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FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL 
 
MY KING 
 
 AND 
 
 HIS SERVICE 
 
 FRANCES RIDIvBY HAVERGAL 
 
 MY KING XlJ/r wf>3 K'.^^i^ 
 
 / 
 
 ROYAL COMMANDMENTS TtT^'^OJ^ yj Af 
 
 ROYAL BOUNTY / H ^"^ ^'^'^ 
 
 ROYAL INVITATION 
 
 LOYAL RESPONSES 
 KEPT FOR THE MASTER'S USE 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 HENRY ALTEMUS 
 189s 
 

 \' <b \ ; 
 
 Copyrighted 1892, 1895, by Henry Altemus. 
 
 \X~ %ViX^ 
 
 HENRY ALTEMUS, MANUFACTURER, 
 PHILADELFUIA. 
 
\ 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 
 
 OF 
 
 FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL. 
 
 A GENTLE SPIRIT, a temperament alive to 
 all innocent joys, to all the harmonies of life 
 and literature, a deep and earnest faith, a loving 
 self-surrender to the Saviour who was the object of 
 that faith — these are the qualities which make 
 Frances Ridley Havergal a character of exceptional 
 interest, not only to professing Christians, but to all 
 who recognize and revere the spirit of the Gospel 
 teachings. For having the gift of expression — a 
 simple and pellucid style through which the soul 
 poured itself 9ut in either prose or verse — the qual- 
 ities which endeared her to the friends who knew 
 her in person won her a world-wide circle of friends 
 among those who only knew her through her pub- 
 lished writings. 
 
 ^ Miss Havergal was born December 14th, 1836, 
 and died June 3d, 1879. She was the daughter of 
 Rev. William Henry Havergal, famous as a writer 
 of sacred music. The story of her life, as revealed 
 
 (iii) 
 
iv JSiograpblcal Sketcb ot 
 
 to us in the ** Memorials " edited by her sister in 
 1880 seems uneventful enough in incident. Its land- 
 marks are two heavy bereavements, and the changes 
 in outward circumstances ensuing therefrom. One 
 might think that the first of these epoch-marking 
 bereavements was the death of her mother, which 
 occurred in 1848. Yet Frances herself confesses 
 that this event "did not make at first the impres- 
 sion upon me which might have been expected." 
 We must not take her too literally, however. It is 
 undoubtedly from this period that we may roughly 
 date the kindling of that intense religious enthusi- 
 asm which burns in all her life and poetry, and 
 which remained unquenched to the last. At the 
 same time, the first poignant and crushing grief 
 that she experienced was the sudden death of her 
 father at Easter, 1870. His widow (for he had 
 married a second time) continued to live at Lea- 
 mington with the daughters; and the main support 
 of the family devolved upon Frances, who had 
 already won wide fame as a hymn-writer. In 1878 
 the death of Mrs. Havergal broke up the little 
 circle, and Frances, with her sister Maria, afterwards 
 her biographer, removed from Leamington into 
 Wales, but she outlived her beloved second mothei 
 only^a little over a year. 
 
 This life — tranquil as it seems on the surface — . 
 was disturbed in its inner depths by many conflict- 
 ing currents 'of religious feeling. "I am quite* 
 sure," she tells us in her Autobiography, -'thai 
 nothing in the way of earthly and external trials 
 could have been to me what the inner dark-«itsS'^ ancr 
 strife and utter weariness of spirit, th,o«i^h t'ii« 
 
3francc6 IRfDle^ 1ba\?eraaL v 
 
 • 
 
 greater part of these years, have been. Many have 
 thought mine a comparatively thornless path ; but 
 often when the path was smoothest, there were hid- 
 den thorns within, and wounds bleeding and ranl^ • 
 ling." Evidently she had, in a less morbid degree, 
 that extreme sensitiveness of conscience which 
 drove Cowper mad. Through a life of the utmost 
 purity and even sanctity, a life devoted to good 
 wQiks, to philanthropical endeavors of all sorts, she 
 was disturbed by the sense of continual back-slid- 
 ings. *'l remember," she tells us again, '*1 
 remember longing to be able to say 'O God, my 
 heart is fixed ' in bitter mourning over its weakness 
 and wavering." 
 
 It is pleasant to know that these dark shadows 
 were eventually lifted. In her maturer years the 
 early disquiet was succeeded by a calm trust and 
 confidence, thus faithfully mirrored in the prelude 
 to ''Under His Shadow." 
 
 So now, I pray Thee, keep my hand in Thine 
 And guide it as Thou wilt. I do not ask 
 
 To understand the "wherefore " of each line ; 
 Mine is the sweeter, easier, happier task 
 
 Just to look up to Thee for every word, 
 
 Rest in thy love and trust and know that I am heard. 
 
 Miss Havergal's verses were collected and reissued 
 in two volumes in 1884. But hitherto her prose 
 writings have been strangely neglected by publishers. 
 
 In these prose writings, even more than in her 
 poems. Miss Havergal has shown us her best and 
 truest self. Simple and direct as they are in method, 
 they go straight from the heart to the heart. The 
 author's tenderness, reverence and humility, her 
 
^ :6iO0rapbfcal Sftetcb* 
 
 • 
 ardent love for her Lord and for her neighbor are 
 all reflected in her prose. Independently of their 
 religious value, these writings have a distinct liter- 
 ary interest as revealing the inner workings of a 
 unique and winning personality. It is no wonder 
 that in this country alone they have sold to the ex- 
 tent of some half a million copies. 
 
 It may be added that the little volume of Poems 
 entitled ''Loyal Responses" has been included among 
 the prose works because it was expressly prepared 
 as part of the ''royal" series of which "My 
 King" was the initial volume. As the earlier 
 books called attention to the utterances from the 
 Throne, so the later one embodies the responses of 
 its loyal subjects, and forms an integral portion of 
 t"he scheme. 
 
 Kept for the Master's Use — the last and crowning 
 work of Miss Havergal's devout mind — is added to 
 this volume, completing one of the most remark- 
 able collections of religious thought in existence. 
 Her sister, in speaking of this work, says : 
 
 " My beloved sister Frances finished revising the 
 proofs of this book shortly before her death on Whit 
 Tuesday, June 3, 1879, ^^^^ ^^^ publication was to 
 be deferred till the Autumn. 
 
 "In appreciation of the deep and general sympathy 
 flowing in to her relatives, they wish that its publi- 
 cation should not be withheld. Knowing her in- 
 tense desire that Christ should be magnified, 
 whether by her life or in her death, may it be to 
 His glory that in these pages she, being dead, 
 
 * Yet speaketh ! * " 
 
PART I. 
 
MY KING 
 
 OR 
 
 DAIIvY TMOUQHTS 
 
 FOB. 
 
 ^be lkinG'0 Cbil&ren 
 
FIRST DAY. 
 
 tlbe Source of tbe Ikingsbip. 
 
 * Because the Lord hath loved His people, He hath made 
 thee king over them.' — 2 Chron. ii. II, ix. 8. 
 
 CHRIST said to His Father, * Thou lovedst me 
 before the foundation of the world. '^ At that 
 mysterious date, not of time, but of everlasting 
 love, God ^ chose us in Him.'^ Before the world 
 began, God, that cannot lie,' gave the promise of 
 eternal life to Him for us, and made with Him 
 for us 'a covenant ordered in all things, and sure.'* 
 The leading provisions of that covenant were, a 
 Lamb for our atonement, and a King for our 
 government — a dying and a living Saviour. This 
 God the Father did for us, and His own divine 
 interest is strongly indicated in the typical words, 
 * God will provide Himself 2. Lamb,'^and'I have 
 provided me a King.'® So the Source of the 
 Kingship of Christ is God Himself, in the eternal 
 counsels of His love. It is one of the grand 
 'thoughts of God." 
 
 1 John xvii. 24. 2 Eph. i. 4. 3 Titus i. 2. 
 
 4 2 Sam. xxiii. 5. 6 Gen. xxii. 8. * i Sam. xvi. i. 
 
 ' Ps. cxxxix. 17, 
 
6 ^^ tiim* 
 
 Having provided, He appointed and anointed 
 His King: * Yet have I set (margin, anointed) my 
 King upon my holy hill of Zion.'^ What a marvel- 
 lous meeting-place is thus found in the Kingship of 
 Jesus for God's heart and ours ! He says in His 
 majestic sovereignty, * I have set my King ; ' and 
 we say in lowly and loving loyalty, * Thou art my 
 King.' 2 
 
 God has appointed His King * to be ruler over 
 Israel an^ over Judah.' Thus He gives His 
 children a great bond of union. For 'one King 
 shall be King to them all,' ^ and He shall 'gather 
 together in one the children of God which were 
 scattered abroad.'* 'Satan scatters, but Jesus 
 gathers.' Shall we then let the enemy have his 
 way, and induce us to keep apart and aloof from 
 those over whom our beloved King reigns also? 
 Let us try this day to recollect this, and make it 
 practical in all our contact with His other subjects. 
 
 JV/ty has God made Jesus King ? Who would 
 have guessed the right answer ? ^Because the Lord 
 loved His people.' So the very thought of the 
 Kingship of Christ sprang from the everlasting 
 love of God to His people.^ Bring that wonderful 
 statement down to personal reality, — ' His people/ 
 that is, you and me. God made Jesus King over 
 you, because He loved you, and that with nothing 
 less than the love wherewith He loved Him.* 
 Which is the more wonderful — the love that devised 
 such a gift, or the gift that was devised by such 
 love ! Oh, to realize the glorious value of it I 
 
 1 Ps. ii. 6. 2 Ps. xliv. 4. 3 Ezek. xxxvii. 22. 
 
 ^ John xi. 52. 6 Jer. xxxi. 3. * John xvii. 26. 
 
Zbc promise ot tbc Iking. 7 
 
 May we, who by His grace know something of 
 God's gift of His Son as our Saviour, learn day by 
 day more of the magnificent preciousness of His 
 gift of His Anointed One as our King ! 
 
 SECOND DAY. 
 
 ^be promlee of tbe Iking* 
 
 * I will be thy King.' — Hos. xiii. lo. 
 
 HE knows our need of a king. He knows the 
 hopeless anarchy, not only of a world, but of 
 A heart, 'without a king.'^ Is there a more deso- 
 late cry than * We have no king ' ? ^ — none to 
 reverence and love, none to obey, none to guide 
 and protect us and rule over us, none to keep us in 
 that truest freedom of whole-hearted loyalty. Have 
 we not felt that we really want a strong hand over 
 our hearts? that having our own way is not so 
 good as another's way, if only that other is one to 
 whom our hearty and entire confidence and allegi- 
 ance can be and are given ? Has there not been an 
 echo in our souls of the old cry, 'Give me a king' ? — 
 a cry that nothing can still but this Divine promise, 
 '/will be thy king ! '^ 
 
 But the promise has been given ; and now, if the 
 
 1 Hos, iii. 4. 2 Hos. x. 3. 3 Hos. xiii. 10. 
 
8 /Iibi2 Ikfng, 
 
 old desolate wail of a kingless heart comes up in an 
 hour of faithless forgetfulness, His word comes like' 
 a royal clarion, ' Now, why dost thou cry out aloud? 
 Is there no king in thee?'^ And then the King's 
 gracious assurance falls with hushing power, ' I will 
 be thy King.' 
 
 How glad we are that He Himself is our King! 
 For we are so sure that He is able even to subdue 
 all things unto Himself ^ in this inner kingdom, 
 which we cannot govern at all. We are so glad to 
 take Him at His word, and give up the government 
 into His hands, asking Him to be our King in very 
 deed, and to set up His throne of peace in the long 
 disturbed and divided citadel,^ praying that He 
 would bring every thought into captivity to His 
 gentle obedience. * 
 
 We have had enough of revolutions and revolts, 
 of tyrants and traitors, of lawlessness and of self- 
 framed codes. Other lords (and oh, how many !) 
 have had dominion over us. ^ He has permitted us 
 to be their servants, that now, by blessed and restful 
 contrast, we may know His service. ® Now we only 
 want 'another King, one Jesus. ' ^ He has made 
 us willing in the day of His power, ® and that was 
 the first act of His reign, and the token that *of 
 the increase of His government and peace there 
 shall be no end '* in our hearts. 
 
 Lord, be Thou my King this day ! Reign more 
 absolutely in me than ever before. Let the increase 
 
 1 Mic. iv. 9. 2 Phil.iii. 21, 3 Rom. vii. 19. 
 
 ■* 2 Cor. X. 5. 5 Isa. xxvi. 13. ^ 2 Chron. xii. 8 
 
 7 Acts xvii. 7. 8 Ps. ex. 3. * Isa. ix. 7. 
 
Bllecfance to tbe Iking. 9 
 
 of Thy government be continual and mighty in me, 
 so that Thy name may be glorified in me now and 
 forever.^ 
 
 Reign over me, Lord Jesus ! 
 
 Oh, make my heart Thy throne ! 
 It shall be thine forever, 
 
 It shall be Thine alone ! 
 
 THIRD DAY. 
 
 Hllegiance to tbe MrxQ. 
 
 * Thou art my King.' — Ps. xliv. 4. 
 
 FIRST, can I say it ? 
 Is Jesus in very deed and truth * my King ' ? 
 Where is the proof of it ? Am I living in His king- 
 dom of * righteousness and peace and joy in the 
 Holy Ghost ' now?* Am I speaking the language 
 of that kingdom ? Am I following * the customs 
 of the people ' ^ which are not His people ? or do I 
 'diligently learn the ways of His people ' ?* Am I 
 practically living under the rule of His laws? Have 
 I done heart homage to Him ? Am I bravely and 
 honestly upholding His cause, because it is His, not 
 merely because those around me do so ? Is my 
 allegiance making any practical difference to my 
 life to-day ? 
 
 Next, ougk^ I to say it ? 
 
 1 2 Thees, i. 12, 2 Rom. xiv. 17. 3 Jer. x. •?. * Jer. xii. 16. 
 
lo iiB^ Mm* 
 
 What ! any question about that ? The King, 
 who came Himself to purchase me from my tyrant 
 and His foe ; ^ the King, who laid aside His crown 
 and His royal robes, and left His kingly palace, and 
 came down Himself to save a rebel ; ^ the King, 
 who, though He was rich, yet for my sake became 
 poor, that I * through His poverty might be rich,' ^ — 
 ^mgkt I to acknowledge Him ? is it a question of 
 * oiigk^ I ? ' God has ' called me unto His Kingdom 
 and glory ; ' * He ' hath translated me into the king- 
 dom of the Son of His love ; ' ^ and shall the loyal 
 words falter or fail from my lips, *Thou art my 
 King ' ? 
 
 Lastly, do I say it ? 
 
 God has said to me, ' He ts thy Lord, and wor- 
 ship thou Him. ' ^ Do my lips say, ' My Lord and 
 My God ' ? ^ Does my life say, ' Christ Jesus, my 
 Lord, ' ^ — definitely and personally, ' 7?iy Lord ' ? 
 Can I share m His last sweet commendation to His 
 disciples, the more precious because of its divine 
 dignity, * Ye call me Master and Lord, and ye say 
 well, for so I am ' ? ^ Have I said, * Thou art my 
 King ' ^° to Jesus Himself, from the depth of my own 
 heart, in unreserved and unfeigned submission to 
 His sceptre? Am I ashamed or afraid to confess 
 my allegiance in plain English among His friends 
 or before His foes ? " Is the seal upon my brow so 
 unmistakable that always and everywhere I am 
 known to be His subject? Is ^ Thou art my King ' ^^ 
 
 1 Acts XX. 28. " Phil. ii. 7. ^ a Cor. viii. 9. 
 
 4 I Thess. ii. 12. 5 Q,o\, 1. 13. 6 Ps. xlv. 11. 
 
 7 John XX. 28. 8 Phil. iii. S. 9 John xiii. 13. 
 
 10 Ps. Ixxxi. 15, margin, n Matt. x. 32, 12 Acts iv. 13. 
 
Decision tor tbc Mwq. " 
 
 blazoned, as it ought to be, in shining letters on the 
 whole scroll of my life, so that it may be ' known 
 and read of all men ' ? ^ 
 
 Answer Thou for me, O my King ! * Search me 
 and try me,' ^ and show me the true state of my case, 
 and then for Thine own sake pardon all my past dis- 
 loyalty, and make me by Thy mighty grace from this 
 moment totally loyal ! For * Thou ar^ my King.' ^ 
 
 FOURTH DAY. 
 
 2)eci6ion for tbe Iking* 
 
 * Ye sought for David in times past to be king over you. 
 Now, then, do it.' — 2 Sam. iii. 17, 18. 
 
 *TN time past, when Saul was king over us, thou 
 A wast he that leddest out and broughtest in 
 Israel.'* Chosen, anointed, given by God, con- 
 tinually leading and caring for us, yet not accepted, 
 not crowned, not enthroned by us ; ^ our real allegi- 
 ance, our actual service, given to another ! ® Self has 
 been our Saul, our central tyranny ; and many have 
 been its officers domineering in every department.'' 
 ' Ye sought for David in times past to be king 
 over you.' Well we might, for the bondage of any 
 other lord was daily, harder.^ Well we might, 
 
 1 2 Cor. iii. 2. 2 Ps. xxxviii. 15, P. B. V. ; ib. cxxxix. 23. 
 
 3 Ps. XXV. II, 4 Sam. v. 2. & Ps. Ixxxix. 19, 20 ; Isa. Iv. 4. 
 
 6 Rom. vi. 16. ? Rom. vii. 23. 8 isa, xiv. 3. 
 
12 
 
 £b>3 TRlng. 
 
 with even a dim glimpse of the grace and glory of 
 the King who waited for our homage. We sought, 
 first, only for something — we hardly knew what — 
 restlessly and vaguely; then for some One, who 
 was not merely 'the Desire of all nations,' but our 
 own desire.^ And yet we did not come to the 
 point : we were not ready for His absolute monarchy, 
 for we were loving and doing the will of our old 
 tyrant.^ 
 
 But * the time past of our life may suffice us to 
 have wrought the will ' of self — Satan — the world.^ 
 We do not want ' to live the rest of our time ' to 
 any but One Will.* We come face to face with a 
 great NOW ! ' Now, then, do it ! '^ ' Now, then,' 
 let us, with full purpose of heart, dethrone the 
 usurper and give the diadem to Him ' whose right 
 it is,' a blood-bought and death-sealed right. ^ 
 
 He does not force allegiance, — He waits for it. 
 The crown of our own individual love and loyalty 
 must be offered by our own hands. ^ We must ' do 
 it.' When ? Oh, now ! JVow let us come to Jesus 
 as our King. JVow let us, first in solemn heart- 
 surrender, and then in open and unmistakable life- 
 confession, yield ourselves to Him as our Sovereign, 
 our Ruler. 
 
 What a glorious life of victory and peace opens 
 before us when this is done ! What a silencing of 
 our fears lest the time to come should nevertheless 
 be as the time past ! * Now, then, do it : for the 
 Lord hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of 
 
 1 Hag. ii. 7. 2 I Kings xviii. 21 ^ 1 Pet. iv. 3. 
 
 4 I Pet. iv. 2. 62 Sam. iii. 18- 6 Ezek, xxi. 26, 37. 
 
 7 2 Sam. V. 3. 
 
XLbc 3fir0t to /IRcet tbe Iking* 13 
 
 my servant David I will save my people Israel 
 out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the 
 hand of all their enemies.'^ 
 
 Now, do not let us ' take away from the words '^ 
 of this promise, and merely hope that our King 
 may save us from som£ of our enemies. The Lord 
 hath said, 'wi7/ save from «//.' Let us trust our 
 true David this day to fulfil the word of the Lord, 
 aiid verily we shall not fail to find that according to 
 our faith it shall be unto us.^ 
 
 FIFTH DAY. 
 
 ^be fivBt to fIDeet tbe Iking* 
 
 * For thy servant doth know that I have sinned ; therefore, 
 behold, I am come the first this day of all the house of Joseph 
 to meet my lord the king.' — 2 Sam. xix. 20. 
 
 YES,. I have sinned. I know that I have sinned,. 
 Whether I feel it more or less does not touch 
 the fact : I know it. And what then ? ' Therefore, 
 behold, I am come the first this day of all . . . 
 to meet my Lord the King.' 
 
 Just because I know that I have sinned, I come to 
 Jesus. He came to call sinners,^ He came to save 
 sinners,^ so He came to call and to save me. ' This 
 is all my desire." 
 
 1 2 Sam. iii. 18. 2 Rev. xxii. 19. ^ Matt. ix. 29. 
 
 •* Matt. ix. 13. 5 I Tim. i. 15. 6 2 Sam. xxiii. 5. 
 
 2 
 
14 /IR13 Iking* 
 
 Just because I know that / have sinned, I may 
 and must come 'the first of all.' Thousands are 
 coming, but the heart knoweth his own bitterness.^ 
 So, not waiting for others, not coming in order, but 
 'first of all,' by the pressure of my sore need of 
 pardon, I come. There is no waiting for one's turn 
 in coming to Jesus. 
 
 'The first of all,' because it is against '?/zylord 
 the King ' that I have sinned. I am His servant, so 
 I have the greater sin.^ ' The first of all, because 
 I have so much to be forgiven, and have already 
 been forgiven so much, that I must, I do, love 
 much j^ and love, even of a sorrowing sinner, seeks 
 nearness, and cannot rest in distance.* 
 
 'Therefore,' also, 'I am come this day.^ I dare 
 not and could not wait till to-morrow. No need to 
 wait, even till to-night ! Now ! He is passing by,'^ 
 and I must ' haste to meet ' Him.® ' While he is 
 near,' '^ I will tell Him all. 
 
 I am come to meet Him, not merely to go to 
 Him f for He is always coming to meet us. He 
 was on His way before I had said, ' I will arise and 
 go.'^ I come, because He comes to me. 
 
 Yet I could not come with this terrible knowl- 
 edge that I have sinned, but that I know something 
 more. I know that He hath said, ' Come unto mef^** 
 I know that He hath said, ' Him that cometh I will 
 in no wise cast out. ' " This is enough ; therefore I 
 am come to my Lord the King. 
 
 Not to His servants, but to Himself. Even those 
 
 1 Prov. xiv. lo. 2 Ps. cxvi. i6. 3 Luke vii, 47. 
 
 ■* Col. ii. 13. 6 Matt. XX. 30. ^ 2 Sam. xix. 16. 
 
 7 Isa. Iv. 6. 8 Zech. ix. 9. 9 Luke xv. 18. 
 
 10 Matt. xi. 28. 11 John vi. 37. 
 
Condescension ot tbe lining. 15 
 
 who stand near Him may accuse and condemn, but 
 the King Himself will receive me graciously ; ^ for 
 with Him there is forgiveness, and mercy, and 
 plenteous redemption.^ 
 
 And though the oath of an earthly sovereign may 
 be broken, my King (in glorious contrast to the 
 imperfect human type) ^keepeth His promise 
 for ever." His covenant will He not break, nor 
 aUer the thing that is gone out of His lips.* There- 
 fore the eternal life which He hath promised me is 
 secured to me forever, for He hath said," * I give 
 unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, 
 neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.'^ 
 
 SIXTH DAY. 
 
 Zbe Conbescension of tbe Iking. 
 
 * Behold, thy King cometh unto thee.' — ZecS:. ix. 9. 
 
 THAT our King should let us come to Him is 
 condescension indeed. But have we praised 
 Him for His still more wonderful condescension : 
 * Thy King cometh unto thee'V ^ Unto thee,'' rebel, 
 traitor, faithless subject, coward and cold-hearted 
 follower ; for where is the life that has not fallen 
 
 1 Hos. xiv. 2. 2 Ps. cxxx. 4, 7. 3 Ps. cxlvi. 5. (p. b. v.) 
 
 4 Ps, Ixxxix. 34. 6 I John ii. 25. 6 John x, 28. 
 
 7 Isa. xlviii. 8. 
 
i6 fS^yQ Iking. 
 
 under these charges, when seen in the double light 
 of the King's perfect law and the King's great 
 love ? Yes, he cometh unto f/ie^, and it is enough 
 to break our hearts when we get one contrasted 
 glimpse of this undeserved grace and unparalleled 
 condescension. 
 
 His great promise has had its first fulfilment 
 ^unto thee.' It is a finished fact of sevenfold 
 grace. Thy King has come, and His own voice 
 has given the objects of His coming, — * to do Thy 
 will, O God ;^ * to fulfil ' the law ; ^ ' to call sinners 
 to repentance ;'^ ' to seek and to save that which 
 was lost ;'* * that they might have life, and that 
 they might have it more abundantly ;'^ ' a light 
 into the world, that whosoever believeth on me 
 should not abide in darkness. ' ^ What He came to 
 do He has done, for 'He faileth not.'^ On this 
 we may and ought to rest quietly and undoubt- 
 ingly, for ' the Lord hath ^^one it.' ^ 
 
 But you want a further fulfilment, — you want a 
 present coming of your King. You have His most 
 sweet word, 'I will come to you;'^ and you 
 respond, 'Oh, wh^^n wilt Thou come unto me? ' ^® 
 Are you ready to receive the King's own answer 
 now? Do you so desire His coming, that you 
 do not want it postponed at all ? Can you 
 defer all other comers, and say in reality, ' Let my 
 Beloved come ' ?^^ 
 
 He has but one answer to that appeal. Hush ! 
 
 1 Heb. X. 9. 2 Matt. v. 17. s Matt. ix. 13. 
 
 * Luke xix. 10. 5 John x. 10. ^ John xii. 46. 
 
 7 Zeph. iii. 5. 8 Jsa. xliv. 2-^. 9 John xiv. 18. 
 
 10 Ps. ci. 2. 11 Cant. iv. 16. 
 
Condescension ot tbe tiing, 17 
 
 listen ! believe ! for the King speaks to you : ' I 
 am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse.' ^ 
 He is come. Do not miss the unspeakable blessing 
 and joy of meeting Him and resting in His presence, 
 by hurrying away to anything else, by listening to 
 any outward call.^ Stay now, lay the little book 
 aside, kneel down at your King's feet, doubt not 
 His word, which is *more sure' than even the 
 'excellent glory '^ that apostles beheld, and thank 
 Him for coming to you. Commune with Him now 
 of all that is in your heart,^ and ' rejoice greatly/ 
 for, * behold, thy King cometh unto thee. ' 
 
 ' Jesus comes to hearts rejoicing, 
 Bringing news of sin forgiven ; 
 Jesus comes in sounds of gladness, 
 Leading souls redeemed to heaven. 
 
 * Jesus comes again in mercy, 
 
 When our hearts are bowed with care ; 
 Jesus comes again, in answer 
 To an earnest, heartfelt prayer.' 
 
 Godfrey Thring. 
 
 1 Cant. V. I. 2 Cant. ii. 3. 
 
 8 * Pet. i. 19. * 1 Kings x. 2. 
 
i8 jUb^ fJing. 
 
 SEVENTH DAY. 
 
 tibe lln&voellinQ of tbe Iking* 
 
 * Is not her King in her? ' — ^Jer. viii. 19. 
 
 WAITING for a royal coming, — What expec- 
 tation, what preparation, what tension ! A 
 glimpse for many, a full view for some, a word for 
 a favoured few, and the pageant is over like a dream. 
 The Sovereign may come, but does not stay. 
 
 Our King comes not thus : He comes not to pass, 
 but to ' dwell r^ the midst of thee; '^ not only in 
 His Church collectively, but in each believer in- 
 dividually.^ We pray, 'Abide with us,'^ and He 
 answers in the sublime plural of Godhead, ' We 
 will come unto him, and make our abode with 
 him.'* Even this grand abiding with us does not 
 extend to the full marvels of His condescension and 
 His nearness, for the next time He speaks of it He 
 changes the 'with' to 'in,' and thenceforth only 
 speaks of ' I in you,' ' I in him,' ' I in them.'^ 
 
 Now do not let us say, ' How can this be ?'^ butj 
 like Mary, 'How shall this be?'^ The means, 
 
 1 Zech. ii. lo. 2 2 Cor. vi. 16. 3 Luke xxiv. 29, 
 
 4 John xiv. 23. 5 John xv. 4, 5; ib. xvii. 23. 
 
 s John iii, 9. 7 Luke i. 34. 
 
•ffn&welUng ot tbe Mns. 19 
 
 though not the mode, of the mystery is revealed 
 for our grasp of adoring wonder : ' That Christ may 
 dwell in your heart by faith. '^ It is almost too 
 wonderful to dare to speak of. Christ Himself, my 
 King, coming to me, into me ! abiding, dwelling in 
 my very heart ! Really staying there all day, all 
 night, wherever I am, whatever I am doing ; here in 
 my poor unworthy heart at this very moment ! 
 A^d this only because the grace that flowed from 
 His own love has broken the bars of doubt, and 
 because He has given the faith that wanted Him 
 and welcomed Him. Let us pause a little to take 
 it in ! 
 
 The more we have known of the plague of our 
 own heart, ^ the more inconceivably wonderful this 
 indwelling of Christ will appear, — much more 
 wonderful than that He chose a manger as His 
 royal resting-place,^ for that had never been defiled 
 by sin, and had never harboured His enemy. It is 
 no use trying to comprehend this incomprehensible 
 grace of our King, — we have only to believe His 
 promise, saying, 'Amen ; the Lord God of my Lord 
 the King says so too.'^ 
 
 There should be three practical results of this 
 belief: — i. Holiness. We must see to it that we 
 resolutely ' put away '^ all that ought not to be in 
 His royal abode.® ' Having, therefore, these prom- 
 ises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from 
 all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting 
 holiness in the fear of God." 2. Confidence. 
 
 1 Eph. iii. 17. 2 I Kings viii. 38. 3 Luke ii. 7. 
 
 4 I Kings i. 36. 5 Eph. iv. 31. 6 i Cor. iii. 16, 17. 
 
 '2 Cor. vii. I. 
 
20 - uxs^ IRing. 
 
 What does the citadel fear when an invincible gen- 
 eral is within it ? * The Lord thy God in the midst 
 of thee is mighty ; He will save.'^ He is ' the wall 
 of fire round about,' and * the glory in the midst of 
 her;'^ and 'he that toucheth you toucheth the 
 apple of His eye.'^ 3. /oy. Yes ! ' Be glad and 
 rejoice with all the heart, '^ 'sing and rejoice, O 
 daughter of Zion ; for, lo, I come, and I will dwell 
 in the midst of thee, saith the Lord.'^ 
 
 EIGHTH DAY. 
 
 ffull Satl6faction In tbe Iking^ 
 
 ' Yea, let him take all, for as much as my lord the king is 
 come again in peace to his own house.' — 2 Sam. xix. 30. 
 
 IT is when the King has really come in peace to 
 His own home in the * contrite and humble 
 spirit '® (not before), — when He has entered in to 
 make His abode there^ (not before), — that the soul 
 is satisfied with Him^ alone, and is ready to let any 
 Ziba take all else, because all else really seems 
 nothing at all in comparison to the conscious posses- 
 sion of the Treasure of treasures.® 
 
 Sometimes this is reached at once, in the first flush 
 of wondering joy at finding the King really 'come 
 in peace "** to the empty soul which wanted to be 
 
 1 Zeph. iii. 17. 2 Zech. ii. 5. 3 Zech. ii. 8. 
 
 4 Zeph. iii. 14. 5 Zech. ii. 10. ^ Isa. Ivii. 15. 
 
 ^ John xiv. 23. 8 Ps. xxii. 26. ^ Matt. xiii. 46. 
 ^•^ Isa. xxxiii. 6. 
 
Satl6factfon in the Iking ♦ 21 
 
 ' His own house. '^ Sometimes very gradually, — as 
 year after year we realize His indwelling more and 
 more, and find again and again that He is quite 
 enough to satisfy us in all circumstances ; that the 
 empty corners of the ' house ' are filled one after 
 another ; that the old longings have somehow gone 
 away, and the old ambitions vanished ; that the old 
 tastes and interests in the things of the world are 
 superseded by stronger tastes and interests in the 
 things of Christ; that He is day by day more 
 really filling our lives,^ — we ' count ' (because we 
 really find) one thing after another *but loss for the 
 excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my 
 Lord,'^ till He leads us on to the rapturous joy of 
 the *Yea, doubtless,' and ^«// things! ' 
 
 Now, have we got as far as saying ' some things, ' 
 without being quite sure about ' all things ' ? • Do 
 you see that it all hinges upon Jesus coming into 
 the heart as 'His own house,' — altogether 'His 
 own ' ?^ For if there are some rooms of which we 
 do not give up the key, — some little sitting-room 
 which we would like td keep as a little mental 
 retreat, with a view from the window, which we do 
 not quite want to give up, — some lodger whom we 
 would rather not send away just yet, — some little 
 dark closet which we have not resolution to open 
 and set to rights, — of course the King has not full 
 possession ; it is not all and really ' His own j ' and 
 
 1 Heb. iii. 6. 2 Eph. i. 23. 
 
 ' Phil. iii. 8. ^ Acts xxvi. 29. 
 
22 ^12 Iking. 
 
 the very misgiving about it proves that He has 
 therefore not yet 'come again in peace.' It is no 
 use expecting 'perfect peace, '^ while He has a secret 
 controversy^ with us about any withholding of 
 what is 'His own '^ by purchase. Only throw open 
 «// the doors/ *and the King of Glory shall come 
 in,'^ and then there will be no craving for other 
 guests. He will ' fill this house with glory,'* and 
 there will be no place left for gloom. 
 
 Is it not so? Bear witness, tell it out, you with 
 whom the King dwells in peace ? Life is filled with 
 bright interests, time is filled with happy work or 
 peaceful waiting, the mind is filled with His beauti- 
 ful words and thoughts, the heart is filled with His 
 presence, and you 'abide satisfied*^ with Him! 
 Yes, ' tell it out ! ' 
 
 The human heart asks love ; but now I know 
 That my heart hath from Thee 
 
 All real, and full, and marvellous affection, 
 
 So near, so human ! yet Divine perfection 
 
 Thrills gloriously the mighty glovsr ! 
 Thy love is enough for me ! 
 
 There were strange soul-depths, restless, vast and broad, 
 
 Unfathomed as the sea; 
 An infinite craving for some infinite stilling; 
 Eut now Thy perfect love is perfect filling ! 
 Lord Jesus Christ, my Lord, my God, 
 
 Thou, Thou art enough for me. 
 
 1 Isa. xxvi. 3. 2 Mic. vi. 2. 3 Acts v. 2. 
 
 4 Rev. lii 20. 5 Ps. xxiv. 9. ^ Hag. ii. 7. 
 
 7 Prov. xix. 23. 
 
Ube Sorrow of tbe Iking* 23 
 
 NINTH DAY. 
 
 ^ ^be Sorrow of tbe Mwq. 
 
 *The king himself also passed over the brook Kidron. '^— 
 2 Sam. XV. 23. 
 
