 
 
 " Who shall roll away the stone ?" 
 
THE BLIND MAN OF BE1HSAIDA. 125 
 
 THE BLIND MAN OF BETHSAIDA. 
 Mark viii, 22 — 26. 
 
 And he cometh to Bethsaida ; and they bring a blind man unto him, and 
 besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and 
 led him out of the town ; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his 
 hands upon him, he asked him if he saw aught. And he looked up, and 
 said, I see men as trees, walking. After that, he put his hands again upon 
 his eyes, and made him look up : and he was restored, and saw every man 
 clearly. And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the 
 town, nor tell it to any in the town. 
 
 In God's word, blessings and warnings are constantly- 
 blended together. We sometimes observe the same thing 
 in the actions of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no truth 
 we lose sight of more than this, that every ray of life and 
 light and healing from above entails a proportionate mea- 
 sure of responsibility. Grace is sensitive, and if slighted 
 will retire. Familiarity with truth brings with it a con- 
 science less impressible to its voice. A step farther it is 
 seared. It is a solemn consideration. There is a day at 
 hand when thousands who now pass among men for Chris- 
 tians will wish they had never heard of Christianity. There 
 is an hour approaching when thousands of professedly reli- 
 gious men would give worlds that they never had had any 
 religion at all. 
 
126 COUNSELS FKOM THE WOEDS OF THUTH. 
 
 Let us look, in dependence upon the teaching of God's 
 Holy Spirit, on the solemn lessons connected with the 
 healing of the blind man of Bethsaida. 
 
 The Lord Jesus, while performing this miracle, was con- 
 veying another lesson. While blessing the blind man with 
 restoration of sight, it was done in such a way as to convey 
 a solemn warning. Bethsaida had been a highly favored 
 place. Many of the Lord's mighty works had been done 
 there. The grace and love of the Redeemer had shone 
 forth there in a wondrous manner. Its privileges had been 
 many and great. But Bethsaida had slighted them. It 
 had not repented. 
 
 But though grace had been resisted, and the nation still 
 remained impenitent, the Lord does not cast it off. He 
 visits it again. His arms of mercy are again extended to 
 succor the needy. He heals, but in such a manner that 
 they may see how sensitive grace is, and easily grieved by 
 resistance. He heals, but with the manner and words of 
 a wounded heart, and an indication that now their day of 
 grace was over, and His Spirit was about to be withdrawn. 
 "And He took the blind man by the hand." Though 
 grieved and slighted, that hand was ever ready to be ex- 
 tended at the cry of mercy. None ever came in vain. Hi- 
 ear was ever open, His grace ever full and free. The more 
 needy, the more welcome. He would "in no wise cast out." 
 But mark the significant action, "He led him out of the 
 town." Bathsaida had forfeited, by slighting His grace, 
 all claim to see the works of the Lord Jesus. His with- 
 drawal had a significant meaning. It spoke of a distance 
 which the Lord had now taken with regard to it. It con- 
 veyed to Bethsaida exactly what familiarity with truth 
 conveys to us, a withdrawal of the Spirit's operations; a 
 
THE BLIND MAN OF BETHSAIDA. 127 
 
 conscience less sensitive and tender; a heartless moved than 
 formerly by the voice of God. • 
 
 Beader, and especially Christian reader, this is a solemn 
 thing. Oh, if there is one prayer more than another you 
 should ever have on your heart, it is this, that you may be 
 preserved from barren familiarity with truth. " Oh," said 
 one, "there was nothing new in what he said; it was just 
 what we all knew before." Here is the terrible effect of 
 familiarity with truth. It becomes inoperative. And how 
 inoperative ? That very familiarity was the withdrawal of 
 the Spirit's operation. He cannot work, for the heart and 
 conscience are untouched. Blessed be God, He never with- 
 draws from the soul in whom He has taken up His abode. 
 Bat He may be grieved, and withdraw His operations, 
 leaving that soul to be a saved, yet so as by fire." 
 
 Observe how the Lord confirms this by His conduct. 
 " And when He had spit on his eyes, and put His hands 
 upon him, He asked him if he saw aught." How strangely 
 different is this from the Lord's usual manner of healing ! 
 He seemed to doubt His own power ! What a process, 
 and what a question to put to the man ! Why was all this? 
 Slighted grace is sensitive. The Lord doubted not His 
 power. But while the grace should flow from Him as fully 
 as ever, it should flow as from a wounded spirit. It all 
 spoke to Bethsaida of a withdrawal of grace, and that judg- 
 ment was at hand. The stream of mercy was flowing to the 
 needy, but with reserve and difficulty. 
 
 This action is perfect wisdom, and loses nothing of love. 
 If grace has been slighted, it is only right that if mani- 
 fested again it should be accompanied with some course of 
 conduct to show it is- grieved. 
 
 " And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees walk- 
 
128 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 ing." "What a strange effect of the putting forth of the 
 Lord's power ! His work only half done ! "With what 
 difficulty the healing seemed to come ! It was as if in a 
 bosom all mercy judgment was struggling to check the 
 outflowing stream, because of having been resisted. "What 
 a solemn lesson for Bethsaida did all this contain ! 
 
 "After that He put His hands again upon his eyes, and 
 made him look up; and he was restored, and saw every 
 man clearly." Not till now does the full tide of grace come 
 forth. Not till now is the needy one brought under its 
 power. "What a process! Yes, to show the danger of 
 slighting the grace of God ! It was retiring, and the guilty 
 city would soon lose every opportunity and privilege. The 
 action of our Lord in every step here is most significant. 
 He had, in all the fullness of grace, come to Bethsaida. But 
 because grace had been slighted He takes the man out oj 
 the town before He heals him, in order to show Bethsaida 
 that henceforward they would have to seek Him, and not 
 He them. 
 
 And mark the closing words of our Lord to the blind 
 man. " And He sent him away to his house, saying, 
 Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town." 
 Awful words ! The message of grace and mercy receives 
 a positive prohibition with regard to Bethsaida. It is 
 neither to be there in the person of the restored one as a 
 witness, nor is the message to be carried there. All this 
 because of slighted grace. 
 
 " Ephraim is joined unto idols ; let him alone." " Make 
 the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, 
 and shut their eyes ; lest they see with their eyes, and hear 
 with their ears, and understand with their heart, and 
 convert, and be healed." " Because I have called, and ye 
 
THE BLIND MAN OF BETHSAIDA. 129 
 
 refused ; I have stretched out my hand, and no man re- 
 garded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and 
 would none of my reproof; I also will laugh at your 
 calamity ; I will mock when your fear cometh ; when your 
 fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as 
 a whirlwind ; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 
 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer ; they 
 shall seek me early, but they shall not find me." " Woe 
 unto thee, Bethsaida ! if thou hadst known, even thou, at 
 least in this thy day, the things that belong unto thy 
 peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes." Yes, 
 privilege brings with it awful responsibility ! "To whom- 
 soever much is given, of the same shall much be required." 
 Mark, dear reader, several instances of this, and which are 
 characteristic of Grod's dealings. To the poor sinner who 
 had never before heard of His grace, the Lord Jesus went 
 home and abode with him as his honored guest. Zaccheus 
 and the outcast Samaritans, with whom He abode two days, 
 both speak in glowing terms of the fullness and freeness of 
 God's grace to the lost, and His joy in meeting them. But 
 observe how differently He acts with the disciples going to 
 Emmaus. There He had opened their understanding. He 
 had spoken to them out of the Scriptures " the things con- 
 cerning Himself." This was privilege on their part. 
 Therefore when He reached their house, " He made as 
 though He would have gone farther." Theirs was the 
 privilege to know the truth, and therefore theirs was the 
 responsibility to act upon it by asking Him to " abide with 
 them." Much had been given, and now much is expected. 
 If they had not asked, grace would have been slighted, be- 
 cause it would have shown that their hearts, instead of 
 "burning within them," had been uninfluenced by His 
 9 
 
130 COUNSELS FEOM THE WOEDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 words. This may throw further light on our Lord's words 
 to the woman of Samaria, " If thou knewest the gift of 
 God, and who it is that saith unto thee, Give me to drink, 
 thou wouldst have asked of Him, and He would have given 
 thee living water." The knowledge would have been the 
 privilege, and to ask would have been acting on the re- 
 sponsibility ; otherwise grace would have been slighted. 
 Mark, dear reader, one more remarkable instance in con- 
 firmation of this. The prophet Isaiah had had his eyes 
 opened by the Spirit of God, to see his true state as a 
 sinner, and the state of every one around him (see chapter 
 vi, 5 — 8). The grace of God appears with the live coal 
 from the altar, and cleanses him from sin. Oh, this is 
 privilege, the highest of all ! But now mark how " much 
 is expected." There is heard a voice from heaven, saying 
 to him, "Who will go for us?" It does not say to the 
 prophet, " Go." It asks, " Who will go?" It expects the 
 answer proportionate to the grace that has been given : 
 " Lord, here am I ; send me." If this had not come, grace 
 would have been slighted, because it would have shown, 
 that the cleansing had not been valued. reader, learn 
 the lesson ! Let every privilege carry you to prayer, to 
 beseech God to make you feel the awful responsibility that 
 has accompanied it. You know much, oh aim to live up 
 to what you know ! " Much has been given," oh strive 
 earnestly in prayer that you be enabled to give back much ! 
 Never let truth, by familiarity, become inoperative. This 
 has already drawn a veil between God and the souls of thou- 
 sands of Christians. There is no love of secret prayer. 
 There is no panting after God's presence. There is a 
 dullness within about heavenly things. There is a distance, 
 painfully felt and carried about with them, between their 
 
THE BLIND MAN OF BETHSAIDA. 131 
 
 souls and God. There is no calm peace or secret joy within. 
 There was once, and the conscience has a painful recollec- 
 tion of it as of a thing that has gone. Many a soul is bit- 
 terly feeling : — 
 
 '* What peaceful hours I once enjoyed ! 
 
 How sweet their memory still ! 
 But they have left an aching void 
 
 The world can never fill." 
 
 And what is all this ? Oh it is the history of Bethsaida 
 over again ! It is grace slighted and in the act of retiring. 
 It is an indication of coming judgment on that soul. " Be 
 watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are 
 ready to die : for I have not found thy works perfect be- 
 fore God. Bemember, therefore, how thou hast received 
 and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If, therefore, thou 
 shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou 
 shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." 
 reader, and especially Christian reader, take warning ! 
 
 Mark that long dark line of shadows, 
 
 Stretching far into the past ; 
 Every day it seems to lengthen ; 
 
 Whither does it tend at last ? 
 Each one added to the hosts x 
 
 From the present moment flies ; 
 These are Time's forgotten ghosts, 
 
 Fleeted opportunities. 
 
 Characters of light or darkness 
 
 Gabriel's pen from each requires ; 
 God records, if man forgets them ; 
 
 Numbers each as each expires. 
 And the awful spectres all 
 
 In the day of God will rise, 
 Witnesses at Heaven's call, 
 
 Fleeted opportunities. 
 
132 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 Buried powers of good unmeasured, 
 
 Hardly present did ye seem, 
 Yet I thought I should have treasured, 
 
 When ye vanished like a dream. 
 Crushing now my sinful soul, 
 
 All your weight upon it lies ; 
 Jesus' blood must o'er ye roll, 
 
 Fleeted opportunities. 
 
 O my soul, no further lengthen 
 
 Wilfully this ghostly train ; 
 Rise, and seek for grace to strengthen, 
 
 Where 'twas never sought in vain. 
 Lost, this hour but adds another 
 
 To those solemn witnesses ; 
 Every living soul's thy brother, 
 
 Mark thine opportunities. L. N. R. 
 
LESSONS FROM THE WELL OF SYCHAR. 133 
 
 LESSONS FROM THE WELL OF SYCHAR, 
 John iv, 1-42. 
 
 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus 
 made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus himself bap- 
 tized not, but his disciples), He left Judea, and departed again into 
 Galilee. And he must needs go through Samaria. Then cometh he to a 
 city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that 
 Jacob gave to his son Joseph, Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus there- 
 fore being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well : and it was about 
 the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water ; Jesus 
 saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto 
 the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How 
 is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of 
 Samaria ? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus 
 answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is 
 that saith to thee, Give me to drink ; thou wouldest have asked of him, and 
 he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, 
 thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep ; from whence then 
 hast thou that living water ? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, 
 which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and 
 his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever 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. The woman saith 
 unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to 
 draw. Jesus saith unto her, Go call thy husband, and come hither. The 
 woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou 
 hast well said, I have no husband ; for thou hast had five husbands, and he 
 whom thou now hast, is not thy husband ; in that saidst thou truly. The 
 woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers 
 
134 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 worshiped in this mountain : and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place 
 where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me 
 the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusa- 
 lem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what; we know what 
 we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now 
 is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in 
 truth ; for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit ; and 
 they that worship him, must worship him in spirit and in truth. The 
 woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ; 
 when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that 
 speak unto thee am he. 
 
 And upon this came his disciples, and marveled that he talked with the 
 woman ; yet no man said> What seekest thou ? or, Why talkest thou with 
 her ? The woman then left her water pot, and went her way into the city, 
 and saith to the man, come, see a man which told me all things that ever 
 I did ; is not this the Christ ? Then they went out of the city, and came 
 unto him. 
 
 In the meanwhile his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. But 
 he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said 
 the disciples one to another, Hath any man brougth him aught to eat? 
 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and 
 to finish his work. Say not ye. There are yet four months, and then cometh 
 harvest ? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the field ^ 
 for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth 
 wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal ; that both he that soweth, and 
 he that reapeth, may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One 
 soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed 
 no labor ; other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors. 
 
 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying 
 of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. So when the 
 Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry 
 with them; and he abode there two days. And many more believed, be- 
 cause of his own word ; and said unto the woman, Now we believe, not 
 because of thy saying ; for we have heard him ourselves, and know that 
 this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. 
 
 One of the most remarkable records in G-od's word is the 
 Lord s conversation with the woman of Samaria. It is 
 like one of those fine landscapes drawn by some master- 
 hand renowned in history, upon which we gaze with rap- 
 ture. The longer we gaze, the more we seem to admire. 
 
LESSONS FROM THE WELL OF SYCHAR. 135 
 
 Fresh beauties unfold themselves one by one, which at first 
 we had not noticed. The picture is perfect. 
 
 So it is with the chapter we have selected for considera- 
 tion. It is one of the most striking in God's word for 
 suggestive thought and fullness of detail. Let us look at 
 some of its instructive features. 
 
 We are told at the outset, that Jesus " must needs go 
 through Samaria." The necessity for this was twofold ; 
 first, because it lay in His way; secondly, to meet and 
 seek and save this sinner. Some would say the latter was 
 the " needs." I prefer to think it was both. God teaches 
 His spiritual lessons through the natural arrangements 
 and circumstances of daily life. The age of miracles is 
 past. He speaks through the natural His manifold 
 spiritual lessons. There is wisdom in this. Our way is 
 often to divorce them, to make the natural something with 
 which He has nothing to do. God would teach us to see 
 Him in everything; to mark His spiritual lessons con- 
 veyed through ordinary events. The natural is the shell ; 
 the spiritual, the kernel contained in it. The necessity 
 was Samaria, because it lay in His way. The spiritual 
 was to meet the sinner in that way. 
 
 " There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water ; 
 Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink." How natural all 
 this seems to be ! The Saviour, wearied and jaded, and the 
 woman just, as we would say, "happening" to come and 
 draw water, and He asking for a drink. It was just a 
 simple, common-place remark. And yet out of this little 
 thino; the Lord raised a oreat matter. He built on it the 
 great superstructure of the salvation of this woman's soul. 
 It was an ordinary quastion, but He took it out of the or- 
 dinary, and made it great. He thus shows us how we may 
 
136 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 tarn any of the little things of life into a glorious channel. 
 A word, a conversation, a question or answer, if the soul 
 be only right towards God, how we may turn it so as to 
 glorify Him, and make it a great blessing to others! In 
 our general conversation, in our morning calls, in our 
 leisure hours, how little anxiety there is to do this ! How 
 many opportunities are lost ! How much time is frittered 
 away ! How little anxiousness to turn the passing remark 
 into a channel that will prove a blessing to those around, 
 and glorify God ! 
 