 *TESUS went forth with His disciples over the 
 J brook Cedron. '^ How precisely the Old Testa- 
 ment shadow corresponds with the New Testament 
 fulfilment ! The King, in sorrow and humiliation, is 
 here brought before us, passing from his royal home, 
 from all his glory and gladness, — passing over into 
 exile and unknown distresses.^ 
 
 There is no need for imagination in dwelling on 
 His sorrows. The pathos of the plain words 
 is more than enough ; no pen has power to 
 add to it. Let us listen to them just as they stand, 
 — not hurrying over them because they are only 
 texts, and we know them all beforehand ; they are 
 the Holy Ghost's sevenfold testimony to the sorrow 
 of the King. 
 
 ' A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief,'* 
 ' I am poor and sorrowful.'^ ' The sorrows of death 
 
 1 Kidron means ' obscurity '; Cedron is * black ' or ' sad.' 
 
 2 John xviii. i. 83 Sam. xviii. 20. 
 4 Isa. liii. 3. 5 Ps. Ixix. 29. 
 
"24 /IB12 l^ina. 
 
 compassed me.' * The sorrows of hell compassed 
 me.'^ ' Behold and see if there be any sorrow like 
 unto my sorrow.'^ * He began to be sorrowful and 
 very heavy. '^ 'My soul is exceeding sorrowful, 
 even unto death.'* Oh, stay a little that you may 
 take it in ! hear Jesus saying to you, * Hear, I pray 
 you, and behold my sorrow? '^ 
 
 ' Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our 
 sorrows.'^ The sorrows of the past, the very sorrow 
 that may be pressing heavily at this moment; all 
 yours, all mine; all the sorrows of all His children 
 all through the groaning generations ; all that were 
 
 * too heavy ''' for them, — Jesus bore them all. * Is 
 it nothing to you?'^ It is when the Lord says, 
 
 * Now will I gather them ' ( the rebels and wander- 
 ers), that He adds, * And they shall sorrow a little for 
 the burden of the King of princes.'^ Have we this 
 proof that He has indeed gathered us? For 'a// the 
 people,' except the rebels, 'passed over with the 
 king.'^" Do we know anything of this passage over 
 Cedron, the brook of sadness, with Him? Possibly 
 it seems presumptuous to think of sharing 'the 
 fellowship of His sufferings, '^^ that mysterious privi- 
 lege ! But mark, it was not only the mighty Ittai 
 and 'all his men,' the nobles and the veterans, that 
 passed over, but ' all the little ones that were with 
 him '^Hoo. And so 'the little ones, the weak 
 ones,'^^ the least member of His body, may thus 
 
 1 Ps. xviii. 4, 5. 2 Lam. i. 12. 3 Matt. xxvi. 37. 
 
 4 Matt. xxvi. 38. 5 Lam. i. iS. ^ Isa. liii. 4. 
 
 7 Ps. xxxviii. 4. 8 Lam. i, 12. 9 Hos. viii. 10. . 
 
 ^f' 2 Sam. XV. 23. 11 Phil. iii. lo. ^- 2 Sam. xv. 22, 
 
 13 
 
 I Cor. xii. 26, 27, 
 
OoiwQ 3fortb witb tbe Iking. -^u 
 
 'continue with '^ Jesus; and nothing brings one 
 closer to another than a shared sorrow. 
 
 But look forward ! Because He has drunk * of 
 the brook in the way, therefore shall He lift up the 
 head."^ Already the * exceeding sorrowful '^ is ex- 
 changed for 'Thou hast made Him (the King) 
 exceeding glad;'* and when the ransomed and 
 gathered of the Lord shall return with everlasting 
 joy/ 'their King also shall pass before them.'^ 
 
 TENTH DAY. 
 
 Going ifortb witb tbe Iking* 
 
 * The king said, Wherefore wentest thou not with me ? ' — 
 2 Sam. xix. 25. 
 
 'T7C7ITH me! '^ To be with our King will be 
 V V our highest bliss for eternity ; and surely 
 it is the position of highest honour and gladness 
 now. But if we would always de with Him, we 
 must sometimes be ready to go with Him.® 
 
 ' The Son of God goes forth to war ' now-a-days. 
 Do we go with Him? His cross is 'without the 
 gate.' Do we go 'forth unto Him without the 
 camp, bearing His reproach'?® Do we really go 
 with Him every day and all day long, following 
 ' the Lamb whithersoever He goeth ' ? ^^ What 
 
 1 Luke xxii. 28. 2 Ps. ex. 7. 3 Matt. xxvi. 38. 
 
 4 Ps. xxi. 6. 6 Isa. XXXV. 10. 6 Mic. ii. 13. 
 
 7 John xvii. 24. 8 i Thess. iv. 17. 9 Heb. xiii. 12, 13. 
 
26 ^^ Ikfng, 
 
 about this week — this day ? Have we loyally gone 
 with our King wherever His banner, His footsteps, 
 go before ? ^ 
 
 If the voice of our King is heard in our hearts, 
 ' Wherefore wentest thou not with me ? ' — thou who 
 hast eaten ' continually at the King's table,' ^ — thou 
 who hast had a place among '■ the King's sons,' ^ — 
 thou unto whom the King has shown * the kindness 
 of God,'* we have no * because ' to offer. He 
 would have healed the spiritual lameness that 
 hindered,^ and we might have run after Him. 
 We are without excuse. 
 
 It is only now that we can go with Jesus into con- 
 flict, suffering, loneliness, weariness. It is only 
 now that we can come to the help of the Lord 
 against the mighty* in this great battlefield. Shall 
 we shrink from opportunities which are not given 
 to the angels? Surely, even with Him in glory, 
 the disciples must ' remember the words of the Lord 
 Jesus, how he said ' ^ to them, * Ye are they which 
 have continued with me in my temptations,' ® with 
 a thrill of rapturous thanksgiving that such a privi- 
 lege was theirs. 
 
 There will be no more suffering with Him in 
 heaven, only reigning with Him ;' no more fighting 
 under His banner, only sitting with Him on His 
 throne.^" But to-day we may prove our loving and 
 grateful allegiance to our King in the presence of 
 His enemies, by rising up and going forth with 
 
 1 I Pet. ii. 21. 2 2 Sam. ix. 13. 3 2 Sam. ix. 11. 
 
 < 2 Sam. ix. 3. ^ 2 Sam. xix. 26. 6 Judges v. 23. 
 
 7 Acts XX. 35. 8 Luke xxii, 28. ^ 2 Tim. ii. 12. 
 10 Rev. iii. 21. 
 
^be Smiting ot tbe Hdng. 27 
 
 Him, — forth from a life of easy idleness or selfish 
 business, — forth m/o whatever form of blessed fellow- 
 ship in His work, His wars, or, it may be, of His 
 sufferings, the King Himself may choose for us.^ 
 We have heard His call, ' Come u^fo me.' To-day 
 He says, * Come wi'^/i me.' ^ 
 
 True-hearted, whole-hearted ! Faithful and loyal, 
 
 King of our lives, by Thy grace we will be ! 
 Under Thy standard exalted and royal, 
 • Strong in Thy strength we will battle for Thee. 
 
 ELEVENTH DAY. 
 
 ^be Smiting of tbe Iking. 
 
 * I will smite the king only.' — 2 Sam. xvii. 2. 
 
 IT may be that this futile threat of a wicked man 
 against the king was like the saying of Caia- 
 phas, — 'not of himself,' ^ but written for our learn- 
 ing 'more about Jesus.'* A deadly stroke was to 
 be aimed at * the king only,' for he was * worth ten 
 thousand ' of the people ; ^ if he were smitten, they 
 should escape. Do the words of David in another 
 place tell of his great Antitype's desire that it 
 should be so? ' Let Thine hand, I pray Thee, O 
 Lord my God, be on me, . . . but not on Thy 
 people. ' ® ' For the transgression of my people was 
 
 1 2 Cor. vi. I ; Phil. iii. lo. 2 Cant. iv. 8. 3 John xi. 51. 
 
 •4 Rom. XV. 4. 5 Cf. I Kings xxii. 31 ; 2 Sam. xviii. 3. 
 
 6 I Chron. xxi. 17. 
 
28 /Ks^ iking* 
 
 the stroke upon Him ' "^ {inargin) ; therefore not 
 upon us, never upon us. The lightning that strikes 
 the conductor instead of the building to which it is 
 joined, has spent its fiery force and strikes no more. 
 
 Not the hand of an impotent foe, but the sharp 
 sword of the omnipotent Lord of hosts, was lifted 
 to smite His Shepherd, — our Shepherd-king,'^ The 
 Great,^ The Chief,* The Good^ (and The Beautiful, 
 as the original implies). Think of the words, 
 * stricken, smitten of God,' ^ with their unknown 
 depths of agony, and then of Jesus, Him whom we 
 love,'^ fathoming those black depths of agony alone ! 
 ^ Jesus i smitten of GodP^ can we even j^j; the words, 
 and not feel moved as no other grief could move 
 us ? Do not let us shrink from dwelling upon it ; 
 let us rather ask the Holy Spirit, even now, to show 
 us a little of what this awful smiting really was, — 
 to show us our dear Lord Jesus Christ, in this tre- 
 mendous proving of His own and His Father's love, 
 — to whisper in our hearts as we gaze upon the 
 Crucified One, ' Behold your King ! ' ^ 
 
 ' The King only. ' For, ' by Himself He purged 
 our sins.' '^^ Certainly we had nothing to do with it 
 then ! Certainly no other man or means had any- 
 thing to do with it ! and certainly nothing and no 
 one now can touch that great fact, so far out of 
 reach of human quibbling and meddling, that 
 Jesus, '■ His own self, bare our sins in His own body 
 on the tree. ' " Is not the fact that He * with whom 
 
 1 Isa, liii. 8. 
 
 2 Zech. xiii. 7, 
 
 s Heb. xiii. 20. 
 
 4 I Pet. V. 4. 
 
 5 John X. II. 
 
 6 Isa. liii. 4. 
 
 7 I Pet. i. 8. 
 
 8 Isa. Ixiii. 3. 
 
 8 John ix. 14. 
 
 10 Heb. i. 3. 
 
 11 I Pet. ii. 24. 
 
 
IRfnsbfp of tbe Mwq. «9 
 
 we have to do,' ^ was smitten of God instead of us, 
 enough ? What else can we want to guarantee our 
 salvation ? 
 
 < The King only. ' For the sorrow of our King is 
 shared with His people; but in the smiting we 
 have no part. We can only stand ' afar off,' ^ bowed 
 and hushed in shuddering love, as the echoes of the 
 awful stripes that fell on Him float down through 
 the listening centuries, while each throb of the 
 healed heart replies, * For me ! for me ! ' ^ 
 
 * I have trodden the wine-press alone, and of the 
 people there was none with me. ' * 
 
 TWELFTH DAY. 
 
 tCbe Ikinebip of tbc Iking^ 
 
 *The king is near of kin to us.' — 2 Sam. xix. 42. 
 
 NOT only in the Prophet raised up ' from the 
 midst of thee, of thy brethren,' ^ and in the 
 High Priest, 'thy brother,'^ * taken from among 
 men,' ' do we see the kinship of Christ ; but in the 
 divinely chosen King the same wonderful link is 
 given — ' One from among thy brethren shalt thou 
 set king over thee : thou mayest not set a stranger 
 over thee, which is not thy brother.'® 
 
 1 Heb. iv. 13. 2 Matt, xxvii. 55. 3 Isa. liii. 5. 
 
 4 Isa. Ixiii. 3. 6 Deut. xviii. 15. 6 Ex. xxviii. i. 
 
 7 Heb. V. I. 8 Deut. xvii. 15. 
 
30 ^^ Iking* 
 
 How very close this brings us to our glorious 
 Lord ! And yet, when we have exhausted all that 
 is contained in the very full and dear idea of 
 'brother,' we are led beyond, to realize One who 
 * sticketh closer thsin a brother,'^ because no earthly 
 relationship can entirely shadow forth what Jesus is. 
 And whatever relationship we most value or most 
 miss, will be the very one which, whether by posses- 
 sion or loss, will show us most of Him, and yet fall 
 short of His 'reality.' For we always have to go 
 beyond the type to reach the antitype. 
 
 The King is so ' near of kin,' that we may come 
 to Him as the tribes of Israel did, and say, 'Behold, 
 we are Thy bone and Thy flesh ; ' ^ finding many a 
 sweet endorsement of the type in His word. So 
 near of kin, that He is ' in all things' ' made like 
 unto His brethren ; ' * and whatever is included 
 in the flesh and blood of which we are partakers, 
 sin only excepted, ' He also Himself likewise took 
 part of the same.'* 
 
 So ' near of kin to us,* and yet God ! Therefore 
 every good thing that we find in near human relation- 
 ships, we shall find in Jesus in the immeasurable 
 proportion of the divine to the human. Is not this 
 worth thinking out, each for ourselves? — worth 
 seeking to enter into? 
 
 But will He acknowledge the kinship ? He hath 
 said, ' Whosoever sliall do the will of my Father 
 which is in heaven, the same is my brother and 
 sister and mother.'^ ' How beautiful to be Christ's 
 little sister ! ' said a young disciple. For of course 
 
 1 Prov. xviii. 24. 2 2 Sam. v. i. 3 Heb. ii. 17. 
 
 •* Heb. ii. 14. 5 Matt. xii. 50. 
 
Ikinsblp ot tbe iking. 3*^ 
 
 He really means it. Will not this make our prayer 
 more fervent, ' Teach me to do Thy will ' ?^ 
 
 If the King is indeed near of kin to us, the ro)'^aI 
 likeness will be recognizable. Can it be said of 
 us, 'As thou art, so were they ; each one resembled 
 the children of a king ' ? * Nor let us shrink from 
 aiming at the still higher standard, 'The King's 
 daughter is all glorious wiihin.^^ 
 
 We must not dwell only on a one-sided kinship. 
 If ' He is not ashamed to call ' us ' brethren,'* shall 
 we ever be ashamed to call Him Master? If He 
 is ready to give us all that is implied or involved m 
 near kinship, should we fail to reciprocate with all 
 the love and sympathy and faithfulness which the 
 tie demands on our side? 
 
 Also, if we do realize this great privilege, let us 
 prove our loyal love to our Brother-King by ' look- 
 ing for and hasting unto the coming of the day'* 
 of His return. Let us not incur the touching 
 reproach, ' Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones 
 and my flesh : wherefore then are ye the last to 
 bring back the King?'^ 
 
 Joined to Christ in mystic union, 
 We Thy members, Thou our Head, 
 
 Sealed by deep and true communion, 
 Risen with Thee, who once were dead. 
 
 Saviour, we would humbly claim 
 
 All the power of this Thy name. 
 
 Instant sympathy to brighten 
 
 All their weakness and their woe, 
 Guiding grace their way to lighten, 
 
 Shall Thy loving members know, 
 
 1 Ps cxliii. lo. 2 Judges viii. i8. 3 Ps. ^Iv. 13. 
 « Heb. n. 11, 5 , Ppt \\\ tR r _ c . •■' 
 
 5 2 Pet. iii. 18. 6 2 Sam. xix'. 12. 
 
32 iflR^ fiiinQ, 
 
 All their sorrows Thou dost bear, 
 All Thy gladness they shall share. 
 
 Everlasting life Thou givest, 
 
 Everlasting love to see ; 
 They shall live because Thou livest, 
 
 And their life is hid with Thee. 
 Safe Thy members shall be found, 
 When their glorious Head is crowned! 
 
 THIRTEENTH DAY. 
 
 ^be 2)e6ire of tbe Iking, 
 
 * So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty.' — Pa xlv, xi. 
 
 CAN this be for us ? What beauty have we that 
 the King can desire? For the more we have 
 seen of His beauty/ the more we have seen of our 
 own utter ugliness. What, then, can He see ? 
 'My comeliness which I had put upon thee.'^ 
 ' The beauty of the Lord our God upon us. '^ For 
 'He will beautify the meek with salvation.'* And 
 so the desire of the King is set upon us. 
 
 Perhaps we have had the dreary idea, • Nobody 
 wants me ! ' We never need grope in that gloom 
 again, when the King Himself desires us ! This 
 desire is love active, love in glow, love going forth, 
 love delighting and longing. It is the strongest 
 
 1 Isa. vi. 5, 2 Ezek. xvi. 14. 3 Ps. xc. 17. 4 Ps. cxlix. 4. 
 
Besfre of tbe IRfng* 33 
 
 representation of the love of Jesus, — something far 
 beyond the love of pity or compassion ; it is taking 
 pleasure in His people;^ delighting in them;^ 
 willing (/. e. putting forth the grand force of His 
 will) that they should be with Him where He is, 
 with Him now, with Him always.* It is the love 
 that does not and will not endure separation, — the 
 love that cannot do without its object. ' So shall 
 the King desire thy beauty. ' 
 
 He gave us a glimpse of this gracious fervour 
 when He said, * With desire I have desired to eat 
 this passover with you before I suffer.'* With 
 Gethsemane and Calvary in fullest view, His heart's 
 desire was to spend those few last hours in closest 
 intercourse with His disciples. * So ' did He desire 
 them. 
 
 Now, if we take the King at His word, and really 
 believe that He thus desires us, can we possibly 
 remain cold-hearted and indifferent lo Him ? Can 
 we bear the idea of disappointing His love, — such 
 love, — and meeting it with any such pale, cool 
 response as would wound any human heart, ' I do 
 not know whether I love you or not ! ' 
 
 Oh, do let us leave off morbidly looking to see 
 exactly how much we love (which is just like trying 
 to warm ourselves with a thermometer, and perhaps 
 only ends in doubting whether we love at all), and 
 look straight away at His love and his desire ! * 
 Think of Jesus actually wanting you, really de- 
 siring your love, not satisfied with all the love of all 
 the angels and saints unless you love him too, — 
 
 1 Ps. cxlix. 4. - Isa. Ixii. 4. ^ John xvii. 24; ib. xii. 26. 
 
 •1 Luke xxii. 15. & Heb. xii. 2. 
 
34 ^^ Iking. 
 
 needing that little drop to fill His cup of joy! Is 
 there no answering throb, no responsive glow? 
 
 * Lord, let the glow of Thy great love 
 Through my whole being shine ! ' 
 
 Perhaps it is upon the emphatic ' so,^ as pointing 
 to the context, that the intensity of the emphatic 
 * greatly ' hinges. It is when the bride forgets her 
 own people and her father's house,^ — that is, when 
 her life and love are altogether given to her Royal 
 Bridegroom, — that He ' shall greatly desire ' her 
 beauty. When His glorious beauty has so filled our 
 eyes, and His incomprehensible love has so filled 
 our hearts,^ that He is first, and most, and dearest 
 of all, — when we can say not merely, ' The desire 
 of our souls is to Thy name,'^ but ' There is none 
 upon earth that I desire beside Thee,'"^ — when thus 
 we are, to the very depth of our being, really and 
 entirely our Beloved's, then we may add, in solemn, 
 wondering gladness, *And His desire is toward 
 me.'^ 
 
 O love surpassing thought, 
 So bright, so grand, so clear, so true, so glorious ; 
 
 Love infinite, love tender, love unsought, 
 
 Love changeless, love re j oicing, love victorious ! 
 
 And this great love for us in boundless store ; 
 
 Christ's everlasting love ! What wouldst thou more ? 
 
 1 Ps. xlv. lo. 2 Eph. iii. 19. ^ Isa. xxvi. 8. 
 
 4 Ps. Ixxiih 25. 6 Cant. vii. 10. 
 
Sceptre of tbe lining. 35 
 
 FOURTEENTH DAY. 
 
 ^be Sceptre of tbe IkiUQ* 
 
 * The king held out the golden sceptre.' — Esth, viii. 4. 
 
 JESUS is He 'that holdeth the sceptre,*^— the 
 symbol first of kingly right and authority, and 
 next of righteousness and justice. 'A sceptre of 
 righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom/^ — 'a 
 right sceptre.''' And yet the golden sceptre was 
 held out as the sign of sovereign mercy to one who, ' 
 by * one law of his to put him to death,' must other- 
 wise have perished, 'that he may live.'* Thus, by 
 the combination of direct statement and type, we 
 are shown in this figure the beautiful, perfect meet- 
 ing of the 'mercy and truth' of our King, the 
 * righteousness and peace ' of His kingdom.^ 
 
 Again and again the Holy Ghost repeats this 
 grand blending of seemingly antagonistic attributes, 
 confirming to us in many ways this strong consola- 
 tion.^ 
 
 How precious the tiny word and becomes, as we 
 read, 'He is just, and having salvation.''^ 'A 
 
 1 Amos i. 5. 2 Heb. i. 8. 3 Ps. xlv. 6. 
 
 4 Esth, iv. II. 6 Ps. Ixxxv. 10; ib. Ixxii. 2, 3. 
 
 « Heb. vi. i8. 7 Zech. ix. 9. 
 
36 HXs^ IRiriQ. 
 
 merciful and faithful High Priest.'^ ^A just God, 
 and SL Saviour.'^ We do not half value God's /////^ 
 words. 
 
 To *the King's enemies' the sceptre is a 'rod of 
 iron'^ (for the word is the same in Hebrew). 
 They cannot rejoice in the justice which they defy. 
 To the King's willing subjects it is indeed golden, 
 a beautiful thing, and a most precious thing. We 
 admire and glory in His absolute justice and right- 
 eousness ; it satisfies the depths of our moral being, 
 — it is so strong, so perfect. 
 
 His justice is, if we may reverently say so, the 
 strong point of His atoning work. The costly 
 means of our redemption were paid for ' at the full 
 price.'* He fulfilled the law. There was nothing 
 wanting in all the work which His Father gave Him 
 to do. He finished it.^ And His Father was 
 satisfied. Thus He was just towards His Father, 
 that He might be faithful and just to forgive us our 
 sins.® It is no weak compassion, merely wrought 
 on by misery, but strong, grand, infinite, and equal 
 justice and mercy, balanced as they never are in 
 human minds. For only the ways of the Lord are 
 thus * equal . ' '' 
 
 And oh, how ' sweet is Thy mercy ' ! and just 
 because of the justice, how 'sure'!^ Esther said, 
 'If I perish, I perish.'^ So need not we, 'for His 
 mercy endureth for ever.'^** And so, every time we 
 come into the audience chamber of our King, we 
 
 1 Heb ii. 17. 2 Isa. xlv. 21. 
 
 3 Ps. xlv. 5 ; ib. ii. 9. * 1 Chron. xxi. 24 ; Matt. v. 17. 
 
 5 John xvii. 4; Isa. xlii. 21. ^ i John i. 9. 
 
 7 Ezek. xviii. 25. 8 Ps. cix. 20, P. B. V; Isa. Iv. 3. 
 
 9 Esth. iv, 16. 10 Ps. cxxxvi. i. 
 
Qicaving to tbe Iking. 37 
 
 know that the golden spectre will be held out to us, 
 first ' that we may live,' ^ and then for favour after 
 favour. ^Let us therefore come boldly unto the 
 throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and 
 find grace to help in time of need.'^ Not stand 
 afar off and think about it, and keep our King 
 waiting; but, like Esther, Met us draw near,'^ and 
 ' touch the top of the sceptre. ' * 
 
 FIFTEENTH DAY. 
 
 Cleaving to tbe Iking. 
 
 ' The men of Judah clave unto their king.' — 2 Sam. xx. 2. 
 
 FOR it is not a matter of course that coming is 
 followed by cleaving. Even when the King 
 Himself, in His veiled royalty, walked and talked 
 with His few faithful followers, ' many of his dis- 
 ciples went back, and walked no more with Him.'^ 
 There was no word of indignation or reproach, 
 only the appeal of infinite pathos from His 
 gracious lips, ' Will ye also go away ? ' ® 
 
 Let this sound in our ears to-day, not only in 
 moments of temptation to swerve from truest- 
 hearted loyalty and service, but all through the 
 business of the day ; stirring our too easy-going 
 
 1 F,?th. V. 2; iv. II ; viii. 3, 4. " Heb. iv. i6. 3 Heb. x. 22. 
 
 ^ Esth. V. 2. ^ John vi. 66. <5 John vi. 67. 
 
38 ^^ Iking, 
 
 resting into active cleaving; quickening our 
 following afar off ^ into following hard after Him / 
 rousing us to add to the blessed assurance, ^ Thine 
 are we, David ! ' the bolder and nobler position, 
 ' and on Thy side I '^ 
 
 For this cleaving is not a mere terrified clinging 
 for safety, — it is the bright, brave resolution, 
 strengthened, not weakened, by the sight of waver- 
 ers or renegades, to be on His side, come what may, 
 because He is our King, because we love Him, be- 
 cause His cause and His kingdom are so very dear 
 to us. 
 
 We cannot thus cleave, without loosening from 
 other interests. But what matter ! Let us be noble 
 for Jesus, like the men of might who ' separated 
 themselves unto David,' and who * held strongly 
 with him in his kingdom.'* Shall we be mean 
 enough to aim at less, when it is our Lord Jesus who 
 would have us entirely ' with Him '?^ 
 
 It is, after all, the easiest and safest course. The 
 especial friends and ' the mighty men which be- 
 longed to David, '^ not only did not follow the 
 usurping Adonijah, but they were never tempted to 
 do so. ' But me, even me thy servant, . . . hath 
 he not called. ''' There is many a temptation, very 
 powerful and dangerous to a camp-follower, which 
 the enemy knows it is simply useless to present to 
 one of the body-guard. Our Father leads us ' not 
 into temptation/^ when He leads us closer to Jesus. 
 
 The Bible never speaks of ' good resolutions,* 
 
 1 Matt. xxvi. 58. 2 Ps. Ixiii. 8. 3 i Chron. xii. 18. 
 
 * I Chron. xii. 8 ; i Chron. xi. 10, marg. 5 Cant. iv. 8. 
 
 6 I Kings i. 8. 7 i Kings 1. 26. 8 Matt. vi. 13; i Sam. xxii. 23. 
 
^be 5os ot tbe Mwq* 39 
 
 but again and again of ' purpose.'^ And this is 
 what we want, that * with purpose of heart ' we 
 should * cleave nnto the Lord. '^ Have we this 
 distinct purpose to-day ? Do we really mean, God 
 helping us, to cleave to our King to-day ? Do not 
 let us dare to go forth to the certain conflicts and 
 temptations of the day with this negative but real 
 disloyalty of want of purpose in the matter. And 
 *if our heart condemn us/' let us at once turn to 
 Him who says, * I have caused to cleave unto me 
 the whole house of Israel.'* His grace shall enable 
 us to cleave unto our King. 
 
 SIXTEENTH DAY. 
 
 ZTbe 3oij of tbe *B^inQ* 
 
 * David the king also rejoiced with great joy.' — I Chron. 
 xxix. 9. 
 
 DO not let us think of the joy of our King over 
 His people as only future. While we cannot 
 look forward too much to the day when He shall 
 present us * faultless before the presence of His 
 glory with exceeding joy,'^ let us not overlook the 
 present gladness which we, even we, who have so 
 often grieved Him, may give to our King. 
 
 Elsewhere we hear of the joy of angels over 
 
 1 2 Tim. iii. lo. 2 Acts xi. 23. 3 i John iii. 20. 
 
 4 Jer. xiii. 11. 6 Jude 24. 
 
40 ^S Iking* 
 
 repenting sinners ;' here we have a glimpse of the 
 joy of the King of angels over His consecrated 
 ones. Look at the whole passage, — it is full of 
 typical light, — and let us take it ' for our learning.''^ 
 ' Who then is willing to consecrate his service 
 this day unto the Lord ? '^ Silence is negative 
 here : there must be a definite heart-response if we 
 are willing. Are you? If so, when? The King's 
 question says nothing of some day, but of ' this 
 day.' And the question is put to you: if never 
 before, it is sounding in your ears now. Shall your 
 service be His, 'this day,'* and henceforth? or 
 
 The result of willing consecration of ourselves 
 and our service is always joy. ' The people rejoiced, 
 for that they offered willingly ; '^ but was it not far 
 more, far sweeter, that their king ' also rejoiced with 
 great joy ' ? How they must have felt when He 
 said, ' Now have I seen with joy Thy people which 
 are present here, to offer willingly unto Thee ! '^ 
 
 For when a heart and life are willingly offered 
 and fully surrendered to Him, He sees of ' the 
 travail of His soul''^ in it; it is a new accomplish- 
 ment of the work which He came to do : and what 
 then ? He ' is satisfied. ' If motive were wanting 
 to yield ourselves unto Him,® would it not be more 
 than supplied by the thought that it will be satis- 
 faction and joy to Him ' who loved us and washed 
 us from our sins in His own blood ' ?^ It seems just 
 the one blessed opportunity given to us of being 
 
 1 Luke XV. lo. 2 Rom. xv. 4. ^ 1 Chron. xxix. 5. 
 
 < Josh. xxiv. 15. 5 I Chron. xxix. 9. ^ i Chron. xxix. 17, 
 
 7 Isa. liii. n. 8 Rom. vi. 13. 8 Rev. i. 5. 
 
^be MorO of tbe Ikins. 41 
 
 His true cup-bearers/ of bringing the wine of joy 
 to our King ; and in so doing He will make our 
 own cups to run over.^ 
 
 As our own hearts are filled with the intense joy 
 of consecration to our Lord, a yet intenser glow 
 will come as we remember that His joy is greater 
 than ours, for He is anointed ' with the oil of glad- 
 ness above ' His ' fellows.'^ 
 
 Shall not ' this day ' be * the day of the gladness 
 of "His heart'?* Will you not consecrate your 
 service to-day unto Him ? ^ For then ' He will 
 save, He will rejoice over f/iee with joy; He will 
 rest in His love ; He will joy over fhee with 
 singing.'* 
 
 Take myself, and I will be, 
 Ever, onfy, all, for Thee ! 
 
 SEVENTEENTH DAY. 
 
 1Re6t on tbe 'Mort) of tbe Iking* 
 
 ♦The word of my lord the king shall now be for rest' {mar- 
 gin). — 2 Sam. xiv. 17. 
 
 HERE is the whole secret of rest from the very 
 beginning to the very end. The word of 
 our King is all we have and all we need for deep, 
 utter heart-rest, which no surface waves of this 
 
 1 I Kings X. 5. 2 Ps. xxiii. 5. 3 Ps. xlv. 7, 
 
 * Caat. iii. 11. 5 i Chron. xxix. 5. 6 Zeph. iii. 17. 
 
42 jflRs Iking. 
 
 troublesome world can disturb.^ What gave 'rest 
 from thy sorrow and from thy fear '^ at the very 
 first, when we wanted salvation and peace ? It was 
 not some vague, pleasing impression, some in- 
 definable hush that came to us (or if it was, the 
 unreality of the rest was soon proved), but some 
 word of our King which we saw to be worthy of all 
 acceptation f we believed it,* and by it Jesus gave* 
 us rest.^ 
 
 There is no other means of rest for all the wav 
 but the very same. The moment we simply believe 
 any word of the King, we find that it is truly * for 
 rest,'® about the point to which it refers. And 
 if we would but go on taking the King's word about 
 every single thing, we should always find it, then 
 and there, ' for rest.' Every flutter of unrest may, 
 if we look honestly into it, be traced to not entirely 
 and absolutely taking the King's word. His words 
 are enough for rest at all times, and in all circum- 
 stances; therefore we are sinning the great sin of 
 unbelief whenever we allow ourselves in any phase 
 of unrest. It is not infirmity, but sin, to neglect to 
 make use of the promises which He meant for our 
 strong consolation and continual help.^ And we 
 ought not to acquiesce in the shadows which are 
 only around us, because we do not hear, or hearing 
 do not heed, God's call into the sunshine. 
 
 Take the slightest and commonest instances. 
 If we have an entire and present belief in 'My 
 grace is sufficient for thee,'^ or, *Lo, I am with 
 
 1 Job. xxxiv. 29. 2 Isa. xiv. 3. 3 i Tim. i. 15. 
 
 4 2 Thess. ii. 13. '^ Heb. iv. 2, 3, 6 Mark. ix. 23. 
 
 7 Heb. vi. 18. 8 2 Cor. xii. 9. 
 
\ trbe morD of tbe Iking. 43 
 
 you alway,'' ^ should we feel nervous at anything He 
 calls us to do for Him ? Would not that word be 
 indeed 'for rest'^ in the moment of need, — 'rest 
 from the hard bondage ' of service to which we feel 
 unequal?^ Have we not sometimes found it so, 
 and if so, why not always? I see nothing about 
 'sometimes' in any of His promises. If we have 
 an entire and present belief that 'all things work 
 together for good,'"* or that He leads us 'forth 
 by the right way, ' '^ should we feel worried when 
 some one thing seems to work wrong, and some one 
 yard of the way is not what we think straightest? 
 
 We lean upon the word of the King for ever- 
 lasting life,® why not for daily life also? For it 
 shall 'nowhe for rest;' only try it to-day, 'now,* 
 and see if it shall not be so ! When he says 
 'perfect peace," He cannot mean imperfect peace. 
 'The people rested themselves upon the words of 
 Hezekiah king of Judah.'^ Just so simply let us 
 rest upon the words of our King, Jesus ! 
 
 1 Matt, xxviii. 20. 2 Phil. iv. 19. 3 Isa. xiv. 3. 
 
 ■* Rom. viii. 28. 6 Ps.cvii. 7. ^ i John ii. 23. 
 
 ' Isa. xxvi. 3. 82 Chron. xxxii. 8. 
 
44 ^S 1king» 
 
 EIGHTEENTH DAY. 
 
 Cbe 36u0ine60 of tbe Iking* 
 
 * The king's business required haste.' — I Sam. xxi. 8. 
 
 AND yet there is no other business about which 
 average Christians take it so easy. They 
 ' must '^ go their usual round, they ' must ' write 
 their letters, they * must ' pay off their visits and 
 other social claims, they * must ' do all that is 
 expected of them ; and then, after this and that 
 and the other thing is cleared off, they will do what 
 they can of the King's business.^ They do not say 
 'must' about that, unless it is some part of His 
 business which is undertaken at second-hand, and 
 with more sense of responsibility to one's clergy- 
 man than to one's King. Is this being * faithful and 
 loyal and single hearted ?'^ If it has been so, oh, let 
 it be so no more ! How can * Jesus On/y '* be our 
 motto, when we have not even said ' Jesus Jirst^ ?^ 
 
 The King's business requires haste. It is always 
 pressing, and may never be put off. Much of it 
 has to do with souls which may be in eternity 
 to-morrow f and with opportunities which are gone 
 
 1 Luke xiv. 20. 2 Luke ix. 59, 61. 3 Eph. vi. 5, 6. 
 
 4 Matt. xvii. 8. 5 Matt. vi. 33. 6 Luke xii. 20. 
 
^Business of tbe IRlng. 45 
 
 for ever if not used then and there ; there is no 
 
 * convenient season '^ for it but * to-day. '^ Often it is 
 not really done at all, because it is not done in the 
 spirit of holy haste. We meet an unconverted 
 friend again and again, and beat about the bush, 
 and think to gain quiet influence and make way 
 gradually, and call it judicious not to be in a hurry, 
 when the real reason is that we are wanting in holy 
 eagerness and courage to do the King's true business 
 wijh lh?t soul, and in nine such cases out of ten 
 nothing ever comes out of it ; but * As thy servant 
 was busy here and there, he was gone.'^ Have we 
 not found it so ? 
 