 Mark another truth taught us in the Lord's question. 
 His great desire was to win this sinner's soul. How did 
 He begin ? By making Himself a debtor to her. He took 
 the lower place, "Give me to drink." There is no way so 
 effectual to gain the heart as to become a debtor to that 
 heart. The higher the ground on which we place that 
 man, and the lower the ground we take ourselves, the more 
 certain we are to succeed. If you want to draw out that 
 heart, to gain an influence over it, make that man kind to 
 you. Ask, and receive some kindness. He who knew man's 
 heart as none else knew it, knew the way to win it, and 
 said, " Give me to drink." Let us do the same, and we too 
 shall possess the power. First will come surprise, then at- 
 tention, then interest, then desire, and thus the heart will 
 be won. 
 
 The natural man lives in the midst of natural things. 
 All his thoughts being under the influence of what is near 
 and seen, he cannot enter into anything higher. Never- 
 theless, the things seen and temporal, and which press upon 
 us so closely in every hour of the day, are only the medium 
 through which spiritual realities are cast upon us. When 
 we come to look on all here as shadows, and have our 
 
LESSONS FROM THE WELL OF SYCHAR. 137 
 
 thoughts, desires, and affections directed to the substances 
 which are reflected through them, then is God's work ac- 
 complished. This is what God, by His Holy Spirit, is 
 striving to bring us to in everything. " The woman saith 
 unto Him, Sir, Thou hast nothing to draw with, and the 
 well is deep; from whence then hast Thou that living 
 water?" The Lord leads her thoughts up to the well of 
 which that was only a shadow, to the water of which that 
 was only a dim reflection. 
 
 " The woman saith unto Him, Sir, give me this water, 
 that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw." The way 
 in which the Lord was leading this woman is strikingly 
 characteristic of His leadings now. To lead man to see that 
 there is something higher than 'present things which he 
 does not yet possess, but which, if he possessed, would 
 satisfy his craving^ after happiness, and thus to create 
 within a desire for that higher thing, is the history of many 
 a well-trodden path from darkness to light. It was thus 
 the Lord was leading this woman. Her attention was 
 roused. Her mind was interested. Her desires were 
 exercised after this water which she felt she had not got. 
 The earthly was lost sight of in a desire after the heavenly. 
 And above all, that desire was expressed to One who alone 
 could grant it. This was a new state of things. It was 
 light breaking in on the soul. 
 
 But if her desire was to be granted, it must be by con- 
 science being brought under conviction of sin. The 
 "living water" cannot be poured into an uncleansed 
 vessel. The heart must be laid bare before God. The 
 conscience must pass through deep conviction of sin. The 
 natural man must be exposed to view, and we must see 
 ourselves ; see ourselves, too, in all our deformity in the 
 
138 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 very presence of the Searcher of hearts. This was now 
 the ordeal through which this woman had to pass. And 
 yet the way in which the Lord proceeded is striking and 
 instructive. His conduct furnishes us with an example 
 which we would do well to follow. He did not point out 
 her sin first, as we generally do ; He first tried to win her 
 by receiving a kindness from her. Next He spoke to her 
 about kind things, about the living water, everlasting life, 
 and His willingness to give it. Thus He approached her. 
 After all this was done, He said, " Go, call thy husband, 
 and come hither." We have a similar illustration of our 
 Lord's mode of acting on the shore of Tiberias. He was 
 about to reprove Peter for thrice denying Him on the cross, 
 by asking him three times, " Lovest thou me ?" Before 
 doing so, however, he says, " Come and dine!' Thus by 
 disarming the mind of any unkind motive in the rebuke 
 He was about to administer, He rebuked effectively. So 
 with this woman. He first spoke of kind things, and thus 
 prepared the way for touching her conscience. Before we 
 can gain the soul, we must win the heart. Our first ap- 
 proach must always be love, by receiving a kindness. Then 
 we may proceed to reprove. We generally act the reverse 
 of this, and hence the reason we so seldom succeed. Never 
 begin with the conscience till you are quite sure you have 
 won the heart. 
 
 Another point worthy of notice is, that in touching the 
 conscience, our Lord did not begin by expatiating on the 
 corruption of human nature. He did not dwell on generali- 
 ties. He pointed out one particular sin, one clear, unmis- 
 takable, admissible sin, one from which the conscience 
 could not shrink. So should it be with us. We should 
 be definite. We should abstain from generalities. We 
 
LESSONS FROM THE WELL OF SYCHAR. 139 
 
 should fix upon a point in the character. When we have 
 brought the conscience fully under -the power of that one 
 sin, depend upon it we have done more to lead it in re- 
 pentance to the feet of Christ, than by weeks of sermon- 
 izing. 
 
 Another point equally worthy of remark, is the gentle 
 way in which the Lord pointed it out. " He whom thou 
 now hast is not thy husband." That was all He said. He 
 passed on to speak of something else. He did not dwell 
 on the woman's sin. He did not keep dragging it to light, 
 and holding it up before her. He just clearly and pointedly 
 brought it to light, and passed on. How often do we spoil 
 a rebuke by dwelling too long on it ! How fond we are 
 of coming back again to the same point ! Oh how unlike 
 Christ ! Thus the flesh begins to resent the exposure, and 
 failure is the result. See how marked this was on other 
 occasions in our Lord's life : " Sin no more, lest a worse 
 thing come unto thee;" " Go, and sin no more;" "Her 
 sins, which are many, are all forgiven." How quickly He 
 passed on after, by a word, bringing the sin to light ! Oh 
 that we had the Saviour's mind, and could follow His 
 blessed example ! 
 
 Mark another point. " Go, call thy husband," says the 
 Saviour. But lest the conscience thus touched should, 
 under a sense of shame, retire from His presence, He adds, 
 " and come hither." Yes, if the Lord convinces of sin, there 
 is always an encouraging word along with it. If He exposes 
 us to view, it is not to drive us from His presence. It is 
 that we may come to Him. We may rest assured that 
 whenever the finger of God stirs the stagnant waters of the 
 soul, there is always a voice accompanying His dealings; 
 " and come hillier" 
 
140 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 Nor need the poor convicted soul fear a rebuke from the 
 lips of Jesus. If the honest confession of sin is made in His 
 presence, " I have no husband," it is not to receive the 
 censure, but the approval. There was the undisguised, 
 candid confession of her guilt, and this with the eye of the 
 Searcher of all hearts upon her. Mark the Lord's answer : 
 "Thou hast well said;" " In that saidst thou truly." No 
 frown, no censure, no condemnation ; none ! Only the 
 voice of encouragement to the honest confession of guilt, 
 " ivell " and " truly " said. Oh how encouraging to the 
 sinner to come to Jesus ! How gently, wisely, lovingly, 
 He deals with the sensitive soul ! Others may deal 
 roughly or harshly ; He is all tenderness and compassion. 
 Try Him, sinner, and prove it for thyself! 
 
 Little did the woman think when she looked at the 
 Saviour, and said, " Sir, give me this water," what she was 
 asking for, or how it would be granted. We ask to be made 
 to love Him, and that He would give us the peace of His 
 people, and He answers it by exposing our hearts to view, 
 and making us drink the cup of conscious shame and 
 sorrow. We ask, nay, we sing : — 
 
 " Nearer, my God, to Thee, 
 
 Nearer to Thee, 
 E'en though it be a cross 
 
 That raiseth me;" 
 
 And we sing it earnestly, too ; and God snatches from our 
 side a loved wife, or husband, or darling child, and lays it 
 beneath the green sod. Or perhaps He sends ruin on oar 
 prospects, and crosses in our fornily circle, or lays us for 
 years on a sick-bed. Ah ! our prayers are being answered, 
 but we never counted on all this. Yet " He led them forth 
 
LESSONS FROM THE WELL OF SYCHAR. 141 
 
 by a right way." It is all wrong, very wrong, if we look 
 at it by sight. But faitli can say in the midst of it all, "a 
 right way." What ! the Bed Sea before us and Pharaoh 
 and his hosts behind, that a right way? Yes, faith answers, 
 "a right way." "Stand still, and see the salvation of the 
 Lord; for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye 
 shall see them again no more forever." 
 
 The Saviour now brought her whole life before her : 
 " For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou 
 now hast is not thy husband." She saw she was discovered. 
 He had gone back into her history for years, and she felt 
 He knew all. She felt an eye was upon her that was gazing 
 down to the very bottom of her heart. And though for a 
 moment, like Adam in the garden, under a sense of sin, she 
 ran to hide herself behind a tree, and that too a religious 
 tree, she saw His love and grace, and that chained her to 
 the spot. " Sir, I perceive that Thou art a prophet. Our 
 fathers worshiped in this mountain." What had this to do 
 with the question of her sin ? Nothing. It was just con- 
 science, stung to the quick, rushing to hide itself behind the 
 tree. 
 
 Still the Lord Jesus does not lay hold of her conscience, 
 and drag it from its hiding-place, as some would do. She 
 saw Him. She saw herself. That was enough. He who 
 had opened the wound would never irritate it by dragging 
 the sin again to light. No. He would now sit at that well 
 to heal the wound He had made, to " bind up the broken- 
 hearted." He follows her in her conversation, suffering 
 Himself to be led on, rather than that He should lead her ; 
 thus preserving the gracious manner with which He had 
 commenced. " Our fathers worshiped in this mountain; 
 and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought 
 
142 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 to worship." Her ideas of worship were altogether carnal. 
 Living only in the seen and temporal, she associated it 
 entirely with, place. Gerizim or Jerusalem, either one or 
 the other it must be in. Our Lord raises it to a higher 
 Iced. He takes it out of the region of things " seen and 
 temporal." He divests it altogether of place. " God is a 
 Spirit ; and they that worship Him must worship Him in 
 irit and in truth." He takes her thought about worship, 
 .id raises it up to a spiritual level. It is not in a con- 
 crated place or an unconsecrated, and yet it may be in 
 soth. These things have nothing to do with it. It is 
 spiritual. Worship is in the heart. It is the approxima- 
 tion of the heart to God. " God is a Spirit ; and they 
 bat worship Him must worship Him in spirit." It must 
 be your spirit meeting His Spirit. There must be an 
 affinity between your mind and His, or else there can be 
 no approximation of heart. And where there is not this, 
 be what else there may, it is not worship. It is only 
 hypocrisy, even under its best garb. 
 
 " The woman saith unto Him, I know that Messias 
 cometh, which is called Christ; when He is come, He will 
 tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto 
 thee am He." The woman seems in these words to have 
 gathered up all her doubts and perplexities in this word, 
 " I know that Messias cometh ; He will tell us all things." 
 It is as if she would say, " I do not know, I cannot see, I 
 am in darkness and doubt ; but I know all will be right 
 then." It is these earnest yet perplexed thoughts of the 
 heart that the Lord Jesus came to meet ; " I that speak 
 unto thee am He." What longings and expectations, what 
 perplexities intermingled with hope, what light struggling 
 with darkness, are to be found shut up in many a bosom, 
 
LESSONS FROM THE WELL OF SYCHAR. 143 
 
 carried through life with a careworn brow and an aching 
 heart ! When shall this mystery be solved ? When shall 
 these shadows vanish, and we see the meaning of things ? 
 To all these thoughts passing to and fro in every breast 
 the Lord Jesus presents Himself, and says, " I that speak 
 unto thee am He." Look at Him. Rest in Him. Let 
 every thought and every affection culminate there. Jesus 
 stands at the door of every sensible heart as its longings 
 and sighings after some fancied good escape it, and says, 
 " I that speak unto thee am He." On the threshold of every 
 earthly hope, every ardent desire, every anticipated plea- 
 sure, every bright expectation, every earnest craving of 
 the heart, He stands and whispers as of old, " I that speak 
 unto thee am He." 
 
 Yes, poor longing one, Jesus is near thee, and always 
 whispering these words ! He is nearer to thee than thou 
 hast the slightest conception of, nearer than thy nearest 
 desire, or hope, or sigh, and always with the same words, 
 " I that speak unto thee am He." He speaks in every 
 hour and in every duty, in every trial and in every bless- 
 ing, in every joy and in every sorrow, in the bright sun- 
 shine of prosperity and at the graveside of every hope, in 
 the stillness of the dying chamber, or amid shadows of the 
 dark valley : " I that speak unto thee am He." 
 
 There are no accidents in God's dealings. Arrangement 
 and order characterize each one. Just at this juncture, 
 when the full blaze of the Sun of righteousness had risen 
 on this woman's soul, we are told " upon this came His 
 disciples, and marveled that He talked with the woman." 
 Had they come earlier, they might have interrupted the 
 work. But they came just at the right moment, when the 
 work was finished. Adaptation as to time is the mark of 
 
144 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 God's dealings. It may be said of all of them as it was 
 here, that just at the right moment, neither earlier nor 
 later, " Upon this came His disciples." But never till 
 God's work is done. Never till His purpose has been 
 fulfilled. To us it may appear an interruption or hindrance. 
 To us it may appear to be cut short when only in the bud. 
 But not so to Him. All is wisely ordered, and His glory 
 fulfilling where we least see it. 
 
 Not only so, but there is so much in all God's dealings 
 we cannot understand, so much we have to leave unex- 
 plained. So it was here. They " marveled that He 
 talked with the woman; yet no man said, What seekest 
 thou ? or, Why talkest thou with her ?" They could not 
 explain it. They were content to leave it unexplained. 
 And so must we. In every path there are thousands of 
 things we have to leave unexplained in God's dealings. 
 There they are. We see them ; but we have to trust. 
 Yet, behind this vail we may be quite sure there are none 
 but gracious designs, as surely as there was behind the 
 vail of ignorance here. They could not see, they did not 
 know, what great things had been going on at the well be- 
 tween the Saviour and this woman. So with us. Where 
 we cannot see, God asks us to trust ; and depend upon it, 
 it is because some gracious purpose is behind it all, some- 
 thing beyond our highest thoughts, something that 
 glorifies Him, and will, when we can bear to see it, be a 
 blessing to us. We shall praise Him then that we did not 
 see it at the time. The sight would have injured us. 
 " What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know 
 hereafter," is legibly written on all God's mysterious 
 dealings. 
 
 " The woman then left her water-pot, and went her way 
 
LESSONS FROM THE WELL OF SYCHAR. 145 
 
 into the city, and said to the man, Come, see a man, which 
 told me all things that ever I did ; is not this the Christ ?" 
 The earthly water and water-pot and well, where were 
 they now ? Pushed out of view. The living water, this 
 now filled every thought of her mind, every affection of the 
 heart. Not that she was not to care for earthly duties. 
 No ; but to put them in the right place. The first thing in 
 her thoughts when she came to the well was the earthly 
 water. Now she feels there is something which must come 
 before that, however valuable it may be. Now the first 
 thing is to go into the city, and say, " Come, see a man." 
 This done, she can come back to the well, and get the 
 water to supply her household. Before, it was the creature's 
 wants first, and then Christ. Now it is Christ first, and 
 then the creature's wants. Things are now in their right 
 place. The Fall has misplaced everything. In Christ 
 everything is in order. 
 
 " Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I 
 did." She felt she was known, and yet loved. Though 
 known so thoroughly, she was yet drawn to Him. Oh the 
 blessing of being known ! More than half of our troubles 
 and mistakes come from being only half known. " I am 
 not understood," is the common complaint. What a com- 
 fort to have to do with One who fully knows us ! Such a 
 one is Jesus. And herein we rejoice. It is that which 
 draws us to Him when all else are wounding, or deceiving, 
 or misunderstanding us. Oh to look up into His face, and 
 be able to say with one of old, ' Lord, Thou knowest all 
 things.' 
 
 And what was the burden of her message ? what the 
 secret of her success in drawing men to Christ ? It was, 
 " Is not this the Christ ?" Yes, let Christ be prominent 
 10 
 
146 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 in every message, and success must be, whether the ambas- 
 sador be a feeble woman, or an ordained clergyman. But 
 if Christ be not in His right place, there can be, there will 
 be, no blessing from God. Reader, and especially Christian 
 reader, mark it well. Let Christ be prominent in your 
 message and conspicuous in your character, and God will 
 make you a blessing wherever you go. 
 