 Delay in the Lord's errands is next to disobedience, 
 and generally springs out of it, or issues in it. 
 ^God commanded me to make haste.'* Let us see 
 to it that we can say, ' I made haste, and delayed 
 not to keep Thy commandments.'^ 
 
 We never know what regret and punishment 
 delay in the King's business may bring upon our- 
 selves. Amasa * tarried longer than the set time 
 which he (the king) had appointed him, '^ and the 
 result was death to himself. Contrast the result in 
 Abigail's case, where, except she had hasted, her 
 household would have perished. '^ 
 
 We find four rules for doing the King's business, 
 in His word. We are to do it, — first, ' Heartily ; '^ 
 second, * Diligently ; '* third, ' Faithfully ; '^° fourth, 
 
 • Speedily. '^^ Let us ask Him to give us the grace 
 
 1 Acts xxiv. 25. 2 Heb. iii. 13. 3 i Kings xx. 40. 
 
 ■* 2 Chron. XXXV. 21, & Ps. cxix. 6o. ^ 2 Sam. xx. 5. 
 
 7 I Sam. XXV. 34. 8 Col. iii. 23. 9 Ezra vii. 23. 
 
 *0 2 Chron. xxxiv. 12. n Ezra vii. 21. 
 
46 ^^ 'IkiwQ, 
 
 of energy to apply them this day to whatever He 
 indicates as our part of His business, remembering 
 that He said ' I mus/ be about my Father's busi- 
 ness.'^ 
 
 Especially in that part of it which is between 
 Himself and ourselves alone, let us never delay. 
 Oh, the incalculable blessings that we have already 
 lost by putting off our own dealings with our King ! 
 Abigail first ' made haste '^ to meet David for mere 
 safety; soon afterwards, she again ' hasted and arose 
 and went after the messengers of David, and became 
 his wife.'^ 
 
 Thus hasting, we shall rise from privilege to 
 privilege, and ' go from strength to strength.'* 
 
 What shall be our word for Jesus ? Master, give it day by day; 
 Ever as the need arises, teach Thy children what to say. 
 Give us holy love and patience ; grant us deep humility, 
 That of self we may be emptied, and our hearts be full of 
 
 Thee; 
 Give us zeal and faith and fervour, make us winning, make us 
 
 wise, 
 Single-hearted, strong and fearless; — Thou hast called us, we 
 
 will rise ! 
 Let the might of Thy good Spirit go with every loving word; 
 And by hearts prepared and opened, be our message always 
 
 heard ! 
 
 1 Luke ii.49. 2 I Sam. xxv. 18. 
 
 * I Sam. xxv. 42. * Ps. Ixxxiv. 7. 
 
^be IRcaMness ot tbe Iking's Servants. 47 
 
 NINETEENTH DAY. 
 
 ^be 1Rcat)ine60 of tbe Mwq'b 
 Servant6* 
 
 * Thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king 
 shall appoint.' — 2 Sam. xv, 15. 
 
 THIS is the secret of steady and unruffled glad- 
 ness in * the business of the Lord, and the 
 service of the King/^ whether we are 'over the 
 treasures of the house of God,'^ or, ' for the outward 
 business over Israel.'^ 
 
 It makes all the difference ! If we are really, and 
 always, and equally ready to do whatsoever'^ the 
 King appoints, all the trials and vexations arising 
 from any change in His appointments, great or 
 small, simply do not exist. If He appoints me to 
 work there, shall I lament that I am not to work 
 here?^ If he appoints me to wait in-doors to-day, 
 am I to be annoyed because I am not to work out- 
 of-doors? If I meant to write 1^\% messages this 
 morning, shall I grumble because He sends inter- 
 rupting visitors, rich or poor, to whom I am to 
 speak them, or * show kindness '^ for His sake, or 
 
 1 I Chron. xxvi. 30. ~ i Chron. xxvi. 20. 3 i Chron. xxvi. 29. 
 
 4 John ii. s . 5 Josh. i. 16. 6 2 Sam. ix. 3. 
 
48 /IR^ Iking* 
 
 at least obey His command, ' Be courteous ' ?^ If all 
 my ' members '^ are really at His disposal, why 
 should I be put out if to-day's appointment is some 
 simple work for my hands or errands for my feet, 
 instead of some seemingly more important doing of 
 head or tongue ? 
 
 Does it seem a merely ideal life ? Try it ! begin 
 at once ; before you venture away from this quiet 
 moment, ask your King to take you ' wholly ' into 
 His service, and place all the hours of this day 
 quite simply at His disposal, and ask Him to make 
 and keep you ready to do just exactly what He 
 appoints. Never mind about to-morrow;' one day 
 at a time is enough. Try it to-day, and see if it is 
 not a day of strange, almost curious peace, so sweet 
 that you will be only too thankful, when to-morrow 
 comes, to ask Him to take it also, — till it will 
 become a blessed habit to hold yourself simply and 
 '■ wholly at Thy commandment ' * for any manner 
 of service.'* 
 
 Then will come, too, an indescribable and unex- 
 pected sense of freedom, and a total relief from the 
 self-imposed bondage of * having to get through * 
 what we think lies before us. For, '■ of the chil- 
 dren of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen.'^ 
 
 Then, too, by thus being ready, moment by 
 moment, for whatsoever He shall appoint, we 
 realize very much more that we are not left alone, 
 but that we are dwelling ^ with the King for His 
 work.'^ Thus the very fact of an otherwise vexa- 
 
 1 I Pet. iii. 8. . 2 Rom. vi. 13. 3 Jas. iv. 14. 
 
 * I Chron. xxviii. 21. » i Kings ix. 22. ^ i Chron. iv. 23. 
 
ZTbe IReaDiness of tbe fkiwQ'B Servants, 49 
 
 tious interruption is transmuted into a precious 
 proof of the nearness of the King.-^ His interfer- 
 ence implies His interest and His presence. 
 
 The * whatsoever ' is not necessarily active work. 
 It may be waiting ( whether half an hour or half a 
 lifetime), learning, suffering, sitting still. But, 
 dear fellow-servants of ' my Lord the King,' shall 
 we be less ready for these, if any of them are His 
 appointments for to-day ? * Whatsoever the king 
 did'pleased all the people.'^ 
 
 'Ready' implies something of preparation, — not 
 being taken by surprise. So let us ask Him to pre- 
 pare us for all that He is preparing for us. And may 
 ' the hand of God give ' us * one heart to do the 
 commandment of the King !'^ 
 
 ' Lord, I have given my life to Thee, 
 And every day and hour is Thine ; 
 
 What Thou appointest let them be ; 
 Thy will is better, Lord, than mine.' 
 
 * A. L. Waring. 
 
 1 Ps. cxxxix. 5. 22 Sam. iii. 36. 3 2 Chron. xxx. 12. 
 
50 /IB^ Iking. 
 
 TWENTIETH DAY. 
 
 ^be 3fr(en&6bip of tbe Iking^ 
 
 * He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips 
 the king shall be his friend.' — Prov. xxii. il. 
 
 < T X /"HO can say, I have made my heart clean, I 
 VV am pure'?^ Who must not despair of the 
 friendship of the King if this were the condition?^ 
 But His wonderful condescension in promising His 
 friendship bends yet lower in its tenderly devised 
 condition. Not to the absolutely pyre in heart, ^ but 
 to the perhaps very sorrowfully longing lover of that 
 pureness, come the gracious words, " The King shall 
 be his Friend.' 
 
 Yet there must be some proof of this love ; and 
 it is found in ' the grace of His lips.' * For out of 
 the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.'* 
 Here, again, we stop and question our claim; for 
 our speech has not always been * with grace; '^ and 
 the memory of many a graceless and idle word 
 rises to bar it.® How then shall the King be our 
 Friend ? Another word comes to our help : ' Grace 
 
 1 Prov. XX. 9. 2 Hab. i. 13. 3 Matt. v. 8. 
 
 4 Matt. xii. 34. 6 Col. iv. 6. « Matt. xii. 36. 
 
jfrfenDsblp ot tbe Iking* 51 
 
 is poured into thy lips,'^ — grace that overflowed in 
 gracious words, ^ such as never man spake, ^ perfectly 
 holy and beautiful ; and we look up to our King 
 and plead that He has Himself fulfilled the condi- 
 tion in which we have failed, — that this is part of 
 the righteousness which He wrought for us, and 
 which is really unto us and upon us, because we 
 believe in Him ;* and so, for the grace of His own 
 lips, the King shall be our Friend. 
 
 -Who has not longed for an ideal and yet a real 
 friend, — one who should exactly understand us,^ to 
 whom we could tell everything,® and in whom we 
 could altogether confide, — one who should be very 
 wise and very true,'^ — one of whose love and unfail- 
 ing interest we could be certain ?^ There are other 
 points for which we could not hope, — that this 
 friend should be very far above us, and yet the very 
 nearest and dearest, always with us,^ always think- 
 ing of us, always doing kind and wonderful things 
 for us ; ^^ undertaking and managing everything ; ^^ 
 forgetting nothing, failing in nothing ;^^ quite cer- 
 tain never to change and never to die,^^ — so that 
 this one grand friendship should fill our lives, and 
 that we really never need trouble about anything 
 for ourselves any more at all." 
 
 Such is our Royal Friend, and more; for no 
 human possibilities of friendship can illustrate what 
 He is to those to whom He says, 'Ye are my 
 friends. '^^ We, even we, may look up to our 
 
 1 Ps. xlv. 2. 2 Luke iv. 22. 3 John vii. 46. 
 
 4 Rom. iii. 22. 5 Ps. cxxxix. 2. ^ Mark vi. 30. 
 
 7 Rev. xix. II. 8 John xiii. i. ^ Matt, xxviii. 20. 
 
 ^0 Ps. xl. 17. 11 Isa. xxxviii. 14. 12 Zeph, iii. 5. 
 
 13 Mai. iii. 6. 14 i Pet. v. 7. 15 John xv. 14. 
 
52 ^S IkinQ* 
 
 glorious King, our Lord and our God, and say, 
 *This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend!'^ 
 And then we,^ven we, may claim the privilege of 
 being 'the King's companion'^ and the 'King's 
 friend.'^ 
 
 TWENTY-FIRST DAY. 
 
 Zbc Xigbt of tbe Mwq'q 
 Countenance^ 
 
 * In the light of the king's countenance is life.' — Prov. 
 xvi. 15. 
 
 BUT first fell the solemn words, 'Thou hast set 
 our secret sins in the light of Thy counte- 
 nance.'* That was the first we knew of its bright- 
 ness ; and to some its revelation has been so terrible, 
 that they can even understand how the Lord 'shall 
 destroy' the wicked 'with the brightness of His 
 coming.'^ Yet, though we feel that 'His eyes 
 were as a flame of fire,'^ we found also that our 
 'King that sitteth in the throne of judgment, scat- 
 tereth away all evil with His eyes;'^ and that it 
 was when we stood in that light, that we found the 
 power of the precious blood of Jesus, the Anointed 
 One, to cleanse us from all sin. ^ 
 
 1 Cant. V. 16. 2 I Chron. xxvii. 33. ^ i Kings iv. 5. 
 
 ■1 Ps. xc. 8. 5 2 Thess. ii. 8. 6 Rev. i. 14. 
 
 7 Prov. XX. 8. 81 John i. 7. 
 
^be Ikins's Countenance. 53 
 
 This gives new value to the promise, * They shall 
 walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy countenance;'^ 
 for it is when we walk in the light that we may 
 claim and do realize the fulness of its power and 
 preciousness, — not for fitful and occasional cleans- 
 ing, but for a glorious, perpetual, present cleansing 
 from all sin. Do not let us translate it into another 
 tense for ourselves, and read,^ ^did cleanse last 
 tirye we knelt and asked for it,' but keep to the 
 tense which the Holy Ghost has written, and meet 
 the foe-flung darts of doubt^ with faith's great 
 answer, * The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleans- 
 eth (/. e. goes on cleansing) us from all sin.' 
 
 Thus the light of His countenance shall save us. 
 Look at Ps. xliv. 3, where we see it as the means 
 of past salvation,* and then at Ps. xlii. 5, where the 
 Psalmist anticipates praise for its future help;^ 
 while the two are beautifully linked by the marginal 
 reading of the latter, which makes it present salva- 
 tion : ^ Thy presence is salvation. ' 
 
 Then follows peace. The waves are stilled, and 
 the storm-clouds flee away noiselessly and swiftly 
 and surely, when He lifts up the light of His coun- 
 tenance upon us, and gives us peace. ^ For this 
 uplifting is the shining forth of His favour,^ — the 
 smile instead of the frown ; and as we walk in the 
 light of it, the peace will grow into joy, and we 
 shall be even here and now * exceeding glad with 
 Thy countenance,'^ while every step will bring us 
 nearer to the resurrection joy of Christ Himself, 
 
 1 Ps. Ixxxix. 15. 2 Rev. xxii. 18, 19. 8 Eph. vi. 16. 
 
 ^ Ps. xliv. 3. 5 Ps. xlii, 5. ^ Num. vi. 26, 
 
 ^ 2 Sam. xxiii. 4. 8 Ps, xxi. 6. 
 
54 /IBs Ikfng. 
 
 saying with Him, ^Thou shalt make me full of joy 
 with Thy countenance.'^ 
 
 So we shall find day by day, that in the light of 
 the King's countenance is cleansing, salvation, 
 peace, joy; — and do not these make up life, the 
 new life, the glad life of the children of the King? 
 
 'Lord, lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance 
 upon us' ^ this day, and in it let us have life, yea, 
 *Life more abundantly.' ^ 
 
 * He that followeth me shall not walk in dark- 
 ness, but shall have the light of life, ' * 
 
 TWENTY-SECOND DAY. 
 
 Zbc ^ent)erne00 of tbe Iking^ 
 
 * And the king commanded, saying, Deal gently for my sake 
 with the young man, even with Absalom.' — 2 Sam. xviii. 5. 
 
 EVEN with Absalom ! Even with the heartless, 
 deliberate traitor and rebel. ^ We must 
 recollect clearly what he was, to appreciate the 
 exquisite tenderness of David in such a command 
 to his rough war captains in such untender times. 
 For the sake of his people and his kingdom, he 
 must send them forth against him, but the deep love 
 gushes out in the bidding, * Deal gently for my sake. ' 
 It was no new impulse. When Amnon was mur- 
 
 1 Acts ii. 28. 2 Ps. iv. 6. 3 John x. 10. 
 
 4 John viii. 12. 6 2 Sam. xv. 2-n. 
 
^enDerness ot tbe fcing. 55 
 
 dered, the king 'wept very sore,' and 'mourned 
 for his son every day,'^ and yet, when the fratricide 
 had fled, ' the soul of King David longed to go 
 forth unto him, "^ and 'the king's heart was toward 
 Absalom.'^ And when God's own vengeance fell 
 upon the wicked son, David's lamentation over him 
 is perhaps unparalleled in its intensity of pathos 
 among the records of human tenderness.* 
 
 Turn to the Antitype, and see the divine tender- 
 ness of our King. Again and again it gleams out, 
 whether He himself wept, or whether He said, 
 'Weep not,'^ — whether in the tender look, the 
 tender word, or the tender touch of gentlest mercy. 
 The Gospels are full of His tenderness. There is 
 not room here even for the bare mention of the 
 instances of it ; but will you not give a little time 
 to searching quietly for them, so that, reading them 
 under the teaching of the Holy Spirit,^ you may 
 get a concentrated viewof the wonderful tenderness 
 of Jesus, and yield your heart to be moved by it, 
 and your spirit to be so penetrated by it, that you 
 may share it and reflect it? Remember that in such 
 a search we learn not only what He did and said, 
 nor only what He was, but what He is ; and in all 
 His recorded tenderness we are looking into the 
 presentht3xt of Jesus, and seeing what we shall find 
 for ourselves as we have need. For He is ' this same 
 Jesus '^ to-day. 
 
 Then let us glance at the volume of our own 
 experience. Who that has had any dealings with 
 
 1 2 Sam. xiii. 36, 37. 2 2 Sam. xiii. 39. 3 2 Sam. xiv. i. 
 
 4 2 Sam. xviii. 33. 5 Luke xix. 41; ib. vii. 13; ib. xxii. 61. 
 
 6 John xiv. 26. ' Acts i. 11. 
 
56 jflRlS IkinQ. 
 
 Christ at all, but must bear witness that He has in- 
 deed dealt gently with us. Has not even suffering 
 been sweet when it showed us more of this ? ^ What 
 if He had ever ' dealt with us after our sins ' ! ^ But 
 He never did, and never will.^ He hath dealt 
 gently and will deal gently with us, for His own 
 sake, and according to His own heart, from the first 
 drawings of His loving-kindness, on throughout the 
 measureless developments of his everlasting love/ 
 Not till we are in heaven shall we. know the full 
 meaning of * Thy gentleness hath made me great. '^ 
 May we not recognize a command in this, as well 
 as a responsibility to follow the example of the 
 '■ gentleness of Christ ' ?^ Perhaps next time we are 
 tempted to be a little harsh or hasty with an erring 
 or offending one, the whisper will come, * Deal 
 gently, for My sake ! ' 
 
 Return ! 
 O erring, yet beloved ! 
 I wait to bind thy bleeding feet, for keen 
 And rankling are the thorns where thou hast been ; 
 I wait to give thee pardon, love, and rest. 
 (Is not my joy to see thee safe and blest ? ) 
 Return ! I wait to hear once more thy voice, 
 To welcome thee anew, and bid thy heart rejoice ! 
 
 Return ! 
 O chosen of my love ! 
 Fear not to meet thy beckoning Saviour's view ; 
 Long ere I called thee by thy name, I knew 
 That very treacherously thou wouldst deal ; 
 Now I have seen thy ways, — yet I will heal. 
 Return ! Wilt thou yet linger far from Me ? 
 My wrath is turned away, I have redeemed thee ! 
 
 1 Lam. iii. 32. 2 Ps. ciii. 10. 3 Job xi. 6. 
 
 4 Jer. xxxi. 3. 5 Ps. xviii. 35. ^ 2 Cor. x. i. 
 
Zo}{cn ot tbe IRina'0 ©race. 57 
 
 TWENTY-THIRD DAY. 
 
 TTbe Soften of tbe Mwq^b (Brace* 
 
 * To-day thy servant knoweth that I have found grace in thy 
 sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath fulfilled the 
 request of his servant.' — 2 Sam. xiv. 22. 
 
 AN answered prayer makes us glad for its own 
 sake. But there is grace behind the gift 
 which is better and more gladdening than the gift 
 itself. For which is most valued, the ' engaged 
 ring,' or the favour of which it is the token? 
 Setting aside judicial answers to unspiritual prayers/ 
 which an honest conscience will have no difficulty 
 in distinguishing, the servants of the King may take 
 it that His answers to their requests are proofs and 
 tokens of His grace and favour,^ — of His real, and 
 present, and personal love to themselves individually. 
 When they are receiving few or none, they should 
 search for the cause, lest it should be some hidden 
 or unrecognized sin.^ For * if I regard iniquity in 
 my heart, the Lord will not hear me ; '* so never 
 let us go on comfortably and easily when He is silent 
 to us. And instead of envying others who get 
 
 1 Ps. cvi. 15 ; Hos. xiii. 11, etc. - i John iii. 22. 
 
 3 Job X. 2. * I Sam. xxviii. 6; Ps. xix. 12; ib. Ixvi. 18 
 
58 ^^ Ifjlng. 
 
 * such wonderful answers/ Met us search and try 
 our ways.'^ 
 
 Personal acceptance comes first. We must be 
 ' accepted in the Beloved '^ before we can look to 
 be answered through the Beloved. Is there a doubt 
 about this, and a sigh over the words? There need 
 not be ; for now, at this moment, the old promise 
 stands with its unchangeable welcome to the weary : 
 
 * Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast 
 out.'^ Then, if you come, now, at this moment, on 
 the strength of His word, you cannot be rejected ; 
 and if not rejected, there is nothing but one blessed 
 alternative — ' accepted ! ' 
 
 Then come the answers ! As surely as the prayers 
 go up from the accepted one, so surely will the 
 blessings come down. When Esther had touched 
 the golden sceptre, * thefi said the king unto her. 
 What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy 
 request ? it shall be even given thee to the half of 
 the kingdom.'* But there is no 'half in our 
 King's promise. He says, ' All things ' and ' what- 
 soever.'^ And He does *■ do exceeding abundantly 
 above all that we ask or think,' and more than fulfils 
 our little scanty requests.® 
 
 And then, by every fresh fulfilment we should 
 receive ever new assurance of our acceptance, — 
 then (shall it not be * to-day' ?), as we give thanks 
 for each gracious answer, we may look up confidingly 
 and joyfully, and say, 'Thy servant knoweth \\\2.X. 
 I have found grace in thy sight. ' For He says, 
 
 1 Lam. iii. 40. 2 Eph. i. 6. 
 
 3 John vi. 37; Hcb. vii. 25. ^ Esth. v. 3. 
 
 6 Matt. xxi. 22 ; John xiv. 13. 6 Eph. iii. 20 ; 1 Kings x. 13. 
 
©mniscicncc ot tbe IkinQ, 59 
 
 • See, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have 
 accepted thy person.'^ 
 
 Accepted, Perfect, and Complete, ^ 
 For God's inheritance made meet!^ 
 How true, how glorious, and how sweet!* 
 
 TWENTY-FOURTH DAY. 
 
 ^be ®mni0cience of tbe Iking* 
 
 ' There is no matter hid from the king.' — 2 Sam. xviii. 13. 
 
 THE very attributes which are full of terror to 
 * the King's enemies,'^ are full of comfort to 
 the King's friends. Thus His omniscience is like 
 the pillar, which was ' a cloud and darkness ' to the 
 Egyptians, but ' gave light by night ' to the Israel- 
 ites.* 
 
 The king's own General complained of a man 
 who did not act precisely as he himself would have 
 acted. In his reply he uses these words, ' There is 
 no matter hid from the king.* The appeal was 
 final, and Joab had no more to say. When others 
 say, like Joab, * *' W/iy didst thou not " do so and 
 so? ' and we know or find that full reasons cannot 
 be given or cannot be understood, what rest it is to 
 fall back upon the certainty that our King knows 
 
 1 I Sam. XXV. 35. 2 Eph. i. 6. 3 Col.i . 28. 
 
 ■* Col. ii. 10. S Ps. xlv. 5. 6 Ex, xiv. 20. 
 
6o ^^ Iking* 
 
 all about it ! When we are wearied out with trying- 
 to make people understand, how restful it is that na 
 explanations are wanted when we come to speak to 
 Him ! ^ *A11 things are naked 'and opened unto 
 the eyes of Him with whom we have to do ; ' ^ and 
 the more we have to do with Him, the more glad 
 and thankful we shall be that there is ^not anything' 
 hid from the King.^ 
 
 In perplexities, — when we cannot understand 
 what is going on around us — cannot tell whither 
 events are tending — cannot tell what to do, because 
 we cannot see into or through the matter before us^ 
 — let us be calmed and steadied and made patient 
 by the thought that what is hidden from us is not 
 hidden from Him. If He chooses to guide us 
 blindfold, let Him do it ! * It will not make the 
 least difference to the reality and rightness of the 
 guidance. ^ 
 
 In mysteries, — when we see no clue — when we 
 cannot at all understand God's partial i-evelation — 
 when we cannot lift the veil that hangs before His 
 secret counsel — when we cannot pierce the holy 
 darkness that enshrouds His ways, or tread the 
 great deep of His judgments where His footsteps 
 are not known, ^ — is it not enough that even these 
 matters are not hid from our King? 'My father 
 will do nothing, either great or small, but he will 
 show it me.' ^ * For the Father loveth the Son, and 
 showeth Him all things that Himself doeth.' ^ 
 
 Our King could so easily reveal everything to us,. 
 
 1 Job xxiii. lo. 2 Heb. iv. 13. 3 i Kings x. 3. 
 
 4 Isa. xlii. 16. 5 Ps. cvii. 7. 
 
 ^ Ps. xcvii. 2; ib. xxxvi. 6; ib. Ixxvii. iQ, ' i Sam. xx. 2, 
 
 8 John V. 20. 
 
power ot tbe IfcinQ's IClorD, 6i 
 
 and make everything so clear ! It would be noth- 
 ing to Him to tell us all our questions. When he 
 does not, cannot we trust Him, and just be satisfied 
 that He knows, and would tell us if it were best? 
 He has * many things to say ' unto us, but He waits 
 till we can bear them.^ 
 
 May we be glad that even our sins are ' not hid ' 
 from Him? Yes, surely, for He who knows all 
 can and will cleanse all. He has searched us and 
 kn©wn us,'^ as we should shrink from knowing 
 ourselves, and yet He has pardoned, and yet He 
 loves ! ^ 
 
 TWENTY-FIFTH DAY. 
 
 Zlbe power of tbe lking'6 Morb* 
 
 • Where the word of a king is, there is power.' — Eccl. viii. 4. 
 
 THEN the question is, WJiere is it ? ' Let the 
 word of Christ dwell in you richly,'* and 
 * there,' even ' in you,' will be power. 
 
 The Crowned One, who is now ' upholding all 
 things by the word of His power, '^ hath said, 'I 
 have given them Thy word.'^ And those who have 
 received this great gift, * not as the word of men, 
 but, as it is in truth, the word of God,' know that 
 
 1 John xvi. 12. 2 Ps_ cxxxix. i. 3 Jsa. xlviii. 8. 
 
 * Col. iii. i6. 6 Heb. ii. 9; ib, i. 3. ' Johnxvii. 14. 
 
63 m>s 1Rmg» 
 
 ^ there is power ' with it, because it ' effectually 
 worketh also ' in them.^ 
 
 They know its life-giving power, for they can 
 say, * Thy word hath quickened me;'^ and its life- 
 sustaining power, for they live * by every word that 
 proceedeth out of the mouth of God.'^ They can 
 say, ' Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I 
 might not sin against Thee; '* for in proportion as 
 the word of the King is present in the heart, ^jf/iere 
 is power ' ^ against sin. Then let us use this means 
 of absolute power more, and more life and more 
 holiness will be ours. 
 
 ' His word was with power ' ^ in Capernaum of 
 old, and it will be with the same power in any place 
 now-a-days. His word cannot fail; it ^ shall not 
 return void ; ' it 'j*/^^// prosper. ' ^ Therefore, when 
 our * words fall to the ground,'^ it only proves that 
 they were not His words. So what we want is not 
 merely that His power may accompany our word, 
 but that we may not speak our own at all, but 
 simply and only the very Svord of the King.' 
 Then there will be power in and with it. Bows 
 drawn at a venture^ hit in a way that astonishes 
 ourselves, when God puts His own arrows on the 
 string.^'' 
 
 There is great comfort and help in taking this 
 literally. Why ask a little when we may ask much ? 
 The very next time we want to speak or write ' a 
 word for Jesus ' (and of course that ought to be to- 
 day)," let us ask Him to give us not merely a general 
 
 1 I Thess. ii. 13. 2 Pg. cxix. 50. 3 Matt. iv. 4. 
 
 * Ps. cxix. II. 5 John vi. 63. * Luke iv. 32. 
 
 7 Isa. Iv. II. 8 I Sam. iii. 19. 9 i Kings xxii. 34. 
 
 10 Ps. xlv. 5. 11 Heb. iii. 13. 
 
power of tbe mm'^ Wiot^. 63 
 
 idea what to say, but to give us literally every single 
 word, and ' they shall be withal fitted in thy lips. ' ^ 
 
 For He will not say, * Thou hast asked a hard 
 thing, '^ though it is far more than asking for the 
 mantle of any prophet. He says, * Behold, I have 
 put My words in thy mouth. '^ This was not for 
 Jeremiah alone, for soon after we read, ' He that 
 hath My word, let him speak My word faithfully ' * 
 (for we must not overlook our responsibility in the 
 mafter); and then follows the grand declaration of 
 its power, even when spoken by feeble human lips : 
 * Is not My word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and 
 like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? ' ^ 
 ' Behold, I will make My words in thy mouth fire. '® 
 
 If we are not even * sufficient of ourselves to 
 f/imk anything as of ourselves,'^ how much less to 
 speak anything ! ' Have I now any power at all to 
 say anything? The word that God putteth in my 
 mouth, that shall I speak.' ^ We would rather have 
 it so, ' that the excellency of the power may be of 
 God, and not of us. ' ^ Our ascended King has said, 
 *A11 power is given unto Me. Go ye therefore. ' ^*^ 
 That is enough for me ; and ' I trust in Thy word. 
 
 Resting on the faithfulness of Christ our Lord, 
 Resting on the fulness of .His own sure word, 
 Resting on His power, on His love untold. 
 Resting on His covenant secured of old. 
 
 1 Prov. xxii. i8. 2 2 Kings ii. 10. ^ Jer. i. 9. 
 
 4 Jer. xxiii. 28. 5 Jer. xxiii. 29. ^ Jer. v. 14. 
 
 7 2 Cor. iii. 5. 8 Num. xxii. 38. * 2 Cor. iv. 7. 
 
 10 Matt, xxviii. 18, 19. ll Ps. cxix. 42. 
 
 »U 
 
64 /KS IRfng. 
 
 TWENTY-SIXTH DAY. 
 
 ^be 1Rame of tbe Iking* 
 
 ' A King shall reign. And this is His name whereby He 
 shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.' 
 — Jer. xxiii. 5,6. 
 
 WE cannot do without this most wonderful 
 name. It can never be an old story to us. 
 It is always a ' new name '^ in freshness and beauty 
 and power. It is our daily need and our daily joy. 
 For strength it is indeed ' a strong tower ; the 
 righteous runneth into it, and is safe. '^ For sweet- 
 ness it is ^ as ointment poured forth. '^ In it we 
 see at once the highest height and the deepest 
 depth ; Jehovah, God of God, Light of Light, and 
 our need of a righteousness which is not our own at 
 all, because we have none. We stand as upon an 
 Alpine slope, face to face with the highest, grandest, 
 purest summit above, and the darkest, deepest 
 valley below, seeing more of the height because of 
 the depth, and more of the depth because of the 
 height. 
 
 Jesus our King ' hath by inheritance obtained a 
 
 1 Rev. iii. 12. - Prov. xviii. 10. ^ Cant. i. 3. 
 
IRamc of tbe "Ring. 65 
 
 more excellent name '^ than angels, for His Father 
 has given Him his own name, — ' He shall be 
 called Jehovah.'^ But this alone would be too 
 great, too far off for us ; it might find echoes 
 among the harpings of sinless angels, but not 
 among the sighings of sinful souls. And so 
 the name was completed for us, by the very word 
 that expresses our truest, deepest, widest, most 
 perpetual need, and the Holy Ghost revealed 
 the Son of God to as ' Jehovah our Righteous- 
 ness.' 
 
 Do not let us be content with theoretically un- 
 derstanding and correctly holding the doctrine of 
 justification by faith. Turn from the words to the 
 reality, from the theory to the Person, and as a 
 little, glad, wondering child, look at the simple, 
 wonderful truth. That * the Righteousness of God ' 
 (how magnificent !) is ' unto all and upon all them 
 that believe ; '^ therefore, at this very moment, un- 
 to and upon you and me, instead of our own filthy 
 rags,* so that we stand clothed and beautiful ° in the 
 very sight of God, now ; and Jesus can say, * Thou 
 art all fair, my love,'® now I That it is not any 
 finite righteousness, which might not quite cover 
 the whole, — might not be quite enough to satisfy 
 God's all-searching eye; not a righteousness, but 
 The Righteousness of God ;^ and this no abstract 
 attribute, but a Person, real, living, loving, — covering 
 us with His own glorious apparel,^ representing us 
 before His Father, Christ Jesus Himself * made 
 
 1 Heb. i. 4. 2 Jer. xxiii. 6, marg. 3 Rom. iii. 22. 
 
 4 Isa. Ixiv. 6. 5 Zech. iii. 4, 5. * Cant. iv. 7. 
 
 ^ Phil. iii. Q. 8 Isa. Ixiii. i. 
 
66 It^ Iking ♦ 
 
 unto us Righteousness ! '^ This to-day and this for 
 ever, for * His name shall endure for ever.'^ 
 
 It is in His kingly capacity that this glorious 
 name is given to Him. For only by ' siibmitting 
 ourselves to the Righteousness of God,*^ can we 
 have * the blessedness of the man unto whom God 
 imputeth righteousness without works.'* There can 
 be no compromise, — it must be His only or ours 
 only. He must be our King, or He will not be our 
 Righteousness. 
 
 TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY. 
 
 MorftiriQ witb tbe Iking* 
 
 * There they dwelt with the king for his work.' — i Chron. 
 iv. 23. 
 
 * 'TpHERE ! ' — Not in any likely place at all, not 
 A in the palace, not in ' the city of the great 
 king,' '" but in about the last place one would have 
 expected, * among plants and hedges.' ^ It does 
 not even seem clear why they were ^ there' at all, 
 for they were potters, not gardeners, — thus giving 
 us the combination of simple labour of the hands, 
 carried on in out-of-the-way places ; and yet they 
 were dwellers with the king, and workers with 
 the king. 
 
 1 I Cor. i. 30. 2 Ps. Ixxii. 17. 3 Rom. x. 3. 
 
 4 Rom. iv. 6. 5 Ps. xlviii. 2. 6 i Chron. iv. 23. 
 
'^orfting witb tbe IRlng. 67 
 
 The lesson seems twofold, — First, thac anywhere 
 and everywhere we too may dwell ' with the King 
 for His work. ' We may be in a very unlikely or 
 unfavourable place for this, — it may be in a literal 
 country life, with little enough to be seen of the 
 < goings ' ^ of the King around us ; it may be 
 among hedges of all sorts, hindrances in all direc- 
 tions ; it may be, furthermore, with our hands full 
 of all manner of pottery for our daily task. No 
 mStter ! The King who placed us ' there ' will 
 come and dwell there with us ; the hedges are all 
 right, or He would soon do away with them,^ and 
 it does not follow that what seems to hinder our 
 way ^ may not be for its very protection; and as for 
 the pottery, why, that is just exactly what He has 
 seen fit to put into bur hands, and therefore it is, 
 for the present, ' His work.' ^ 
 
 Secondly, that the dwelling and the working 
 must go together. If we are indeed dwelling with 
 the King, we shall be working for Him, too, ' as we 
 have opportunity.'^ The working will be as the 
 dwelling, — a settled, regular thing, whatever form 
 it may take at His appointment. Nor will His work 
 ever be done when we are not dwelling with Him. 
 It will be our own work then, not His, and it will 
 not * abide.' ^ We shall come under the condem- 
 nation of the vine which was pronounced ' empty,* 
 because ' he bringeth forth fruit unto himself.' ^ 
 
 We are to dwell with the King ' for His work ;' 
 but He will see to it that it shall be for a great deal 
 
 1 Ps. Ixviii. 24. 2 Job iii. 23. 3 Matt. xxi. 33. 
 
 ^ Mark xiii. 34, 6 Gal. vi. 10. ® i Cor. iii. 14, 
 
 7 Hos. X. I. 
 
68 jflB^ mUQ. 
 
 besides,— for a great continual reward according to 
 His own heart and out of His royal bounty, — for 
 peace, for power, for love, for gladness, for like- 
 ness to Himself. 
 