 Eeader, you may have heard often from the lips of others, 
 as the Samaritans heard it from the lips of this woman, about 
 Christ. But have you, like them, come to Jesus, and 
 proved Him for yourself ? Are you able to say to the 
 ambassador of Christ what they said to her ? " Now we 
 believe, not because of thy saying ; for we have heard Him 
 ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the 
 Saviour of the world." Are you, reader, able to say this f 
 Oh, to hear of Christ and to know much of Christ, is a very 
 different thing from being able to say from the heart, " We 
 have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed 
 the Christ." Best satisfied with nothing short of this, 
 reader. Best not till you can say, " This is indeed the 
 ChriBt." 
 
 Oft, e'en with those I love the best, 
 A cold constraint will lock the breast, 
 
 And freeze each glowing word ; 
 But, Lord, how unrestrained and free 
 May flow our thoughts and words to Thee, 
 
 Opening their inmost hoard ! 
 
 I own earth's friendships pure and sweet, 
 Yet often find them vain to meet 
 
 My spirit's deeper tone ; 
 Depressed I seek my friend, and find 
 Glad thoughts absorb his eager mind, 
 
 And speak not out my own. 
 
LESSONS FROM THE WELL OF SYCHAR. 147 
 
 Not so with Thee, O Friend Divine ; 
 My interests are always Thine, 
 
 And claim Thy kindest heed ; 
 Patient where human love must fail, 
 Nor wearying of the oft-told tale 
 
 Of sorrow, weakness, need. 
 
 Oft when the sense of failure hung 
 Sad on my heart, too sorely wrung 
 
 By shame, regret, and fear, 
 Thou'st raised my fainting spirit up, 
 Placed in my hand Thy love's full cup, 
 
 And whispered words of cheer. 
 
 Would I not gladly deeper go 
 Down paths of weakness and of woe, 
 
 Such fellowship to share ? 
 Sweet friendship of my Saviour God ! 
 Beneath it smiles the weary road, 
 
 With heaven's own beauty fair. 
 
148 COUNSELS FBOM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 BREAD CAST ON THE WATERS. 
 
 ECCLESIASTES xi, 1 — 2. 
 
 Cast thy bread upon the waters ; for thou shalt find it after many days. 
 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight ; for thou knowest not what evil 
 shall be upon the earth. 
 
 The figure on which the passage we have chosen for con- 
 sideration is founded, is striking and instructive. In many 
 parts of India and Africa, and especially on the Nile, when 
 the rivers overflow their banks, the natives may be seen 
 scattering the rice-seed or the corn on the surface of the 
 waters. When the waters subside, the seed thus scattered 
 becomes deposited in the earth, and from it springs a fruit- 
 ful harvest. Great care has, of course, to be taken by the 
 agriculturist that he do not miss the opportunity. If the 
 seed be not sown at the time of these overflowings, the op- 
 portunity is lost, and with it the harvest. Such, we 
 believe, are the facts of the case, and to which allusion is 
 made in this passage. Bearing this in mind, we shall bo 
 better able to understand the instructive truths it contains. 
 The present time is especially one of seed-sowing. 
 Everything done or said here is a seed. Indeed, our 
 whole life stands in relation to the future as a seed. There 
 is not a word we utter but has an influence. There is nc-t 
 
BREAD CAST ON THE WATERS. 149 
 
 an act, however trifling, that does not leave behind some 
 impression, however small. Nay, our very looks and tones 
 of voice carry an influence with them for good or for evil. 
 However obscure we may be, or however known, we each 
 possess in a greater or less degree this tremendous power. 
 We unhappily, through an habitual disregard of little 
 things, come to regard only what we call great matters as 
 possessing this influence, forgetting that little and great 
 are only terms and measures of our own contracted horizon. 
 Placed side by side with eternity, viewed in the light of 
 God, there is nothing little. Everything is great. The 
 grain of sand assumes an Alpine importance ; and so we 
 shall each of us one day find it. The pebble cast into the 
 deep raises a wave which communicates itself far out of 
 sight. Alas for us if we circumscribe its influence to the 
 few rising circles that come under our own observation ! 
 This will be indeed to live under the influence of " things 
 seen and temporal." No; let us not deceive ourselves. 
 The smallest things here are seeds cast into the ground; 
 the thoughts and words and deeds, the looks and tones of 
 voice, the " glass of cold water " given to a thirsty disciple, 
 all are seeds sown. The great harvest is before us. Each 
 one in the wonder-working way of God shall be resusci- 
 tated. Each one shall start from the grave of oblivion, 
 and standing before conscience, shall recognize its image, 
 and shall proclaim in unmistakable accents, " Thou art the 
 man." Each one shall fill up the measure of that cup now 
 placed by the Almighty in the hands of every living soul. 
 Memory shall be the light that shall irradiate the dark 
 chamber of oblivion, and bring forth its witnesses. And 
 each one starting into existence shall whisper in the ear of 
 that soul, " Son, remember." It is this that makes life so 
 
150 COUNSELS FHOM THE WOEDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 solemn. It is this that invests it with an importance 
 thought has never conceived and tongue never uttered. 
 Yes, the harvest is before us ; and woe to that soul in that 
 day of reckoning, to whose account the blood of Christ has 
 not been laid ! 
 
 We often see, even here, something of religious retribu- 
 tion. We often see how conscience can drag its buried 
 pictures to light, and scare the soul with shadows of the 
 past. " This is John the Baptist ; he is risen from the 
 dead," said the guilty Herod, and trembling like a leaf in 
 the hurricane, he presents us with a faint picture of what 
 that day of reckoning will be to each one. Annihilation 
 would indeed be a priceless boon. But annihilation is the 
 lie of the atheist. It is scientifically impossible. Yes, 
 even here, at some bend or turn in man's path, conscience 
 drags to light its victim, and standing before the soul, 
 strikes terror through every fiber of the frame by its voice 
 of thunder, " Thou art the man I" What shall the reality 
 be, if the shadow is so dark? What shall the morning of 
 the resurrection be, if the land where all is forgeti'ulness 
 and oblivion be so startling and terrible ? We who know 
 these things may well "persuade men." God of love, look 
 down in mercy on every unconverted reader of these lines ! 
 
 But it is not to this passive influence to which this 
 passage exactly refers, though it is included in it. It is to 
 the direct and conscious service of the Christian laborer. 
 It is to the one who sees the waves of opportunity rising 
 before him, and making use of the opportunity, scatters 
 the living seed in sure and certain hope of a glorious 
 harvest. It is addressed to one who is working for the 
 harvest, to one who knows that he will not at present reap, 
 but who nevertheless sows. It is pre-eminently the action 
 
BREAD CAST ON THE WATERS. 151 
 
 of faith. He is one who looks not at the " seen and 
 temporal," bat at the " unseen and eternal/' knowing that 
 " in due season he shall reap," if he slack not his hand 
 now.. From the very figure under which the passage is 
 brought before us, it is a thing altogether in the domain 
 of faith. 
 
 Let us first look at the figure of " bread " under two dif- 
 ferent aspects, spiritual and natural. Let us look at it first 
 as the emblem of Christ. We are authorized to do this by 
 our Lord's own words : " I am the living; bread which came 
 
 o 
 
 down from heaven ; if any man eat of this bread, he shall 
 live forever." Again lie says, in allusion to Himself, 
 " Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it 
 abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." 
 In accordance with this latter statement of our Lord, we 
 may remark that it contains one of the most scientific 
 truths in nature. Everything around teaches us that 
 death is the bosom out of which all life springs. The 
 vegetable world in every form conveys the same lesson. 
 All the glory of Christ's work springs out of His death ; 
 and we ourselves never spiritually live except as we are 
 dying to self. Nay, more ; all our services have spiritual 
 life in them just in proportion as we throw death into 
 them. In every form we are taught the same striking 
 lesson. The seed thrown into the ground cannot live till 
 it dies. When it reaches the final point of dissolution, it 
 gives forth the germ of a new life. 
 
 But to return to the beautiful figure of "bread," as the 
 emblem of the Lord Jesus Christ. Mark the process 
 through which it passes before it becomes food. It is first 
 a seed. That seed grows. There is first the blade, then 
 the ear, then the full corn in the ear. Then there is the 
 
152 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 ripening. Then it is cut down and ground into flour. 
 Then it is subjected to the fiery process of the oven. All 
 this it has to pass through before it can become food for 
 the body. So with the spiritual " corn of wheat," Christ 
 Jesus. He grew up the " tender plant." He was cut 
 down in God's harvest time. " He was bruised for our 
 iniquities." He passed through the furnace of God's wrath 
 on the cross. All this He had to pass through before He 
 could become the food of His people. And what is the 
 command now to every Christian man ? u Cast thy bread 
 on the waters." Make Christ known. Spread abroad the 
 knowledge of His saving name. Tell of His salvation to 
 the lost and guilty. Tell of the saving virtues of His pre- 
 cious blood. Tell of His love and grace and mercy to the 
 needy ones around. Go, speak of Jesus. Have something 
 to say for Him in every conversation. Write some word 
 about Him in every letter. Miss no opportunity. See how 
 the waves are rolling in at your very feet as you stand on 
 the shore of this heaving, restless world. Speak, work, 
 live for Jesus wherever you go. Cast some seed on every 
 wave that rolls in. Be earnest and wakeful and watchful 
 and vigilant for Him. Let not the wave roll back into 
 the great ocean of neglected opportunities, and you have 
 to look back, and say, " The harvest is past, the summer 
 is ended," and no seel has been sown, no fruit gathered, 
 for Jesus. 
 
 But mark the important little word, " thy bread." Ah, 
 reader, is this Christ thine ? This is the question. You 
 cannot give to others what you have not yourself. You 
 cannot cast the living bread on the waters if your own 
 soul has never yet fed on it. You may do a great deal 
 and yet do nothing for Christ. You may be religious, very 
 
BREAD CAST ON THE WATERS. lbd 
 
 religious, conscientiously religious, reader, and yet be a 
 Christless soul. Again, I ask earnestly, solemnly, Is this 
 Christ thine f 
 
 Let us now look at the figure in the natural view. 
 " Cast thy bread upon the waters." " My time is my 
 bread," has become a proverb, and illustrates the view we 
 would now take of this word. Our time, our wealth, our 
 talents, our influence, these are the " bread " in this point 
 of view. Cast these upon the waves of opportunity, as 
 they roll in upon your path. Gather up the leisure 
 moments, and devote them to something that will tell on 
 eternity, something that will leave " footprints on the 
 sands of time." Look around, and see if you cannot by 
 your presence, or by way of encouragement, influence some 
 cause of God that is perhaps languishing. Look around, 
 and sse if some of that wealth you are accumulating year 
 by year cannot be spared for God's cause. Look and see 
 if there be not some gratification you could well deny your- 
 self to do good to some hungry, perishing soul. Look and 
 see if some of that time wasted in idleness, or excess of 
 sleep, cannot be redeemed for God's glory. Look and see 
 if you cannot lend a book to some unconverted friend, or 
 write some word for Christ, or brace yourself up to speak 
 faithfully to some one living in sin, or some Christian 
 living inconsistently, at the risk of being called an enthu- 
 siast or bigot, a fanatic or fool. Do not clutch your money 
 as if it were your own. It is not yours. It is God's gift, 
 for the use of which you will have shortly to give an ac- 
 count ; and yet under the garb of a professing Christian 
 you are hoarding it up in thousands for yourself or your 
 family, and your narrow-hearted soul cannot afford even a 
 tenth for God's glory. Look around, and see the luxuries 
 
154 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 of your household ; see your retinue of servants; see your 
 costliness of dress and furniture, and various residences, 
 and yet, what are you doing for Christ f Is He not in 
 prison, and you, though bearing His name, never once 
 visit Him ? Is He not naked or sick, or His name cast 
 out as evil, and yet you, proud Levite, pass by on the 
 other side, clutching your gold in one hand, and your life- 
 less, soulless, godless religion in the other ? Oh be 
 honest, and cast away the hypocritical mask you are 
 wearing. Give to the winds your hollow, worthless re- 
 ligion, and be a worldling out-and-out. If you bear that 
 holy name, bear it honestly. Be no hypocrite. Be no wolf 
 in sheep's clothing, doling out a few shillings at a time for 
 God's cause, from the mass of gold you are hoarding up. 
 Up and use your opportunities for God more than you have 
 done. Eedeem the time. " Cast thy bread upon the 
 waters." Not the lame, the halt, the maimed, for God's 
 service, but "the small cattle of thy burnt offerings." 
 Cast not your husks upon the waters, but your bread, that 
 which is food to yourself, that which you feel will be a 
 sacrifice to you to part with. 
 
 And make haste. Time's sun is fast setting. The Lord 
 is at hand. You have, at most, only a few more days to 
 work for Him. Already his chariot wheels may be heard 
 in the distance. Up and seize the fleeting moments, and 
 the long neglected opportunities. The Lord is at hand. 
 What are you doing for Christ ? How will you meet Him? 
 What account will you be able to give of " your Lord's 
 goods ?" What will be the reckoning with you as His 
 steward ? See to it, reader ; see to it ! 
 
 But where are you to cast the bread ? " Upon the 
 waters." If you walk or act by sight instead of by faith, 
 
BREAD CAST ON THE WATERS. 155 
 
 you will never cast it there, for it will be washed away, 
 and the bread will be lost. Yet God commands us to throw 
 it on the waters. How foolish to human reason ! Yes ; the 
 lessons of faith always are to the natural man. God com- 
 mands us to cast it there, where of all other places it seems 
 certain to be lost. " Command the children of Israel that 
 they go forward." What ! into the sea ? Yes. Leave 
 that to God. When you obey, He will make a path through 
 that sea. " Take ye away the stone." What use in doing 
 that ? What a foolish command ! " By this time he 
 stinketh ; for he hath been dead four days already." Mark 
 God's rebuke. " Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldst 
 believe, thou shouldst see the glory of God ?" What have 
 you to do with that f " Said I not unto thee ?" " Is not 
 my word sufficient ?" Ye3, " cast thy bread upon the 
 waters," the place of death. Be it so. Let us obey. God's 
 word is sufficient. 
 
 But the child of God knows something the carnal mind 
 does not know. While he casts the bread, to all appearance, 
 on the waters, he knows that out of sight, down under- 
 neath the surface, there is solid ground. Yes ; he knows 
 this, though he does not see it. " Xow faith is the sub- 
 stance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." 
 The word "substance," here, is derived from two expres- 
 sive Latin words, sub and stans. They denote that there 
 is something standing under, that under the surface there 
 is solid ground. The Christian seed-sower knows that 
 " his labor in the Lord is not in vain." He casts his bread 
 on the "waters," but he knows it will sink down into 
 God's appointed place, and reappear at the great harvest. 
 He can say, " I know whom I have believed, and am per- 
 
156 COUNSELS FROM THE WOEDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 suaded that He is able to keep that which I have com- 
 mitted unto Him against that day." 
 
 Mark, next, the certain promise, "Thou shalt find it." 
 It is an individual promise, and one of certain fulfillment. 
 Nothing done for Christ is lost. Each seed, so trifling in 
 appearance, shall yet reappear. Not singly, as when sown, 
 but with a full ear of wheat, to be gathered into the garner. 
 And though it may not be till " after many days," yet it 
 shall bring forth its harvest. We are placed in a waiting 
 posture. We " know not the day nor the hour when the 
 Son of man cometh." Faith is to be exercised ; we are to 
 work and watch, to wait and pray. " What I say unto 
 you I say unto all, Watch." " Blessed is that servant, 
 whom his Lord when he cometh shall find watching." 
 
 Let us now notice the second verse of the passage under 
 consideration. " Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; 
 for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth." 
 Mark, reader, the anticipation of the Spirit of God, with 
 regard to what is coming on the earth. It is " evil," not 
 good. It is everything waxing worse and worse, not grow- 
 ing better. It is " as it was in the days of Noah;" " As 
 it was in the days of Lot, so shall it be at the coming of 
 the Son of man." The Spirit of God has but one testimony 
 throughout the Word, whether He speaks by the mouth 
 of the Lord Jesus, or by that of Solomon. It is " evil " 
 that is coming, though we know not its extent or its 
 character. It is a dark picture the Spirit of God has drawn, 
 everywhere in the word of God, with regard to this world's 
 future. The bright side, however, is beyond, " the morn- 
 ing without clouds." 
 
 And what will be the true wisdom of the child of God ? 
 To prepare for this coming " evil." How ? " Give a por- 
 
BEEAD CAST ON THE WATERS. 157 
 
 tion to seven, and also to eight." Seven, among the Jews, 
 was a perfect number. It was God's due, His just and 
 righteous demand. The passage taken simply, means, 
 "Do all to God's glory." • Give God what is due to Him, 
 every affection and every desire, every motive and every 
 aim, every gift and every talent. Come not short of God's 
 demands. Be up to the mark in everything with regard 
 to Him. Not only so, but " give a portion to eight. 1 ' See 
 that you fall not short on this side of God's demand. Let 
 it rather be given on the other side. Let it be hearty 
 service, a joyful sacrifice, an uncompromising devotion, a 
 life wholly given to His glory. Not a stinted one, barely 
 coming up to His standard, but a going beyond the letter of 
 the command, in a full, hearty, spiritual surrender. Better 
 be on the " eight " side, than under the " seven." Let it 
 be " good measure, pressed down and running over," so 
 that all may see whose you are and whom you serve. This 
 will be the only way to meet the coming evil, and the most 
 blessed way to meet the Lord. 
 
 Eeader, be wholly the Lord's. Beware of a divided 
 heart. Let your eye and aim be single. Have nothing 
 to do with the trimming policy of professing Christians. 
 Be faithful to your absent Lord, as you would desire to 
 meet His smile when He comes. Be faithful, yea, " faith- 
 ful unto death." 
 
 Sow with a generous hand ; 
 
 Pause not for toil or pain ; 
 "Weary not through the heat of summer, 
 
 Weary not through the cold spring rain ; 
 But wait till the autumn comes, 
 
 For the sheaves of golden grain. 
 
158 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 Scatter the seed, and fear not ; 
 
 A table will be spread ; 
 What matter if you are too weary 
 
 To eat your hard-earned bread ? 
 Sow while the earth is broken, 
 
 For the hungry must be fed. 
 
 Sow ; while the seeds are lying 
 
 In the warm earth's bosom deep, 
 And your warm tears fall upon it, 
 
 They will stir in their quiet sleep, 
 And the green blades rise the quicker, 
 
 Perchance, for the tears you weep. 
 
 Then sow ; for the hours are fleeting, 
 
 And the seed must fall to-day ; 
 And care not what hands shall reap it, 
 
 Or if you shall have passed away 
 Before the waving corn-fields 
 
 Shall gladden the sunny day. 
 
 Sow ; and look onward, upward, 
 
 Where the starry light appears ; 
 Where, in spite of the coward's doubting, 
 
 Or your own heart's trembling fears, 
 You shall reap in joy the harvest 
 
 You have sown to-day in tears. 
 
 Adelaide Anne Procter. 
 
CONTRASTS. 159 
 
 CONTRASTS. 
 Luke vi, 46 — 49. 
 
 And why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? 
 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will 
 show you to whom he is like. He is like a man which built an house, and 
 digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock ; and when the flood arose, 
 the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it; for 
 it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth and doeth not, is like a 
 man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth, against 
 which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell, and the 
 ruin of that house was great. 
 
 The day in which we live presents many solemn reflections 
 to the Christian mind. It has many startling features with 
 which no previous chapter in the history of our world can 
 furnish a parallel. The reserve of former years is giving 
 way to open utterances. Wickedness, always wicked, has 
 never presented itself in such bold, dark colors. Whether 
 socially, morally, spiritually, or nationally viewed, the 
 lines of things are becoming more distinct and vivid. 
 Events which formerly took years to bring to pass are 
 accomplished now in a few days. Electricity and steam 
 have given their coloring to everything ; and the work of 
 a life of half a century is now pressed into a few years. 
 This fever or delirium has its baneful effects. The calm, 
 happy, spiritual tone of the soul is injured by it. The 
 
100 COUNSELS FROM THE WO EDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 hidden life of God is drawn under the influence of the fitful 
 fever outside, and bids fair to reduce many a living soul to 
 the dead level of formal religion. 
 
 One of the most dangerous aspects of the time is a wide- 
 spread counterfeit religion. Men resting satisfied with the 
 belief that the root of the matter, as they call it, is in the 
 soul, inquire no further. Such a soul can differ nothing 
 outwardly from a mere professor. The result is, that see- 
 ing no practical difference between the converted man and 
 the one who is only a Christian in name, the latter gets the full 
 benefit of being a child of God. Thus those who have only 
 the root of the matter in them, are, by their conduct, help- 
 ing on the delusion under which thousands are resting. 
 The real and unreal, the spurious and the genuine, have 
 so closely approximated, that the one is mistaken for the 
 other. It was not always so. In the early days of the 
 Church the lines of difference were distinct and clear. 
 Persecution scattered the chaff, and left the wheat plainly 
 visible to the world. Persecution was the thing that kept 
 the Church alive. Persecution is the only thing that will 
 do it now. And depend upon it the hour is at hand. 
 
 Let us contemplate the distinctive features of the two 
 characters in the remarkable words of our blessed Lord we 
 have selected for consideration. Unconverted but profes- 
 sing Christian reader, pause, and mark the lines of dif- 
 ference. Make no mistake here. Thy soul hangs in the 
 balance. It may be that for years thou hast been sailing 
 under false colors, and yet in ignorance of it. May God 
 break thy slumbers ! 
 
 There are points of resemblance between these two 
 characters, corresponding exactly with two great classes of 
 Christians around us. They both build houses, and the 
 
CONTRASTS. 161 
 
 storm comas to both alike, to test the character of their 
 respective buildings. This house ia the dwelling-place in 
 which each one is found till that storm comas. The house, 
 the visible to all around, is the common Christianity each 
 one professes. Each building ha3 a heavenly appearance. 
 It rises upwards, and to the end points in a heavenly 
 direction. To the observer one building is quite as good 
 as the other. There is no difference. The real difference 
 between the two is in that which is not seen. 
 
 The spiritual application of all this is clear and simple. 
 The real Christian and mere professor has each his house, 
 his Christianity in form. The form of godliness charac- 
 terizes both. They both of them point upwards. The 
 form of the one is as goo:l as that of the other. The 
 natural eye sees no difference. The one who " walks by 
 sight, and not by faith," regards the house of the fool as being 
 quite as good as that of the wise man. And so it is. The 
 real difference is in that which the eye sees not, in things 
 " unseen and eternal," in the hidden foundation. The mind 
 cannot penetrate beneath the surface to look at realities, 
 because it has not the heaven-bestowed power, the light of 
 God's Holy Spirit. 
 
 But there is one striking difference between the two, 
 given to us in the words of our Lord Himself at the very 
 commencement. This difference is vital. It explains the 
 issue. It is the key to the solution. In speaking of the 
 wise man, He says, " Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth 
 my sayings, and doeth them." These are the three Btag s 
 of real Christianity. The opened ear, and the power to live 
 to God, resulting from coming first of all to Christ. In the 
 case of the foolish man, the first of these is omitted. The 
 man " hears," it is true, but it is the hearing without 
 11 
 
162 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 power. It is the hearing of the understanding, of the in- 
 tellect, without the power of the Spirit of God to enable 
 him to act; for he " doeth not. 1 ' And no wonder. He 
 comes not to Christ. The Spirit of God is given to none 
 but those who come first to Him. That soul to whom the 
 Spirit of God gives power to " do," He always first leads 
 to Christ. The great lesson taught us in this narrative is 
 the truth conveyed all through God's word, that where the 
 ear has been opened by the Spirit of God to hear, there 
 will be the doing, the " fruits " of Christianity ; and that 
 where there are not these fruits, the soul has never really 
 come to Christ, and consequently the ear has never been 
 opened. It is a work with which the Spirit of God has 
 had nothing to do. 
 
 Bat now let us mark the leadings of the Spirit of God, 
 where He really begins His work, and carries it on, con- 
 trasted with the operations of the natural heart. 
 
 The first evidence of His work is to direct the soul to 
 hidden things, to "things unseen and eternal." The very 
 first thought of the wise man is the hidden Rock. Before 
 he begins to build, or has a thought about building, his 
 attention is directed to this hidden Bock. This guides 
 every future act of his. For this he gets his tools. For 
 this he digs and labors. For this he works on untiringly. 
 He works not for salvation, but from it. He works not to 
 gain Christ, but because having Christ, he can labor hard. 
 What suggests the thought of building ? The hidden 
 Bock. What urges him onward ? The hidden Bock. 
 What makes him toil in all weathers, going deeper and 
 deeper down ? The hidden Bock. What goal is he aiming 
 at, never resting satisfied till he reaches it? The hidden 
 Bock. This, and only this, makes him spend his money, get 
 
CONTRASTS. 163 
 
 tools, labor night and day, braving all weathers and all 
 dangers, counting all drudgery delightful. Well might 
 one of old say, " that I may know Him." " This one 
 thing I do, forgetting the things that are behind, and reach- 
 ing forth to the things that are before, I press toward the 
 mark." " The love of Christ constraineth us." " Whom 
 have I in heaven but Thee ? and there is none upon earth 
 that I desire in comparison of Thee." 
 
 Yes, faith urges love onward. He knows the Rock is 
 there before he begins. Love makes him toil to reach it. 
 These are the great spiritual principles in the narrative. 
 It is simply faith and love working together. 
 
 But mark another truth. His very first act in getting 
 towards this Rock is to dig. He goes down; and just 
 in proportion as he goes down he gets nearer to that Rock. 
 It is the law of nature, providence, and grace, that we 
 rise by descending. We get nearer to Christ by going 
 down. Every step downward is a step nearer to the Rock. 
 Christian, remember this ! The more deeply you de- 
 scend, the higher you rise. " He that humbleth himself 
 shall be exalted." May your prayer, even in the midst of 
 your praise, ever be, 
 
 " Rock of ages, cleft for me, 
 Let me hide myself in Thee." 
 
 So this wise man goes down, and continues to go down. 
 He throws aside all the sand, all the superficial coverings in 
 his way. He is no superficial man. His religion is deep. 
 It never rests till it rests on the Rock. That is indeed 
 his resting-place. There, too, he builds. And from that 
 Rock he rises heavenward. It is no rising in appearance, 
 like the other man. It is a rising from a solid foundation. 
 It is a superstructure based on " things unseen and eter- 
 
164 COUNSELS FROM THE WOR1S OF TRUTH. 
 
 nal," of which Jesus Christ is " the chief corner-stone." 
 What can shake that house ? Not all the storms of earth, 
 however vehemently they may beat. Let the flood do its 
 utmost. Let the surges rise. Let the billows roll. What 
 can they do ? The house falls not ; nay, it is not even 
 " shaken." Why ? it is founded on a Rock, the Rock of 
 ages. 
 
 Now mark the contrast. See the acting of the foolish 
 man. He builds too. But what of the Rock ? Oh, he 
 cares not for that ! He builds on the sand. He knows 
 not of the Rock, or if he knows he cares not. Sand will 
 do for him just as well. He is taken by appearances. 
 He cares not for depth. He cares not for hidden things. 
 What men think, is everything with him. What the eye 
 sees, is all that concerns him. To pass well in society, to 
 have a fair name, to wear the garment of religion, to have 
 all the outside commendable, this is all he cares about; 
 this is all the world cares about. What cares he about 
 the Rock ? " His religion is as good as yours ; why should 
 he not be saved as well as you ? If he is sincere, it is 
 enough. What a bigot you are to condemn everybody 
 who does not think with you ! What uncharitableness ! 
 Go, and keep your narrow-hearted religion to yourself. 
 We are all going to heaven." People see the houses. 
 They see no difference. Judging from appearances, one is 
 as good as the other. They know not the Bock. They 
 know not,, and they care not. Their religion is like this 
 man's, all on the surface. 
 
 And when the storm comes, where is the Christian's 
 confidence? In his house? Nay, it is in the Bock. It is 
 not in his religion, be what it may. It is in something 
 underneath it all. It is simply in Jesus, only Jesus. 
 
. CONTRASTS. 165 
 
 But where is the foolish man's confidence ? Gone. It 
 is not in the Rock, for he has none. It is not in his house, 
 for he knows right well it was only built and kept up for 
 appearance. Where is his confidence ? It is gone. He 
 has none, no Rock, no house, no shelter from the storm. 
 Exposed he stands, with the howling winds around him, 
 the wild waves beating furiously, and the billows rolling 
 over his head. Where is his shelter ? Carried by the 
 destructive current to endless destruction, not a vestige 
 left behind ! He laughed at the fool so long building the 
 ark ! He despised the honest and sincere, but weak en- 
 thusiast digging in the earth ! He flattered himself all 
 was right, and that in the end he should be no worse than 
 others. So he lived, and so the Lord found him when He 
 came. 
 
 And, reader, mark the Lord's closing words in each 
 case. They indicate something beyond what the words 
 themselves express. " They could not shake it, for it was 
 founded upon a rock." Not only was there no fall, but no 
 shaking. It rose triumphantly before the blast, and 
 laughed at all its fury. Mark the other. The very first 
 breath of God's voice scattered it to the four winds of 
 heaven, " immediately it fell." But more than that, as if 
 telling us of something immeasurably beyond, " the ruin 
 of that house was great." 
 
 God, forbid that I should hide from view the eternity 
 of misery with which they will be enveloped who now 
 live for appearances instead of building on the Hock I I 
 know not, oh I know not, what sounds of woe will ring in 
 the ears of the lost, and this eternally ! Oh, I cannot con- 
 ceive the multiplicity, the intensity, the variety of the tor- 
 ments of the self-destroyed ! Only this I know, that the 
 
166 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 very character of God demands it. This I know, that the 
 justice, the holiness, the majesty of God can demand 
 nothing less. The intelligence with which He has en- 
 dowed me convinces me that it mnst be so. The exercise 
 of my reason in the works of His own creation leads to 
 the same conclusion. " Who shall dwell with the devour- 
 ing fire ? who shall dwell with everlasting burnings ?" 
 
 Sinner, be warned ! The time is near. It is a portal 
 once passed the step can never be retraced. It is a thresh- 
 hold over which is written in words of light that all may 
 read, " Forever !" 
 
 Professing Christian, with a name to live, pause and 
 tremble ! Thou hast been, and thy secret heart tells thee 
 so, all along living for appearances. Think of what that 
 day will be to thee ! Think of thy religious house, thy 
 moral house, thy fair and beautiful house being scat- 
 tered like dust, by the very first breath of God, to the four 
 winds of heaven, and thou a naked soul in the presence of 
 thy Judge ! Oh fling to the winds thy hollow, false pro- 
 fession ! Be a Christian, or, like an honest man, renounce 
 the name forever. With such a profession, and yet with- 
 out the reality, thy hypocrisy is of the basest kind. Thou 
 art a hypocrite whose hypocrisy is loathsome. But what 
 must it be in the sight of a holy God ! Oh cast it away ! 
 Far better the atheist's name or the infidel's badge. This 
 at least is honest ; but thine is the blackest hypocrisy in 
 the sight of God and man. May God in mercy awake 
 thee from thy dreaming and slumber, and bring thee to 
 His feet in dust and ashes ! 
 
 " To you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord 
 Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty 
 angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know 
 
CONTRASTS. 167 
 
 not Grod, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruc- 
 tion from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of 
 His power." 
 
 Rise ; for the day is passing, 
 
 And you lie dreaming on ; 
 The others have buckled their armor, 
 
 And forth to the fight are gone. 
 A place in the ranks awaits you, 
 
 Each man has some part to play ; 
 he past and the future are nothing 
 
 In the face of the stern to-day. 
 
 Rise from your dream of the future, 
 
 Of gaining some hard-fought field, 
 Of storming some airy fortress, 
 
 Or bidding some giant yield. 
 Your future has deeds of glory, 
 
 Of honour (God grant it may !) 
 But your arm will never be stronger, 
 
 Or the need so great as to-day. 
 
 Rise ; if the past detains you, 
 
 Her sunshine and storms forget ; 
 No chains so unworthy to hold you 
 
 As those of a vain regret. 
 Sad or bright, she is lifeless ever, 
 
 Cast her phantom arms away, 
 Nor look back, save to learn the lesson 
 
 Of a nobler strife to-day. 
 