 * Labourers together with God ! ' ^ ' workers 
 together with him !'^ * the Lord working with' us ! ^ 
 admitted into divine fellowship of work ! — will not 
 this thought ennoble everything He gives us to do 
 to-day, even if it is * among plants and hedges ' 1 
 Even the pottery will be grand ! 
 
 ' Be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the 
 Lord, and work, for I am with you, saith the Lord 
 of hosts.'* 
 
 TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY. 
 
 ^be 1?ecompen0C of tbe Mwq. 
 
 ' Why should the king recompense it me with such a 
 reward ? ' — 2 Sam. xix. 36. 
 
 BARZILLAI 'had provided the king of suste 
 nance v>'hile he lay at Mahanaim,'^ exiled from 
 his royal city. When the day of triumphant return 
 came, David said to him, ' Come thou over with me, 
 and 1 will feed thee with me in Jerusalem.' ^ This 
 was the ' reward.' 
 
 But what a privilege and delight it must have 
 
 1 Cor. iii. 9. 22 Cor. vi. i. ^ Mark xv'i. 20. 
 
 ■* Hag, ii. 4. s 2 Sam. xix, 32. « 2 Sam. xix. 33. 
 
IRecompense of tbc Iking* 69 
 
 been to the loyal old man ! And to come nearer, 
 what a continual joy it must have been to the women 
 who 'ministered '^ to the exiled King of heaven 
 'of their substance.' How very much one would 
 have liked a share in that ministry ! 
 
 Is there any loving wish which our King does not 
 meet? Was it not most thoughtful of Him to 
 appoint His continual representatives, so that we 
 might always and every one of us have the opportu- 
 nity of ministering /o Him / These opportunities 
 are wider than we sometimes think; some limit 
 His ' gracious Inasmuch '^ to services for His sake 
 to the poor only. Yet the 'strangers'^ whom He 
 bids us love, may be rich in all but the friendliness 
 and kindness which we may show them ; and the 
 * sick ' may be those among our own dear ones who 
 need our ministry. Why should we fancy it is only 
 those who are not near and dear to us, to whom we 
 may minister ' as unto Him ' ?* 
 
 But oh, what little services are our cups of cold 
 water ! ^ and how utterly ashamed we feel of ever 
 having thought any of them wearying or irksome, 
 when we look at ' the recompense of the reward,'^ — 
 ^ such a reward ! ' Is there one of us whose heart 
 has not thrilled at the mere imagining of what it 
 will be to hear 'the King say. Come, ye blessed ! '^ 
 Then what will it be to enter into the fulness of the 
 reward, to 'come over with'^ Him, and dwell with 
 Him always in 'the holy Jerusalem,' and ' go no 
 more out.'^ 
 
 1 Luke viii. 3. 2 Matt. xxv. 40. ^ Deut. x. 19. 
 
 4 Eph. vi. 7. 5 Mark ix. 41. 6 Heb. xi. 26. 
 
 ^ Matt. xxv. 34. 8 2 Sam. xix. 33. ^ Rev. xxi. 10; ib. iii. 12. 
 
70 /libs Iking. 
 
 ' Why should the king recompense it me with such 
 a reward ? ' * Why should thy servant dwell in the 
 royal city with thee? '^ For there is such a tremen- 
 dous disproportion between the work and the reward, 
 though such a glorious proportion between His love 
 and His reward. 
 
 And yet there is a beautiful fitness in it. The 
 banquet of everlasting joy for those who gave Him 
 meat f the river of His pleasures for those who gave 
 Him drink ;^ the mansions in the Father's home 
 for those who took the stranger in ;* the white robes 
 for those who clothed the naked f the tree of life 
 and ^ no more pain ' for those who visited the sick;^ 
 the 'glorious liberty'^ for those who came unto the 
 prisoner; the crown of all, the repeatedly promised 
 * with Me'^ for those who were content to be with 
 His sorrowful or suffering ones for His sake. Why 
 all this? I suppose we shall keep on asking that 
 for ever ! 
 
 TWENTY-NINTH DAY. 
 
 ^bc Salvation of tbe Iking* 
 
 • The Lord is our King; He will save us.' — IsA. xxxiii. 22. 
 
 T 
 
 HE thought of salvation is constantly connected 
 with that of kingship. Type, illustration. 
 
 1 1 Sam. xxvii. 5. 2 Matt, xxv. 35, etc. 8 Ps, xxxvi. 8. 
 
 < John xiv. 2. 5 Rev. vii. 13; * Rev, xxii. 2 ; ib. xxi. 4. 
 
 y Rom. viii, 21. 8 John xvii, 24. 
 
Salvation ot tbe Iking, - 71 
 
 and prophecy combine them. * Thou shalt anoint 
 him . . . that he may save my people.'^ 'By the 
 hand of my servant David I will save my people.'^ 
 * The king saved us. ' * A King shall reign ; in His 
 days Judah shall be saved.'* 'Thy King cometh, 
 . . . having salvation.'* 
 
 Because Jesus is our Saviour, He has the right to 
 be our King ; but again, because He is King, He 
 is qualified to be our Saviour ; and we never know 
 Him fully as Saviour till we have fully received 
 Him as King. His kingship gives the strength to 
 His priesthood. It is as the Royal Priest of the 
 order of Melchisedec that He is 'able to save.'* 
 Thus He is 'a Saviour, and a Great One,' 'mighty 
 to save. ' ® 
 
 Our King has not only ' wrought,' and 'brought,* 
 and ' made known His salvation,'^ but He Himself 
 zs our salvation.^ The very names seem used inter- 
 changeably. Isaiah says, ' Say ye to the daughter 
 of Zion, Behold, i\iY Salvation cometh;'' Zechariah 
 bids her rejoice, for 'Behold, thy X/«^ cometh. ' ^° 
 Again, Isaiah says, ' Mine eyes have seen th^King; ' ^^ 
 and Simeon echoes, ' Mine eyes have seen thy Sa/- 
 vation,^^'^ 2js> he looks upon the infant Jesus, the 
 Light to lighten the Gentiles ; reminding us again 
 of David's words^ 'The Lord is my light and my 
 salvation. '^^ 
 
 It is because we need salvation, because we are 
 
 1 I Sam. ix. 16. 2 2 Sam. iii. i8 ; ib. xix. 9. 
 
 3 Jer. xxiii. 5, 6. 4 Zech. ix. 9. 
 
 s Heb. vii. i, 17; ib. vii. 25, ^ Isa. xix. 20; ib. Ixiii. i. 
 
 7 Isa, Ixiii. 5. 8 Ps. xcviii. 2. ^ Isa. Ixii. 11. 
 
 10 Zech. ix. 9. 11 Isa. vi. 5. 12 Luke ii. 30. 
 13 Ps, xxvli. I. 
 
72 /BS^ Ikina* 
 
 surrounded by enemies and dangers, and have no 
 power to help ourselves, and have no other help or 
 hope, that He says, ' I will be thy King; where is 
 any other that may save thee ? ' ^ There is no other. 
 'He saw that there was no man/^ and He says, 
 ^ There is no Saviour beside me.'^ 
 
 What is our response? David begins a Psalm by 
 saying, * Truly my soul waiteth upon God : from 
 Him Cometh my salvation ; '* but he quickly raises 
 the key, and sings, 'He on/y is my salvation.'^ 
 Perhaps we have long been quite clear that He on/y 
 is our salvation from * everlasting destruction;'*' 
 but are we equally clear that He on/y is (not will be, 
 but zs) our present salvation from everything from 
 which we want to be saved ? — from every danger, 
 from every snare,'^ from every temptation,^ from 
 
 * the hand of a// our enemies, "* from our sins?^" In 
 death we would cling to the words, ' Christ Jesus 
 came into the world to save sinners. '^'^ Why not in 
 life equally cling to, and equally make real use of, 
 the promise, * He shall save His people from their 
 sins,' ^^ — not merely from sin in general, but definitely 
 
 * from tkez'r sins,' personal and plural sins? 'Is my 
 hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem? or 
 have I no power to deliver ? ' ^' 
 
 His salvation is indeed finished. His work is per- 
 fect ;^* and yet our King is still ' working salvation 
 in the midst of the earth,' ^^ applying the reality of 
 His salvation (if we will only believe His power) to 
 
 1 Hos. xiii. lo. 2 Isa. lix. i6. 3 Hos. xiii. 4. 
 
 4 Ps. Ixii. I. 6 Ps. Ixii. 2. ^ 2 Thess. i. 9. 
 
 7 Ps. xci. 3. 82 Pet. ii. 9, ^ 2 Sam. iii, 18, 
 
 10 Tit. ii. 14. 11 I Tim. i. 15. '2 Matt. i. 21. 
 
 13 Isa, 1. 2. 14 Deut. xxxii. 4. 16 Ps. Ixxiv. 12. 
 
XLbc Iking's IbousebolD. 73 
 
 the daily details of our pilgrimage and our warfare. 
 We need it not only at last, but now — every hour, 
 every minute. And the King * shall deliver the 
 needy when he crieth,' ^ ' and shall save the souls of 
 the needy. '^ 
 
 May He say to your soul this day, 'I am f/iy 
 salvation.'^ 
 
 Look away to Jesus, 
 
 Look away from all ! 
 • Then we need not stumble, 
 
 Then we shall not fall. 
 From each snare that lureth. 
 
 Foe or phantom grim, 
 Safety this ensureth, 
 
 Look away to Him ! 
 
 THIRTIETH DAY. 
 
 (Boob ^it)inQ0 to tbe lking'0 
 1bou0ebolJ)* 
 
 * We do not well : this day is a day of good tidings, and we 
 hold our peace ; if we tarry till the morning light, some 
 mischief will come upon us ; now, therefore, come, that we 
 may go and tell the king's household.' — 2 Kings vii. 9. 
 
 JUST the last persons who would seem to need 
 'good tidings,'* and the last, too, who would 
 seem likely to have them to convey ! But oh, how 
 
 1 Ps.lxxii. 12. 2 Ps. Ixxii. 13. 
 
 ' Ps. XXXV. 3. • * 2 Kings vii. 3. 
 
74 ^18 Tking, 
 
 true the figure is ! how many among the King's own 
 household need the good tidings which these lepers 
 brought ! For they are starving so near to plenty,^ 
 and poor within reach of treasure/ and thinking 
 themselves besieged when the Lord has dispersed 
 the foe for them. Is it not often the spiritual leper, 
 the conscious outcast, the famine-stricken, posses- 
 sionless soul, who takes the boldest step into the 
 fullest salvation, and finds deliverance and abundance 
 and riches beyond what the more favoured and 
 older inmate of the King's household knows any- 
 thing about ? 
 
 It may be one of the enemy's devices,^ that we 
 sometimes hold back good tidings, just because we 
 shrink from telling them to the King's household. 
 How many who do not hesitate to speak of Jesus to 
 little children or poor people, or even to persons 
 who openly say, * We will not have this man to 
 reign over us,'* never say one word to their fellow- 
 subjects about the blessed discoveries that the Holy 
 Spirit has made to them of the fulness of His 
 salvation,^ and the reality of His power, and the 
 treasures of His word, and the satisfaction of His 
 love, and the far-reaching fulfilments of His promises, 
 and the real, actual deliverance, and freedom, and 
 victory, which He gives, ^ and the strength and the 
 healing that flow through faith in His name !' 
 
 Satan even perverts humility into ahinderance in 
 this, and persuades us that of course our friend 
 knows as much or more of this than we do, and 
 
 ^ Ps Ixxxi. 10-16. 2 I Cor. iii. 21, 22. 3 2 Cor. ii. 11. 
 
 ^ 1 nke xix. 14. 6 John xvi. 1,4, 15. ^ Rom. viii. 37. 
 
 7 Acis iii. 16. 
 
XLbc Iking's IbousebolD, 75 
 
 that telling of what we have found in Jesus, may 
 seem like or lead to talking about ourselves. Yet 
 perhaps all the while that friend is hungering and 
 feeling besieged, while we are withholding good 
 tidings of plenty and deliverance.^ Verily, ' we do 
 not well.'^ Have there not been days when the 
 brightest of us would have been most thankful for 
 the simplest word about Jesus, from the humblest 
 Christian? — days when even 'the mention of His 
 name ' might have been food and freedom ! 
 
 It does not in the least follow that members of 
 Christian families need no such 'good tidings' 
 because of their favoured position. They may 
 need it all the more, because no one thinks it 
 necessary to try and help fhem. ' As we have 
 therefore opportunity, let us do good unto a// men, 
 specially unto them who arc of the household of 
 faith." 
 
 And when ? The constantly recurring word 
 meets us here again, ' Now ! * 
 
 1 Prov. xi. 24-36. * James iv. 17. * Gal. vi. 10. 
 
76 M^ ftma^ 
 
 THIRTY-FIRST DAY. 
 
 ^be lpro0periti? of tbe Iking* 
 
 *A King shall reign and prosper.' — Jer. xxiii. 5. 
 
 IF we are really interested, heart and soul, in a 
 person, how delighted we are to have positive 
 assurance of his prosperity, and how extremely in- 
 terested and pleased we feel at hearing anything 
 about it ! Is not this a test of our love to our 
 King ? Are we both interested and happy in the 
 short, grand, positive words which are given us 
 about His certain prosperity? If so, the pulse of 
 our gladness is beating through to the very heart of 
 God, for ^Jehovah hath pleasure in the prosperity 
 of His servant.'^ 
 
 His prosperity is both absolute and increasing. 
 Even now, ' Thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth 
 the fame that I heard. '^ If we could get one glimpse 
 of our King in his present glory and joy, how we 
 who love Him would rejoice for Him and with Him!* 
 And if we could get one great view of the wide but 
 hidden prosperity of His kingdom af this 7?io7nent, 
 where would be our discouragement and faint- 
 
 1 Ps. XXXV. 27. 2 I Kings x. 7. ^ i Pet. iii. 22. 
 
IProsperft^ ot tbe 1Rlng» 77 
 
 heartedness ! Suppose 'we could see how His work 
 is going on in every soul that he has redeemed out 
 of every kindred and tongue all over the world/ 
 with the same distinctness with which we see it in 
 the last trophy of His grace for which we have been 
 praising Him, would it not be a revelation of 
 entirely overwhelming joy? Many Christians now- 
 a-days are foregoing an immense amount of cheer, 
 because they do not take the trouble to inquire, or 
 rea"d, or go where they can hear about the present 
 prosperity of His kingdom. Those who do not 
 care much, can hardly be loving much or helping 
 much. 
 
 But we do care about it ; and so how jubilantly 
 the promises of His zWr^^j/Vz^ prosperity ring out to 
 us I ' He must increase.'"^ ' He must reign, till He 
 hath put all enemies under his feet.'^ ' Of the in- 
 crease of His government and peace there shall be 
 no end.'* 
 
 All our natural delight in progress finds satisfac- 
 tion here, — no stagnation, no reaching a dead level ; 
 we are on an ever-winning side, bound up with an 
 ever-progressing cause. A typical light on this 
 point flashes from the story of David. He ' went 
 on and grew great, '^ or, as the margin has it, 'going 
 and growing ; ' which we cannot forbear connect- 
 ing with the promise to ourselves, * Ye shall go forth 
 2iX\d grow M^.^^ And then we are told that He 
 'waxed greater and greater' (marg.), 'went on 
 going and increasing.^'' 
 
 But we must not be merely on-lookers. Let us 
 
 1 Rev. V. 9. 2 John iii. 30. 3 i Cor. xv. 25. ■* Isa. ix. 7. 
 ° 2 Sam. V. 10. c Mai, iv, 2. 7 i Chron. xi. 9. 
 
78 /IR^ Iking* 
 
 see to it, first, that there benncreasing prosperity in 
 His kingdom in our hearts. Pray that He may not 
 only reign but prosper in that domain. And next, 
 let us see to it that we are doing all we can to 
 further His prosperity all around us. Translate our 
 daily prayer, 'Thy kingdom come,'^ into daily, 
 burning, glowing action for its prosperity. 
 
 1 Matt. vi. lo, 2 Ps. xxiii. 5. '2 Sam. xix. 33. ^ Gal. iv. $. 
 
 6 Cant. ii. 4. 6 Cant. v. 1. ^ Cant. i. i«. 
 
-ROYAL COMMANDMENTS 
 
 OR 
 
 IMORNING THOUGHTS 
 
 FOR 
 
 Zbc MrxQ'e Servants 
 
FIRST DAY. 
 
 loving Hllegiance. 
 
 'Master! ' — John xx. i6. 
 
 I THINK this is the very epitome of love. Love 
 understands love ; it needs no talk. Sunlight 
 needs no paraphernalia of pipes, and wicks, and 
 burners ; it just shines out, direct and immediate. 
 And the dewdrop flashes it back in the same way. 
 The sparkle may be tiny, but it is true and imme- 
 diate ; it needs no vehicle. 
 
 'I have called thee by thy name.'^ That was 
 quite enough. The powerful sunshine of His love 
 v/as focussed into that white beam of sevenfold 
 light, and the whole soul was concentrated into the 
 responsive love-flash, ' Master ! ' 
 
 When that word has truly gone up from the soul 
 to Christ, then we have felt what we can never put 
 into any other words. It is the single diamond of 
 soul expression,^ and we have cast it at His feet for 
 ever. 
 
 He accepts it; for how wonderfully sweetly falls 
 His direct answer, * Ye call Me Master and Lord : 
 
 1 Isa. xliii. i. 2 Ps. xvi, 2. 
 
 (81) 
 
S2 IRoisal Comman&ment0. 
 
 ^nd ye say well ; for so I am.'^ Think of this seal 
 of approval being set upon the name we so love to 
 give Him. 'Ye say we//. ' 
 
 He reserves it to Himself, for He says, ' One is \ 
 your Master, even Christ.'^ It is sacred to Him in 
 all its depths of meaning. He has put His hand 
 upon our offering, claiming it as only His own f 
 and now it can never be another's. 
 
 It includes the whole attitude of soul towards 
 our beloved Lord. 
 
 1. ZoTJe. — There is a great hush; we have not 
 any words at all. We cannot even tell Him we 
 love Him, because we are dazzled with a glimpse of 
 His love,* and overwhelmed with our unworthiness 
 of it. Our eyes fill, and our bosom heaves. The 
 tide has risen too high for verbal prayer or praise ; 
 we have to be ' silent in love '^ — the very silejice 
 being an echo of the eternal depth of calmness of 
 the exceeding great love in which He rests. There 
 is only one word which does not jar with the still 
 music of such a moment, — ' Master ! ' 
 
 2. Adoration. — For the breathing of the name is 
 all we can do to express the unexplainable recogni- 
 tion of His glory.® Already He is ' admired in all 
 them that believe ''' with the admiration of aston- 
 ishment. ' We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we 
 worship Thee, we glorify Thee, we give thanks to 
 Thee for Thy great glory.' And yet we only 
 uttered the one word, * Master ! ' 
 
 3. A//egiance. — The true utterance of it is the 
 
 1 John xiii. 13, - Matt, xxiii. 8, 10. 3 j Sam. xxv, 35. 
 
 ■* 2 Sam. I. 26 ; Eph. iii. 19. 6 Zeph. iii. 17, margin. 
 
 * John i. 14. 7 2 Thess. i. lo (Gr.) 
 
Xoving BUegiancc. 83 
 
 very oath of allegiance. We cannot, must not, 
 dare not, will not, henceforth serve 'two masters,'^ 
 nor the still more subtle 'many masters.'^ The 
 word has been breathed into His heart, and He 
 will treasure it there, and keep it for us. It has 
 been said, and the sound-waves can never be re- 
 called ; they will vibrate through the universe for 
 ever. God grant that no traitorous whisper may 
 ever cross them ! 
 
 4? Confidence, — We have found One whom we 
 can trust implicitly, and rest upon entirely. We 
 have put our lives into His hand. We have burned 
 the bridge behind us, because we are quite sure He 
 is the Captain of our salvation.' We have entered 
 His service for ever} We have given our allegi- 
 ance unreservedly, because we confide in Him 
 unreservedly,^ There is no question about it. ' I 
 know whom I have believed,'^ and therefore I say, 
 * Master ! ' 
 
 5. Obedience. — All a mockery without this ! 
 Not only our lips, but our lives must say, ' Master ! ' 
 And by His own grace they shall say it ; the name 
 shall be emblazoned on every page of our lives. 
 For Jesus Himself will ' make it plain ' upon our 
 tablets, so 'that he may run that readeth it.'^ 
 This is the test, the fruit, the manifestation of 
 love.® But oh, how sweet that we may fearlessly 
 say the word which pledges us to it, knowing that 
 the Master Himself will enable us to fill it up with 
 the practical obedience which, above all things, we 
 
 1 Matt. vi. 24. 2 Jas. iii. i ; Isa. xxvi. 13. 3 Heb. ii. 10. 
 
 ^ Ex. xxi. 6. 61 Chron. xii. 18. * 2 Tim. i. 12. 
 
 7 Hab. ii. 2. 8 John xiv. 15; 2 Cor. v. 14, 15. 
 
84 IRoigal CommanDmcntg, 
 
 want so intensely to yield to Him ! It is like 
 throwing our alpenstock up to a higher ledge of 
 rock, and then giving ourselves up to the strong 
 arm of the guide to draw us up after it. 
 
 Never shall we have to say, like the Amalekite's 
 servant, ' My master left me ! '^ He is our good 
 Master,^ our ^ own Master'^ and He will reveal to 
 His weak servants all that He means in His own 
 faithful endorsement of the name* which His Spirit 
 has taught us to call Him.^ 
 
 * O Master, at Thy feet 
 I bow in rapture sweet ! 
 Before me, as in darkling glass, 
 Some glorious outlines pass 
 Of love, and truth, and holiness, and power, 
 I own them Thine, O Christ, and bless Thee for this hour.' 
 
 SECOND DAY. 
 
 Seeftmg for Ibia Commanbmente* 
 
 * Keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord your 
 God.' — I Chron. xxviii. 8. 
 
 IS not this precept too often halved ? We ac- 
 knowledge our obligation to keep, but what 
 about seeking for 2i\\ the commandments of the Lord 
 our God? Are we doing this? 
 
 1 I Sam. XXX. 13, 2 Mark x. 17. ^ Pom. xiv. 4. 
 
 4 John xiii, 13. 5 i Cor. xii, 3, 
 
SeeftitiQ 1bi6 GommanDments. 85 
 
 * Thy commandment is exceeding broad,' ^and 
 our horizon must be continually widening if He is 
 making us to go in the path of His commandments.^ 
 Even when, by His grace, we have been led to take 
 the seven beautiful steps in that path mentioned in 
 that grand gush of Bible love, the 119th Psalm, 
 believing them,^ learning them, longing for them, 
 loving them,* delighting in them, keeping them,* 
 and not forgetting them,^ there remains yet this- 
 furtRer step, seeking for all of them. 
 
 Perhaps we have even a little shrinking from this. 
 We are afraid of seeing something which might 
 be peculiarly hard to keep ; it seems as if it might 
 be enough to try to keep what commandments we 
 have seen without seeking for still more, and as if 
 seeing more to keep would only involve us in 
 heavier obligations and in more failures to keep 
 them. And we almost wish we had never seen this 
 added command, forgetting that shedding of blood 
 was needed for sin 'through ignorance.'^ But we 
 have seen it, even if we never noticed it before ; it 
 is shown us to-day, and we have no alternative but 
 obedience or disobedience to it. 
 
 Does not a loving child like to find out what 
 its dear father wishes it to do ? does it not feel sorry 
 that it did not know all he wished in time to avoid 
 doing just the contrary ? How little we must love 
 His will if we would rather not know it, lest \\ 
 should clash with our own ! ^ Even to take the 
 lowest ground, all His commandments are * for our 
 
 1 Ps. cxix. 96. 2 Ps. cxix. 35. 3 Ps. cxix. 66. 
 
 < Ps. cxix. 73, 131, 127. 5 Ps, cxix. 47, 115. ^ Ps. cxix. 176. 
 
 7 Lev. iv. 27-35. 8 Ps. xl. 8. 
 
86 TRo^al Commandments, 
 
 good,' ^ and *in keeping of them there is great re- 
 ward ; '^ so that we are clearly missing unknown 
 good or unknown reward by remaining in ignorance 
 of any of them. Nay, more, ' it is your life ' ^ to 
 observe to do all the words of His law. 
 
 We need not fear being left to struggle with newly 
 discovered impossibilities ; for, with the light that 
 reveals a command, the grace to fulfil it will surely 
 be given. It is very humbling when the Spirit's 
 light flashes upon some command of our God which 
 we have never * observed,' much less ^ done ; '* and 
 yet it is a very gracious answer to the prayer, ' Teach 
 me to do Thy will.'^ 
 
 In reading His word, let us steadily set ourselves 
 to seek for all His yet unnoticed commandments, 
 noting day by day what we find ; and thus knowing 
 more of His will, will be a step towards doing more 
 of it. Let us not be content with vaguely praying, 
 ' Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? ' ^ but set to 
 work to see what He has already said"^ we are to do, 
 and then, * Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.'^ 
 
 1 Deut. X. 13. 2 Ps. xix. 11. 3 Deut. xxxii. 47. 
 
 ^ Deut. xi. 32 ; xv. 5, etc. 6 Ps. cxliii. 10. ^ Acts ix, 6. 
 
 ? Hab. ii. i. ^ John ii. 5. 
 
1Reco0nl3ino CommanDmenta* 87 
 
 THIRD DAY. 
 
 IRecoQntsing 1bi0 Comman^ment0. 
 
 'And this is His commandment.' — i JOHN iii. 23. 
 
 WE may be quite sure of three things, — first, 
 that whatever our Lord commands us, He 
 really means us to do ; ^ secondly, that whatever 
 He commands us is 'for our good always; '^ and, 
 thirdly, that whatever He commands us, He is able 
 and willing to enable us to do, for J all God's bid- 
 dings are enablings.'^ 
 
 But do we practically recognize all His command- 
 ments as commandments, and the breach of any 
 one of them as sin ?* As we read each precept, let 
 us solemnly say to ourselves, ' This is His command- 
 ment ; ' and oh, what a touchstone of guilt will it 
 be ! How we shall see that what we have been 
 excusing as infirmity and natural weakness which 
 we could not help, and shortcomings with regard to 
 impossible standards, has been all sin, transgression, 
 disobedience, needing to be bitterly repented of, 
 needing nothing less than blood, the precious 
 blood of Christ,^ for atonement and cleansing, 
 
 ^ Deut. xii. 32. 2 Deut. vi. 24. 3 2 Cor. ix. 8, xii. 9. 
 
 ^ Ps. cxix. 4; Jas. ii. 10. 5 Heb. ix. 22. 
 
S8 TRogal Commandments. 
 
 needing nothing short of Omnipotence to strengthen 
 us against it. ^ 
 
 Perhaps this is the sad secret of many a mourning 
 life among God's children. They are calling sin 
 by other names. ^ They think it is only natural 
 temperament and infirmity, for which they are to 
 claim sympathy, to go on doubting and distrusting 
 their Saviour and their God ; yet '■this is His com- 
 mandment, That we should believe on the name of 
 His Son Jesus Christ,'^ and this, 'Trust in Him at 
 all times.'* They think they are to be tenderly 
 pitied for having such a burden to bear, and such 
 sadness of heart ; yet this is His commandment, 
 ' Cast thy burden upon the Lord ; ' ^ and this, 
 * Rejoice in the Lord alway.'^ They do not think 
 they can exactly help their hearts being so cold that 
 they do not know whether they love Him or not; 
 yet this is His commandment, 'Thou shalt love the 
 Lord thy God with all thy heart.'' They almost 
 feel as if their state were a rather interesting one. 
 
 Yet, oh! dear friend, if the Lord has indeed 
 commanded these things, it is a state of disobe- 
 dience. If He has said them. He means you to do 
 them. Oh, come face to face with His word ; do 
 not shrink from the terrible shock of seeing sin 
 where you only thought of infirmity. It is by the 
 word that He has spoken that you will be judged,^ 
 not by man's excusing euphemisms. You are com- 
 mitting sin in doubting Him ; you are directly 
 disobedient in not trusting Him, not casting your 
 
 1 Isa. xl. 29. 2 Heb. xii. i, 2. 3 i John iii. 23. 
 
 ■4 Ps. Ixii. 8. 5 Ps. Iv. 22. 6 Phil. iv. 4. 
 
 ' Matt. xxii. 37. 8 John xii. 48. 
 
TReco0m3tn0 commanoment6. 89 
 
 burden upon Him ; not rejoicing alway in Him ; 
 you are a transgressor of His ' first and great com- 
 mandment '^ in not loving Him. 'Thou art become 
 a transgressor of the law/ * guilty of all.' ■^ 
 
 Oh ! if the Holy Spirit flashes the light which He 
 only can flash upon these commandments, and 
 shows you the sins which, child of God though you 
 are, you have never yet recognized as such, you can- 
 not and will not rest in them, if indeed 'the root 
 of tlie matter is found '^ in you. It will wring from 
 you an agony cry of 'Lord, have mercy upon me, 
 and incline my heart to keep this law,' as He turns 
 that terrible and yet merciful light on each. If you 
 do not yet 'see it quite so strongly,' ask that 
 blessed Spirit to show you, at any cost, what He 
 has, sooner or later, to show you. For He will not 
 show you the sin without the remedy. And never 
 will the precious blood of Christ have been so 
 precious to you as when, after such an entirely start- 
 ling revelation of the guilt of your position of dis- 
 obedience, you come, despairing of yourself, to the 
 Fountain,* and find the cleansing and sanctifying 
 and overcoming power of the blood of the Lamb.^ 
 
 In that power make haste and delay not to keep 
 His commandments,^ and then shall you not be 
 ashamed when you have respect unto all His com- 
 mandments.'' 
 
 1 Matt. xxii. 38. - Jas. ii. 10, 11. 2 Job xix. 28. 
 
 * I John i. 9. 6 Rev. xii. zi. * Ps. cxix. 60. 
 
 ^ Ps. cxix. 6. 
 
90 IRo^al Commandments. 
 
 FOURTH DAY. 
 
 Zhc flDean0 of (Browtb* 
 
 • Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ.' — 2 Pet. iii. 18. 
 
 THE very thing we are longing to do, and 
 perhaps mourning over not doing, and perhaps- 
 praying every day that we may do, and seeming to 
 get no answer ! But when God has annexed a means 
 to the fulfilment of a command, we cannot expect 
 Him to enable us to fulfil that command if we are 
 not using His means. In this case the means are 
 Avrapped in another command: ' Desire the sincere 
 milk of the word, that ye inay grow thereby.'^ 
 
 Real desire must prove itself by action ; it is no^ 
 use desiring the milk and not drinking it. ' Where- 
 fore criest thou unto Me ? speak unto the children: 
 of Israel, that thty go forward. ^"^ Let us to-day, 
 and every day henceforth, *go forward,' and use in 
 faith and honest earnestness this His own great 
 means of growth. 
 
 By the word we shall 'grow in grace.' The 
 beginning of grace in our souls was by the sam.e ^ 
 
 1 z Pet. ii. I. 2 Ex. xiv, 15. 
 
for it is written, 'Of His own will begat He us 
 withthe word of truth ;'^ ' Being born again, . . . 
 by the word of God.''^ At every step it is the same 
 word which developes the spiritual life. The young 
 man shall ' cleanse his way ' by it. The entrance 
 of it giveth light and understanding.^ The result 
 of hiding it in our hearts is, that we ' might not sin 
 against Thee;'* and how often by His word has He 
 * withheld thee from sinning against Me ! '^ Again 
 and'again we have said, * Thy word hath quickened 
 me.'^ For it comes to us 'not in word only, but 
 in power and in the Holy Ghost, and in much 
 assurance.'' It is 'able to make thee wise unto 
 salvation,'^ and its intended effects of reproof, 
 correction, instruction in righteousness, rise to what 
 would seem a climax of growth, ' that the man of 
 God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto a/i 
 good works. '^ And yet there is a still more glorious 
 result of this ' word of God, which effectually 
 worketh also in you that believe ;'^^ for by ' His 
 divine power ' ' are given unto us exceeding great 
 and precious promises, that by these ye might be 
 partakers of the divine nature. '^^ This is indeed 
 the climax, for what can rise beyond this most 
 marvellous effect of this blessed means of growth 
 in grace ! Oh, to use it as He would have us use it, 
 so that every day we ' may grow thereby ' ! 
 
 By the word we shall also grow in the knowledge 
 of Christ. The mere surface of this is obvious. 
 
 1 Jas. i. 18. 2 I Pet. U 23. 
 
 3 Ps. cxix. 9; ib. cxix. 130. 4 Ps. cxix. 11. 
 
 5 Gen. XX. 6. 6 pg, cxix. So. 7 i Thess. i. 5. 
 
 8 2 Tim. iii. 15. 9 2 Tim. iii. 17. 10 i Thess. ii. 13. 
 
 ■U 2 Pet. i. 3 ; ib. i. a. 
 
92 IRoigal GommanMnents. 
 
 For how do we come to know more of any one 
 whom having not seen, we love?^ is it not by read- 
 ing and hearing what he has said and written and 
 done ? How are we to know more of Jesus Christ,, 
 if we ^re not taking the trouble to know more of 
 His word ? 
 
 He hath said, 'Search the Scriptures; for . . . 
 they are they which testify of Me.'^ Are we really 
 searching, or only superficially reading, those Old 
 Testament Scriptures of which He spoke? He says 
 they testify of Him, i.e. tell us all about Him ; are 
 we acting as if we quite believed that ? 
 
 ' Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He 
 expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the 
 things concerning Himself. '^ Then there are things 
 about Jesus in ^//the Scriptures — not just only in 
 the Psalms and Isaiah, but in every book ! How 
 very much there must be for us to find ! Let us ask 
 the Holy Spirit to take of these things of Jesus and 
 show them unto us,* that we may grow in * the 
 knowledge of the Son of God. '^ 
 
 * The words which I speak unto you, they are 
 spirit, and they are life '^ — quickening and continu- 
 ally life-giving words. We want to be permeated 
 with them ; we want them to dwell in us richly,^ to 
 be the inspiration of our whole lives, the very music 
 of our spirits, whose melodious overflow may be 
 glory to God and goodwill to man.^ Jesus Himself 
 has given us this quick and powerful word of God^ 
 and our responsibility is tremendous. He has told 
 
 1 I Pet. i. 8, 2 John. v. 39. ^ Luke xxiv. 27. 
 
 ■* John xvi. 15. 5 Eph. iv. 13. ' John vi. 63. 
 
 T Col. iii. 16. 8 Luke ii. za. 
 
/iRental jfooO. 93 
 
 as distinctly what to do as to it ; He has said, 
 ' Search ! '^ Now, are we substituting a word of 
 our own, and merely reading them ? He did not say, 
 *■ Read them,' but ' Search I ''■* and it is a most serious 
 thought for many a comfortable daily reader of the 
 Bible, that, if they are only reading and not search- 
 ing, they are distinctly living in disobedience to 
 one of His plainest commands. What wonder if 
 they do not ' grow thereby ' ! 
 
 • Let me then be always growing, 
 
 Never, never standing still, 
 Listening, learning, better knowing 
 
 Thee, and Thy most blessed will ; 
 That the Master's eye may trace, 
 Day by day, my growth in grace. 
 
 FIFTH DAY. 
 
 fBiental foob* 
 
 * Eat ye that which is good.' — IsA. Iv. 2. 
 
 *O0 foolish was I, and ignorant : I was as a beast 
 O before Thee,'^ or this commandment would 
 not have been needed. Good, wholesome, delicious 
 food set plentifully before us, and yet we have to be 
 told to eat that which is good, and to let rubbish 
 and poison alone ! Is it not humiliating? 
 
 1 John V. 39. 2 isa, xxxiv. 16. 8 Ps. Ixiii. 33. 
 
 7 
 
94 TRo^al aommanDmcnts. 
 
 We know too much about feeding on that which 
 is not good, and what profit had we in those things 
 whereof we are now ashamed?^ The Lord has had 
 to testify of us, ' He feedeth on ashes, '^ ' feedeth on 
 wind,"* 'feedeth on foolishness.'* Most gracious 
 was His decree, ' They shall eat, and not have 
 enough;'^ ' Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied.'^ 
 He would not let us be satisfied. And now, if we 
 have tasted that the Lord is gracious,^ we cannot be 
 satisfied with the old ashes and wind. 
 
 But what about our daily practical obedience to 
 this command ? How much are we going to eat to- 
 day of that which is good, in proportion to that 
 which satisfieth not? Will it be a question of 
 minutes for the word by which we live,^ and hours 
 for books which are at best negative as to spiritual 
 nutriment? What is our present obedience to the 
 parallel command, ' Desire the sincere milk of the 
 word, that ye may grow thereby' ?^ What about 
 our appetite for the 'strong meat,'^" 'the deep 
 things of God ' ?" If other books contain ' neces- 
 sary food '^^ mentally, and we are called to use them, 
 so that by study of His works, His providences nat- 
 ural, mental, moral, we may be more meet for the 
 Master's use,^^ do we practically and consciously 
 esteem the words of His mouth more? Can we say, 
 they are ' in my mouth as honey for sweetness' ?^* 
 
 But perhaps we are even purposing to eat that 
 which is «^/good. We may argue that there is no 
 
 1 Rom. vi. 21, 2 Isa. xliv. .20. 3 pjos. xii. i. 
 
 * Prov, XV. 14. 6 Hos. iv. 10. ' Mic. vi. 14. 
 
 7 I Pet. ii. 3. 8 Matt. iv. 4. 9 1 Pet. ii. 2. 
 
 10 Heb. V. 12, 14. 11 I Cor. ii. 10. 12 Job xxiii. is 
 
 *• 2 Tim. ii. 21. l^ Ezek. iii. 3. 
 
iRcntal jfooD. 95 
 
 harm in certain readings, and that if we don't read 
 what others do we shall get narrow and lose con- 
 versational influence, and that people will think 
 nothing of our opinion if we can't say we have read 
 such and such books, and so forth.. But all the 
 time, do we not know, down in our heart of hearts, 
 that this is all sophistry ? ^ We know, though we 
 do not like to acknowledge, that the books in 
 question do blunt our spiritual appetite and hinder 
 our-close communion with Jesus ; that the influence 
 we profess to want is not purely desired ' for Jesus' 
 sake only,'^ and to be used ' alliox Jesus,' — in short, 
 we like the reading, and we do not want to resist 
 pleasing ourselves,^ And so we deliberately disobey 
 the command to eat that which is good, excusing 
 ourselves by pretending that we ^ saw that the tree 
 was good for food,'* when the truth was that we 
 simply saw that it was 'pleasant.' 
 
 We are solemnly responsible for the mental in- 
 fluences under which we place ourselves. ' Take 
 heed what ye hear '^ must include ' take heed what 
 ye read.' * Lead us not into temptation ' is 'vain 
 repetition '® when we walk straight away into it, 
 hoodwinking our own eyes because we are drawn 
 away and enticed by our own desires.'^ 
 
 Do we feel that we are not strong enough to re- 
 sist ? * The way of the Lord is strength to the 
 upright; '® and His ' way to escape ' is, ' Eat ye 
 that which is good. '^ Perhaps if Eve had fully 
 availed herself of God's permission, * Thou mayst 
 
 1 Job xiii. 7 2 John xii. 9. 3 Rom. xv. 1-3. 
 
 * ^ea, iji. 6. 5 Mark iv, 24. « Matt. vi. 7, 13. 
 
 ' Jasr \ i^. 8 Prov. X. 29. * i Cor. x. 13. 
 
g6 IRogal Commandments. 
 
 freely eat,*^ she would not have been so ready to 
 disregard His prohibition. If we ' eat in plenty'^ 
 of ' angels' food,'^ of course we shall not care about 
 the 'onions and the garlick.'* Just fancy wanting 
 /Aem ! When we are ' satisfied, ' of course, there 
 is no craving.^ 
 
 The devil is very fond of persuading us that we 
 have- ' no leisure so much as to eat '^ when it is a 
 question of Bible study. He never says that if we 
 have a novel '■ of the earth, earthy, '^ or a clever 
 magazine of ' modern thought ' on hand ! He 
 knows better. He wants us not to ' let' our souls 
 delight themselves in fatness. 
 
 Jesus, our Wisdom, says, '■ Come, eat of My 
 bread ; '^ * Eat, O friends.'^ One is utterly 
 ashamed that it should ever be an effort to obey 
 this loving invitation. How weak we are ! But 
 His hand touches us, and He says, 'Arise, and eat.'^° 
 May He open our eyes to see and rejoice in the pro- 
 vision so close beside us, the feast that He has made 
 for us. 
 
 Not only His word, but the happy doing of His 
 will ^^ shall be our meat, and we shall ' afterward eat 
 of the holy things, because it is His food.'^^ He 
 will give us to eat of the tree of life and of the 
 hidden manna. ^^ And He will give us Himself, the 
 living Bread which came down from heaven, saying, 
 ' He that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me.'" Is 
 not this enough ? 
 
 1 Gen. ii. i6. 2 Joel ii. 26. 3 Ps. Ixxviii. 25. 
 
 <Num. xi. 5. 5 Jer. xxxi. 14. 6 Mark vi. 31. 
 
 ^ I Cor. XV. 47. 8 Prov. ix. 5. 9 Cant. v. i. 
 
 10 I Kings xix. 5. " |ohn iv.34. 12 Lev. xxii. 7. 
 
 i3 Rev. ii. 7, 17. 14 John vi. 51, 57. 
 
G;bc ^ransferreD JSucDcn. 97 
 
 SIXTH DAY. 
 
 * If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine 
 away in them, how should we then hve?' — Ezek.' xxxiii. lo. 
 
 IF they are upon us, how can we live? For 
 *mine iniquities are . . . as an heavy burden, 
 they are too heavy for me.'^ ' The burden of them 
 is intolerable.' It is not the sense, but the burden 
 itself which cannot be borne; no one could \it^x 
 his own iniquities without being sunk lower and 
 lower, and at last to hell by it. It is only not felt 
 when the very elasticity of sin within us keeps us 
 from feeling the weight of the sin upon us ; as the 
 very air in our bodies prevents our feeling the 
 otherwise crushing weight of the atmosphere with 
 its tons upon every inch. Or (thank God for the 
 alternative !) when the whole burden, our abso- 
 lutely intolerable burden, is known to be laid upon 
 another. 
 
 If this burden is upon us, we cannot walk in 
 newness of life,^ we cannot run in the way of His 
 commandments,^ we cannot arise and shine.* The 
 
 1 Ps. xxxviii. 4. 2 Rom. vi. 4. 
 
 ' Ps. cxix. 32. 4 Isa. Ix. I. 
 
98 IRo^al Commandments. 
 
 burden is * too heavy ' for these manifestations of 
 life ; we do but ' pine away ' in our sins, whether 
 consciously or unconsciously ; and the sentence is 
 upon us, They shall * consume away for their in- 
 iquity.'^ For there is no curse so terrible and far- 
 reaching as, ' He shall bear his iniquity.'^ 
 
 'If ! ' but is it? It is written, 'The Lord hath 
 laid on Him the iniquity of us all.'^ On Jesus it 
 has been laid, on Him who alone could bear the 
 intolerable burden ;* therefore it is not upon His 
 justified ones who accept Him as their sinbearer. 
 
 This burden is never divided. He took it all, 
 every item, every detail of it. The scapegoat bore 
 *upon him all their iniquities.'^ Think of every 
 separate sin, each that has weighed down our con- 
 science, every separate transgression of our most 
 careless moments, added to the unknown weight of 
 all the unknown or forgotten sins of our whole life, 
 and all this laid on Jesus instead of upon us ! The 
 sins of a day are often a burden indeed, but we are 
 told in another type, ' I have laid upon thee the 
 years of their iniquity.'^ Think of the years of 
 our iniquity being upon Jesus ! Multiply this by 
 the unknown but equally intolerable sin-burdens of 
 all His people, and remember that ' the Lord hath 
 laid on Him the iniquity of us ^//,'^ and then think 
 what the strength of His enduring love must be 
 which thus bare ' the sins of many.'' ^ 
 
 Think of His bearing them ' in His own body 
 on the tree, '^ in that flesh and blood of which He 
 
 1 Ezek. iv. 17. 2 Lev. v. 17. 3 Jsa. liii. 6. 
 
 4 Isa. liii. II. 6 Lev, xvi. 22. * Ezek. iv. 5. 
 
 7 Isa. liii. 6. 8 Heb. ix. 28. » i Pet. ii. 24. 
 
Zbc ITransterreD 3SurDem 99 
 
 took part, with all its sensitiveness and weakness, 
 because He would be made like unto His brethren 
 in all things;^ and that this bearing was entirely 
 suffering (for He ' suffered for sins '^), and praise 
 the love which has not left * our sins . . . upon us.' 
 
 We cannot lay them upon Him ; Jehovah has 
 done that already, and ' His work is perfect : '^ 
 ' nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from 
 it.'* 'The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of 
 us all; '^ 'He hath done this.'*^ We have only to 
 look up and see our Great High Priest bearing the 
 iniquity of our holy things for us -^ to put it still 
 more simply, we have only to believe that the Lord 
 has really done what He says He has done.^ 
 
 Can we doubt the Father's love to us, when we 
 chink wiiat it must have cost Him to lay that crush- 
 ing weight on His dear Son, sparing Him not,^ 
 that He might spare us instead ?^° The Son accepted 
 the awful burden, but it was the Father's hand 
 which ' laid it upon ' Him.^^ It was death to Him, 
 that there mi^^ht be life to us. For 'if our trans- 
 gressions and our sins ' were upon us, there could 
 be no answer to the question, ' How should we 
 then live?' for we could only 'pine away in them ' 
 and die. * Ye shall die in your sins.'^^ But being 
 'laid on Him,'^^ how shall we now live? ' He died 
 for all, that they which live should not henceforth 
 live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for 
 them and rose again. '^* Unto Him,^^ by Him,^^ 
 
 1 Heb. ii. 14, 17. 2 i Pet. iii. 18. 3 Deut. xxxii. 4. 
 
 ■* Eccles. iii. 14. 5 Tsa. liii. 6. 6 Pg xxii. 31. 
 
 "^ Ex. xxviii. 38. 8 Isa. j^liv. 23. ^ Rom. viii. 32. 
 
 10 Mai. iii. 17. u i Pet. ii. 24. 12 John viii. 24. 
 
 ^3 2 Cor. V. 15. w Rom. xiv. 8. i* Gal. ii. 20. 16 Phil. i. 21 
 
lOo IRoi^al CommanDments. 
 
 in Him/ for Him, now; and with Him/ where He 
 is, for ever and ever ! 
 
 On Thee, the Lord 
 
 My mighty sins hath laid; 
 And against Thee Jehovah's sword 
 
 Flashed forth its fiery blade. 
 The stroke of justice fell on Thee, 
 That it might never fall on me. 
 
 SEVENTH DAY. 
 
 Zhc IRecall. 
 
 *0 Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast 
 fallen by thine iniquity.' — Hos. xiv. i. 
 
 THANK God that He does not let His children 
 go on comfortably when they wander and 
 fall !^ 
 
 Have we not known (God grant we may never 
 again know!) a wretched mental nausea, a sense of 
 discomfort and restlessness, a misgiving that some- 
 thing is wrong, though we can't say what? no 
 actual pain, no acute attack of anything, but a 
 nameless uncomfortableness, most easily described 
 by a negative, that we are no^ ' as in months past.'* 
 
 ^ If this is the present state of any reader, do let 
 
 1 John xvii. 24. 2 i Thess. iv. 17. 3 Hos. ii. 6- 
 
 8 Job xxix. 2, 4 Job XV. 11, la. 
 
xnyc IRecalL loi 
 
 me most earnestly and affectionately entreat you 
 not to remain one day — no, not one hour — in this 
 most dangerous state, the beginning of back-slid- 
 ing, and already a fall from your ' own steadfastness' 
 and your * first love.'^ ^Remember from whence 
 thou art fallen ; "^ look unflinchingly at your posi- 
 tion, and recognize frankly the difference between 
 to-day, and the past days of closer walking and 
 happy abiding. Do not let yoir-self drift on, or 
 yT)u 'will revolt more and more' till * the whole 
 head is sick, and the whole heart faint. '^ Every 
 day's delay will make your case worse. 
 
 Do not shrink from asking Him to show you how 
 and whv it is that you have fallen. The ' beautiful 
 crown '* which He put ' upon thine head ' in * the 
 time of love,'^ would not have ^fallen from our 
 head,' but 'that we have sinned.'^ It is 'by /h'n^ 
 iniquity' that ' thou art fallen,'^ — iniquity personal 
 and real, though very likely ungnessed by any one, 
 and hidden even from thine own eyes. 
 
 Perhaps the knowledge of this is already sent ; if 
 so, listen ! ' And I said, a/ifer she had done all 
 these things. Turn thou unto me.'® And again, 
 though you may have gone after other ' lovers,' 'yef 
 return again to me, saith the Lord.'^ Oh forsake 
 the thoughts as well as the way, and return unto 
 the Lord, and he will abundantly pardon.^*' For 
 when * He showeth them their work and their 
 transgressions,' He also ' commandeth that they 
 return from iniquity. '^^ 
 
 1 2 Pet. iii. 17. 2 Rev, ii. 4, 5. 3 Isa. i. 5. 
 
 4 Ezek. xvi. 12, 5 Ezek xvi. 8. 6 Lam. v. 16. 
 
 7 Hos. xiv. I. 8 Jer. iii. 7. Jer. iii. i. 
 
 10 Isa. Iv. 7. 1^ Job XXX vi. 9, 10. 
 
TO 2 "Ro^al Commandments* 
 
 And why? Five infinitely gracious reasons are 
 given. 'Return! . . .for thou hast fallen by 
 thine iniquity ; '^ the very thing which seemed the 
 barrier to return ! ' Return ! . . .for I am merci- 
 ful, saith the Lord.'* * Return ! . . .for I have 
 redeemed thee.'^ 'Return! . . .for the Lord 
 hath dealt bountifully with thee.'* ' Come, and let 
 us return unto the Lord : for He hath torn, and He 
 will heal us. '^ All these gracious words for you! 
 and the Lord Himself waiting that He may be 
 gracious !^ Will you keep Him waiting till a more 
 ' convenient season ' ?^ 
 
 To whom are you called to return ? Ah ! think 
 of that — not to a state or position merely ; not 
 only 'to thy rest,' ^ but to 'the Lord thy God,'* 
 thy God, 'our own God;'^" to Him who has 
 betrothed you unto Him for ever;" to Him who 
 chose you unto Himself to be His peculiar 
 treasure ;^'^ to Him -who remembers better than you 
 do from whence you have fallen. Hear Him say- 
 ing, ' I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, 
 the love of thine espousals. '^^ ' How shall I give 
 thee up ? '" What pathetic yearning this is over 
 you, even you ! Will you not say, ' I will go and 
 return to my first husband ; for then was it better 
 with me than now.'^^ 
 
 Is intention enough in this matter ? Listen again 
 to the arousing words of your Lord, ' If thou wilt 
 return, . . . saith the Lord, return unto Me ; '^^ 
 
 1 Hos. xiv. I. 2 Jer. iii. 12. 3 Isa. xliv. 22. 
 
 * Ps. cxvi. 7. 5 Hos. vi. i. 6 Isa. xxx. 18. 
 
 f Acts xxiv. 25. 8 Ps. cxvi. 7. ' Hos. xiv. i. 
 
 10 Ps. Ixvii. 6. 11 Hos. ii. 19. 12 Ps. cxxxv. 4. 
 
 H Jer. ii. 2. M Hos. xi. 8. is Hos. ii. 7. le Jer iv. i. 
 
Zbc IRecall. 103 
 
 m other words, * Now, then, do it.'^ Stay no more 
 at being willing to return, but * Return ye NOVVl'^ 
 It will be harder to-morrow — nay, harder an hour 
 hence than now. He who first caused you to 
 approach,^ will cause you to return ;* so you shall 
 not be left unaided, for ' In Me is thine help '° even 
 for returning from self-destruction.^ 
 
 And then — oh, what wealth of promises to the 
 r«turning one ! what robes and rings and heavenly 
 music !^ ' If thou return, . . . thou shalt be built 
 up, thou shalt put away iniquity . . . ; then shalt 
 thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt 
 lift up thy face unto God.® . . . He shall hear 
 thee, . . . Thou shalt decree a thing, and it shall 
 be established unto thee : the light shall shine upon 
 thy ways.' For He hath said, 'I will heal their 
 backsliding, I will love them freely.' ^ 
 
 Return ! 
 O fallen ; yet not lost ! 
 Canst thou forget the life for thee laid down, 
 The taunts, the scourging, and the thorny crown ? 
 "When o'er thee first my spotless robe I spread 
 And poured the oil of joy upon thy head, 
 How did thy wakening heart within thee burn ! 
 Canst thou remember all, and wilt thou not return ? 
 ^ ■ ■ ■ ■ 
 
 1 2 Sam. iii. i8. ^ Jer. xviii. ii. 3 Ps. Ixv. 4. 
 
 * Jer. XXX. 3. 5 Hos. xiii. 9. 6 Lam. v. 31. 
 
 ^ Luke XV. 22, »5. 8 job xxii, 23-28. ^ Hos. xiv. 4. 
 
104 TRoi^al CommanDment0. 
 
 EIGHTH DAY. 
 
 ^be ConMtione of Effectual prai^er* 
 
 'And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, 
 ye shall receive.' — Matt. xxi. 22. 
 
 HAVE we not sometimes been tempted to think 
 that here, at least, is a case in which our Lord 
 has not literally and always kept His word? in which 
 we do not get quite so much as the plain English 
 of the promise might lead us to expect? If so, well 
 may He say to us, ' Do ye not therefore err, because 
 ye know not the Scriptures, neither the power of 
 God ? ' ^ If we had known the Scriptures by search- 
 ing, we might have known more of the power of 
 God by experience in this matter. For this is no 
 unconditional promise; this marvellous * whatso- 
 ever' depends upon five great conditions; and, if 
 we honestly examine, we shall find that every case 
 of seeming failure in the promise can be accounted 
 for by our own failure in one or more of these. 
 
 I. 'Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that 
 will I do.'^ Really, not verbally only, in the nam« 
 of Jesus ; asking not in our own name at all ; sign- 
 
 1 Mark xii. 24. 2 John xiv. 13 ; ib. xiv. 6. 
 
jEffectual iPra^er. 105 
 
 ing our petition, as it were, with His name only;^ 
 coming to the Father by our Advocate, our Repre- 
 sentative.'^ Do we always ask thus? 
 
 2. ^Believing, ye shall receive." The faith- 
 heroes of old ' through faith . . . obtained prom- 
 ises,'* and there is no new way of obtaining them. 
 Is it any wonder that, when we stagger at any 
 promise of God through unbelief,^ we do not receive 
 it> Not that the faith merits the answer, or in any 
 way earns it or works it out, but God has made 
 believing a condition of receiving, and the Giver 
 has a sovereign right to choose His own terms of 
 gift. 
 
 3. ^If ye abide in Me, and My words abide tn 
 you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done 
 unto you. ' ^ Ah ! here is a deeper secret of asking 
 and not having, because we ask amiss.' Not, have 
 we come to Christ? but, are we abiding in Him? — 
 not, do we hear His words? but, are they abiding 
 in us? Can we put in this claim to the glorious 
 'whatsoever'? And, if not, why not? for Hhis is 
 His commandment,' * Abide in Me.'^ And this 
 leads us to see the root of our failure in another 
 condition, for, — 
 
 4. * Whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, 
 because we keep His commandments, and do those 
 things that are pleasing in His sight.'' ^ Only as we 
 are abiding in Him can we bring forth the fruit of 
 obedience, for without (/. e. apart from) Him we 
 can do nothing;^® only in walking by faith can we 
 
 1 Phil. ii. 10 (Gr.) 2 i John ii. i. 3 Matt. xxi. 22. 
 
 ^ Heb. xi. 33. 6 Rom. iv. 20. * John xv. 7. 
 
 ' Jas. iv. 3. 8 John xv. 4. / 
 
 • I John iii. 22 ; Ps. Ixvi. 18. 10 John xv. 4. 
 
io6 "Rosal CommanDmcnt6. 
 
 do those things that are pleasing in His sight/ for 
 without faith it is impossible to please Hira.^ 
 
 5 . ' If we ask anything according to His will, He 
 heareth us.'^ When what we ask is founded on a 
 promise or any written evidence of what the will of 
 the Lord is,* this is comfortingly clear. But what 
 about petitions which may or may not be according 
 to His will? Surely, then, the condition can only 
 be fulfilled by a complete blending of our own will 
 with His ; ^ by His so taking our will, so undertaking 
 it and influencing it for us, that we are led to desire 
 and ask the very thing He is purposing to give. 
 Then, of course, our prayer is answered ; and the 
 very pressure of spirit to pray becomes the pledge 
 and earnest of the answer, for it is the working of 
 His will in us. 
 
 Two comforting thoughts arise. 
 
 First, the very consciousness of our failure in 
 these great conditions shows us the wonderful kind- 
 ness and mercy of our King, who has answered so 
 many a prayer in spite of it, according to His own 
 heart, and not according to our fulfilment, giving 
 us 'of His royal bounty'® that to which we had 
 forfeited all shadow of claim. 
 
 Secondly, that He who knoweth our frame ^ 
 knows also the possibilities of His grace, and would 
 never tantalize us by offering magnificent gifts on 
 impossible conditions. 'Will he give him a stone ?'^ 
 Would an earthly parent? Would _y^w.? Therefore 
 the very annexing of these intrinsically most blessed 
 
 1 2 Cor, V. 7. 2 Heb. xi. 6. 3 i John v. 14. 
 
 < Eph. V. 17. 6 Phil. ii. 13. 6 i Kings x. 13. 
 
 7 Ps. ciii. 14 J Phil. iv. 13. 8 Luke xi. 11. 
 
IPrivilege ot fnterccsslon, 107 
 
 conditions implies that His grace is sufficient^ for 
 their fulfilment, and should lure us on to a blessed 
 life of faith, abiding in Jesus,^ walking in obedience 
 'unto all pleasing,'^ and a will possessed by His 
 own divine will. 
 
 Thou art coming to a King, 
 Large petitions with thee bring ; 
 For His grace and power are such, 
 None can ever ask too much. 
 
 Newton. 
 
 NINTH DAY. 
 
 ^be privilege of IFnterceesion* 
 
 * Pray one for another.' — J^^s. v. 1 6. 
 
 HERE our divine Master takes up an impulse of 
 natural affection,* raising it to the dignity of a 
 ' royal commandment,'^ and broadening it to the 
 measure of His own perpetual intercession.* For, 
 unless a heart has reached the terrible hardening of 
 being 'without natural affection ' ^ as well as 'with- 
 out God,' ^ it must want to pray for those it loves. 
 The Lord would sanctify and enlarge this impulse, 
 making it 'full of the blessing of the Lord.* * It is 
 a plant which He hath planted in the human heart, 
 
 ^ 2 Cor. xii. 9. 2 I John ii. 27. ' Col. i. 10. 
 
 < Esther i. 19. 5 i Tim. ii. i. * Hcb. vii. 25. 
 
 ' Rom. i. 31. 8 Eph. ii. 12. 9 Deut. xxxiii. 23. 
 
io8 IRo^al CommanDment6» 
 
 and therefore it shall not be rooted up, but He will 
 water and increase it. ^ What are the indications 
 of His will in the matter, and how far are we 
 following them out ? 
 
 First, are we asking for each other the special 
 thing annexed to the command ? ' That ye may be 
 healed.' ^ Prayer for physical healing is clearly in- 
 cluded.^ How many around us are not spiritually 
 healed ! are we definitely asking this for them ? Of 
 how many of His own people is the Lord saying, 
 ' They knew not that I healed them ! ' * Not ' know- 
 ing what was done in ' them,^ they are not witnessing 
 to the power of the Healer ; not seeing, like the 
 Samaritan, that they were healed, they are not 
 giving Him thanks.^ Are we asking that they may 
 realize the healing, so that they may glorify the 
 Healer?^ 
 
 We maybe greatly ' helping together by prayer,' ' 
 by agreement in intercession.^ The very fact of 
 having ' agreed ' ^° is a great stimulus and reminder. 
 It is the Lord's own indicated way. ' Two of you.'" 
 It took two to hold up Moses' hands steadily. ^^ 
 When he let down one hand, Amalek prevailed. So 
 Aaron and Hur were both wanted. ^^ 
 
 Intercession should be definite and detailed. 
 Vagueness is lifelessness. St. Paul besought the 
 Romans to pray for him, and then told them exactly 
 what he wanted, four definite petitions to be pre- 
 sented for him.^* It is a help to reality of inter- 
 
 1 Matt. XV. 13. 2 Jas. v. 16. 3 Gen. xx. 17. 
 
 4 Hos. xi. 3. 5 Mark v. 29, 33. 6 Luke xvii. 15. 
 
 "^ Ps. ciii. 1-3. 8 2 Cor. i. 11. 9 Dan. ii. 17, 18. 
 
 10 Esther iv. 16. n Matt, xviii. 19. 12 Eccles. iv. 9. 
 
 18 Ex, xvii. II, 12. 14 Rom. xv. 30, 32. 
 
privilege ot irntercesBion. 109 
 
 cession when ministers or other workers who ask our 
 prayers will tell us exactly what they want. General 
 prayers for ' blessing ' are apt to become formal. 
 
 We must not yield to the idea that, because we 
 are feeble members, doing no great work, our prayers 
 * won't make much difference.' ^ It may be that 
 this is the very reason why the Lord keeps us in the 
 shade, because He hath need of us^ (though we 
 feel no better than an ' ass's colt ' ^) for the work of 
 inteTcession, Many of us only learn to realize the 
 privilege of being called to this by being called 
 apart from all other work. When this is the case, 
 let us simply and faithfully do it, 'lifting up holy 
 hands, without wrath and doubting,'* blessing His 
 name who provides this holy and beautiful service 
 for those who ' by night stand in the house of the 
 Lord!^ See how wonderfully St. Paul valued the 
 prayers of others. He distinctly expresses this to 
 every Church but one to whom he wrote. Would 
 he liave asked their prayers so fervently if he thought 
 it would not ' make much difference ' ? 
 
 Intercession is a wonderful help to forgiveness of 
 injuries. See how the personal unkindness of 
 brother and sister stirred up Moses to pray for each ; * 
 and how repeatedly the wrong feeling, speaking, and 
 acting of the people against himself was made the 
 occasion of prayer for them.'^ Let us avail our- 
 selves of this secret of his meekness. Also it is an 
 immense help to love. Do we not find that the 
 more we pray for any one, the more we love? 
 
 1 I Cor. xii. 22. 2 Mark xi. 2, 3. 3 Job xi. 12. 
 
 < 1 Tim. ii. 8. 5 Ps. cxxxiv. i. 
 
 * Num. xii. 2, 13; Deut. ix. 18-20. 
 
 T Num. xiv. 2, 19 ; ib. xvi. 19, 22 ; ib. xii. 3. 
 
 8 
 
no IRoi^al Commandments. 
 
 Let us intercede ' while we have time.'* 'The 
 night coraeth, when no man can work.''^ Those 
 for whom we might be praying to-day may be be- 
 yond the reach of prayer to-morrow. Or our own 
 day of prayer m.ay have passed ; for the only in- 
 tercession that v/e have ever heard from the other 
 side was in vain — never granted.^ 
 
 It is considerable practical help if we make our 
 intercession systematic, especially if the Lord gives 
 us many to pray for. If every day has its written 
 list of special names to be remembered, we shall be 
 less likely to forget or drop them. Each several 
 name was engraved on the breastplate of the high- 
 priest, that it might be borne upon his heart con- 
 tinually.* 
 
 See the two-fold rewards of intercessory prayer. 
 
 First J blessing for others : 
 
 ' He shall ask, and He shall give him life for 
 them that sin not unto death.' ^ Compare St. Paul's 
 prayers for the Thessalonians, in his First Epistle, 
 with the exact and abounding answers for which he 
 gives thanks in the Second, after a very short inter- 
 val. 
 
 Secondly, blessing for ourselves : 
 
 ' The Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he 
 prayed for his friends.' ^ Something very like a 
 turning of our captivity is granted '' when, amid 
 oppression and darkness, we pray for our friends. 
 Often it is like a leap into the free sunshine. ' Pray 
 unto the Lord for it ' (the city whither they were 
 
 1 Gal. vi. lo (old translation). 2 John ix. 4. ' Luke xvii. 27-31. 
 
 4 Ex. xxviii. 21, 29, 6 I John v. 16. 6 Job. xlii «o. 
 
 ' Ps. cxxvi. 1-3. 
 
^ruatin^ tn 2)ar!ine66. 1 1 1 
 
 carried away), '■ for in the peace thereof shall ye 
 have peace.' ^ Specially true is it in this, that *he 
 that watereth shall be watered also himself. ' ^ 
 
 ' O Saviour Christ, their woes dispel ; 
 
 For some are sick, and some are sad, 
 And some have never loved Thee well, 
 
 And some have lost the love they had. 
 
 And some are pressed with worldly care, 
 ^ And some are tired with sinful doubt, 
 
 And some such grievous passions tear 
 That only thou canst cast them out. 
 
 And some have found the world is vain. 
 Yet from the world they break not free ; 
 
 And some have friends that give them pain. 
 Yet have not sought a friend in Thee.' 
 
 Henry Twells. 
 
 TENTH DAY. 
 
 ^ruating in Barftneaa^ 
 
 * Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the 
 voice of His servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no 
 light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay himself 
 upon His God.' — ISA. 1. lo. 
 
 BEFORE we take this peace and strength-giving 
 precept, with its enfolded promise, to ourselves, 
 let us examine ourselves as to the conditions : fear 
 
 1 Jer, xxix. 7. 2 Prov, xi. 25. 
 
112 IRoisal Comman^mentg. 
 
 of the Lordj and obedience to the voice of His 
 servant. They are very clear. If we are not 
 casting off fear ; ^ if we have this ^ beginning of 
 wisdom,'^ this perhaps not sufficiently recognized 
 ' treasure/^ the fear of the Lord;* and if we have 
 sincerity of purpose about obeying the vdice of His 
 servant,^ and are not persisting in some known and 
 wilful disobedience/ which causes a different kind 
 of darkness, the darkness that blindeth our eyes,^ 
 then we are called to listen to all the comfort of 
 this commandment. 
 
 'Let him trust in the name of the Lord.' What 
 name? ' The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and 
 gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness 
 and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving 
 iniquity and transgression and sin.' ^ What name? 
 ' Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the 
 Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.' ^ What 
 name? Just this, JESUS l^" But how can we trust 
 in what we do not much consider ?" Trust needs 
 a very broad and strong foundation for its repose ; 
 it cannot poise itself on an inverted pyramid. But 
 if we walk about that foundation, and go round 
 about it, and mark well the bulwarks,^^ we shall put 
 ourselves in the way of realizing what reason we 
 have to trust. ^^ 
 
 Is it dark now, dear friend ? Will you, as a little 
 child, simply do what I ask you this morning ? 
 Take this Name of the Lord,^* in all its varied ful- 
 
 1 Job XV. 4. 2 Ps_ cxi. 10. 5 Isa. xxxiii. 6. 
 
 ^ Ps. cxix. 69, 6 Josh. xxiv. 24. ^ John iii. 20. 
 
 ^ I John ii. II. 8 Kx. xxxiv. 6. 7. 9 Isa. ix. 6. 
 
 10 Matt. i. 21. 11 Ps ix. 10; ib. cxix. 55. 
 
 12 Ps. xlviii. 12, 13. 13 Prov. xviii. 10. 14 Pg. xx. 7. 
 
ZtnetirxQ in Darfiness. 113 
 
 ness, *shut thy door,'^ and kneel down without 
 hurry. Then, asking first the Spirit's promised 
 help,^ pray over every separate part of it as so beau- 
 tifully revealed for our comfort. And as you take 
 up each word in petition, tell the Lord that you 
 wi7/, you do trust that, even though you cannot see 
 or feel all the preciousness of it.^ 
 
 Trusting in the name of the Lord, the Triune 
 Jehovah — Father, Saviour, Comforter — will lead 
 you on, not perhaps to any great radiance of light 
 as yet, but to staying upon your God ; for mark 
 the added pronoun, first only ' fAe Lord,' then ' Ais 
 God.' Both the trusting and staying may be at 
 first in the dark, but they will not be always in the 
 dark. He that believeth on Him shall not abidein 
 darkness. * Unto him ' there ariseth light in the 
 darkness.'^ But the promises are progressive: we 
 must follow the light as soon as we see it, for *he 
 that foUoweth me shall not walk in darkness.'^ 
 
 But, meanwhile, even the trusting and staying^ 
 shall be blessed, for ' blessed are they that have not 
 seen, and yet have believed.' ^ ' Blessed are all they 
 that put their trust in Him ; ' ^ and ' all ' of course 
 includes you. There may be very much unconscious 
 blessing apart from sensible light and joy.^ The 
 visible, light-bearing rays of the spectrum are not 
 the whole beam. It is not they which make the 
 plant grow ; it is the dark rays with their mysterious, 
 unseen vibrations that bring heat and chemical 
 power. 
 