 Rise ; for the day is passing, 
 
 The sound that you scarcely hear 
 Is the enemy marching to battle ; 
 
 Arise, for the foe is here ! 
 Stay not to sharpen your weapons, 
 
 Or the hour will strike at last, 
 When, from dreams of a coming battle, 
 
 You may wake to find it past. 
 
 Adelaide Anne Procter. 
 
168 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 SIMEON IN THE TEMPLE. 
 Luke ii, 25 — 35. 
 
 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon ; and 
 the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel; 
 and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the 
 Holy Ghost, that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's 
 Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple : and when the parents 
 brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, 
 then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now 
 lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word : for mine 
 eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of 
 all people ; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. 
 And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of 
 him. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, 
 this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel : and for a 
 sign which shall be spoken against (yea, a sword shall pierce through 
 thy own soul also) ; that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. 
 
 The narratives of the New Testament are often con- 
 densed pictures of the whole system of true religion. 
 They are so full, so comprehensive, so unique, that in one 
 narrative is sometimes comprised the sum and substance 
 of our spiritual life on earth. The teaching in the epis- 
 tles of the New Testament is but these narratives ex- 
 panded, the filling up in detail of a narrative comprised 
 within a few verses. Take, for instance, the narrative of the 
 birth of Christ related in this chapter. From the seventh 
 
SIMEON IN THE TEMTLE. 169 
 
 verse to the twentieth, we have one of these comprehensive 
 outlines, embracing in order the following truths: the 
 humility and rejection of Christ; the revelations from 
 God made only to the wakeful, watchful, vigilant soul; 
 heaven's glory surrounding the name of Jesus ; unpre- 
 paredness of the heart to receive God's messages, and the 
 need of the Spirit's previous preparation ; the means the 
 Spirit uses to prepare that heart, the mention of Jesus ; 
 the glad message of the gospel, first, to those who hear it, 
 and secondly, a prophetic announcement of its blessing to 
 all the earth; a, full gospel, "Saviour" from, sin, "Christ" 
 the sent One of God, and " Lord" reminding us that we 
 are " not our own" but His; the mention of Jesus, the 
 cause of heaven's joy as well as the joy of the Church on 
 earth ; obedience to Heaven's announcement, and the ex- 
 perience of joy in consequence, shown in the shepherds going 
 to see for themselves ; the " haste," redeeming the time, 
 not allowing a moment to be lost; and the publishing 
 abroad the glad news they had seen and heard, as true 
 ambassadors of Christ. And, we ask, what more do the 
 Epistles of the New Testament teach us ? Are not these 
 very truths the outline filled up in detail in the Epistles ? 
 The Bible is a wondrous book. Its adaptations, its coinci- 
 dences, its harmonies, its relations between one passage 
 and another, its differences in describing the same event, 
 are so marvelous, so striking, so instructive, so manifestly 
 the finger of God, that after a diligent search of three- 
 score years and ten, we come to feel that we have not 
 touched even the surface of its " height and depth, and 
 length and breadth !" 
 
 Even the very arrangement of the books of the Bible 
 shows us how wonderfully our compilers were acting under 
 
170 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 the guidance of the Spirit of Grod ! Take as an instance 
 the Book of Ecclesiastes being placed immediately before 
 the Song of Solomon. Why was this ? In the former 
 we have the experience of a soul seeking satisfaction from 
 the world, from something " under the sun." This phrase 
 is mentioned nearly twenty times in that book. The man 
 never rises higher than " under the sun." What is the 
 result? All "under the sun" is under the god of this 
 world. It cannot satisfy man's heart. The heart is too 
 large for anything this world can give. It turns away 
 from all, with the bitter cry, " All is vanity and vexation 
 of spirit : " " Man dieth as the beast ; " "I hated labor 
 and all that is under the sun." Mark the Song of Solo- 
 mon. The soul there rises above the sun. The portion is 
 then too large for the heart. Its joy is full, even to over- 
 flowing. But is not the experience of the Ecclesiastes first 
 in order with all of us ? Do we not try the world first ? 
 and not till we are driven do we rise from " under the 
 sun " to things above the sun ; from this poor unsatisfying 
 world to Christ. Is not the very arrangement of these 
 books the order of the soul f Is it not reflected in the very 
 order of our Lord's own words ? " Whosoever drinketh of 
 this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of 
 the water that I shall give him shall never thirst." Yes, 
 the very arrangement of its books, the very order of its 
 words, whether spoken by Solomon or by the Lord Jesus, 
 are Divine, and are the very arrangement and order in the 
 history of the soul. 
 
 Before passing to the subject we have chosen for con- 
 sideration, let us notice one or two remarkable coincidences 
 in God's word to which we have referred, not for curiosity 
 or speculation, but simply to confirm our observation as to 
 
SIMEON IN THE TEMPLE. 171 
 
 the wondrous fullness of the Book of God. A modern wri- 
 ter, in one of the most instructive and beautiful works of 
 recent times, remarks, that " the circle is the archetype of 
 all forms, physically as well as mathematically. It is the 
 most complete figure, the most stable under violence, the 
 most economical of material ; its proportions are the most 
 perfect and harmonious. The universe has apparently 
 been framed according to this type. Nature attains her 
 ends, not in a series of straight lines, but in a series of cir- 
 cles ; not in the most direct, but in the most roundabout 
 way. All her objects, organic or inorganic, have a tendency 
 to assume the circular form, and in the attainment of this 
 form consists their highest perfection."* He proceeds to 
 give instances of this in every variety of form, from the 
 vegetable world, from the mineral world, from the seasons 
 of the year, from the heavenly bodies, from the structure 
 of the human frame, and its revolutions and vicissitudes. 
 The word of God itself forms a remarkable instance in 
 " the close similarity between the closing chapter of "the 
 Book of Revelation and the commencement of the Book of 
 Genesis. The objects that disappear from view after the 
 fall are once more ushered upon the scene." The Spirit of 
 God starts from one point in that circle, and comes round 
 to that point again. Ths Book of Genesis begins with 
 paradise, the tree of life, the flowing river, man walking 
 with God. The circle has been traversed, and these re- 
 appear at the close of the Revelation, only with increased 
 and intensified glory, no longer a solitary pair, but " a 
 multitude which no man can number." We have another 
 
 * " Bible Teachings in Nature," by Rev. Hugh Macmillan. London : 
 Macraillan & Co. 
 
172 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 coincidence connected with this. Adam, placed in a gar- 
 den, brings himself and his posterity, by sin, into a moral 
 and spiritual wilderness. Christ, the second Adam, comes 
 down, takes his place in the wilderness, and leads man up 
 into a garden, as we behold him in the close of the Book 
 of Revelation. These are striking examples of " unde- 
 signed coincidences." 
 
 Mark another. Christ was pre-eminently a practical 
 man. He endorsed His precepts with his own example. 
 In John xvi, 33, He encourages His people and comforts 
 them. He rests not with mere words, however. In John 
 xvii, He confirms His words by praying for them. JSTor 
 does He rest with even this. In John xviii, 1, He passes 
 from encouragement and prayer to suffer for them. He 
 stands between them and the foe, giving up, finally, His 
 life for them. Mark a similar instance in Matthew ix, 36- 
 38. The first thing we observe is the " compassion" of 
 His heart for the multitudes. That compassion rests not 
 in mere feeling, as, alas ! it so often does with us. It 
 issues in exhorting His disciples to pray for laborers. It 
 did not end with mere exhortation. In Matthew x, 1, He 
 calls His disciples to Him, and sends them to do the work 
 for which he had exhorted them to pray. Nor did it end 
 here. In Matthew xi, 1, He sets the seal to his com- 
 passion, His exhortation, and His work with them by giv- 
 ing Himself to the work 
 
 Again ; the Lord Jesus often accompanied his word by 
 some expressive act corresponding with that word. In John 
 xii, 35, 36, He warns the Jews to "walk in the light," 
 lest that light should be withdrawn from them. This 
 solemn warning is accompanied by a corresponding and ex- 
 pressive act ; " These things spake Jesus, and departed, 
 
SIMEON IN THE TEMPLE. 173 
 
 and did hide Himself from them,' 1 In John viii, 6, is 
 another instance. The scribes and Pharisees bring the 
 writing of the law to condemn the sinner. He writes on 
 the ground with His finger, to show that He was the wri- 
 ter of that law. In Luke xxiv, 38, is a similarly expres- 
 sive act, " He made as though He would have gone far- 
 ther." The word had been spoken ; and where that is the 
 case, it ought to be followed by exercise of heart. So it 
 was here. They were constrained, and prayed Him to 
 abide with them. This was the fruit of the word. 
 
 Another remarkable lesson in the narratives of our Lord 
 is one we should all do well to lay to heart. Before He 
 rebuked or reproved, He always strove to win the heart. 
 In John xxi, 12, is an instance. He was about to reprove 
 Peter for his third denial of Him, but He first says, "Come 
 and dine." Thus preparing the way for the reproof by 
 disarming the mind of any unkindness in doing so. In 
 Luke viii, 2-1, 25, He rebukes " the winds and the waves," 
 before reproving the disciples for their little faith. In 
 John iv, before He convicts the woman of sin, He speaks 
 of happy things to her soul, the living water, His willing- 
 ness to give it, and His readiness to receive a kindness at 
 her hands, even a drink of water. Thus the way was 
 prepared. 
 
 Again ; we often perceive in one chapter, in its several 
 narratives, the leading features, expressed in order , of the 
 present dispensation. Mark this in Luke xix. From the 
 first verse to the tenth, we have God's grace shown to the 
 lost From the twelfth verse to the twenty-sixth, we have 
 that which follows on the receiving of grace, responsibility. 
 In the twenty-seventh verse, we have the next stage, judg- 
 
174 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 ment. From the twenty-ninth verse to the fortieth, we 
 have the last stage, glory. 
 
 I have trespassed thus far on the reader's attention with 
 these few undesigned coincidences which have come under 
 my own observation, to confirm my previous statement. 
 Not merely for this, however, but to stimulate to prayer- 
 ful meditation and deeper research into God's word. Let 
 me now return to the subject I have selected for consider- 
 ation, in which we shall find a further confirmation of these 
 remarks. 
 
 One feature in particular to which we would call the 
 reader's attention is a most important one, and presents 
 itself at the very outset of this narrative, that where man 
 is brought into living association with the Lord Jesus, 
 there the Spirit of God is prominently introduced in con- 
 nection with every step of his way. Mark it here. Si- 
 meon " waited for the consolation of Israel, for ' the Holy 
 Ghost was upon him.'' " He was to see Christ, and through 
 Christ to have his soul so filled with joy as to desire to 
 depart. But who is the author of all this ? " It was re- 
 vealed to him by the Holy Ghost." Again; Simeon is led 
 into the temple, into that place where God reveals Him- 
 self, into God's presence. But who leads him ? nature 9 
 accident? No : " he came by the Spirit into the temple." 
 
 Oh how clearly God, in his word, sets honor upon the 
 Holy Spirit and upon His work ! And yet see how sadly 
 little He is honored in the general preaching and re- 
 ligious literature of the day ! After hearing some of the 
 otherwise most excellent preaching, and reading the most 
 excellent works, we might almost be inclined to think 
 that the preachers ami writers " had never so much as 
 heard whether there was any Holy Ghost ! " Man's efforts, 
 
SIMEON IN THE TEMPLE. 175 
 
 man's preaching, man's writing, man is made so much of, 
 and the Holy Ghost so little ! No wonder if God doth 
 " blow upon it," and it comes to nought ! This is a day 
 when man is made much of, and God very little. This is 
 a day in which the human intellect is all but deified, and 
 the Holy Ghost degraded. Reader, depend upon it, if you 
 want to be blessed, if you want God to honor your work, 
 you must honor God's Holy Spirit. Depend upon it, if you 
 make not very much of Him, God will make very little of 
 you and your work. 
 
 Mark the three features of this man, under the dominion 
 of the Holy Ghost, "just," " devo at," and " waiting" for 
 Christ. And God would have us clearly understand the 
 source of all this ; because " the Holy Ghost was upon him." 
 Mark it, reader, well, how everything good in this man's 
 character is traced to one cause, and only one, because 
 " the Holy Ghost was upon him." Oh, solemn rebuke to 
 the professing Church in this day of declension and apos- 
 tasy ! 
 
 And when the Spirit of God teaches man, what a con- 
 trast to the religious teaching of the day ! In nothing is it 
 seen more remarkably than in connection with death. 
 Books are written, and sermons are preached, the burden 
 of both being " preparation for death." This is all the 
 blindness and ignorance of poor fallen nature. The Spirit 
 of God does not set death before us, but Christ. Death is 
 " the last enemy." And, strange to say, the enemy is con- 
 tinually put before the sinner, instead of Him who has 
 gotten the victory over the enemy ! Mark it here, how 
 different is the Spirit's teaching. He reveals that Christ 
 shall be seen before death. Death is eclipsed by Him who 
 shin3s gloriously between, the Lord Jesus. The Spirit's 
 
176 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 preparation for death is to put One between for the eye to 
 rest upon, till we stand in the presence of God ; and that 
 One is Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life. Mark this 
 further in the narrative of the transfiguration. What 
 saith our Lord ? " There be some standing here that shall 
 not taste of death till they see the Kingdom of God." He 
 placed between His people and death the kingdom, the 
 glory, the gladdening beams of the resurrection morning ! 
 Yes, whether in the day of life or in the hour of death, 
 the Spirit of God sets before us only one object, Christ. 
 
 And, reader, learn from this narrative of Simeon what 
 the Spirit would teach you, that you must see Christ before 
 death. Oh to see Christ for the first time after death, this 
 indeed will be terrible ! The soul must see Christ on this 
 side, or the meeting will be intolerable. Those who see 
 Him not here, can only see Him in judgment. Reader, 
 have you yet seen Him ? I warn you, " it had been good 
 for you that you had never been born," to see Him for the 
 first time after you have passed the agonies and throes of 
 a dying hour ; or worse than all, after the conscience has 
 been lulled into a false security, and has passed into eternity 
 with a lie in its right hand ! The Lord's Supper can do you 
 no good. A clergyman's prayers can do you no good. It 
 is all mockery if your own heart has not seen Christ, to 
 believe in Him, to cling to Him, and to lie down to die 
 only in Him ! 
 
 And where does the Spirit of God always lead the soul 
 after He shows him Christ ? Just where He led Simeon, 
 " into the temple," into the presence of God. " My soul 
 thirsteth for Thee ; my flesh longeth for Thee, in a dry 
 and thirsty land, where no water is." " My soul thirsteth 
 for God, for the living God ; when shall I come and appear 
 
SIMEON IN THE TEMPLE. 177 
 
 before God ? " " One thing have I desired of the Lord, 
 that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the 
 Lord all the days of my life.' " Master, it is good for us 
 to be here : let us build three tabernacles." " I have a de- 
 sire to depart, and to be with Christ ; which is far better." 
 
 And when the Spirit of God leads a man, Christ always 
 meets that man. " Thou meetest him that rejoiceth ; those 
 that remember Thee in Thy ways." There is no accident 
 in that man's life. "All things work together for good 
 to them that love God." And the Spirit of God so leads 
 them that every promise of God is fulfilled to them. So 
 it was with Simeon. The Spirit led him just where the 
 promise of God would be fulfilled to him. It was apparently 
 accidental. It was through second causes, perhaps. But 
 accidents and second causes are the robe in which God 
 shrouds Himself. He puts on these, and through them 
 fulfills every promise to His child. " Every one shall re- 
 ceive of Thy words." So Simeon found it. So all God's 
 people find it. And there is not one of God's people now 
 in glory, nay, is there one on earth, but can endorse the 
 words of the great lawgiver of Israel, " Not one good 
 thing of all that the Lord our God hath promised us 
 hath failed ? ' 
 
 And when the Spirit of God leads a man, it is always to 
 meet Christ. It may be to fulfill His promises to the soul, 
 either temporally or spiritually, but it is to see Christ in 
 them. Like Simeon, he may be led into the temple to 
 worship, but it is to meet Christ there. There was the 
 sacrifice, the altar, the vail, the incense, the ark, and the 
 mercy-seat, but oh, what were all these in comparison of 
 Christ to aged Simeon ! He seems to say to us, " Painted 
 baubles all, rites, rituals, ceremonies, churches, symbols, 
 12 
 
178 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 creeds, vestments, incense, stoles, chasubles, perish all, now 
 that I see Jesus ! " " Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant 
 depart in peace." The word is an allusion to those hold- 
 ing offices of state. They cannot leave when they please. 
 They cannot leave till they get the discharge from their 
 sovereign. So Simeon seems to say, " Now, Lord, I am 
 ready. I am satisfied. Give me my discharge. I can go 
 now in peace. I want no more. Yet I would not have my 
 will, but Thine. I am ready, willing, yea, will rejoice ; 
 but my discharge is in Thy hands. I leave it all where I 
 have left all other things, yes, all with Jesus." 
 