 1 Matt. vi. 6. 2 Rom. viii. 26; Zech. xii. 10. 
 
 3 Isa. xii. 2 ; Ps. xci. 2 ; xxxi. i ; Cant. i. 3. * John xii. 46. 
 5 Ps. cxii. 4. ^ John viii. 12. ^ John xx. 29. 
 
 8 Ps. ii. 12. 9 Ps. xxiii. 4. 
 
114 TRoisal CommanDmcnts, 
 
 The first conscious blessing is not linked with 
 even the trust, but with the ' staying ' ^ which grows 
 out of it. ' Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, 
 whose mind is stayed on Thee : because he trusteth 
 in Thee.'^ Then, again, the staying, and the cer- 
 tainly resulting, because absolutely promised, peace 
 lead on to fuller and more settled trust : ' Trust ye 
 in the Lord for ever.'^ 
 
 How we do love a little child that nestles up to 
 us from its cot in a dark room, and kisses the hand 
 that it cannot see, -and pours out all sorts of little 
 confidences which it did not tell in the broad day- 
 light ! Do we not fondle it with a special gush of 
 affection ? However much we loved the little thing 
 before, we think we love it more than ever ! When 
 the Father's little children come to Him in the 
 dark, and simply believe His assurance that He is 
 there, although they cannot see/ will He be less 
 loving, less kind and tender ? 
 
 ♦ I cannot hear Thy voice, Lord, 
 
 But Thou dost hear my cry ; 
 I cling to thine assurance 
 
 That Thou art ever nigh. 
 I know that Thou art faithful ; 
 
 I trust, but cannot see 
 That it is still the right way 
 
 By which Thou leadest me.' 
 
 1 Jer. xvii. 7. 2 isa. xxvi. 3. 3 Isa. xxvi. 4. 
 
 * John XX. 29 ; Ps. xxxiii. 21, 
 
3fear IRot 115 
 
 ELEVENTH DAY. 
 
 fear IRot* 
 
 * Fear not,' — Luke xii. 32, etc. 
 
 THERE need be no difficulty in distinguishing^ 
 between the holy and blessed ' fear of the 
 Lord,' ^ which is our ' treasure/ and which is only 
 as the sacred shadow cast by the brightest light of 
 love and joy, and the fear which ^ hath torment,'^ 
 and is cast out by perfect love and simple trust. 
 
 * Fear Him, ye saints, and you will then 
 Have nothing else to fear ! ' 
 
 precisely expresses the distinction. 
 
 But it is a very solemn thought how * verily 
 guilty' ' we are as to this most absolute command 
 of our King, reiterated by messengers angelic and 
 human, and by His own personal voice, perhaps 
 more often than any other. No wonder that we are 
 left to suffer the fruit of our own thoughts when we 
 do not even see our disobedience, much less cease 
 from it. ' Fear NOT.' There is no quahfication, 
 no exception, no modification ; it is as plain a com- 
 
 1 Isa. xxxiii. 6; Acts ix. 31. 2 j John iv. 18. 
 
 ' Gen. xlii. 21. 
 
ii6 IRoisal Comman&ment0. 
 
 mand as, 'Thou shalt not steal.' ^ What excuse 
 have we for daring to regard it as a less transgression, 
 or even no transgression at all? If the heinousness 
 of a crime might, to human judgment, be measured 
 by its penalty, what must the true heinousness of 
 this everyday sin be when God hath said, ^ The^tjr- 
 Z^;^/ shall have their part in the lake which burneth 
 with fire and brimstone ! ' ^ 
 
 Why should what seems only a natural infirmity 
 be catalogued with the blackest sins ? Because, if 
 we honestly examine it, it is always and only the 
 fruit of not really believing God's words, not really 
 trusting His love and wisdom and power. It is a 
 bold, * Yea, hath God said? ' ^ to His abundant and 
 infinitely gracious promises^ it is a tacit denial that 
 He is what He is ! Only let us sincerely and thor- 
 oughly trace down every fear to its root, and we 
 shall (if the Holy Spirit guide our search *) be con- 
 vinced of its sinfulness, and ^by the commandment ' 
 it will 'become exceeding sinful.'^ ' Let Thy judg- 
 ments help ' us, O Lord,^ in this matter. 
 
 But now for the brighter side ! Would our King 
 tell us again and again, ' Fear not ! ' if there were 
 any reason at all to fear? Would He say this kind 
 word again and again, ringing changes as of the 
 bells of heaven upon it, only to mock us, if He 
 knew all the time that we could not possibly help 
 fearing ? Only give half an hour to seeking out the 
 reasons He gives why we are not to fear, and the 
 all-inclusive circumstances in which He says we are 
 
 1 Ex. XX. 1$. 2 Rev, xxi. 8. 
 
 3 Gen. iii. lo; Luke xix. 21 ; 2 Sam. vi. 8, 9. ^ John xvi. 8, 9. 
 ■6 Rom. vii. 13. 6 Ps. cxix. 175. 
 
jfear IWot. 117 
 
 not to fear; see how we are to fear nothing, 
 and no one, and never, and nowhere ; see 
 how He Himself is in every case the foundation 
 and the grand reason of His command, His presence 
 and His power always behind it; and then shall we 
 hesitate to say, 'I will fear no evil; for Thou art 
 with me ' ?.^ Shall we even fancy there is any answer 
 to those grand and forever unanswered questions, 
 *The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom 
 shall i fear ? the Lord is the strength of my life ; of 
 whom shall I be afraid? ' ^ 
 
 There is a ' Fear not ' for every possible case and 
 kind of fear ; so that we have never any answer to 
 give when He asks, ' Why are ye fearful ? ' ^ but we 
 are * without excuse.'* It is part of His 'holy 
 covenant' that we should * serve Him without fear. '^ 
 It is one of His ' precious promises ' that * thou 
 shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear.' ® It is one of 
 the blessed results of His reign that His flock ' shall 
 fear no more.' ^ It is no impossible thing, but the 
 simple and natural consequence of really seeking 
 and really trusting the Lord, that He will deliver 
 us not from some, but from ' alV our fears. ^ He 
 did this for David, will He be less kind to you and 
 me ? 
 
 The Lord Jesus gives a very tender and gentle 
 expression of the same command when He says, 
 * Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be 
 afraid.' ^ Ah ! we too often /<?/ our hearts be afraid : 
 
 1 Isa. xli. 10, xliii. 1-5; Matt. x. 28; Lam. iii. 57; Rev. i. 17; ib. 
 ii. 10; Isa. li. 12, 13; Gen. XV. I ; Matt. xiv. 27; Isa. xxxv. 4 ; Ps.xxiii.4. 
 
 2 Ps. xxvii. I. 3 Matt. viii. 26. 4 Rom. i. 20. 
 6 Luke i. 74. 6 Job xi. 15. "^ Jer. xxiii. 4. 
 8 Ps. xxxiv. 4; Heb. xiii. 8. 9 John xiv. 27. 
 
ri8 IRo^al Commandments. 
 
 we yield without even a parley; a fear arises, and 
 we do not recognize it as an enemy of our King, 
 we just /<f/ it enter and sit down, instead of un- 
 sheathing the sword of the Spirit and attacking it in 
 the power of His might, and in the Name that al- 
 ways conquers. No matter how powerless we feel 
 about it, strength comes with determination to 
 obey.^ Let us say this morning, now, ' I wt7/ 
 trust and no^ be afraid ; ' '^ and then let us ' say to 
 them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not ; 
 . . . He will come and save you.'^ 
 
 Is God for me ? I fear not, though all against me rise ! 
 "When I call on Christ my Saviour, the host of evil flies. 
 My Friend, the Lord Almighty, and He who loves me — God ! 
 What enemy shall harm me, though coming as a flood ? 
 
 Paul Gerhardt. 
 
 1 Eph. vi. 17; ib. vi. 10; Ps. xliv. 5; Luke x. 17; Mark iii. 5. 
 3 Isa.. xii. 2. 3 Isa. xxxr. 4. 
 
^be QtxexxQtb^QivirxQ Xooft. 119 
 
 TWELFTH DAY. 
 
 ^be Strengtb^SiviuQ Xooft* 
 
 * And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy 
 might.' — ^Judges vi. 14. 
 
 FOR the might of a look of the Lord is enough 
 for anything ! Only, we must meet His look ; 
 our eyes must be ever toward the Lord,^ and then 
 we shall not miss it : for He says, * I will se^ Mine 
 eyes upon them for good.' ^ So, if we are indeed 
 His people, we can never look up to Him without 
 His look of grace and goodness and guidance 
 meeting ours. 
 
 It will not trouble us as it ' troubled the Egyp- 
 tians ' * when that mysterious look of the Lord fell 
 upon them ' through the pillar of fire and of the 
 cloud ; ' that look of judgment is not for His Israel. 
 
 Yet for them there is the solemn look of searching, 
 when He * looketh on the heart.'* 
 
 For them, too, the look of exj>ectaHon, when He 
 comes to His vineyard and looks ' that it should 
 bring forth grapes ; ' ^ when He comes to * see if 
 the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear,' 
 
 1 Ps. XXV. 15. 2 Jer. xxiv. 6. s Ex. xiv. 24. 
 
 * I Sam. xvi. 7. 6 Jsa. v. 2. 
 
I20 TRogal CommanDments, 
 
 with the beautiful promise in His hand, ' There will 
 I give thee My loves. ' ^ 
 
 For them the unspeakable power and tenderness 
 of His look of recall.'^ One who, after denial of the 
 faith, had felt the might of that look, said to a lad 
 who stood awed by the manly tears : ' Ah, Willie, 
 it's forgiven sin that breaks a man's heart ! ' How 
 many a wanderer has been called back even by the 
 record that ' the Lord turned, and looked upon 
 Peter.' 
 
 Then the look of healing and help. ^ Have we as 
 simple faith as the father who besought Jesus to look 
 upon his only son, as if even a look from the dimly 
 recognized Master should be enough ?* And so it 
 was! the * word only,' the touch, the look, were 
 enough for health and cure in cases to which this 
 was a terrible climax.^ 
 
 Then the look of blessing and love. ' Look down 
 . . .and bless Thy people,'^ prayed Moses. 
 And what a look of blessing that was when Jesus 
 * looked round about on them which sat about Him,' 
 and ' stretched forth His hand toward ' them, and 
 gave them the right of the nearest and dearest 
 relationships ! "^ Oh ! let us take time {make time, 
 if need be) to ^sit about Him ' ^ and listen to His 
 teaching and meet His look. 
 
 And, last of the seven, there is for His people 
 the special look of strengthening.^ There is so much 
 in it. Suppose you are called to take part in some 
 busy and complicated arrangements; it is all new 
 
 1 Cant. vii. 12. 2 Luke xxii. 61, 3 Mark ix. 24. 
 
 4 Luke ix. 38. 5 Matt. viii. 8 ; Mark v. 28 ; ib. ix. 20, 21. 
 
 6 Deut. xxvi. 15. 7 Mark iii. 34; Matt. xii. 49. 
 
 8 Deut. xxxiii. 3; Luke x. 39. 9 Judg. vi. 14. 
 
^be Strenatb*0ivin9 Xooft. 121 
 
 to you; you are not quite sure you are doing the 
 right thing in-the right way j you hesitate and go 
 on slowly and uncertainly, with no sense of freedom 
 and power. All at once you catch the eye of the 
 one who is leading and organizing ! ^ The look is 
 enough ; there is direction, approval, confidence, 
 encouragement, in that one glance, and you work 
 away altogether differently. Very graciously does 
 the Master sometimes give this strengthening look — 
 giving, in a way no one could convey to another, 
 just what we needed for our special work. We know 
 that our Lord has looked upon us, and the look has 
 flashed electric strength into heart and hand j and we 
 go on our way rejoicing, not at all in feeling any more 
 able than before, but in the brightness of His power, 
 saying, 'I will go in the strength of the Lord God.'* 
 And then His own strength is ours, and He says, 
 * Go in this thy might,' for * thy God hath com- 
 manded thy strength ; ' ^ and yet we know more 
 distinctly than ever that it is His strength which is 
 made perfect in our weakness.* Who is it that shall 
 have the strengthening look of the Lord ? ' To this 
 man will I look,' saith Jehovah, * even to him that 
 is poor and of a contrite spirit.' ^ It was he who 
 said, 'What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look 
 upon such a dead dog as I am ? ' who ' did eat con- 
 tinually at the king's table. '^ 
 
 1 Ps. xxxii. 8. 2 Ps. xliv. 3; ib. Ixxi. 16; ib. Ixxxvi. 16. 
 
 3 Ps. Ixviii. 28. 4 Isa. xlv. 4; 2 Cor. xii. 9. 
 
 5 Isa. Ixvi. 2. '2 Sam, ix. 8; ib. ix. 13. 
 
122 iRoisal Comm^T.Dnients, 
 
 THIRTEENTH DAY. 
 
 Hll«^0l&e& (Bui&ance* 
 
 * And guided them on every side.' — 2 Chron. xxxii. 22. 
 
 SEE the completeness of Jehovah's guidance ! It 
 is so different from human guidance. How 
 seldom we feel that a human counsellor has seen our 
 difficulty from every point of view, balanced all its 
 bearings, and given guidance which will meet all 
 contingencies, and be right not only on one side, I 
 but *on every side.' But 'His work is perfect'^ * 
 in this as in all other details ; He will guide ' when 
 ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the 
 left."^ Perhaps we have gone about as Elymas did 
 in his mist and darkness, * seeking some to lead him 
 by the hand,'^ putting confidence in earthly guides, 
 and finding again and again that * it is not in man 
 that walketh to direct his steps,'* and getting per- 
 plexed with one-sided counsels. Let us to-day put 
 our confidence in His every-sided guidance. 
 
 Very often, the very recoil from an error lands us 
 in an opposite one ; because others, or we ourselves, 
 have gone too far in one direction, we thenceforth 
 
 1 Deut. xxxii. 4. 2 Isa. xxx. 21. 
 
 * Acts xiii. II. •* Jer. x. 23. 
 
2lll=mDcD <5ui&ance. 123 
 
 do not go far enough, or vice versa : excess re-acting 
 in defect, and defect in excess ; a received truth 
 overshadowing its equally valuable complementary- 
 one j the fear of overstepping the boundary line of 
 the narrow track of truth and right, on the one side, 
 leading us unconsciously to overstep it on the other 
 side. But the promise which we should claim is, 
 that the Holy Spirit would guide us into all truth, 
 * on every side.^^ 
 
 How intensely restful is this completeness of gui- 
 dance ! There is nothing outside of God's all- 
 inclusive promises about it. ' I will direct all his 
 ways." 'I will direct their work in truth.'' Not 
 only the general course, but ' the steps of a good 
 man are ordered by the Lord;'* and what is less 
 than a single step ! Just realize this : every single 
 little step of this coming day ordered by Jehovah ! 
 And lest you should sigh, * This is not for me, be- 
 cause I am not good,' He repeats the same assur- 
 ance still more simply: *The Lord directeth his 
 steps. "^ Now if we really believe these words, need 
 we feel worried because we cannot see the steps 
 ahead which Jehovah is going to direct, if we will 
 let Him ?^ 
 
 If we will let Him ! Yes, this is no fatalistic 
 leading. The guidance is conditional. He says, 'I 
 will guide thee with Mine eye ;'^ but then we must 
 look up to meet His eye. * Thou shalt guide me 
 with Thy -counsel ;'^ but then we must listen for and 
 listen to His counsel. ' He shall direct thy paths;'* 
 
 1 John xvi. 13. 2 isa. xlv. 13. 3 isa. Ixi. 8. 
 
 ^ Ps. xxxvi. 23. 5 Prov. xvi. 9. * Isa. xlii. 16. 
 
 ' Ps. xxxii. 8. 8 Ps. Ixxiii. 24. 9 Prov. viii. 34. 
 
124 TRo^al Commandments, 
 
 but it is when we acknowledge Him in all our ways.* 
 He does not lead us whether or no ! 
 
 Suppose a little child is going with its father 
 through an untracked wood. If it walks ever such 
 a little way apart, it will make many a lost step ; and 
 though the father will not let it get out of sight and 
 hearing, will not let it get lost, yet he may let it find 
 out for itself that going just the other side of this tree 
 leads it into a hopeless thicket, and stepping just 
 the other side of this stone leads it into a muddy 
 place, and the little steps have to be retraced again 
 and again, till at last it asks the father to hold its 
 hand, and /^^/j" and /^^^z^<f^ its hand in his. Then, 
 and not till then, there will be no lost step, for it is 
 guided ' on every side.' 
 
 Need the little child go on a little longer by itself 
 first? Had it not better put its hand into the father's 
 at once ? Will you not do so * from this time 'T from 
 this morning? Give up trying to pick your way; 
 even if the right paths in which He leads you are 
 paths that you have not known, say, 'Even there 
 shall Thy hand lead me.'^ Let Him teach you His 
 paths,* and ask Him to make not your way, but 
 * Thy way straight before my face. '^ So shall you find 
 the completeness and the sweetness of His guidance. 
 For ' the Lord shall guide thee continually,'® 'by 
 the springs of waters shall He guide ' thee ;^ He 
 shall be the guide of your youth, and carry you 
 even unto your old age f He will be your guide 
 even unto death,' and beyond : for one strain of the 
 
 iPro 
 
 V. iii. 
 
 6. 
 
 2Jer. 
 
 iii. 
 
 • 4- 
 
 
 
 
 
 SPs. 
 
 cxxxix. to. 
 
 4Ps. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 4- 
 
 5Ps. 
 
 V. 
 
 8. 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 Isa 
 
 . Iviii. 
 
 II. 
 
 TIsa. 
 
 xlix. 
 
 . 19. 
 
 8Jer. 
 
 , iii 
 
 • 4; 
 
 Isa. 
 
 x! 
 
 Ivi. 
 
 4- 
 
 9PS. 
 
 xlviii. 
 
 • 14- 
 
IRuler, because deliverer. 125 
 
 song of the victorious ones that stand upon the sea 
 of glass mingled with fire ^ shall be, ' Thou hast 
 guided them in Thy strength unto Thy Holy habi- 
 tation.' 
 
 >2 
 
 ' I know not the way I am going, 
 But well do I know my guide ; 
 
 With a childlike trust I give my hand 
 To the Mighty Friend at my side : 
 
 And the only thing that I say to Him 
 As He takes it, is : " Hold it fast; 
 
 Suffer me not to lose my way, 
 And lead me home at last." ' 
 
 FOURTEENTH DAY. 
 
 IRuler, becauee 2)cliverer* 
 
 ' Rule thou over us, . . , for thou hast delivered us.* — 
 J^UDGES viii. 22. 
 
 ALTHOUGH the passage in which these words 
 occur cannot be considered a typical one, 
 yet we may perhaps take them as illustrating and 
 epitomizing the desire of every one whom Christ 
 has delivered. 
 
 But what about this deliverance which precedes 
 the prayer, * Rule thou over us ' ? Is it ours ? Do 
 
 i Rev. XV. 2, 3. 2 Ex. XV. 13. 
 
 9 
 
126 IRo^al Commandments. 
 
 we not know whether He has delivered us or not? 
 It is no doing of ours, for ' we have not wrought 
 any deliverance. ' ^ We have only His word about 
 it, but that is indeed enough, in its absolute and 
 unmistakable assurance : ' Jesus, which delivered 
 us from the wrath to come ; ' ^ ^ w^q hath delivered 
 us from the power of darkness.'^ This grand de- 
 liverance is accomplished, and Jesus Himself pro- 
 claims it. Will you doubt His own proclamation 
 of His own act ? He has opened the prison doors, 
 and now bids the captives go free, and know that 
 they are free.* He has vanquished the foe and 
 broken the bands of his yoke, and now tells you 
 that He giveth you the victory which He has already 
 won. What can He do more? He will do no 
 more, because He has done all ; therefore, if you 
 do not accept the deliverance which He has 
 wrought, there is no other for you, and ' nothing 
 can be put to it.' ^ Only believe it, and then you 
 will joyfully say, ' He hath delivered my soul in 
 peace from the battle that was against me.' ^ 
 
 But you will not stop there. Merely to be ' in 
 peace ' '^ is not the end and aim of deliverance. If 
 we are truly delivered, the Deliverer will soon be 
 more to us than even the deliverance, and the 
 gratitude and love will seek expression in obedience. 
 Soldiers are ready to follow the captain who has 
 won the victory anywhere and everywhere ; they 
 will not want to be in any other service, least of all 
 in that of his foe. 
 
 1 Isa. xxvi. i8. 2 I Thess. i. lo. 3 Col. i. 13. 
 
 4 Isa. xlii. 7 ; ib. Ixi. i. 6 Eccles. iii. 14. ^ Ps. Iv. 18. 
 
 ' Luke i. 74. 
 
IRuler, because 2)elivecer» 127 
 
 We may take this as a test of the reality of our 
 own participation in the deliverance which Christ 
 has wrought for us. If we are saying, ' Rule Thou 
 over us,' it is a sure proof that we may add, ' for 
 Thou hast delivered us ; ' for it is His people who 
 are willing in the day of His power. ^ 
 
 This ruling is indeed the completion of the de- 
 liverance. It is not merely that the enemy is con- 
 quered and expelled from the stronghold, but that 
 the citadel is occupied by a stronger than he ; ^ 
 otherwise the garrison would be left headless and 
 defenceless, and open at any moment to the fatal 
 return of the foe. So the Saviour, who has re- 
 deemed our life from destruction,^ is the Jesus who 
 shall save His people from their sins,* who shall cast 
 down- imaginations, and bring every thought into 
 captivity to the obedience of Christ.^ The 
 Deliverer who comes to Zion is He who shall turn 
 away ungodliness from Jacob. ^ ^ If we are not 
 willing for this, we may well doubt whether we have 
 any part or lot in the matter, and fear that we are 
 yet in the bond of iniquity ; '^ for Christ will not 
 arrange a partial salvation to meet our partial 
 desire.^ He will not be our refuge from the penalty 
 of sin, if we do not want Him as our refuge from 
 the power.* When the elders of Gilead turned 
 to Jephthah in their distress, that he might lead 
 them to victory over their oppressors, what was 
 his condition?'" — 'If ye bring me home again 
 to fight against the children of Amnion, and 
 
 1 Ps. ex. 3. 2 Luke xi. 22. 3 Ps. ciii. 4. 
 
 ■* Matt. i. 21. 5 2 Cor. x. 5. 6 jga. lix. 20. 
 
 7 Acts viii, 21 ; ib. viii. 23. 8 Rom. vi. i, 22. 
 
 8 Titus ii. 14 10 Judg. xi. 4-8. 
 
128 IRoisal CommanDments* 
 
 the Lord deliver them before me, shall I be your 
 head?'^ 
 
 Lord Jesus, Thou art exalted to be a Prince and 
 a Saviour,'^ and as such I need Thee and I desire 
 Thee. * Thou hast delivered my soul from death/ ^ 
 therefore I pray Thee to deliver my feet from falling, 
 that I may ' run the way of Thy commandments.' * 
 Oh, sit and rule upon Thy throne in my heart ; ^ 
 reign there until Thou hast put all enemies under 
 Thy feet ! « 
 
 FIFTEENTH DAY. 
 
 Separation unto* 
 
 * Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of 
 Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to 
 bring you near to himself? ' — Num. xvi, 9. 
 
 THE thought of separation, so inseparable from 
 true and growing Christian life,'^ is sometimes 
 invested with an unnecessary sternness, because it is 
 only viewed in one aspect. Young Christians are 
 tempted to think ' separation from . . , ' a hard 
 thing, because they do not see how it is far more 
 than outweighed by ' separation unto. '® Let us think 
 a little of this bright and beautiful side of it. 
 
 1 Judg. xi. 9. 2 Acts V. 31. 3 Ps. Ivi. 13. 
 
 4 Ps. cxix. 32. 5 Zech. vi. 13. ^ i Cor. xv.25. 
 
 7 John xvii. 16; i John ii. 15. 8 Rom. i. i. 
 
Separation unto. 129 
 
 There is no true separation from the things which 
 Jesus calls us to leave/ without a corresponding 
 separation unto things which are incomparably 
 better.'' One hardly likes to speak of it as compen- 
 sation, because the 'unto' is so infinitely more 
 than the 'from;' it is like talking of a royal friend- 
 ship compensating for dropping a beggar's 
 acquaintance, or the whole Bank of England for a 
 brass farthing, or palace life for * giving up ' work- 
 house life !^ 
 
 First, and -chiefly, we are separated unto the Lord 
 Himself* He wants us not only for servants, but 
 for friends;^ and He makes the friendship a splendid 
 and satisfying reality. He wants to bring us * near 
 to Himself,' that we may be 'a people near unto 
 Him.'^ He will not have a half possession in us, 
 and so He says He hath 'severed you from other 
 people,'^ why ? 'that ye should be Mine!' ^chosen 
 unto Himself,' ' His peculiar treasure,'® 'separated 
 from among all the people of the earth to be Thine 
 inheritance. '^ Is it 'a small thing' thus to be the 
 Lord's Nazarite, 'holy unto the Lord all the days 
 of his separation'?^" is any earthly crown to be com- 
 pared to ' the consecration ( margin, separation ) of 
 his God upon his head '? ^^ 
 
 We are separated also to far happier human 
 friendships than the world knows." There is no 
 isolation intended. ' The Lord is able to give thee 
 much more than this. '^^ Those who separated them- 
 
 1 Matt. iv. 19, 20. 2 Mark x. 29, 30. ^ Phil. iii. 8; i Cor. iii. 21-23. 
 4 Num. vi. 2 ; Ps. iv. 3. 5 John xv. 15. 
 
 * Ps. cxlviii, 14. 7 Lev. xx. 26. 8 Ps. cxxxv. 4, 
 
 * I Kings viii. 53; Titus ii. 14. 10 Num. vi. 8. 
 
 U Num. vi. 7. 12 g_ g^ I Thess. ii, 17-20, iii. 9 ; 2 John i. 12. 
 
 13 2 Chron. xxv. 9. 
 
I^O 
 
 IRo^al Commandments, 
 
 selves from the people of the land unto the law of 
 God, ' they clave to their brethren.'^ That is just it ; 
 we may lose * people/ but we find brethren,'^ with 
 all the love and pleasure and freedom of intercourse 
 — yes, and even mirth — which that relationship 
 brings. Is not this ' much more ' than the society 
 of 'people 7 
 
 But we do not get this, perhaps do not even 
 guess its existence, as long as we try for both.* 
 Both means neither, in this case ; we are conscious 
 of the hollowness of the one, and we are not sepa- 
 rated unto, and therefore cannot possibly know the 
 enjoyment of, the other. 
 
 Then we are separated unto work, ' the work 
 whereunto I have called them;'* very different 
 kinds, but to every man his own work,^ and thereby 
 an end of all the gnawing purposelessness, and 
 down-weighing uselessness, and miserable time- 
 killing, and sense of helpless waste of life. Ennui 
 is no part of a separated life ; there is no room for 
 that wretchedness any more. * Whose I am, and 
 whom I serve,' ® fills it up. Some are separated 
 more especially * to bear the ark of the covenant of 
 the Lord.''' Some only to stand before Him, it 
 may be ' by night,' * so that ' songs in the night ' * 
 may ascend to His glory. Some in a thousand 
 ways * to minister unto Him,' to His poor, to ^ His 
 prisoners,' ^^ spiritually or temporally ; always 'unto 
 Him ' " in His representatives. But all ' to bless in 
 
 1 Neh. X. 28, 29. 2 Markx. 30; i John iii. 14. 
 
 ' Matt. vi. 24 ; Jas. iv. 4. ^ Acts xiii. 2. 
 
 5 Mark xiii. 34. ^ Acts xxvii. 23. T Jsa. Iii. 11 ; Deut. x. 8. 
 
 8 Ps. cxxxiv. I. ^ Job XXXV. 10. 10 Ps. Ixix. 33. 
 11 Matt. XXV. 40. 
 
Separation unto» 131 
 
 His name ; ' ^ for praise is the invariable service of 
 separation. 
 
 ' Ye see your calling ; ' ^ is it not a high one ? 
 * Seemeth it but a small thing to you? ' ^ Seemeth 
 it too stern a thing ? Is it not rather a ' better 
 thing ' than fallen man could have dreamt of as- 
 piring to?* a brighter life than has entered into the 
 natural heart of man even to imagine ? Is it for 
 you ? Listen ! ' Be ye separate,' and, what then ? 
 */\gtll receive you.'^ 'This is His command- 
 ment ' ^ to you, and this is His promise. Will you 
 obey ? Then you shall know a little, but every day 
 more and more, of that unspeakable blessing of 
 being * received ' by the Father, until the day when 
 Jesus shall come again and receive you unto Himself^ 
 for the grand separation of eternity with Him.^ 
 
 *As by the light of opening day 
 
 The stars are all concealed, 
 So earthly pleasures fade away 
 
 When Jesus is revealed.' 
 
 John Newton. 
 
 1 I Chron. xxiii. 13. 2 i Cor. i. 26; Phil. iii. 14. 
 
 8 Num. xvi. 9. 4 I Cor. ii. 9, 10. 5 2 Cor. vi. 17. 
 
 • I John iii. 23. 7 John xiv. 3. 8 John xvii. 24* 
 
132 TRosal Commandments, 
 
 SIXTEENTH DAY. 
 
 flDanffeeting tbe Xife of 3c6nB. 
 
 * That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our 
 mortal flesh.' — 2 Cor. iv. 11. 
 
 IS not this a * high ' and ' holy ' and ' heavenly * 
 calling ?^ Yet ' even hereunto were ye called : 
 because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an 
 example, that we should follow His steps. '^ ' Here- 
 unto,' to do just as He would have done, sometimes 
 even just as He did do in like circumstances; to 
 show not our patience, but * the patience of Jesus 
 Christ,'^ — not mere human meekness and gentleness, 
 but * the meekness and gentleness of Christ,'* and so 
 on with all the other beautiful and holy qualities 
 which shone in ' the life also of Jesus. ' While our 
 *life is hid with Christ in God,'^ His life is to be 
 
 * manifest in our mortal flesh,' — yes, 'magnified in 
 my body.'^ 
 
 ' How shall this be ? ' First, Jesus Himself must 
 dwell in our hearts by faith/ or His life cannot be 
 
 * manifest. ' He has said He will do so, but it is on 
 conditions which He specifies: i. Hearing His 
 
 1 Phil. iii. 14 ; 2 Tim. i. 9 ; Heb. iii, i. - 1 Pet. ii. 21. 
 
 3 Rev. i. 9. 4 2 Cor. x. i. 5 Col. iii. 3. 
 
 * Phil. i. 20. ^ Eph. iii. 17. 
 
/jftanitestiiiQ tbe %itc ot S^esus* 133 
 
 voice ; 2. Opening the door to Him ; 3. Loving 
 Him ; 4. Keeping His words. ^ Not one of these 
 can we fulfil without His grace, but not one of them 
 will He deny us grace to fulfil, and the real desire 
 to fulfil them is the beginning of that grace. 
 Therefore let us ' open unto Him immediately, ' and 
 let Him come in and ^ abide with us,'^ so that 
 henceforth it may be, ' Not I, but Christ liveth in 
 me.'^^ 
 
 We want Him to make us vessels meet for this 
 great use ;* pure and transparent vessels through 
 which His glorious life may shine ; so transparent, 
 that, like clear glass, they may be altogether lost 
 sight of in the light which streams through them ; 
 so pure, that they may not dim the radiance of His 
 indwelling. 
 
 The word ^ manifest ' is more than mere show- 
 ing ; it implies a bringing to light, shining forth, 
 and comes from the idea of a torch or lantern. We 
 can only shine as lights in the world by bearing the 
 Light of the world within us.^ But it is a grand and 
 solemn responsibility. Our Lord Jesus is hidden 
 from the eyes of the world; they do not see Him, 
 they only see us, and our lives are to show them 
 what His life is. What a tremendous trust our Mas- 
 ter has given us ! Who is sufficient for this thing ?^ 
 It is very real. He, our precious Lord, will be held 
 in more or less esteem this day; His power, His 
 grace. His sweetness will be judged of according to 
 what the outsiders see in our lives. This day it rests 
 
 1 Rev. iii. 20; John xiv. 23. 2 Luke xii. 36 ; ib. xxiv. 29. 
 
 3 Gal. ii 20. 4 2 Tim. ii. 21. 
 
 s Phil. ii. 15 ; John viii. 12. 6 2 Cor. ii. 16. 
 
134 IRoi^al CommanC>ment5. 
 
 with us to bring fresh reproach and discredit on His 
 dear name, by caricaturing His life, or so truly to 
 manifest it ' that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 may be glorified in you.'^ 
 
 Thy life in me be shown ! 
 
 Lord, I would henceforth seek 
 
 To think and speak 
 Thy thoughts, Thy words alone, 
 No more my own ! 
 
 SEVENTEENTH DAY. 
 
 Zhc ^o^xc^^cBtvo^irxQ anointing. 
 
 * The yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.' — 
 IsA. X. 27. 
 
 THE Assyrian yoke of old was not so real, 
 so tangible, so continually felt a yoke, as that 
 under which many a child of God is writhing ; yet 
 they are 'called unto liberty,' even ' the glorious 
 liberty of the children of God.'^ And if the yoke 
 of sin is felt to be real, the promised destruction of 
 it surely will not be less so. If it is, as we know by 
 sorrowful experience, no imaginary bondage, neither 
 shall the deliverance be imaginary. 
 
 1 2 Thess. i. 12. 2 Gal. v. 13 ; Rom. viii. 21. 
 
33o?ie*De5tro^ing Anointing* 135 
 
 You feel the yoke, but how shall it be destroyed ? 
 I. Because of the grand anointing of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ by God Himself ^ with the Holy Ghost 
 and with power '^ to proclaim liberty to the cap- 
 tives; ^ the grace and might of the triune Jehovah 
 thus combining in the proclamation of the liberty 
 which Jesus purchased by taking upon Him the form 
 of a slave and becoming obedient to death. ^ 
 
 2. * Because of the anointing ' which we ' have 
 recefved of Him,'* because the precious ointment 
 upon our High Priest's head goes down to the skirts 
 of His garments/ shared by His least and lowest 
 members. 
 
 Perhaps we stop here and say, 'But I cannot 
 realize that I have received it, because my yoke is 
 heavy upon me.' Then see how you shall receive it; 
 there is only one way — not by fresh revelation or 
 special voice from heaven, but simply by faith — 
 * that ye might receive the promise of the spirit 
 through faith. '^ Give glory to God, and be fully 
 persuaded that what He has promised He is able 
 also to perform ;^ and His * free Spirit ' will be 
 faithful to His promise, and the yoke, even your 
 yoke, * shall be destroyed because of the anointing. '^ 
 
 All other yokes are sub-included in the yoke of 
 our sins, and this is exactly what Jesus came to save 
 us from; the very first, as it is the all-inclusive 
 New Testament promise, ' Thou shalt call His name 
 Jesus : for He shall save His people from their 
 sins.'* Are all His wonderful promises about this 
 
 1 Acts X. 38. 2isa. Ixi. 1. 3 phil. ii. 7, 8. 
 
 4 I John ii. 27. 6 Ps. cxxxiii. 2. 6 Qal. iii. 14. 
 
 ' Rom. iv. 20, 21. 8 Ps, li. 12 ; Heb. x. 23. 9 Matt. i. 21. 
 