 I left it all with Jesus 
 
 Long ago ; 
 All my sin I brought Him, 
 
 And my woe. 
 When by faith I saw Him 
 
 On the tree, 
 Heard His small, still whisper, 
 
 "Tis for thee;" 
 From my heart the burden 
 
 Rolled away ; 
 
 Happy day ! 
 
 I leave it all with Jesus, 
 
 For He knows 
 How to steal the bitter 
 
 From life's woes ; 
 How to gild the tear-drop 
 
 With His smile, 
 Make the desert garden 
 
 Bloom awhile : 
 When my weakness leaneth 
 
 On His might, 
 
 All seems light. 
 
 I leave it all with Jesus 
 
 Day by day ; 
 Faith can firmly trust Him, 
 
 Come what may. 
 
SIMEON IN THE TEMPLE. 179 
 
 Hope has dropped her anchor, 
 
 Found her rest 
 In the calm, sure haven 
 
 Of His breast. 
 Love esteems it heaven 
 
 To abide 
 
 At His side. 
 
 Oh ! leave it all with Jesus, 
 
 Drooping soul ! 
 Tell not half thy story, 
 
 But the whole. 
 Worlds on worlds are hanging 
 
 On His hand, 
 Life and death are waiting 
 
 His command ; 
 Yet, His tender bosom 
 
 Makes thee room ; 
 
 Oh, come home ! * 
 
 Yes, with Christ pressed to the heart, there must be 
 " peace." "We can then gaze on the swelling flood, and 
 exclaim, "Lord, let me go." But, reader, it must be an 
 individual pressing of Christ to the heart, if you are to 
 have peace. None without this. None, reader, none. 
 The river of death, without this, will indeed look dark and 
 terrible. It does to thee, unconverted one, and no won- 
 der ! Without Christ, except in form and profession, and 
 this profession only adding weight to thy condemnation, 
 how could it be otherwise ? Without Christ in thy heart, 
 then without God, without peace, without hope, without 
 heaven ! How could it be otherwise ? "It were good for 
 thee hadst thou never been born." Oh glorious thought, 
 annihilation ! But no ; this cannot be. Beason, science, 
 philosophy, common sense, all proclaim with united voice, 
 " It is not possible /" reader, hast thou this Christ ? 
 
 * Ellen W. Willis. 
 
180 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 Art thou, like aged Simeon, pressing Him to thy heart 
 of hearts ? What is Christ to thee ? What ? 
 
 And mark the words, " according to Thy word." It 
 shows us God's faithfulness. " He is faithful that prom- 
 ised." Every child of God will, sooner or later, feel 
 that in everything God has been " according to His 
 word." Yes, heaven and earth may pass away, but not 
 one promise of God to His child shall ever fail. We 
 shall each look back on life's journey, and exclaim, " He 
 hath done all things well." Each wave that rises on the 
 shore of everlasting glory shall bear with it the songs of 
 countless hosts, " He hath done all things well." And as 
 the tide rises higher and higher, each heart and each lip 
 shall take up the song from a multitude which no man can 
 number, and repeat the echo, " He hath done all things 
 well." " Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be 
 unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb 
 forever and ever." 
 
 And notice the closing words of this inspired hymn : 
 " Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people ; 
 a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people 
 Israel." Yes, Christ is our " light" and our " glory." To 
 poor, down-trodden, outcast Israel, He will shortly be the 
 " glory" too. " They shall look upon Him whom they 
 have pierced." He is, indeed and in truth, the " King of 
 the Jews." They who now call Him a " crucified im- 
 postor," shall own Him as their Lord, and He shall be 
 their eternal " glory." 
 
 And let us remember that all this is "prepared." A 
 Jt prepared " Christ, a " prepared " heaven. We are, at 
 present, stones in the quarry of Lebanon. Noiselessly, but 
 surely, the Spirit of God is building the spiritual temple, 
 
SIMEON IN THE TEMTLE. 181 
 
 taking each stone out of the dark quarry, and hewing, 
 shaping, polishing it for the courts of the Lord. All is 
 " preparation " work now. Oh what will the temple be ? 
 What will the meeting be ? What will the grand reunion 
 of all the scattered members be ? What the melody of the 
 golden harps ? What the sweetness of the new song ? 
 What the jasper walls, and the golden gates, and the 
 glassy sea, and the genial air, and the songs of triumph ? 
 What the beauty, the joy, what the glory of that hour? 
 Reader, shall you be there ? Oh remember the word of 
 the Lord, " There shall in nowise enter into it anything 
 that defileth." Have you still the defilement of unwashed 
 guilt, unforgiven sin ? You cannot enter there. See to 
 it, for " the time is at hand." On that morning of joy to 
 some, but morning of terror and wrath to others, one cry 
 will ring through the vaults of heaven, and be heard at 
 the remotest bounds of earth, " He that is unjust, let him 
 be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy 
 still : and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still : 
 and he that is holy, let him be holy still." 
 
 Christian reader, remember the leadings of the Spirit of 
 God here, " waiting " for Christ, taking of the things of 
 Christ, and revealing them to the soul, being " led " into 
 God's presence, pressing Christ to the heart, and rejoicing 
 in Him, and a readiness to depart and be with Christ. 
 May this be thy path from day to day, thy history till 
 the Lord comes. May He find thee in it. The hour is at 
 hand. Before thine eye follows these lines, He may be 
 here. Oh may the deep, unspoken language of thy heart 
 be, " Come, Lord Jesus ! " See that the eye be daily 
 fixed on Jesus, and thy heart true to Him ! See that in 
 thy conduct from day to day there is a silent but certain 
 
182 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 witness for God ! See that whether your path be bright 
 or dark, whether one of sorrow or of joy, you are resting 
 wholly on Jesus, and praise Him for everything that makes 
 you lean on Him. 
 
 My God, I thank Thee, who hast made 
 
 The earth so bright, 
 So full of splendor and of joy, 
 
 Beauty, and light ; 
 So many glorious things are here, 
 
 Noble and right ! 
 
 I thank Thee, too, that Thou hast made 
 
 Joy to abound ; 
 So many gentle thoughts and deeds 
 
 Circling us round, 
 That in the darkest spot of earth 
 
 Some love is found. 
 
 I thank Thee more that all our joy 
 
 Is touched with pain ; 
 That shadows fall on brightest hours, 
 
 That thorns remain, 
 So that earth's bliss may be our guide, 
 
 And not our chain. 
 
 For Thou, who knowest, Lord, how soon 
 
 Our weak heart clings, 
 Hast given us joys, tender and true, 
 
 Yet all with wings ; 
 So that we see, gleaming on high, 
 
 Diviner things ! 
 
 I thank Thee, Lord, that Thou hast kept 
 
 The best in store ; 
 We have enough, yet not too much 
 
 To long for more, 
 A yearning for a deeper peace, 
 
 Not known before. 
 
 I thank Thee, Lord, that here our souls, 
 
 Though amply blest, 
 Can never find, although they seek, 
 
 A perfect rest, 
 Nor ever shall, until they lean 
 
 On Jesus' breast ! Adelaide Anne Procter. 
 
PARTING WORDS. 183 
 
 PARTING WORDS 
 
 John xiv, 1 — 21. 
 
 Let not your heart be troubled : ye believe in God, believe also in me. 
 In my Father's house are many mansions : if it were not so, I would have 
 told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place 
 for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, 
 there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 
 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how 
 can we know the way ? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, 
 and the life : no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known 
 me, ye should have known my Father also : and from henceforth ye know 
 him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, 
 and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with 
 you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip ? he that hath seen me, hath 
 seen the Father ; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest 
 thou not I am in the Father, and the Father in me ? the words that I speak 
 unto you, I speak not of myself: but the Father, that dwelleth in me, he 
 doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in 
 me : or else believe me for the very works' sake. Verily, verily, I say unto 
 you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also ; and 
 greater works than these shall he do ; because I go unto my Father. And 
 whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may 
 be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. 
 
 If ye love me, keep my commandments : and I will pray the Father, and 
 he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever ; 
 even the Spirit of truth ; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth 
 him not, neither knoweth him : but ye know him ; for he dwelleth with 
 you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless : I will come to 
 you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more ; but ye see me : 
 because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in 
 
184 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, 
 and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me : aud he that loveth me, shall be 
 loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 
 
 How solemn are the parting words of one we love ! Our 
 heart's affections have learned to twine themselves, like 
 the trembling ivy, round the departing one, and we feel as 
 if the rending tendrils would be plucked from their roots, 
 and wither beneath the blast. With some such feelings 
 did the little band of disciples listen to the words of their 
 loving Saviour, as they fell upon their ears, " Now I go 
 my way to Him that sent me " (John xvi, 4 — 7). 
 
 And was it really so, that the One who had loved them 
 as none else could love was going to leave them ? Can 
 that indeed be the way of Infinite love, to leave the sheep 
 in the wilderness, over whom it had wept, and watched, 
 and prayed ? Yes; mark the words, " I go my way." It 
 was His way. It was no accident, no unforeseen occur- 
 rence, no strange or capricious step. It was the way of 
 deepest love to "go." Ah! then as now the disciple 
 must walk by faith. To sight, it was all wrong. To faith, 
 it was all well. It was God's way. 
 
 And why had He not told them this before ? " Suffi- 
 cient for the day is the evil thereof." God would have 
 His children all joy. He kept all sorrow from them till 
 the last moment. Not till absolutely necessary would He 
 have one drop to fall on the soul. He loved them too well 
 to cause a needless tear. "These things I said not unto 
 you at the beginning." Never till the needed moment, 
 the right moment, will He speak that which will grieve us. 
 And then it will be only to open behind the dark cloud a 
 rock we have not seen as yet, that shall fill the soul with 
 deeper streams of joy than ever. We look only at this 
 
PARTING WORDS. 185 
 
 cloud. He looks at what is behind, the deeper joy for the 
 soul, and says, " Nevertheless I tell you the truth." Hard 
 and bitter as you may think it. Strange as it may seem 
 to you to be told that it is " My way," " I tell you the 
 truth ; it is expedient for you that I go away." What ! 
 expedient for me ! This dark cloud, this cutting sorrow, 
 this crushing disappointment, this bleeding heart — expe- 
 dient ! Yes ; " Nevertheless I tell you the truth ; it is 
 expedient for you." You know my love. I never de- 
 ceived you yet. Trust me .now. You cannot see. Walk 
 by faith. Remember who it is that speaks to you — your 
 own tried, precious Saviour, the One whom you love, who 
 is everything to you. "/tell you the truth; it is expe- 
 dient for you." Ah reader, child of sorrow, trust that pre- 
 cious Saviour ! In every wave that breaks over thy frail 
 bark, hear His voice whispering to thy soul, " My way." 
 " I tell you the truth ; it is expedient. for you." 
 
 And what was the fault of the disciples here? Just 
 what is always our fault in sorrow. " None of you asketh 
 me, Whither goest Thou ?" You nurse your sorrow. 
 You weep and mourn. The heart goes heavily. You do 
 not come and ask me about it. You are trying to bear it 
 yourself. You cannot. It will crush you. Why are you 
 silent to me ? Come, and look in my face. Come, and lay 
 that burden on my arm. Come, and cast that sorrow on 
 my heart. poor weary- working, burdened one, come 
 and speak to me about thy sorrows ! Is not my arm 
 strong ? Is not my love deep ? Is not my grace suffi- 
 cient ? Such were some of the Saviour's last loving words 
 to His sorrowing ones on earth. 
 
 Let us notice a few more in the chapter we have chosen 
 for consideration. How sweetly it opens ! It is the old 
 
186 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 familiar word of Jesus, " Fear not ;" " let not your heart 
 be troubled." Ah, it is always the first word in every 
 chapter that opens upon us from His hand, whether of sor- 
 row or joy ! It encourages us. Now we can go forward. 
 Come what may — whether His words be dark and heavy, 
 or bright with heaven's own light, still " all must be well." 
 We have at the very outset the sweet and familiar word 
 of One whom we know and love, whom we have tried and 
 found faithful : " Let not your heart be troubled." 
 
 The Saviour was about to leave them. The thought of 
 His departure filled the hearts of His disciples with sor- 
 row ; and He says to them, " Let not your heart be trou- 
 bled." He counts upon that departure being a sorrow to 
 their hearts. He counts upon their love to Him in His 
 absence. He cheers them with the blessed assurance that 
 He will come again. Just as when a loved one leaving our 
 fireside for some distant land, yearns fondly over the trea- 
 sures he is leaving behind, and counts on their continued 
 love to him in his absence, and his last words are, " I shall 
 soon come back again." So with our precious Saviour. 
 " I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice.' 1 " Ye 
 believe in God, believe also in me." You see God in all 
 His works ; you believe in Him, that He is living, and 
 guiding, and ordering all, so believe in me. You are cer- 
 tain about God, be the same with regard to me. 
 
 And now He tells them that all the time He is away He 
 will be living for them, and engaged in a great and glori- 
 ous work. " I go to prepare a place for you." This was 
 to be His occupation from the moment He left. What 
 wondrous love, to give us this sweet assurance that every 
 hour of His absence would only be the exercise of His heart 
 for them ! This was to be the explanation of His absence. 
 
PARTING WORDS. 187 
 
 This they were to think of in the loneliness of the way. 
 And then it tells of His grace to our souls ! Sinners though 
 we are, and as such anything should do for us, yet even 
 heaven has to be "prepared." One whom we love is on 
 his way home. How the heart provides the best and the 
 richest for the expected guest ! How the day of arrival is 
 looked forward to ! and no time, or trouble, or expense 
 seems enough to lay out in preparation. So it is with 
 Jesus toward us. We are on our way home. What a rich 
 and glorious preparation is going on to welcome us ! 
 Nothing is too great or good. Even heaven itself must be 
 made as glorious as only His love can make it, for so great 
 a guest as sinners like ourselves ! Surely this is love like 
 His — love that no heart can compass, no thought can ex- 
 press ! 
 
 And mark the cluster of blessings which crowd around. 
 " I will come again " — not as a king, not as a ruler, not as 
 a visitor, though all this will be true — but to " receive you 
 unto myself!' The thought of His coming is joy to our 
 souls ; but oh, when it is associated with the thought that 
 it is to receive us, to clasp us to His bosom, to have us al- 
 ways in His presence, never again to leave us, nor we to 
 leave Him — this is fullness of joy ! 
 
 And what poor worms of the dust we are ! How un- 
 worthy of Him or His love ! Though He had " been so long 
 time " with the disciples, yet Thomas and Philip knew Him 
 not. How like ourselves ! How long may He be with us, 
 and how little we may know Him ! And yet our ignorance 
 and sin only draw out further revelations of His love. He 
 makes the blind and ignorant confession we make an op- 
 portunity of revealing Himself. " I am the way, the truth, 
 and the life." Mark the significance of these words. You 
 
188 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 wish to go to some distant town. The way to it is at your 
 own door. The way to any place always lies at every man's 
 own door. Just so Christ is "the way." He is at our 
 very door. He says to us, " Walk on me:" "I am the 
 way." And that way is the link that connects the home 
 from which we set out with the place we are going to. So 
 with Jesus. He is " the way." Every step you tread, 
 from the very first till you reach the city, is Jesus — " Jesus 
 only." If there be not a way, then you can never reach 
 your destination. If you be not in Jesas, the true " way," 
 how can you ever reach the city of God ? 
 
 But more. When you are on the way, you want above 
 all things to be sure that it is the right one. You are a 
 stranger. You look anxiously round for a finger-post or 
 for some traveler to tell you it is the true way you are 
 walking in. Thus we have the next point — " the truth." 
 Jesus is the "way." Jesus is the "true" way. Go on, 
 traveler, thus, and you will be sure to reach the Father's 
 dwelling. 
 