136 IRoi^al Commandments. 
 
 mere empty words, with no power or reality in 
 them? Are they the exceptions to His declaration 
 that ^ My words shall not pass away ' ? ^ the only 
 promises which are not Yea and Amen in Christ 
 Jesns?^ Listen! they need no note or comment. 
 * Sin shall not have dominion over you. ' * Ye were 
 the servants of Sin, but, . . . being made free 
 from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.'* 
 ^ Now being made free from sin,' 'the law of the 
 Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from 
 the law of sin and death.'* 'Whosoever commit- 
 teth sin is the servant of sin. ... If the Son there- 
 fore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.'^ 
 Let us look at the context of each (only not quoted 
 for want of space), and, if our experience has noth- 
 ing answering to all this purpose of His goodness'® 
 let us ask Him to show us His own meaning and 
 His own royal intention, and to 'reveal even this 
 unto you ''^ by the unction from the Holy one,® who 
 convinces all the more deeply of sin when He con- 
 vinces also of the practical power of Christ's blood 
 to cleanse from all sin, and of the reality of His 
 present salvation.^ Do not hug the yoke which He 
 has promised to destroy. 
 
 ' And it shall come to pass in the day that the 
 Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from 
 thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou 
 wast made to serve, that thou shalt . . . say, How 
 hath the oppressor ceased ! '^° 'In that day . . . 
 his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder. ' 
 
 1 Matt, xxiv. 35. 2 2 Cor. i. 20. 3 Rom. vi. 14; ib. vi. 17, 18. 
 
 4 Rom. vi. 22 ; ib. viii. 2. 5 John viii, 34, 36. 
 6 Eph. i. 4. 7 Phil. iii. 15. 8 i John ii. 20. 
 
 8 John xvi. 8 ; i John i. 7. 10 Isa. xiv. 3, 4. 
 
15o?ie*Dc6troi2in9 Bnolnting* 137 
 
 But ' that day ' may be f/ii's day ! Why not ? * For 
 now will I break his yoke from oif thee.'^ * Where 
 the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty;'^ and He 
 hath said, * Ask, and ye i-Zz^// receive.'^ Recognize 
 the anointing by faith, and then 'stand fast there- 
 fore in the liberty wherewith Christ Aaf/i made us 
 free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of 
 bondage;'* for 'this. is His commandment.' Then 
 you shall ' walk at liberty,'^ and give Him the glad 
 * offering of a free heart,' rejoicing in His easy 
 yoke/ and (shall we not add), ' proclaiming liberty 
 every man to his neighbor.'^ 
 
 Upon Thy promises I stand, 
 
 Trusting in thee ; Thine own right hand 
 
 Doth keep and comfort me ! 
 My soul doth triumph in Thy word ; 
 Thine, Thine be all the praise, dear Lord, 
 
 As Thine the victory. 
 
 Love perfecteth what it begins ; 
 
 Thy power doth save me from my sins; 
 
 Thy grace upholdeth me. 
 This life of trust, how glad ! how sweet ! 
 My need and Thy great fullness meet, 
 
 And I have all in thee. 
 
 Jean S. Pigott. 
 
 1 Nah. i. 13. 2 2 Cor. iii. 17. 3 Matt. vii. 7. 
 
 < Gal. V. I. 6 Ps, cxix. 45. 6 MatU xi. ag. 
 
 ' Jer. xxxiv. 15, 
 
138 IRosal dommanOmenU^ 
 
 EIGHTEENTH DAY. 
 
 ®ur Morft0 in 6oi)'0 Ibanb* 
 
 ' Commit thy works unto the Lord.' — Prov. xvi. 3. 
 
 SUPPOSE an angel were sent down to tell us this 
 morning that he was commissioned to take all 
 our work under his charge to-day, that we might 
 just be easy about it, because he would undertake 
 it, and his excellent strength and wisdom ^ would 
 make it all prosper a great deal more than ours, 
 how extremely foolish it would be not to avail our- 
 selves of such superhuman help ! What a holiday 
 it would seem, if we accepted the offer, as we went 
 about our business with the angel beside us ! what 
 a day of privilege and progress ! and how we should 
 thank God for the extraordinary relief His kindness 
 had sent ! 
 
 Far higher is our privilege this day ; not merely 
 permitted, but pressed upon us by royal command- 
 ment, ' Commit thy works unto Jehovah ! ' Yet 
 this is but the third strand of a golden cord which 
 is strong enough (if yielded to) to draw us up out 
 of all the miry clay of the ' pit of noise,' ^ where 
 
 1 Ps. ciii. 20. 2 Ps. xl. 2, margin. 
 
®ur Morfes in (BoO'e IbanC), 139 
 
 the voices of fear and anxiety and distrust make 
 such a weary din. We are to commit the keeping 
 of our souls to Him ; ^ then we shall be ready for 
 the command to commit our way unto Him, and 
 then our works. ^ Then, having obeyed, we may 
 exchange the less confident expression, ' Unto God 
 would I commit my cause,' ^ for the bright 
 assurance, ' I am persuaded that He is able to keep 
 that which I have committed unto Him.'* 0/ 
 course He is ! 
 
 Not an angel, but Jehovah bids us this day com- 
 mit our works to Him. It is not approvmg the 
 idea, nor thinking about it, nor even asking Him 
 to take them, that is here commanded, but commu- 
 ting them : a definite act of soul, a real transaction 
 with our Lord. Suppose you have an interview 
 with another worker, and, having had a distinct 
 understanding as to what you wish him to undertake 
 for you, you verbally and explicitly transfer to him 
 the management and responsibility of some work. 
 You are not actually in sight of it, you have no 
 tangible objects to hand over, you might do it in a 
 dark room, but the transaction is real. The burden 
 of the work is no longer upon you, if only you 
 have confidence in the one to whom you have com- 
 mitted it. And if you have the further confidence 
 that he is considerably more capable than yourself, 
 and can do it all a great deal better, you are not 
 only relieved but rejoiced. Just such a definite 
 transaction does our Lord bid us make with Him 
 this morning. Will you do it ? Will you not, be- 
 
 1 1 Pet. iv. 19. 2 Ps. xxxvii. 5. 
 
 3 Job V. 8. 4 2 Tim. i. 12. 
 
 r 
 
140 IRo^al Commandments, 
 
 fore venturing away from your quiet early hour, 
 
 * commit thy works ' to Him definitely, the special 
 things you have to do to-day, and the unforeseen 
 work which He may add in the course of it ? 
 
 And then, leave it with Him ! You would not 
 have the bad taste to keep on fidgeting about it to 
 the friend who had kindly undertaken your work 
 for you ! If we would only apply the commonest 
 rules of human courtesy and confidence to our in- 
 tercourse with our Divine Master ! Leave details 
 and results all and altogether with Him. You see, 
 when you have committed it to Him, your * works 
 are in the hand of God.'^ Really in His Hand ! 
 and where else would you wish them to be ? Would 
 you like to have them back in your own ? Do you 
 think His grasp is not firm enough, or the hollow 
 of His hand ^ not large enough, to hold your little 
 bits of work quite securely ? Even if He tries your 
 faith a little, and you seem to have labored in vain 
 and spent your strength for nought, cannot you 
 trust your ' own Master' enough to add, ' Yet surely 
 my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with 
 my God ' ?^ Especially as He says, ^ Thou art my 
 servant, in whom I will be glorified ; ' * by which 
 
 * ye know that your labor is not in vain in the 
 Lord.'^ 
 
 That for the past work. For the present, * I will 
 direct their work in truth.' ® And for all our future 
 work, a singular shining in the eastern horizon : 
 
 * Mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. " 
 
 1 Eccles. ix. I. 2 Isa. xl. 12. 3 Isa. xlix. 4. 
 
 ■* Isa. xlix. 3. 6 I Cor. xv. 58. 6 Isa. Ixi. 8. 
 
 ' Isa. Ixv. 22. 
 
Secret of jfulfUleD S)e5ire. 141 
 
 Oh to be nothing, nothing ! 
 
 Only to lie at His feet, 
 A broken and emptied vessel, 
 
 For the Master's use made meet. 
 Emptied, that He may fill me, 
 
 As forth to His service I go ; 
 Broken, that so unhindered 
 
 His life through me might flow. 
 
 Oh to be nothing, nothing ! 
 
 Only as led by His hand ; 
 A messenger at His gateway, 
 
 Only waiting for His command. 
 Only an instrument ready 
 
 His praises to sound at His will ; 
 Willing, should He not require me. 
 
 In silence to wait on Him still. 
 
 G. M. Taylor. 
 
 NINETEENTH DAY. 
 
 c;be Secret of 3fulfilleb 2)e0ire» 
 
 * Delight thyself also in the Lord ; and He shall give thee 
 the desires of thy heart.' — Ps. xxxvii. 4. 
 
 ONE often hears this promise quoted without its 
 conditional precept ; ^ but we have no right to 
 put asunder anything that God has joined together. 
 Every heart has desires, but not even every Christ- 
 
 ^ Prov. X. 24. 
 10 
 
142 IRo^al Comman&ment6. 
 
 ian heart delights itself in the Lord. This is the 
 reason of the great wail of unfulfilled desire — the 
 very howl, one might say, which makes a howling 
 wilderness of this fair world. 
 
 It stands to reason ; if our delight is absolutely 
 and entirely in the Lord, all our desires will be 
 not only ^ before Him,' ^ but the whole ' desire of 
 our soul ' will be concentrated upon Him,^ radiating 
 from that centre along the bright rays of His * good 
 and perfect and acceptable will. ' ^ Now, of course. 
 His will must and will be carried out ; for ' He 
 doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, 
 and among the inhabitants of the earth : and none 
 can stay His hand.' * 
 
 So, if we delight truly in the Lord, and thereby 
 have our desires so harmonized with His will that 
 . they float out on the same great tide of perfect 
 music, there will be no damper upon their vibrations, 
 but they will be fulfilled for us because His will is 
 fulfilled.^ 
 
 His will is not, as we are tempted practically to 
 think, something quite separate and apart from 
 Himself, so that we may think Him gracious, and 
 yet think His will rather stern ; or so that we may 
 love Him, and yet very much dislike His will. His 
 will is the very essence of Himself going forth in 
 force ; it is the primary difference between what we 
 know of Jehovah and what the Hindoo imagines of 
 Brahma. 
 
 We must not overlook the important word 'also.'® 
 This points us to a preliminary condition : 
 
 1 Ps. Ixxiii. 25 ; ib. xxxviii. 9. 2 Jsa. xxvi. 8, 9 ; 2 Sam. xxiii. 5. 
 3 Rom. xii. 2. ■* Dan. iv. 35. 5 Eph. v. 17. ^ Ps. xxxvii.3. 
 
Secret ot jfulftlleD 2>e0ire. 143 
 
 -* Trust in the Lord, and do good.'^ Trust, evidenced 
 hy obedience, is the stepping-stone to delight in 
 the Lord, and the only one. Obedience is the re- 
 sult of trust, and the condition of delight. 
 
 Two great cases of this condition of delight are 
 distinctly given us — one spiritual, the other 
 practical. 
 
 1. * If thou return to the Almighty, . . . f/ien 
 thou shalt have thy delight in the Almighty.' ^ It 
 is not said to saints, but to repentant sinnerb^ — not 
 to the eldest son, but to the returning prodigal.* 
 To me, the wanderer, it is offered. To me, the 
 backslider, it is held out. We can never say ; 
 ' The Lord does not mean such a one as I to delight 
 i•^ Him ; that sort of thing is only meant for those 
 who have always been consistent Christians.' If so. 
 He would not have said, ' If thou return.'' ^ With- 
 out true returning, there cannot be delight in the 
 Lord j but, conversely, if there is no delight, 
 ought we not to 'consider our ways,'^ lest some 
 * returning ' should be needed ? 
 
 2. * If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, 
 from doing thy pleasure on My holy day ; and call 
 the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honor- 
 able ; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own 
 ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking 
 thine own words : Then shalt thou delight thyself 
 in the Lord. ' ^ On our knees before Him let us ex- 
 amine ourselves as to every clause of this great con- 
 dition. Perhaps here we shall find the joints in the 
 
 1 Isa. xii. 2, 3. 2 Job xxii. 23, 26. 3 Matt. ix. 11, 13. 
 
 4 Luke XV. 2, 32. 5 Job xv. 11. 6 Hag. i. 7. 
 
 7 Isa. Iviii. 13, 14. 
 
144 Uo^al CommanDment6, 
 
 harness, the secret controversy ^ which hinders the 
 realization of delight in the Lord, and therefore of 
 the annexed promise. 
 
 A word about the delight itself. There is some- 
 thing so real, and natural, and childlike about it. 
 It is joy realized — joy in flower, bright, growing, 
 alive, beautiful. It is the sparkle of the upspringing 
 fountain in the clear sunlight. This childlike 
 delight is to be in the Lord Himself. It is quite 
 another thing to delight in what He does for us. 
 The Israelites ^ delighted themselves in Thy great 
 goodness..^ Nevertheless they were disobedient, and 
 rebelled.' Not under the shadow of even a God- 
 given gourd, ^ but under His own shadow, may you 
 sit down ' with great delight.' * Then all His fruits 
 shall be sweet to your taste ; you shall delight in 
 His will, in His comforts, in His commandments, 
 and in His people.^ You shall desire ' what His 
 soul desireth,' ^ and ' He shall give thee the desires 
 of thine Heart. ' ^ 
 
 Oh, blessed life ! — the heart at rest 
 When all without tumultous seems — 
 That trusts a higher will, and deems 
 
 That higher will, not mine, the best. 
 
 Oh, blessed life ! — heart, mind, and soul, 
 Froin self-born aims and wishes free, 
 In all at one with Deity, 
 
 And loyal to the Lord's control. 
 
 W. T. Matson. 
 
 1 Micah vi. 2. 2 Neh. ix. 25, 26. 3 Jonah iv. 6. 
 
 4 Cant. ii. 3. ^ Ps. xl. 8 ; ib. xciv. 19 ; ib. cxix. 47 ; ib. xvi. 3. 
 
 6 Job xxiii. 13. ^ Ps.cxlv. 19. 
 
c:a!?tng (3oO at Die moxtf* 145 
 
 TWENTIETH DAY. 
 
 - Rafting (5o& at 1bi0 Morb* 
 
 ' I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.' — 
 Acts xxvii. 25. , 
 
 THEN, of course, St. Paul could be calm, and 
 bright, and confident, ' with a heart at leisure 
 from itself to cheer and counsel others. Yet could 
 any circumstances have been more depressing ? — a 
 miserable and crowded ship, to which our most 
 wretched steamer would be a palace, exceedingly- 
 tossed with tempest, not a gleam of sun or star for 
 many days, all reckoning lost, driving wildly on to 
 certain shipwreck, and the graphic and suggestive 
 touch of ' long abstinence.' 
 
 Whatever this day may bring forth, there can be 
 nothing like this for us. Yet even the lesser trials 
 of our own journey may and must be met with the 
 same simple and sufficient secret of calm, simple 
 belief in what God has said. It is strange and sur- 
 prising even to ourselves how absolutely enough we 
 always do find it, just to believe that it shall be 
 even as God has told us, and 'rest ' on His word.^ 
 
 Prov. xvi. 3. , 
 
'46 IRoi^al GommauDmentB* 
 
 The ' it' may be for us one thing to-day, another 
 to-morrow, according to the circumstances He 
 sends ; but the ' shall be ' cannot be severed from 
 it. He has 'told us' so much, that we have only 
 to recognize our special need, to find at once that 
 He has already ' told ' us exactly what we want. 
 
 Glance at the needs of this day — our weakness, 
 our openness to temptation, our liability to fall,^ 
 our besetting sins, our ignorance, our present or 
 possible troubles, our longing for Himself, which 
 includes all other holy longing — seven pressing 
 realities.^ Now let us hush our hearts to listen to 
 the reality of His corresponding replies : ' I will 
 strengthen thee. '^ ' Ye shall be able to quench ail 
 the fiery darts of the wicked.'* 'Able to keep you 
 from falling'^ (^Gr. 'stumbling'). ' He shall save 
 His people from their sins '^ (/. e. just your own 
 special ones). ' I will instruct thee and teach thee 
 in the way which thou shalt go.'^ 'I will not leave 
 you comfortless. ' 'I will come to you."^ Can we 
 read these words-r— His own words, and say, ' I do 
 not believe God ! ' Even the recoil from such an 
 expression may help a trembling one to the joyful 
 and only alternative : ' I believe God, that it shall 
 "be even as it was told me.' Not less, not almost as, 
 but 'even as,' with God's own fullness of meaning 
 in each word of each promise. 
 
 David prayed : 'Do as Thou hast said. . . . For 
 lliou, O my God, hast toid Thy servant that Thou 
 wilt build him an house : therefore Thy servant hath 
 
 1 I Pet. V. 8. 2 Ps, Ixxiii. 22 ; ib. Ix. 11 ; ib. Ixiii. i. 3 Isa. xli. 10. 
 4 Epb. vi. 16. 5Jude24. 6 Matt. i. 21. 
 
 '* Ps. xxxii. 8. 8 John xiv. 18. 
 
^aMng (5o0 at Ibfs MorD. 147 
 
 found in his heart to pray before Thee.' And 
 because God had 'promised this goodness,' he 
 prayed on confidently : * Now therefore let it please 
 Thee to bless . . . : for Thou blessest, O Lord, 
 and it shall be blessed forever.'^ Has He not 
 ' told ' us of blessings beyond those for which David 
 pleaded, and may we not claim these in the name 
 of Jesus with a childlike, ' Do as Thou hast said' ? 
 
 •The ground of St. Paul's belief was not some- 
 thing, but Some One. Simply, ' I believe God' I 
 An earnest worker said the other day, ' Oh, I am so 
 glad it does not say^ '*I know what I have be- 
 lieved," but, " I know who77i I have believed " ! "^ 
 This belief, of course, includes all His messages, 
 written or spoken. 'If ye will not believe, surely 
 ye shall not be established,'^ is a word of continual 
 application to the trembling or wavering steps of 
 our daily path. But ' this is His commandment,'^ 
 ' Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be es- 
 tablished; believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper.'^ 
 And then, ' Blessed is she that«believed : for there 
 shall be a performance of those things which were 
 toldhtr from the Lord.'^ 
 
 ■'Even as it was told me.' 'And so it came 
 to pass. ''' 
 
 1 1 Chron. xvii. 23, 25. 2 2 Tim. i, 12. 3 isa. vii. 9. * i John iii. 23, 
 5 2 Chron. xx. 20. 6 Luke i. 45. 7 Acts xxvii. 25, 44. 
 
148 IRosal Comman&ment0. 
 
 TWENTY-FIRST DAY. 
 
 ®ur Commi00ion* 
 
 'And let him that heareth say, Come.' — Rev. xxii. 17. 
 
 ''T^HEY delivered the king's commissions unto 
 JL the king's lieutenants.'^ Have some of us 
 thought it would be easier to work for God if a 
 definite commission were delivered to us, so that we 
 could know exactly what we were to do and say^ — 
 a commission so explicit, that there could be no 
 mistake either in its personal delivery to ourselves 
 or in our execution of it ? Then here it is ! 
 
 To whom is it ilelivered? Simply to 'him that 
 heareth.' 'The Spirit and the bride say, Come. 
 And let him that heareth say, Come.'^ Then, if 
 this blessed call has been heard by you, for you is 
 the commission intended, and to you it is given. 
 Not, are you a fit and polished instrument? not, 
 are you a practised worker ? not, are you already a 
 trained soldier, and therefore very capable of en- 
 listing others?* not, have you a special gift of 
 speech or pen?^ but simply and solely, have you 
 heard for yourself the one sweet call, ' Come ' ? ® 
 
 1 Ezra viii. 36. 2 Josh. i. 16. 3 Rev. xxii. 17. 
 
 ■* 2 Tim. ii. 2, 3. ^ 1 Cor. xii. 7-11. 6 Matt. xi. 28. 
 
©ur Gommissiom 149 
 
 Now you see that the commission is for you, do 
 you not ? But what is it ? Can anything be more 
 simple and explicit? You are to 'say, Come\f 
 That is all ; but, in simple obedience to this com- 
 mand of your King, what possibilities of blessing 
 and success, of gladness to you and glory to Him, 
 are enfolded ! You are to ^say, Come. ' Are you 
 saying it ? Not, are you exercising a general good 
 influence? not, do you try to lead and keep the 
 coifversation in profitable channels? not, do you 
 speak about ' good things ' or even about Christ ? 
 not, are you giving time and money to the further- 
 ance of some branch of His work ? — you may be 
 doing all this, and yet be distinctly disobeying His 
 command, distinctly faithless and disobedient to 
 your commission. You are missing the present priv- 
 ilege and unspeakable happiness of winning souls, 
 and foregoing the glorious reward annexed to it.* 
 For, assuredly, it is those who are literally saying 
 ' Come,' who are really '■ turning many to righteous- 
 ness;'^ not because they are more gifted, but 
 because God's powerful blessing is given with their 
 obedience to His definite command. 
 
 Why should we be at a loss what to say, when He 
 has given us the very word ? We have but to trans- 
 mit the echo of His own call, ' Come unto Me ; ' 
 'Come and see; '^ 'If any man thirst, let him 
 come unto Me and drink.' * 
 
 Whatever the position of the one to whom we 
 speak, there is always a suitable 'Come.' 'Come 
 thou with us, and we will do thee good.'^ 'Come 
 
 1 Prov. xi. 30. 2 Dan. xii. 3. 3 John i. 39, 46, 
 
 4 John vii. 37. ^ Num. x. 29 
 
150 TRoi^al Commandments* 
 
 and see Him whom we have found. '^ 'Come and 
 let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual 
 covenant that shall not be forgotten.'^ Then, for 
 those who have come, there is still always a * Come 
 up higher.'^ 'Come up with me . . . that we 
 may fight against the Canaanite.'* ' Come ye, and 
 let us walk in the light of the Lord.'^ Oh, how 
 such a call may be blessed to a weak-handed and 
 feeble-footed Christian ? And still there is a ' come ' 
 of special beauty and power for those who have 
 yielded themselves to Hun : •' Now ye have conse- 
 crated yourselves unto the Lord, come near,^^ And 
 let us not shrink from faithfully echoing with no 
 'uncertain sound, '^ ' Come oiU from among them,'^ 
 remembering that when the heavenly Bridegroom 
 says, ' Come with Me,' He adds, ^ from Lebanon 
 . . . fro7n the lions' dens.'^ He who gives the 
 commission always gives opportunities of exercis- 
 ing it ; but it is our part faithfully to seek and 
 watch for these, and courage and faith will increase 
 as they widen. The servant who was sent at first 
 only to say ' Come' to the bidden guests, was next 
 sent to bring them in from a wider range, and then 
 to ' cojnpel them to come in ' from a wider still/^ 
 
 The commission is laid before you this day ; it is 
 inscribed with your own name, signed by your 
 King's own hand, and sealed by the Spirit, who 
 bears witness with your Spirit that His ' Come ' has 
 been heard by you.^^ Do you accept it? or do you 
 refuse it ? There is no third alternative ! 
 
 1 John i.46. 2 Jer. 1. 5. ^ P^ov. xxv. 7. 
 
 ^ Judg. i. 3. 5 Isa. ii. 5. ^2 Chron. xxix. 31 
 
 7 I Cor. xiv. 8. 82 Cor. vi. 17. « Cant. iv. 8. 
 
 10 Luke xiv. 17 ; ib. xiv. 21 ; ib. xiv. 23. ^^ Rom. vin. i6. 
 
:Bcbolt)i\\Q anD Beclarmg. 151 
 
 Ye who hear the blessed call 
 
 Of the Spirit and the Bride, 
 Hear the Master's word to all, 
 
 Your commission and your guide : 
 'And let him that heareth say, 
 Come,' to all yet far away. 
 
 * Come ! ' alike to age and youth; 
 
 Tell them of our Friend above, 
 Of His beauty and His truth, 
 
 Preciousness, and grace, and love. 
 Tell them what you know is true, 
 Tell them what He is to you. 
 
 Brothers, sisters, do not wait, 
 
 Speak for Him who speaks to you ! 
 
 Wherefore should you hesitate ? 
 This is no great thing to do. 
 
 Jesus only bids you say, ' 
 
 * Come !' and will you not obey ? 
 
 TWENTY-SECOND DAY. 
 
 Bebolbing ant) Declaring* 
 
 * Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine 
 ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee ; for 
 to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou brought 
 hither : declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel.' — 
 EzEK. xl. 4, 
 
 WHETHER the mysterious Measurer was a 
 created angel or the divine Angel of the Gov- 
 
152 IRo^al CommanDment0» 
 
 enant, ' we cannot tell.' ' But the message which he 
 here gives to Ezekiel seems to illustrate the work of 
 the Holy Spirit, whose office it is to take both the 
 words and the things of Christ and shew them unto us. ^ 
 'Eye hath not seen,' yet -behold with thine 
 eyes ; ' ' nor ear heard,' yet * hear with thine ears ;' 
 ' neither have entered into the heart of man,' ^ yet 
 'set thine heart upon all that I shall show thee.' 
 For ' God hath revealed them unto us by His 
 Spirit.' ^ To Ezekiel should be shown the wonder- 
 ful temple, with its measurements, its laws, and its 
 mystical services. To us shall be revealed the 
 things which God hath prepared for them that love 
 Him, ^ and (as if to let theladder down a step lower) 
 * for him that waiteth for Him. ' ^ Afterward, he 
 beheld 'the glory of the God of Israel,' and 'he 
 heard Him speaking unto ' him.' And we, by the 
 Spirit, are to behold the glory of the Lord,* and to 
 *hear His voice ' calling us by name.^ 
 
 This would seem to be all promise and privilege, 
 rather than commandment ; something with which 
 we have nothing at all to do but to wait and see if 
 it comes ! Nay! 'Behold with thine eyes.' ' Go 
 forth and behold ' '° your King ! And when we 
 accept the seemingly impossible command, the 
 Spirit will open our eyes that we may see. ' Hear 
 with thine ears ! ' ^^ And with (not even after) the 
 obedient inclination of the ear, the still small voice 
 will out-ring not only 'earth's drowsy chime,' but 
 all other voices. He says : ' They shall hear My 
 
 1 Matt. xxi. 27. 2 John xiv. 26 ; ib. xvi. 15. 3 i Cor. ii. 9. 
 ■* I Cor. ii. 10. 5 I Cor. ii. 9. * Isa. Ixiv. 4. 
 
 T Ezek. xliii. i, 2 ; ib. xliii, 6. '2 Cor. iii. 18. 
 
 *Johnx. 3. 10 Cant. iii. II. n Isa. Iv. 3. 
 
:©ebolMng anD WecimrxQ. 153 
 
 voice ; '^ ' they shall know in that day that I am He 
 that doth speak. '^ For the Spirit will unstop the 
 €ars of the deaf. When He thus makes us behold 
 and hear, He will finish the work and enable us to 
 ^ set ' our wandering hearts upon all that He will 
 •show us. But the responsibility will still be ours to 
 follow the enabling. 
 
 It will act and react. The more we set our hearts 
 the more He will show us ; and the more He shows 
 us, -the more our hearts will surely there be fixed. 
 
 * -^// that I shall shew thee.' What a vista of 
 revelation opens before us ! ' He shall take of Mine 
 and shall shew it unto you,'^ — My love. My grace, 
 My wisdom. My acts, My covenant, My goodness. 
 My glory! He *will shew thee the truth.'* He 
 * will shew thee great and mighty things, which 
 thou knowest not.' ^ ' He will shew you things- to 
 come.'^ Do we not feel like little children, 
 wondering, in delighted expectation, what it is that 
 we are going to see ? 
 
 Like little children, too, we have been brought 
 hither, on purpose that He may show us all this. 
 ^ Hither,' to the very place, the very point, where 
 we now are. We did not come of ourselves ; we 
 were ' brought. ' Very likely we should have gone 
 to some other place, and aimed at some other point. 
 But He brought us hither with gracious intent of 
 revelation. It may have been a stiff climb up the 
 ^very high mountain ; '^ but who minds that, if they 
 feally believe in the promised view ? 
 
 1 John X. 16. 2 Isa. lii. 6. 3 John xvi. 15. 
 
 * Ps, xvii. 7; ib, ciii. 7; ib. xxv. 14 ; Ex. xxxiii. 18, 19 ; Dan. xi. 2r 
 5 Jer, xxxiii. 3. 6 John xvi. 13. ^ Ezek. xl. 2. 
 
154 l?o^al CommanDmentg* 
 
 As commands always lead up to privileges, sa 
 privileges again lead on to further commands. Not 
 for ourselves alone are we to * see ' and ' hear.' We 
 are to declare all that we see.^ When we have seen 
 the house, we are to ' shew the house. '^ When we 
 have seen the Saviour, we are to make known abroad 
 the saying which was told us concerning Him.* 
 When we have seen the King, we are to ^ tell it out ' 
 that He reign eth. ' Hear with thine ears, and go 
 . . . and speak. ' * ' What I tell you in darkness, 
 that speak ye in light.' ^ 
 
 Do not let us begin quibbling about how much 
 we can tell, or how much we ought to tell. Let us 
 very simply and very humbly bow before this * His 
 commandment,' and ask Him to enable us to obey 
 it exactly as He means us to obey it, neither losing 
 the spirit in the letter nor ignoring the letter in the 
 spirit.* 
 
 Lord, speak to me, that I may speak 
 
 In living echoes of Thy tone ; 
 As thou hast sought, so let me seek 
 
 Thy erring children, lost and lone. 
 
 Oh teach me. Load, that I may teach 
 The precious things Th( u Host impart; 
 
 And wing my words that they may reach 
 The hidden depths of many a heart. 
 
 Oh fill me with Thy fulness, Lord, 
 
 Until my very heart o'ertlow. 
 In kindling thought and glowing word, 
 
 Thy love to tell, Thy praise to show. 
 
 1 I John i. 3. 2 Ezek. xliii. 10. ' Luke ii. IV. 
 
 4 Ezek. iii. 10, 11. ^ Matt. x. 27. « 2 Cor. iw. 15. 
 
^elllnfi of tbe IbanD ot (3ob. 155 
 
 TWENTY-THIRD DAY. 
 
 ^ Celling of tbe 1ban& of 6ob» 
 
 * Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good 
 upon me ; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto 
 me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they 
 strengthened their hands for this good work.' — Neh. ft. i8. 
 
 ''T^HEN they that feared the Lord spake often 
 ■1- one to another.'^ Yet many hold back from 
 what they call * talking about religion,' under 
 colour that they fear it too often leads to talking 
 about self. And yet, what about the general con- 
 versation which is about * other things,'^ not 'the 
 things which are Jesus Christ's ' ?^ Are the ' other 
 things' free from self and wholly profitable? Is it 
 * with grace, seasoned with salt ' ? Yet this is what 
 we are commanded that our speech should ' always ' 
 be.* 
 
 Let us lay aside this unscriptural notion of ' talk- 
 ing about religion,' which may only be controversy 
 and criticism, and see what our Lord would have us 
 talk about. The sum of our conversation should be, 
 as recorded of Anna, ' She . . . spake of Him.'^ 
 
 1 Mai. iii, i6. 2 Mark iv. 19. 3 Phil. ii. 21, 
 
 ■* Job. XV. 3; Col. iv. 6. ^ Luke ii. 38. 
 
156 TRo^ai commanC)ment0, 
 
 Here is our keynote, and what wealth of melody 
 and fulness of harmony spring from it ! — the melo- 
 dies of His word ' in linked sweetness, long drawn 
 out,' for the right hand; the harmonies of His 
 works, in ^ver-varying marvels, for the left. Why, 
 we have topics for all eternity, much more for our 
 occasional hours and minutes of converse, unfold- 
 ing more and more as we receive more and more of 
 His fulness ! 
 
 But there is the point. If we do not want ta 
 ' speak of Him,'^ let us beware of plausibly persuad- 
 ing ourselves that it is because we do not want to 
 speak about ourselves. Let us be honest, and own 
 that the vessel does not overflow because it is not 
 very full of faith and love.' Christ said, ^Out of 
 the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.'^ 
 Men say, ' No such thing ! one does not speak 
 when one's heart is full ! ' Yet ' let God be true, 
 but every man a liar,'* and let us see whether our 
 unwillingness to speak of Him does not arise from 
 our having nothing to say. 
 
 Nehemiah had something to tell. * I told them of 
 the hand of my God which was good upon me.'^ 
 Nothing about his ' own arm,' but 'Thy right hand 
 and Thine arm,' and what that had done, the won- 
 derful answer to his prayer, and the way made plain 
 before his face.^ And see how it stirred up his 
 listeners forthwith ! They said, ' Let us rise up and 
 build. So they strengthened their hands for this 
 good work.'^ Have we nothing to tell to those 
 
 1 John i. 16. 2 Eccles. xi. 3. ^ Matt. xii. ,»*- 
 
 •* Rom. iii. 4, 5 Neh. ii, iS. 
 
 .« Ps xliv. 3 ; Neh. i. 10; ib. ii. 4, 8. 7 Neh, ii. 18. 
 
 i 
 
XLcllim ot tbe IbanD ot (SoD, 157 
 
 whom we meet this day of what the hand of our 
 God has done?^ 
 
 David said, ' Come and hear, . . . and I will 
 declare what He hath done for my soul; '^ and no 
 doubt then, as now, the story of His gracious doings 
 resulted in stimulus and blessing to other souls. 
 When thus 'confession with the mouth is made,' it 
 is very, very often 'unto salvation '^ for the listeners. 
 
 We must first know and ' consider how great 
 things He hath done for' us;* and then the voice 
 of Jesus says not only 'Skew,' but ' Te// how great 
 things the Lord hath done for thee,'^ that thus show- 
 ing, and thus telling, ' the communication of thy 
 faith may become effectual by the acknowledging 
 of every good thing which is in you in Christ 
 Jesus. '^ 
 
 We have also less personal but not less vivid testi- 
 mony to bear. ' The Lord hath done great things 
 for us, whereof we are glad,''^ will put a new song 
 in many another's mouth, ^ and confirm their faith 
 in the living God. Thus did Moses, and the result 
 was not only that Jethro rejoiced for all the good- 
 ness which the Lord had done,^ but that he rose to 
 the grand confession, 'Now I know that Jehovah is 
 greater than all gods.'^° 
 
 It is not to be only a one-sided telling, but a free 
 and pleasant interchange ; for we are distinctly 
 commanded, ' Talk ye of all His wondrous works.' 
 Who can exhaust that 'all\'^^ While we 'talk 
 together of all these things, '^^ communing together 
 
 1 Ps. Ixxvii. 12. 2 Ps. Ixvi. i6. 3 Rom, x. lo, 
 
 ^ I Sam. xii. 24. 6 Mark v. 19 ; Luke viii, 39. ^ Philem. 6. 
 
 7 Ps. cxxvi. 3. 8 Ps. xl. 3. 9 Ex. xviii. 8. 
 
 10 Ex. xviii. II. W Ps. cv. 2; ib. Ixxvii. 12. 12 Luke xxiv. 14. 
 
 II 
 
fSS 1Ro\>al CommanDments, 
 
 like the disciples on the Emmaus road, how often 
 does Jesus Himself draw near and go with us ! I 
 think He always does, only our eyes are not always 
 open to recognize Him. Verily, in keeping of this 
 commandment (and it is a commandment), ' there 
 is ^r<?^/ reward.'^ 
 
 ' Make me to understand the way of Thy pre- 
 cepts : so shall I talk of Thy wondrous works.' 
 