 But more. You are a poor, needy creature. On that 
 way your life must be sustained. You must have life kept 
 up on the way, and life kept up when you reach your des- 
 tination. This, too, is met next in Jesus. "I am the 
 life." Thus, dear fellow traveler to Canaan, in Him we 
 have, at our very door, all we need — a " way," a " true " 
 and " living " way. Jesus only, our life in starting ; Jesus 
 only, our life on the way ; Jesus only, our life when we 
 reach the long-loved dwelling. 
 
 And mark : " No man cometh unto the Father but by 
 me." He does not say " God." Ah, every man will have 
 to stand before God. It is those only who go by Jesus that 
 will reach the Father. It tells us we are children, related 
 
PARTING WORDS. 189 
 
 by the nearest and dearest of ties. It tells us of a home far 
 beyond, and a. family, and a rich table, and all the endear- 
 ments of the heart. You may take your own way, if you 
 like, and the end will be that you will reach God — but it 
 will be a God out of Christ. It will be God without the 
 Father. It will be judgment and terror, and justice and 
 wrath. If you want to see the Father, either now or here- 
 after, you must come by Jesus. He is the only way laid 
 down by Heaven, but laid down at your very door. 
 
 Yet, ignorant and slow as the disciples were, there is 
 only one thing that will " suffice." " Lord, show us the 
 Father, and it sufficeth us." He is the only One that can 
 meet man's heart. He is a stranger in the wiidern >ss. 
 He has no home — no loving hand to lead him on. The 
 cry of his heart is, " I want a Father." Jesus is that 
 Father. In Him the wilderness ends. In Him the table is 
 spread. The heart rests. Its joy is full. It is " sufficed." 
 
 " He that hath seen me hath seen the Father ;" " believe 
 me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me." These 
 words contain a deep truth on which the intellect of the 
 day would do well to meditate. If you wanted to see the 
 whole world, and some one presented you with a map, you 
 would have on that map all that you needed. If you were 
 taken and shown that world, you would see nothing more 
 than what you had seen on the map. The difference would 
 be, not in the reality of the thing, but in the expansion of 
 the reality. Or if you wanted to see all the glorious ob- 
 jects that hang over our heads on a starry night, and some 
 one gave you a sketch of them exactly as they are, you 
 would need no more, even though, some hand might lead 
 you to each planet. When you had seen all, you would 
 but have seen the sketch expanded. To the reality your 
 soaring could add nothing. 
 
190 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 Just so is Jesus to us. He is as the sketch, the plan, 
 the pattern of the reality. " No man hath seen God at 
 any time; the only begotten Son, in the bosom of the 
 Father, He hath declared Rim!' " He that hath seen me 
 hath seen the Father." He is the great Unseen, condensed 
 as it were. He is the Invisible, accommodated to man's 
 vision, to man's grasp. If it were even possible to see 
 God, you could see nothing more than you see in Jesus. 
 After your loftiest attainments, you have seen only an ex- 
 pansion. 
 
 Jesus is the point of contact between the Infinite Jeho- 
 vah on one side, and finite man on the other. Man cannot 
 sound the depths of space and eternity to see God. And 
 yet he must see Him. How ? If the thing is to be ac- 
 complished, it must be by the Infinite meeting man. So 
 God came within man's grasp by taking a body. Now 
 man can grasp God — the Infinite, Invisible, Unsearchable 
 Jehovah — in the person of the Lord Jesus. What a bless- 
 ing for the ever-soaring intellect ! What a resting-place 
 when, after struggling and striving, it returns baffled from 
 the endeavor — the vain endeavor - to grasp the Infinite ! 
 What a resting-place at the feet of Jesus — there, without 
 the stretching of the faculties or the groping of the intel- 
 lect to look into the face of Jesus and see the face, the look, 
 the smile of God ! 
 
 Mark another thought connected with this, poor searcher 
 after God ! Suppose it were possible for thee to grasp the 
 Infinite. Yet that which the mind is able to comprehend 
 comes in course of time to lose its power over it. It be- 
 comes a tame thing. The mind soars on to something be- 
 yond. How then is this yearning of man's immortal soul 
 to be met? The mind must have a God that it can com- 
 
PASTING WORDS. 191 
 
 prehend, and yet He must be of such a nature as to be in- 
 comprehensible — One that, no matter how much the mind 
 can grasp, it will always find behind something it has not 
 reached. To this question no answer could ever have been 
 given had not Jesus come. The mind can grasp Him, and 
 yet there is God in Him, so that, let man soar as high as 
 he may, there is always that behind which no mind has 
 ever reached, or can reach. " He that has seen me hath 
 seen the Father." What a sweet resting-place for the lofty 
 intellect of man ! Oh how beautiful does intellect appear 
 when seen reposing at the feet of Jesus ! Yes, He is the 
 point of contact between the finite and the Infinite, between 
 God and man ; with " all the fullness " of the infinite God 
 treasured up in Him on the one hand, and the perfect na- 
 ture of man on the other, sin only excepted. 
 
 And observe the spiritual significance of our Lord's fol- 
 lowing words, " Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that 
 believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also ; and 
 greater works than these shall he do." Our power of work- 
 ing effectually for God is not believing in ourselves, but in 
 the heart being fixed on Jesus — " He that believeth on 
 me." Yes, there is the secret of great works. There is 
 the source of all spiritual success. The more whole-hearted 
 you are for Christ, the more will you work, and work ef- 
 fectually. You can do with this what you could not do 
 with all your self-reliance or qualifications and endow- 
 ments. Christian reader, forget it not ! Let nothing 
 come between your heart and the Saviour, for then you 
 will " sow much, but bring in little ; you will eat, but you 
 will not have pnough ; you will drink, but you will not be 
 filled with drink ; you will clothe you, but not be warm ; 
 you will earn wages, but only to put it into a bag with 
 hoW 
 
192 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 And observe the two closing verses of this portion of 
 God's word. " At that day ye shall know that I am in 
 my Father, and ye in me, and i" in you. He that hath 
 my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth 
 me ; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, 
 and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." 
 Mark the effect of the Spirit's descent. They were to be 
 conscious of a new union. Jesus had been with them be- 
 fore, and they with Him. Now they should see that He 
 was in them and they in Him. Precious bond ! Holy and 
 indissoluble connection ! And this is the standing of every 
 child of God now. He is ''in Christ" before God ; and 
 whatever Christ is, he is also : and Christ is " in him " 
 down here — his life, his joy, his all. 
 
 But how is the sweet assurance of this to be experi- 
 enced by the soul ? Mark the connection between it and 
 what follows. " He that hath my commandments, and 
 keepeth them, he it is that loveth me." It is by holiness 
 of life. It is by having the words of the Lord Jesus in us, 
 and the heart and conscience brought under their power. 
 It is thus we shall realize joy and peace. Thus shall we 
 prove our love to the Saviour. Thus shall we know that 
 we are "loved of the Father." Thus will the Lord Jesus 
 " manifest Himself" to us, and we shall feel that religion 
 is a deep, a true reality. Thus only shall we know that 
 which not many know in these days, the fullness of joy, 
 the calmness of peace, and the victory over the world, from 
 our souls being the dwelling-place of the Father and the 
 Son. reader, keep Christ's commandments ! Walk in 
 the light ! Be satisfied with no present attainment. Press 
 on more earnestly. Cling more than ever to Jesus. Aim 
 higher each day. Seek the peace and joy of true religion 
 
PARTING WORDS. 193 
 
 — not from brethren, not from doctrines or creeds, but 
 from close personal communion with. Jesus Himself. Go 
 to the fountain. Go daily. Every other source is but a 
 broken cistern. keep near Jesus ! Have done forever 
 with all else but Jesus. Have a whole heart, a full heart, 
 a loving heart, a ready heart for Jesus, " in season and out 
 of season." So God will bless you; and thus — only thus 
 — will you be a happy Christian, and a living witness for 
 Christ. 
 
 I have not looked upon that rainbow-girded throne, 
 
 Where Thou, my Saviour, sittest ; 
 I have not seen Thy robe of light, Thy dazzling crown, 
 
 Eternal King of glory ! 
 I have not been where tens of thousands stand 
 
 To minister before Thee ; 
 I have not entered yet that beauteous far-off land, 
 
 Or trod Thy Father's mansions ; 
 
 'Tis true — I have not seen Thee, 
 
 And yet I think I love Thee. 
 I have not seen Thee walking on this dark, sad earth, 
 
 A way-worn Man of sorrow, 
 With bitter shame and grief acquainted from Thy birth, 
 
 A King, despised, rejected ; 
 I cannot call to mind Thy thorn-encircled brow, 
 
 Bedewed with drops of anguish ; 
 I have not traced the print of wounds, still bleeding now, 
 
 With rude and daring finger : 
 
 But though I have not seen Thee, 
 
 Thy grace has made me love The 
 I have not seen Thee yet as David's holy Son, 
 
 With all Thy saints appearing, 
 To make earth's kingdoms — long, alas ! usurped — Thine own, 
 
 To rule and reign forever ; 
 But faith expects to see the glorious vision still, 
 
 And waits with eager longing. 
 My Saviour, hasten : come ; Thy precious word fulfill : 
 
 Oh ! give Thy promised blessing 
 
 To those who have not seen Thee, 
 
 And yet, believing, love Thee. 
 
 13 
 
194 COUNSELS FB.OM THE WOEDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 THE COMING OF CHKIST. 
 Psalm 1, 3—6. 
 
 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence : a fire shall devour be- 
 fore him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall 
 call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his 
 people. Gather my saints together unto me ; those that have made a cove- 
 nant with me by sacrifice. And the heavens shall declare his righteous- 
 ness : for God is judge himself. Selah. 
 
 We stand on the eve of one of the greatest events the world 
 has ever witnessed. Signs are multiplying on every side 
 of us, compared with which there has been no parallel either 
 in the history of the Church or the world. One of the 
 greatest changes to both hangs upon this great event. It 
 is the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ the second time, 
 in power and glory, to bring all things in subjection to Him- 
 self, and to be " King of kings and Lord of lords." Let 
 us see what the psalmist says of this event in the passage 
 under consideration. 
 
 The first word is a striking one — " Our God." It is the 
 family word. None but the child can use it. That child 
 is one of the family. He is related to his heavenly Father. 
 He has been redeemed and brought nigh by the blood of 
 Christ. He is in the bonds of the everlasting covenant. 
 He is a joint-heir with Christ. He can look up and say, 
 
THE COMING OF CHRIST. 195 
 
 " My beloved is mine, and I am His." He will be able to 
 say with joy ; when the Lord shall descend from heaven in 
 naming fire, " Lo, this is our God ; we have waited for 
 Him, and He will save us : this is the Lord ; we have 
 waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salva- 
 tion." Yes, it is the family word. He who now puts into 
 our lips the sweet word, "Our Father," enables us to look 
 forward to that solemn hour, and say, " Our God." 
 
 We are about to meditate on a solemn scene — God 
 coming down to this earth in a human form as a devour- 
 ing fire, with storms and tempests raging around Him. 
 Oh, how necessary to be able to say, before we gaze upon 
 it, " Our God !" What will it be if we cannot say, " Our 
 God"? With what feelings of terror and alarm must it 
 be viewed, unless we can say in prospect, " Our God " ! 
 Make sure of this, reader, before you go one step farther. 
 Only this can make you calm in the prospect, and in the 
 reality, when it comes, to be able to say, " Our God." 
 Therefore it is that the Holy Spirit puts this little word 
 first, on which we may dwell earnestly, solemnly, search- 
 ingly, before we proceed to that which follows. 
 
 " Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence." In 
 order clearly to understand what is meant here by God 
 " not keeping silence," we must refer to the closing part 
 of the chapter, from the sixteenth verse to the twenty- 
 second. " But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou 
 to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my 
 covenant in thy mouth ? Seeing thou hatest instruction, 
 and castest my words behind thee. When thou sawest 
 a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been 
 partaker with adulterers. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, 
 and thy tongue frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest 
 
19G COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 against thy brother ; thou slanderest thine own mother's 
 son. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence ; thou 
 thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself." 
 Here God reviews the character of the wicked in this dis- 
 pensation. It is exactly what has been going on in our 
 world for the last six thousand years. Men have been 
 taking God's covenant " in their mouth;" in other words, 
 making a profession of religion, while all the time the 
 power of religion has been absent. Underneath this pro- 
 fession, sin and iniquity of the worst form has been carried 
 on. Men have really been " hating " God, and " casting 
 His words behind them." "Theft," "adultery," "evil," 
 " deceit," " false witness," " slander " — have not all these 
 things been going on in the world at a fearful speed ? All 
 this while God has " kept silence." He has not interfered 
 to strike men down in such acts with His arm of judg- 
 ment; so they begin to say, "' Where is God?' Tush! 
 ' doth God see ?' If there be a God, why does He not in- 
 terfere ? Either there is none, or else He is ' altogether 
 such an one as ourselves.' " Thus the world has gone on 
 — the wicked " nourishing as a green bay tree," the right- 
 eous returning with a "full cup" of tears, and God keep- 
 ing silence. But it shall not always be so. " Our God 
 shall come, and shall not keep silence." He shall come and 
 " reprove " man, and " set " each act and deed " in order " 
 " before the eyes " of the wicked. It is interesting to no- 
 tice how nearly all the features of the wicked, described in 
 this chapter, and which history has endorsed as the domi- 
 nant principles in the world, are again reproduced by the 
 Holy Spirit in the third chapter of St. Paul's Second Epis- 
 tle to Timothy, and which are to be more prominently de- 
 veloped — as the flower from the bud — in the last days. 
 
THE COMING OF CHRIST. 107 
 
 And what are to be the heralds of the Lord's coming ? 
 " A fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tem- 
 pestuous round about him." Here again the Holy Spirit 
 confirms this testimony by St. Paul : " And to you who are 
 troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be re- 
 vealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire 
 taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that 
 obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ : who shall 
 be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence 
 of the Lord, and from the glory of His power." Yes, from 
 one end of Christendom to the other, one piercing cry shall 
 rend the heavens : "Ye rocks and hills, fall upon us, and 
 hide us from the presence of the Lamb." The entreaty, 
 earnest and loud, will then be heard from many a lip that 
 now scorns the preaching of the Cross : " Lord, Lord, open 
 to us." But " too late." Why should men clamor as to 
 the question of hell, whether or not it will be material fire ? 
 Memory will play a conspicuous part in that day. The 
 recollection of grace so freely offered, but vilely spurned, 
 and this for a lifetime, will make man's existence a hell, 
 compared with which the torment of material fire and brim- 
 stone will be as nothing. It shall be "very tempestuous." 
 The nations shall be at their wits' end. The ties of nature 
 and of society shall be set at nought. Men's lusts and 
 passions shall have unbridled course. They shall run to 
 and fro. Knowledge shall increase. Men's hearts on all 
 siaes will be " failing them for fear, looking after those 
 things that are coming on the earth." A few will lift up 
 their heads, in that universal wreck and ruin, calmly and 
 joyfully ; for they know their redemption is nigh, their hour 
 of triumph at hand. Oh, to stand among that little band 
 in that awful hour, and be able to say, " Our God "! 
 
198 COUNSELS FEOM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 But what will the Lord do then ? " He shall call to 
 the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may 
 judge His people." He shall call to the heavens — to the 
 spirits of the departed ones — those who have lived and 
 died in the Lord, and are now with Jesus; "and to the 
 earth " — to the bodies now in dust, that the spirits may 
 again inhabit them. Not only so; He shall call to the 
 earth — to the saints of the Lord then alive and remaining. 
 The loved ones who have left us, and those who remain, 
 shall be called by His voice. Again the Spirit of God con- 
 firms this testimony by St. Paul : " For this we say unto 
 you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and 
 remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them 
 which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend 
 from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, 
 and with the trump of God : and the dead in Christ shall 
 rise first : then we which are alive and remain shall be 
 caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the 
 Lord in the air : and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 
 The word rendered " then " (s-stra) in this passage, may 
 be more correctly rendered " after that," and shows us that 
 some interval may elapse between the meeting of the dead 
 saints and the living ones before they are taken up to meet 
 the Lord in the air. At some solemn and unexpected mo- 
 ment, when perhaps we may be in the railway carriage, in 
 the street, in the house, or at the counter, we shall sud- 
 denly become the subjects of an instantaneous and myste- 
 rious change ; and at the same moment we shall find at our 
 very sides those whom we loved on earth, but from whom 
 death had parted us. There shall be an interval. The 
 fond greeting, the loved embrace, the outburst of joy shall 
 fill it up. Then all shall rise together at one and the same 
 
THE COMING OF CHRIST. 199 
 
 Bummons from on high, " and so shall we ever be with the 
 Lord." " Ever with the Lord!" Oh, the joy of those 
 words ! Here thought fails ; the lips falter ; the mind 
 shrinks. Eternity alone can tell their depth. We wait to 
 sound their meaning. Who would not say, in such a world 
 of sin, and sorrow, and death, as this, " Come, Lord Jesus, 
 come quickly ?" 
 
 But mark the psalmist's words. Who are they that are 
 called ? " Gather my saints together unto me." What an 
 expressive word — " My saints " ! How the Lord appro- 
 priates them as His own! " They shall be mine, in that 
 day when I make up my jewels." What precious words 
 — " my saints," "my jewels"! What sinful, erring crea- 
 tures we are ! How do we daily and hourly provoke the 
 Lord who loves us ! What naughty children the Lord has 
 to manage ! How He may say of us as Moses said of Is- 
 rael, " Ye have been rebellious against the Lord since the 
 day that I knew you " ! and yet, "my saints '" " my jewels !" 
 Oh, what grace ! what wondrous love ! 
 
 Mark another word here. " Gather my saints." " He 
 shall gather the lambs in His arms." He shall "gather" 
 them as a shepherd his sheep in the hour of weakness and 
 danger — the weak ones, the nervous ones, those who start 
 at a shadow and tremble at the fluttering of a leaf. They 
 shall not be weak or nervous then. The frail body shall 
 be dropped forever, and they shall be clasped in an embrace 
 such as they have never known on earth, to a bosom of 
 infinite love. 
 
 But observe the next word. " Gather my saints to- 
 gether." It is the family meeting ; it is the grand re-union ; 
 it is the glad assembly. We shall not rise to meet the 
 Lord individually — in isolations ; we shall be gathered to- 
 
200 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 gether. So* the apostle speaks of our " gathering together 
 unto Him." And again, " "We which are alive and remain- 
 shall be caught up together with them!' No more separa- 
 tions ; no more divisions ; no more discords ; no more sects 
 or systems : all together ! One mind, one heart, one joy, 
 one glad meeting, without the shadow of a farewell ever 
 darkening its shores ! What heart does not bound at the 
 thought ? 
 
 And yet one word more — the sweetest of all — " unto 
 me." Ah i what would all the others be without this ? 
 Nothing, nothing,! The foam, the dust, the shadow, the 
 air I What would that meeting be without Jesus ? What 
 is any meeting without Him ? The very notes of heaven 
 would be discord. Its jasper walls would be hideous. Its 
 very air would be oppressive. It would all be dreariness, 
 and darkness, and death. With His name eYerj song is 
 sweet. In His smile every countenance is bright. Every 
 chord of the golden harps will vibrate with His praise. 
 Every voice will be vocal with His name. Jesus, Jesus, 
 Jesus: — throughout eternity. For this the Lord Him- 
 self prays: " Father, I will that they also whom Thou 
 hast given me be with me where I am, that they may 
 behold my glory." Love can only be satisfied with the 
 presence of its object. So with the Saviour. He longs 
 for us. He waits for us. We must be with Him. How 
 can He be happy without us ? 
 
 But who are those thus gathered ? Mark it well, reader : 
 " Those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice." 
 They are those who have made a covenant with God through 
 the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are the blood- 
 bought ones. They are those who have cast themselves 
 — all sin and guilt, helpless and undone — on the finished 
 
THE COMING OF CHRIST. 201 
 
 work of the Lord Jesus. They are those who cry from 
 the depths of their hearts — 
 
 " Other refuge have I none : 
 , Hangs my helpless soul on Thee." 
 
 Reader, have you done this ? If you have not, you are 
 not in the covenant ; and if you are not in that covenant 
 now, can you think of that meeting ? You may hide this 
 sad picture from your conscience, or, worse than all, charge 
 your sin on God by a series of excuses. But it will not 
 avail then. Mark the next verse : "The heavens shall de- 
 clare His righteousness; for God is judge Himself." His 
 righteous dealings will then be acknowledged by every lip, 
 and felt by every heart. Even the wicked shall be com- 
 pelled to own it. And not only so, but righteousness shall 
 be written on everything, as it never has been yet. And 
 why? "For God is judge Himself." He shall be judge 
 in the earth, and the result will be righteous judgment. 
 Misrule, injustice, oppression, will all end then. " Bight- 
 eousness shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea." 
 
 And what is the practical lesson from all this, for the 
 world as well as God's people ? There is a word for each 
 at the close of this chapter. " Ye that forget God, con- 
 sider this." Unconverted reader, weigh it well, lest God 
 "tear thee in pieces." The day is at hand. Consider. 
 Flee to Jesus. He is your only hope. Out of Him you 
 are not safe for a moment. Be warned, and haste to the 
 refuge. 
 
 Christian, "order your conversation" — or citizenship — 
 " aright." Aim to glorify Jesus. Let His praise fill your 
 heart. Let His image be clearly written on every act of 
 your life. Be wlcole-liearted for Christ. 
 
202 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 " To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in 
 my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with 
 my Father in His throne. He that hath an ear, let him 
 hear, what the Spirit saith unto the churches." 
 
 Not here, not here ; not where the sparkling waters 
 
 Fade into mocking sands as we draw near, 
 Where in the wilderness each footstep falters ; 
 
 '* I shall be satisfied," but oh ! not here. 
 
 Not here, where all the dreams of bliss deceive us, 
 Where the worn spirit never gains its goal ; 
 
 Where, haunted ever by the thoughts that grieve us, 
 Across us floods of bitter memory roll. 
 
 There is a land where every pulse is thrilling 
 With rapture earth's sojourners may not know; 
 
 Where heaven's repose the weary heart is stilling, 
 And peacefully life's time-tossed currents flow. 
 
 Far out of sight, while sorrow still enfolds us, 
 Lies the fair country where our hearts abide 
 
 And of its bliss is nought more wondrous told us, 
 Than these few words — " I shall be satisfied." 
 
 " I shall be satisfied :" the spirit's yearning 
 For sweet companionship with kindred minds ; 
 
 The silent love that here meets no returning, 
 The inspiration which no language finds. 
 
 Shall they be satisfied — the soul's vain longing, 
 The aching void which nothing earthly fills ? 
 
 Oh what desires upon my heart are thronging, 
 As I look upward to the heavenly hills t 
 
 Thither my weak and weary steps are tending: 
 Saviour and Lord with Thy frail child abide ; 
 
 Guide me towards home, where, all my wanderings ended, 
 I shall see Thee, and "shall be satisfied." 
 
THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS. 203 
 
 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS. 
 Malachi iii, 16. 
 
 Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another : and the Lord 
 hearkened, and heard it : and a book of remembrance was written before 
 him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. 
 
 We see in these words the existence of a spirit of union 
 bringing those of kindred sympathies into closer inter- 
 course while they were passing through the sorrows they 
 had to endure. They that feared the Lord were evidently 
 a very small remnant in the nation ; they were its salt, 
 and had not lost their savor, yet they were not sufficient 
 for its preservation. In the 9th verse we have this decla- 
 ration, " Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed 
 me, even this whole nation." The tithes were not brought 
 into the temple ; those that worked wickedness were set 
 up, and the proud were called happy. The righteous were 
 as a lamp despised ; the ways of Zion mourned ; none came 
 to her solemn feasts, and astonishment possessed those that 
 feared the Lord. Things are not very different in our day, 
 and we see, as the Psalmist did, the wicked spreading him- 
 self as a green bay tree, provoking our envy, and exciting 
 our discontent, unless we are brought to understand his 
 
204 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TI5UTH. 
 
 end ; for of the wicked God has said, " He shall receive of 
 the fruit of his doings, and it shall go ill with him." These 
 or similar causes still exist to bring into closer union those 
 who fear the Lord as a source of mutual comfort and sup- 
 port. As, therefore, we see that such communings are 
 hearkened to and approved by the Lord, and such gracious 
 promises are made to those who fear Him, we may well 
 inquire what are their distinguishing features, that we 
 may see if we have any well-grounded evidence of being 
 of the number. We therefore notice — 
 
 1st. What it is to fear the Lord. 
 
 2d. Of what they spoke. 
 
 3d. That this communion of the saints is pleasing to the 
 Lord. 
 
 4th. The gracious declaration God has made concerning 
 them. 
 
 1st. I have heard the application of these words to many 
 who had, in truth, small pretensions to the character; timi- 
 dity of disposition, morality, and natural meekness of spirit 
 being miscalled godly fear. Fear is either natural, slavish, 
 or filial. The first is common to animal as well as to ra- 
 tional creatures, disposing them to avoid danger or evils, 
 either real or imaginary. Slavish fear is seen in the mari- 
 ners of the ship in which Jonah was a passengei, and in 
 Felix, under Paul's preaching; also in the people brought 
 from Babylon, of whom it is said, in 2 Kings xvii, 32, " So 
 they feared the Lord, and made unto themselves, of the 
 lowest of them, priests of the high places." Filial fear is 
 distinct from both these, and is that holy habit of rever- 
 ence for God, wrought in the heart by the Holy Ghost, as 
 a spirit of adoption, by which the soul is brought to trust 
 in Him, and to have strong confidence in His faithfulness. 
 
THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS. 205 
 
 It is a grace of great activity, and is called a fountain of 
 life ; it is a pure and holy principle, and teaches men to 
 depart from iniquity and to hate evil. It is said of Christ 
 that He shall be of a " quick understanding in the fear of 
 the Lord." It may be said to be a principle that teaches 
 us respect for that which is good, from a pure love to it. 
 Its motives are of the highest order, and as the vicegerent 
 of the Holy Ghost, is the light within us. It instructs the 
 conscience, and enables it to arrive at just conclusions, and 
 such as are in harmony with the will of God as revealed 
 in His word. It may be forced, but it cannot be silenced, 
 and blessed is the man who at all times gives heed to its 
 faithful monitions. It is no flatterer, but, according to its 
 power, asserts the authority of God in the soul, and bears 
 testimony to the purity of the truth ; so that its record on 
 the heart is a testimony both to God's holiness and man's 
 corruption. It is not guided by the traditions, nor taught 
 by the precepts of men, but by the word of God. God's tes- 
 timonies are the delight of the soul that fears Him, and by 
 His grace it adheres to them. His statutes are its song 
 in the house of its pilgrimage, and when His words are 
 found they are the joy and the rejoicing of the heart. The 
 fear of the Lord, therefore, incites to good and preserves 
 from evil, and delivers from pride, arrogance, and every 
 false way. It makes its possessor tremble at God's word, 
 lest he fall into the evils and errors it condemns, and 
 teaches us to choose affliction rather than iniquity. 
 
 2d. We inquire what those who feared the Lord spoke 
 about. They were certainly not a speculative society, nor 
 one without cohesion and sympathy, otherwise their com- 
 munications would have been less frequent ; " but they 
 spake often one to another." Doubtless they spoke of 
 
206 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 themselves, and of what they once were ; this is a common 
 topic with God's people. They have a deep sense of their 
 sinfulness, and of the greatness of the divine mercy, as ex- 
 hibited in their salvation. This consciousness of the Lord's 
 unmerited favor exercises a great influence on them, and 
 they are found expressing it frequently, and in a va- 
 riety of ways, in these holy songs, as well as in their 
 friendly communings. They speak of the wondrousness 
 of that divine sovereignty that, as an act of grace, plucked 
 them as brands from the burning. Their admiration of 
 the entire plan of salvation, as devised by infinite wisdom, 
 is a constant theme with them, while they lament the nar- 
 rowness of their views, the shallowness of their thoughts, 
 conceptions, and feelings on this vast, deep, grand and glo- 
 rious subject. Thus, confession of their great ignorance 
 not unfrequently occupies their time. When walking in 
 the light and comfort of the healing beams of the Sun ol 
 Eighteousness, they delight to speak of special tokens of 
 the Lord's love, the sweetness of the promises, and the 
 blessedness their souls enjoy when His delivering power is 
 felt in the soul. But they also know and speak of the 
 watchman's cry, " The morning cometh and also the 
 night." They have their changes, that fear God, and while 
 at times they shout from the tops of the mountains, at 
 others, feeling a horror of great darkness come upon them, 
 they fear to call Him theirs. These gloomy doubts are not 
 unfrequently discussed by them, and the burden of their 
 song has been aptly expressed by Dr. Watts : — 
 
 " Oh ! could we make those doubts remove, 
 Those gloomy doubts that rise, 
 And view the Canaan that we love 
 With unbeclouded eyes." 
 
THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS. 207 
 
 And, in the words of Newton, we get another clue to the 
 thread of their discourse : — 
 
 " I often hear Thy children talk, 
 And I believe 'tis even true, 
 How with delight Thy ways they walk, 
 And gladly thy commandments do. 
 
 " I look into my heart, and read 
 Accounts so very different there, 
 That had I not Thy blood to plead, 
 The sight would drive me to despair." 
 
 But, to abbreviate these remarks, they talk of His second 
 coming without sin unto salvation ; of the gospel's glorious 
 sound reaching from pole to pole ; to that time when Egypt 
 will be the third with God, and Ethiopia spread abroad her 
 hands and worship. They sometimes talk of the consum- 
 mation of all things, the last j udgment, and the everlasting 
 happiness of all His saints. But, while they thus talk, 
 they want a present, divine assurance that the wonders 
 which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, shall be beheld by 
 them, and that, when He shall stand upon the earth in the 
 latter days, they shall see Him for themselves, and not for 
 another. 
 
 3d. Their talking to one another is pleasing to God. 
 What wondrous words must they have uttered that Deity 
 should hearken with approval ! with such approval that, 
 lest the subject matter of their converse should pass into 
 oblivion, " a book of remembrance was written " of it be- 
 fore Him ; not to refresh the memory of Omniscience, but 
 for " them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His 
 name." What is this " book of remembrance," if not the 
 Bible ? In it are recorded the sorrows and joys, the dark- 
 ness and light, the bondage and liberty, the confusion and 
 
203 COUNSELS FROM THE WORDS OF TRUTH. 
 
 peace, the condemnation and justification, the present trou- 
 bles and future felicity of His people. In it are the songs 
 of David, the sighings of Jeremiah, and the psalms of Asaph. 
 Its exordium is rendered sad by the murder of Abel, and 
 its peroration jubilant by the glorious invitation to " who- 
 soever will," to " take the water of life freely." Herein 
 are accounts of wilderness trials and Jehovah-Jireh deliv- 
 erances. Herein is the dialogue of those two who walked 
 by the way and were sad, while as yet He who joined them 
 on the road was unknown to them. This, then, is the book 
 written for them that fear the Lord, and for those who 
 think upon His name. This communion of saints is well- 
 pleasing to God, who has exhorted us " to do good and 
 communicate forget not, for with such sacrifices God is 
 well pleased." 
 
 4th and lastly. The promise God has made : " They shall 
 be mine, saith the Lord, in the day that I make up my 
 jewels, and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son 
 that serveth him." The opposite of this shall be the lot 
 of the wicked ; " reprobate silver shall men call them, be- 
 cause the Lord hath rejected them." See, then, the doc- 
 trine of our text ; our interchange of spiritual experience, 
 whether the narrative of sorrow or joy, is well-pleasing, to 
 God, while it is our comfort in the land of our affliction. 
 But the time will come when sighing and sorrowing shall 
 flee away, when we shall repose beside everlasting foun- 
 tains of living water, solaced by the fruit of the tree 
 of life, and raised to an ecstasy of delight by melodious 
 sounds borne on aromatic breezes. Then we shall be en- 
 tranced by the splendor, glory, and bliss of the beatific 
 vision of God and the Lamb, forever and ever. 
 
 W. Hunt. 
 
v^ :