 Have you not a word for Jesus ? not a word to say for Him ? 
 He is listening through the chorus of the burning seraphim ! 
 He is listening ; does He hear you speaking of the things of 
 
 earth, 
 Only of its passing pleasure, selfish sorrow, empty mirth ? 
 He has spoken words of blessing, pardon, peace, and love to 
 
 you, 
 Glorious hopes and gracious comfort, strong and tender, sweet 
 
 and true ; 
 Does He hear you telling others something of His love untold, 
 Overflowings of thanksgiving for His mercies manifold ? 
 
 1 Ps. xix. II ; ib. cicix. 37. 
 
 \ 
 
trelling of tbe Ifting's '!iraot68. 159 
 
 TWENTY-FOURTH DAY. 
 
 JTellfnG of tbe Iking's Morbs. 
 
 *Then I told them of . . . the king's words that he had 
 spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So 
 they strengthened their hands for this good work.' — Neh. 
 ii. 18. 
 
 HOW naturally we should not only treasure, but 
 idly any royal words spoken to ourselves! 
 They would be more to us than any other utterances, 
 and they would ensure the interest of our listeners. 
 How natural for Nehemiah to tell of the king's 
 words which he had spoken unto him, though only 
 an earthly and alien sovereign ! 
 
 Now, ought it not to be just as natural, delightful, 
 and interesting to tell of the words of our own, our 
 heavenly King, especially when He has commanded, 
 ^ He that hath My word, let him speak my word 
 faithfully ' ? ^ Not that we can ever tell all that 
 passes in the secret audience chamber ; nor would 
 it be well that we should try to do so : for ' the 
 secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him."' 
 The King has gifts for us with shining inscriptions 
 which ' no man knoweth saving he that receiveth ' * 
 them, whispers which cannot resound in words. 
 
 1 Jer. xxiii. 28. 2 Ps. xxv. 14. 3 Rev. ii. 17; Prov, xvii. 8. 
 
i6o TRo^al Commandments, 
 
 But very much, perhaps most, of His gracious 
 communications to the soul come in the very form 
 which is most easily grasped, remembered, and re- 
 peated — His own written words brought to 
 our remembrance by His good Spirit, and 
 applied to our conscious or unconscious need.^ 
 Do not let us give our own memories the credit, in- 
 stead of giving Him the praise, when He so kindly 
 sends any of His own words freshly and forcibly 
 into our minds. Have we not often defrauded 
 Him of the glory due unto His name^ in this 
 matter, by mistaking His voice for our mere obser- 
 vation or recollection? 
 
 Now it is these words of the King, spoken to our 
 hearts as they are not spoken to the world, which 
 we may profitably tell others, thus becoming ' the 
 Lord's messenger in the Lord's message,'^ and 
 spreading the knowledge of His words. Nehemiah 
 did not tell of the king's words which he had 
 spoken unto somebody else, but * which He had 
 spoken unto me. ' So, • if we would tell^ the 
 King's words, we must first hear them. Ask that, 
 like Ezekiel, the Spirit may enter into us when 
 He speaks unto us, so that we may hear Him 
 that speaks unto us.* ^ These words shall be 
 in thine heart; ' ^ and- then, after that, comes the 
 command : * Talk of them when thou sittest 
 in thine house, and when thou walkest by 
 the way. ' ^ 
 
 Watch to see what He will say,^ and no fear but 
 
 1 John xiv. 26; Acts xx. 35. 2 Ps. xxix. 2. 3 Hag. i. 13. 
 •* Ezek. iii. 10. ^ Deut. vi. 6. 6 Deut. vi. 7. 
 
 1 Hab. ii. I. 
 
ZcllinQ ot tbe Mwq's morDs. lOi 
 
 that His words will be heard, and that more and 
 more. For it is when He /la^/i spoken unto us that 
 we shall be strengthened, and say, * Let my Lord 
 speak.' ^ And then He will say more to us, and 
 show us ' that which is noted in the Scripture of 
 truth. '2 
 
 It seems a truism to say that this telling of the 
 King's words will be ever so much more useful and 
 resultful than our own words. Yet do we always act 
 upoHf this? When we try to ' speak a word for 
 Jesus '^ to a friend, does it not sometimes seem as if 
 we were a little ' ashamed of His words ' ? ^ Is there 
 not sometimes a little shrinking from giving a text? 
 Has it not seemed an easier course to talk about a 
 sermon ? If we have visited a cottage, have we not 
 sometimes thought our duty discharged by a little 
 general good advice and kindly sympathy, and not 
 always ' told them of the King's words,' which are 
 spirit and life,^ and which should not have returned 
 void ^ — seed words, by which dead souls might have 
 been born again; ' sincere milk,' by which babes 
 in Christ might ' grow ' ?^ 
 
 Surely there is no more precious talent entrusted 
 to us,^ none with which we may trade with more 
 certain success and splendid increase, than these 
 words of our King. What we hear from Him let 
 us commit to others, ' that they may be able to 
 teach others also.'^ A simple text thus passed on 
 (and \vho cannot -do this!) may be the immediate 
 means of wonderful spiritual help and quickening, 
 
 1 Dan. X. 19. 2 Dan. x. 21. 3 Jer. xxiii. 28. 
 
 ■* Mark viii. 38. 5 John vi. 63. 6 Jga. Iv. 11. 
 
 7 1 Pet. i. 23; ib. ii. 2. 8 Matt. xxv. 16, 9 2 Tim. ii. 2. 
 
1 62 IRo^al Commandments* 
 
 and ' the comfort wherewith we ourselves are com- 
 forted of God ' (not some otherwise concocted 
 comfort) may comfort many * which are in any 
 trouble/^ without even one word of man as its 
 vehicle. 
 
 Yes, we have a word for Jesus ! Living echoes we will be 
 Of Thine own sweet words of blessing, of Thy gracious 
 
 * Come to Me.' 
 Jesus, Master ! yes, we love Thee, and to prove our love would 
 
 lay 
 Fruit of lips which Thou wilt open, at Thy blessed feet to-day. 
 Many an effort it may cost us, many a heart-beat, many a fear, 
 But Thou knowest, and will strengthen, and Thy help is always 
 
 near. 
 Give us grace to follow fully, vanquishing our faithless shame, 
 Feebly it may be, but truly, witnessing for Thy dear name. 
 
 TWENTY-FIFTH DAY. 
 
 jevil Speafting. 
 
 * Speak not evil one of another, brethren.' — ^Jas. iv. II. 
 
 ONE of the most difficult of *His command- 
 ments,'^ and yet one which is in a peculiar 
 degree ' for our good ' and personal happiness, as 
 well as for those around us ! The more difficult, the 
 more need of grace j and the more need, the more 
 the full supply.^ 
 
 ^ 2 Cor. i. 4. 2 Deut. x. 13. ^ 2 Cor. xii. 9 ; Phil. iv. 19. 
 
jBvii Speafting. 163 
 
 Well might St. Paul say, ' Put them in mind to 
 speak evil of no man,'^ for do we not easily fail to 
 keep this in mind ? The command is ' exceeding 
 broad j'^ let us not seek to narrow it, but humbly 
 bow to our Master's distinct orders in all their ex- 
 actness. 
 
 Do we really wzs/i to know them fully, that we 
 may obey fully ? Then what are they ? ' Speak evil 
 of no man.'^ Shall we venture practically to say, 
 'Y^, Lord, except oi So-and-so'? 
 
 * Laying aside all evil speakings.'* Does not this 
 include the very least ? 
 
 * Let all bitterness, . . . and evil speaking, be 
 put away from you ;'^ then does He give us leave to 
 cherish even one little hidden root of that bitter- 
 ness from which the evil speaking springs?® 
 
 * Put away ' implies resolute action in the mat- 
 ter, — have we even tried to * put away alP ? 
 
 But this great clause of the * royal law '^ is 
 broader still: *Let none of you imagine evil in 
 your hearts against his neighbour.'^ And the 
 characteristic of that charity, without which we are 
 only 'sounding brass' and 'nothing,' is, that it 
 'thinketh no evil. '^ Is not this the root from which 
 the far-poisoning fruit springs? We have first diso- 
 beyed another order: 'Whatsoever things are of 
 good report; . . . think on these things. '^° 
 Instead of that, we ' think ' about the bad reports 
 that we may have heard ; we develop the unkind 
 
 1 Titus iii. 2. ^ Ps. cxix. 96. 3 Titus iii. 2. 
 
 4 1 Pet. ii. I. 6 Eph. iv. 31. 6 Heb. xii. 15, 
 
 T Jas. ii. 8. 8 Zech. vii, 10; ib. viii. 17. 
 
 * I Cor. xiii. i ; ib. xiii. 2 ; ib. xiii. 5. 10 Phil. iv. 8. 
 
1 64 IRoigal Commandments* 
 
 hint into suspicion, and perhaps into accusation, by 
 thinking about it, instead of thinking on and think- 
 ing out the probable ' other side ' of the case. 
 This thinking has tempted us not to * refrain our 
 tongue ;'^ aad thus we have set some one else 
 '■ thinking,' and thereby to more speaking evil one 
 of another. At last the little fire has kindled a 
 great matter,^ and we come ourselves and bring 
 others under the condemnation of taking up ' a 
 reproach against his neighbour,'^ instead of not 
 enduring nor receiving it (see the striking mar- 
 ginal reading). And what is the just penalty 
 annexed by implication ? Not to abide in His taber- 
 nacle, not to dwell in His holy hill !* 
 
 How very often we speak evil of things which we, 
 more or less, * understand not '° — ah, even of 
 ' things which they know not ' ! ^ — instead of obey- 
 ing another part of the royal law, ' Judge nothing 
 before the time, until the Lord come, '7 when the 
 very person whQm we have been condemning shall 
 ' have praise of God ! ' This often arises from diso- 
 bedience to two other plain commands: 'Debate 
 thy cause with thy neighbour himself, and discover 
 not a secret to another :'^ and, ' go and tell him his 
 fault between thee and him alone.^^ Yet away we 
 go, and tell somebody else about it instead ! 
 
 Let us guard against the negative form of evil 
 speaking, generally the most dangerous and cruel, 
 even when the most thoughtless. Absalom was ex- 
 tremely clever in this. Who could quote any actual 
 
 1 1 Pet. iii. lo. 2 Jas. iii. 5. 3 Ps. xv. 3. 
 
 < Ps. XV. I. 5 2 Pet. ii. 12. 6 fude 10. 
 
 7 I Cor. iii. 5. 8 Prov. XXV. 9. 8 Matt, xviii. 15. 
 
Evil Speaftin^. 165 
 
 evil speaking against his royal father?^ Who could 
 charge him with speaking evil of dignities ? ^ And 
 yet by insinuation, by his way of putting things, by 
 his very manner, he wrought a thousand-fold more 
 cruel harm than any amount of speaking out could 
 possibly have done. Oh to be watchful as to such 
 omissions to speak well, as amount to speaking evil ! 
 watchful as to the eloquence of even a hesitation, 
 watchful as to the forcible language of feature and 
 eyej. 
 
 Of course the question arises : ' But what about 
 cases in which wrong-doing must be spoken of for 
 the sake of truth and justice?' Clear as crystal are 
 our instructions here : i. We are to speak 'the 
 truth. '^ The truth, not such part of it as will best 
 prove our case, and nothing else! Not what we 
 suppose to be the truth. 2. 'In love.' Does all our 
 testimony stand this test? 3. 'In the name of the 
 Lord Jesus.'* Would not this check many a word 
 against another? 4. 'To the glory of God.'° Fail- 
 ure in any one of these four rules brings us in 
 guilty of sin. Oh may He give us grace to keep our 
 heart with all diligence,^ and Himself set a watch 
 this day before our mouth, and keep the door of our 
 lips ! ^ May we cease to ' reason with unprofitable 
 talk, or with speeches wherewith we can do no 
 good.'^ 
 
 Take my lips, and let them be 
 Filled with messages from Thee. 
 
 1 2 Sam. XV. 3-5, 2 2 Pet. ii. lo. ' Eph. iv. 15. 
 
 4 Col. iii. 17. 5 I Cor. x. 31. ^ Prov. iv. 23. 
 
 ^ Ps. cxli. 3. 8 Job XV. 4. 
 
i66 IRosai Commandments. 
 
 TWENTY-SIXTH DAY. 
 
 Ibinbering* 
 
 * Lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ.' — i Cor. ix. 12. 
 
 MANY an active and willing helper in the 
 Church is too often an unconscious hinderer 
 of the gospel. Let us each try to find out how we 
 may have hindered, that we may do so no more. 
 
 A vexation arises, and our expressions of impa- 
 tience hinder others from taking it patiently. Dis- 
 appointment, ailment, or even weather depresses 
 usj and our look or tone of depression hinders 
 others from maintaining a cheerful and thankful 
 spirit. We let out a fearing or discouraged remark, 
 and another's hope and zeal is wet-blanketed. 
 * What man is there that is fearful and faint- 
 hearted ? let him go and return unto his house, lest 
 his brethren's heart faint as well as his heart.' ^ 
 
 We say an unkind thing, ^ and another is hindered 
 in learning the holy lesson of charity that thinketh 
 no evil.^ We say a provoking thing, ^ and our sister 
 or brother is hindered in that day's effort to be 
 meek. * Make straight paths iox your feet, lest that 
 which is lame be turned out of the way.'^ 
 
 1 Deut. XX. 8; Judg. vii. 3. 2 Jas. iv. 11. 
 
 3 I Cor. xiii, 5. ^ Jas. i. 26. 5 Heb. xii. 13. 
 
IbinDertng. - 167 
 
 We yield an inch in some doubtful matter, and 
 another is emboldened to take an ell. We do an 
 inexpedient thing, and another improves upon the 
 supposed example, and feels justified in doing an 
 unlawful thing.' ' Abstain from all appearance of 
 evil.'^ * Let not your good be evil spoken of.'^ 
 
 We miss an opportunity of speaking * a word for 
 Jesus ; ' and our pleasant, commonplace talk has 
 checked a half-formed wish for something better, 
 and'+iindered the light of the glorious gospel from, 
 shining into a heart.* We do not heed the thought- 
 ful look on some household face just after family 
 prayer or public worship, and our needless chat 
 about * earthly things '^ acts the fowls of the air. 
 We make a critical remark about a preacher or 
 writer, and it is brought back by the enemy in 
 swift temptation, at the very moment when a word 
 in season was about to find entrance.® * Them that 
 were entering in, ye hindered.'^ Oh, terrible con- 
 demnation ! * Let not those that seek Thee be con- 
 founded for my sake.'^ 
 
 We need, too, to be shown whether we are quite 
 unconsciously hindering in even lesser ways; for 
 many have little peculiarities, of which they are 
 hardly or not at all aware, which nevertheless 
 annoy, fidget, depress, or chill those with whom 
 they have much intercourse, and thus hinder the 
 calm reign of peace in their spirits. ^ Let not 
 them that wait on Thee, O Lord God of hosts, be 
 ashamed for my sake.'^ 
 
 ^ I Cor. X. 23; ib. viii. 13. 2 j Thess. v. 22. s Rom. xiv. 16. 
 
 4 2 Cor, iv. 4. 5 Phil. iii. 19; Matt.xiii. 4. 
 
 6Ps. cxix. 130. 7 Luke xi. 52. 8 Ps. Ixix. 6. ^ Ps. Ixix. 6. 
 
 I 
 
it)S IRoi^al Commanoments. 
 
 How sadly, too, we may hinder without word or 
 act ! For wrong feeling is more infectious than 
 wrong-doing ; especially the various phases of ill- 
 temper — gloominess, touchiness, discontent, irrita- 
 bility, — do we not know how catching these are ? 
 If the Lord asked us, ' Wherefore discourage ye the 
 heart of the children of Israel' in this way,, should 
 we not be utterly without excuse ?^ What if he 
 asked each hindered one, ' Who did hinder you ? '* 
 — are our consciences sure that our names would 
 escape mention ? 
 
 Shall we not watch and pray that this day we 
 may only help and not hinder in the least thing, 
 and that no one may have virtually to say to us, 
 * Hinder me not ' !^ May we never be the helpers 
 of the great hinderer ! When ' Satan hindered * 
 St. Paul, he probably found human agents.* 
 
 Let us ask that the Lord Jesus would so perfectly 
 tune our spirits to the key-note of His exceeding 
 great love,^ that all our unconscious influence may 
 breathe only of that love, and help all with whom 
 we come in contact to obey the gospel of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ.^ * And let us consider one another, to 
 provoke unto love and to good works. '^ 
 
 1 Num. xxxii. 7. * Gal. v. 7. 3 Gen. xxiv. 56. ' 
 
 4 I Thess. ii. 18. * 2 Cor. iv. 10. 6 2 Thess. i. 8. 
 
 ■i Heb. X. 24. 
 
 I 
 
Strenfitbenlns IbanDs* 169 
 
 TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY. 
 
 Strengtbening Ibanbe. 
 
 * Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble 
 knees.' — IsA. xxxv. 3. 
 
 *T_JE that is not with Me is against Me : and he 
 
 Aa that gatherethnot with Me scattereth.'^ So it 
 is not enough merely not to hinder ; we must help : 
 for not helping generally amounts to hindering. 
 Perhaps we tried yesterday not to be hinderers ; to- 
 day let us * go on to completeness/ and try to be 
 helpers.^ 
 
 ' Strengthen ye the weak hands.' Plenty of these 
 around us ; for where is one real worker who does 
 not feel his weakness, even in very proportion to- 
 what seems to us his strength ? ^ It does not the least 
 follow that those who are altogether much stronger 
 than ourselves are not perhaps realizing their weak- 
 ness much more.* We ' should not think of such a 
 thing* as aiming to strengthen their hands, and so 
 very much mutual ministry is left undone. A little 
 child may strengthen the hands of a giant and 
 veteran in the faith, and it is just the giants and 
 
 1 Luke xi. 23. 2 Heb. vi. 1 (Gr.). 
 
 8 2 Cor. xii. z. < i Cor. ii. 3. 
 
lyo IRosal CommanDments. 
 
 veterans who do no fsa.y to the more feeble members, 
 ' I have no need of you.' ^ 
 
 ' David sent to comfort Hanun by the hand of his 
 servants.'^ St. Paul received the comfort of God 
 by the coming of Titus, his * own son ' in the faith ;^ 
 and he seems to have had a great deal of both com- 
 fort and joy (which certainly are most strengthen- 
 ing), at second hand, by the ' fervent mind toward ' 
 him of the Corinthians, so that ^ exceedingly the 
 more joyed we.' * 
 
 Again, those very near us often need strengthen- 
 ing ; are we right if they have practically to look 
 farther for the strengthening which it might be ours 
 to give ? There may be a spiritual application of 
 providing specially for those of our own house. ^ 
 
 Again, are there not sometimes such very ' weak 
 hands,'® that we almost get tired of trying to 
 strengthen them, and feel inclined to think it is no 
 use dealing with such hopeless feebleness ? What 
 if our Master did this to us ? 
 
 How shall we set about it ? First, by prayer, as 
 Aaron and Hur held up the hands of Moses. ^ 
 ' Helping together by prayer.'^ This reaches all. 
 Who knows how much of the weakness of hands, 
 which distresses or even annoys us, may be laid at 
 our door because we talked about it instead of pray- 
 ing about it ? Very likely, names will occur to us 
 now ; then take those names at once to the Mighty 
 One, and ask Him this morning to strengthen those 
 weak hands and confirm those feeble knees.^ 
 
 1 I Cor. xii. 21, 22. 2 2 Sam. x. 2. ^2 Cor. vii. 6 ; Titus i. 4. 
 
 4 2 Cor. vii. 7. 6 I Tim. v. 8. ^ Rom. xv. i. 
 
 7 Ex. xvii. i». 8 2 Cor. i. 11. ^ Jas. v. 16. 
 
Strengtbenlng IbanDs* 171 
 
 Secondly, by personal contact. I suppose we 
 never come in contact with one who is really strong 
 in the Lord^ without being strengthened, whether 
 we feel it or not. But we should not be content 
 with the unconscious influence which it is our sin- 
 gular privilege to radiate. * Jonathan arose, and 
 went to David in the wood, and strengthened his 
 hand in God.'^ Arising always implies a little 
 effort. Then make it! What are our orders? 
 
 * Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your 
 GodT' ^ How are we to do it ? ^ Speak ye to the 
 heart of Jerusalem.' * What comes from the heart 
 goes to the heart. ^ Speak, -^ don't hint and beat 
 about the bush. When the arrow is feathered with 
 love and weighted with wisdom, it must fly straight. 
 What are we to say ? ' Say ... Be strong, fear 
 not ; behold, your God will come with vengeance, 
 even God with a recompense ; He will come and 
 save you.' ^ ' Cry unto her, that her warfare is ac- 
 complished, that her iniquity is pardoned.'^ Ex- 
 amine these two wonderful messages, and see if they 
 do not actually include everything required for 
 your fulfilment of this commandment. You may 
 amplify them, but that is all. Take with you His 
 words, and then you may say without presumption, 
 
 * I would strengthen you with my mouth.' ^ 
 
 Before we can really lift up other hands, our own 
 must have been lifted up by His good Spirit,^ and 
 our own feeble knees must have been confirmed by 
 much bowing at His footstool.^ ' When thou art 
 
 ^ Eph, vi. 10. 2 I Sam. xxiii. i6. ^ Jga. xl. i. 
 
 * Isa. xl. 2, margin, 5 Isa. xxxv. 4. ^ Isa. xl. 2. 
 
 7 Job xvi. 5. 8 Heb. xii, 12, 13. 9 Eph. iii. 13, 16. 
 
172 IRo^al CommanDment6» 
 
 converted, strengthen thy brethren.'^ 'Uphold 
 me with Thy free Spirit. Then will I teach.' ^ It 
 is the climax of the grand procession of promises 
 in that magnificent close of the words of Eliphaz. 
 If we acquaint ourselves with God,^ receive His 
 law, return to Him, and put away iniquity, then 
 'when men are cast down, then thou shalt say, 
 There is lifting up.'^ 
 
 May our record on high be : ' Thou hast strength- 
 ened the weak hands. Thy words have upholden 
 him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened 
 the feeble knees.' 
 
 Oh lead me, Lord, that I may lead 
 The wandering and the wavering feet; 
 
 Oh feed me, Lord, that I may feed 
 
 Thy hungering ones with manna sweet. 
 
 Oh strengthen me, that while I stand 
 Firm on the Rock, and strong in Thee, 
 
 I may stretch out a loving hand 
 To wrestlers with the troubled sea. 
 
 1 Luke xxii. 32. 2 Ps. H. 12, 13, 
 
 3 Job xxii. 2i-«9, ^Job iv. 4. 
 
Seefting to jBiccU 173 
 
 TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY. 
 
 Seefting to jEyceU 
 
 'Seek that ye may excel.' — i Cor. xiv. 12. 
 
 AN almost startling command ; yet it is addressed 
 to ' all that in every place call upon the 
 name of Jesus Christ our Lord,'^ therefore unmis- 
 takably to ourselves. 
 
 Very likely our thoughts have been quite differ- 
 ent from God's thoughts about it.^ We have been 
 thinking it was useless to seek to excel, because we 
 saw no likelihood of doing so ; that it was pre- 
 sumptuous to think of such a thing ; that it was 
 even positively wrong to aim at it; yet, all the time, 
 there the commandment stood, ' Seek that ye may 
 excel ! ' 
 
 For its right fulfilment, there must be one pre- 
 liminary and one object. The preliminary is, that 
 we must be ' zealous of spiritual gifts, '^ It is only 
 when we are coveting earnestly the best gifts* that 
 the exercise and development of all others comes in 
 its right place ; that is, we must be eagerly desiring 
 and heartily striving and using His own means to 
 
 1 I Cor. i. 2. 2 Isa. Iv. 8. 
 
 3 I Cor. xiv. 12, 4 I Cor. xii. 31. 
 
 \1 
 
174 IRoi^al CommanDments* 
 
 grow in grace/ to receive always more and more 
 of His fulness,^ more light and love, more faith and 
 power, more, above all, of His Spirit. 
 
 Even when this is the case, how often we set 
 some human standard before us, and say : 'Ah ! if 
 I only had half as much grace as So-and-so ! ' 
 Comparing ourselves among ourselves, we are not 
 wise;^ it is a fruitful source of limitation and hind- 
 rance. We are not to aim at ' half as much grace,' 
 nor even as much, but at excelling the fair self- 
 chosen standard, which after all is so far below the 
 * exceeding abundantly'* which He is able to do for 
 us. Let us give it up, once for all, and strike out 
 into God's more excellent way, and 'seek to 
 excel. '^ Let us open our mouth wide that He may 
 fill it,^ asking for such great gifts that His royal 
 bounty may be magnified because of our very 
 poverty ; ^ asking for such excellency of power that 
 it may be seen to be of Him and not of us f ask- 
 ing that He would so fulfil all the good pleasure of 
 His goodness, that the name of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ may be glorified in us.^ 
 
 Then, the one object. * Seekest thou great things 
 for thyself? seek them not.'^** But 'seek that ye 
 may excel to the edifying of the Church. ' 
 
 Apart from this, seeking to excel would inevitably 
 become sin. Emulation, ambition, pride, would 
 come in like a flood; envying and strife would 
 follow, ' leading to confusion and every evil work.'" 
 'All things edify not,' — should not this guide the 
 
 1 I Pet. ii. 2 ; 2 Pet. iii. 18. 2 John i. 16, s 2 Cor. x. 12. 
 
 4 Eph. iii. 20. 5 I Cor. xii. 31. ^ pg. Ixxxi. 10. 
 
 ^ 2 Cor. ix. II. 8 2 Cor. iv. 7. 9 2 Thess. i. 11, 12, 
 
 W Jer. xlv. 5. 11 Jas. iii. 16 ; i Cor. x. 23. 
 
Seeding to BjceU 175 
 
 directions in which we seek to excel? For this end 
 only let every good gift/ spiritual or mental, in- 
 ward or even outward, be continually cultivated and 
 carefully used. Let us this day and henceforth aim 
 at nothing lower. 
 
 Perhaps He grants us power to excel in some 
 seemingly very little things, some little peculiar 
 gifts which we don't think much of. ' He that is 
 taithful in that which is least j"*'^ will be enabled to 
 use even that for the edifying of some part of the 
 Church. Those who have no hand in raising the 
 strong pillars, may yet be called to give a delicate 
 touch to the lily work which shall crown them.^ 
 
 * To every man his work ;'* and in that, even if it is 
 only running little errands for the skilled workmen, 
 we may excel to the edifying of the Church. 
 
 There are ^diversities of gifts, '^ but none are 
 without any. ^ Every man hath his proper gift of 
 God, one after this manner, and another after 
 that.'^ If we think it humble to profess, or are 
 humble enough really to believe, that we have but 
 the * one talent,'^ that is the more reason why we 
 should eagerly make the very most of it for our 
 Lord ; for if it is only one, it is not our own, but 
 
 * our Lord's money.' 
 
 1 Jas. i. 17. 2 Luke xvi. lo. 3 j Kings vii. 22. 
 
 4 Mark xiii. 34. 5 i Cor. xii. 4. 61 Cor. vii. 7. 
 
 7 Matt. XXV. 15. 
 
17^ IRogal flomman&ments. 
 
 TWENTY-NINTH DAY. 
 
 Mbat tbc Mill of tbe Xor5 is, 
 
 ' Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the 
 will of the Lord is.' — Eph. v. 17. 
 
 ARE we not apt to connect the thoughts of 
 God's will with efforts to submit to what is 
 not very pleasant to us ? Is this fairy when all that 
 He Himself tells us of His will should make us love 
 and admire and rejoice in it ? Truly our thoughts 
 are not His thoughts^ about it, or there would not 
 be so many a sigh over that glorious petition, 'Thy 
 will be done. " 
 
 Let us see what He says it is, for He hath ' made 
 known unto us the mystery of His will;'^ and in 
 proportion as we are filled with the knowledge 
 of it, shall we walk worthy of the Lord unto all 
 pleasing.^ 
 
 I. It was the good pleasure of His will to predes- 
 tinate us unto the adoption of children,* that we 
 should be His own ' sons and daughters,' His own 
 *dear children.'^ And if He had told us no more 
 than this, ought not * Thy will be done ' to peal 
 
 1 Isa. Iv. 8. 2 Matt. vi. lo. 3 Eph. i. 9. 
 
 < Col. i. 9 ; ib. i. 10. 6 Eph. i. 5. ^2 Cor. vi. 18 ; Eph. v. i. 
 
Mbat tbe mm of tbe XorD is. 177 
 
 forth as an ' Amen chorus ' from all His adopted 
 ones? 
 
 2. It was the will of God our Father that the 
 Lord Jesus Christ should give Himself for our sins, 
 ' that He might deliver us from this present evil 
 world. '^ Jesus said, * Lo, I come to do Thy will,^ 
 O God/ and ' gave Himself for us, that He might 
 redeem us from all iniquity.'^ And day by day He 
 is delivering those who believe that He ' doth de- 
 liver,' and 'trust that He will yet deliver;'* for f/i/s 
 is *the will of the Lord.' 
 
 3. By this will we are sanctified.^ Sanctification is 
 the continual fulfilling of the good pleasure of His 
 goodness in us. It is the making us partakers of 
 His holiness and of the divine nature itself. It is 
 making us like Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may 
 be manifest even in our mortal flesh.® It is grant- 
 ing the desire, the thirst of thirsts, of every 
 renewed heart. ^ And ' this is the will of God, even 
 your sanctification !'^ 
 
 4. It is the will of God in Christ Jesus concern- 
 ing us, that in every thing we should give thanks, 
 * always for all things.'^ This implies a life full of 
 cause for praise, and full of power to praise ; — can 
 any one describe a brighter ideal ? Yet this is the 
 will of God concerning j^«. 
 
 5. Perishing, failing, dying, — how the very words 
 ' everlasting life '^^ shine out to us in the darkness ! 
 a resplendent gift purchased for us by the one trans- 
 cendent gift of God !^^ It includes everlasting 
 
 1 Gal. i. 4. 2 Heb. x. 9. 3 Titus ii. 14. 
 
 < 2 Cor. i. 10. 5 Heb. x. 10. 6 2 Cor. iv. 11. 
 
 7 Matt. V. 6. 81 Thess. iv. 3. 9 Eph. v, 20. 
 
 10 John iii. 16. 1' 2 Cor. ix. 15. 
 
178 IRoigal Commandments* 
 
 salvation, light, joy, love, glory; and it is for every 
 one ' which seeth the Son and believeth on Him : ' 
 for Jesus says, * This is the will of Him that sent 
 Me.'^ 
 
 6. Is not this enough ? is there yet a misgiving 
 and a haunting fear lest we should lose this great 
 gift ? Again the glorious will of God is our security ; 
 for, though our numb hand might let it slip, we are 
 ourselves in the grasp of a Hand which holds us 
 and our eternal life too ; for, of all which the 
 Father hath given Him, He 'shall lose nothing,'^ 
 'not the least grain shall fall upon the earth,' not 
 you, not I: for ' this is the Father's will.'^ 
 
 7. Now for the climax; and this time it is the 
 Son, our own Lord Jesus Christ, who tells His 
 Father that He is one with Him, and then, in His 
 own divine name, declares His divine Avill :* ' I will 
 that they also whom Thou hast given Me, be with 
 Me where I am.'^ This is the consummation of His 
 will concerning us, that we should be for ever with 
 the Lord!® Shall we like 'strangers'' 'submit to 
 this' ? Shall we bow to this? Shall we dare to sigh 
 over 'Thy will be done'? Shall we not rather 
 'submit ourselves wholly to His holy will and pleas- 
 ure,'^ bow under the very load of the benefits of 
 His will in deepest adoration and intensest thanks- 
 giving, and not wait for 'the happier shore,' but 
 here and now sing out of the abundance of a simply 
 believing heart, 'Thy will be done'?^ For truly it 
 is ^ good will to men;' and may we be so ' trans- 
 
 1 John vi. 40. 2 John vi, 39, 3 Amos ix. 9. 
 
 ^ John xvii. 22. 5 John xvii. 24. ^ x Thess. iv. 17. 
 
 7 Ps. xviii. 44. 8 Ps. Ixviii. 19. ^ Luke ii. 14. 
 
•Mbat tbe Mill ot tbe XorO is. 179 
 
 formed by the renewing of our minds,' that we may- 
 daily and joyfully ' prove what is that good, and 
 acceptable, and perfect will of God.'^ 
 
 With quivering heart and trembling will 
 
 The word hath passed thy lips, 
 Within the shadow, cold and still, 
 
 Of some fair joy's eclipse. 
 * Thy will be done ! ' Thy God hath heard, 
 And He will crown that faith-framed word. 
 
 - Thy prayer shall be fulfilled, — but how ? 
 
 His thoughts are not as thine; 
 While thou wouldst only weep and bow, 
 
 He saith, ' Arise and shine ! ' 
 Thy thoughts were all of grief and night, 
 But His of boundless joy and light. 
 
 Thy Father reigns supreme above; 
 
 The glory of His name 
 Is Grace and Wisdom, Truth and Love, 
 
 His will must be the same. 
 And thou hast asked all joys in one, 
 In whispering forth, * Thy will be done ! ' 
 
 1 Rom. xii. 2. 
 
i8o IRo^al CommanDments* 
 
 THIRTIETH DAY 
 
 1bi0 Xaet Comman&ment^ 
 
 * This do in remembrance of me.' — Luke xxii. 19. 
 
 HIS last commandment ! Do we not desire to 
 obey it in its very fullest meaning, to do ex- 
 actly what He meant us to do, and all that He 
 meant us to do in it?^ Let us pray that He may 
 open our eyes to behold wondrous things in it, and 
 enable us to rise through the letter to the spirit.^ 
 
 It is not simply ^This do.'' We may obey so far 
 month by month or week by week, and yet never 
 •once have obeyed our Lord's dying wish or fulfilled 
 His desire. He said, * This do in remembrance of 
 Me. ' We cannot remember what we do not know. 
 We must know the Lord Jesus Christ^ before we 
 can truly remember Him at His table ; for He does 
 not say that we are to do it in remembrance of what 
 He said, or even of what He did. That is quite a 
 different thing. We may remember what we have 
 heard or read of Ridley and Latimer, and we might 
 commemorate their martyrdom ; but we cannot 
 remember them, because we never knew them, 
 
 1 Ps. cxix. 19. 2 John vi. 63. ^ Phil. iii. 8. 
 
1bl0 Xast Commandment* i8i 
 
 except as matter of history. But we know the 
 Lord Jesus Christ as we know no man after the 
 flesh. ^ * We do know that we know Him,'^ and 
 * the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ '^ is our very life ; it is the joy with which no 
 stranger intermeddleth.* 
 
 Without this personal knowledge of Him, there 
 can be no true remembrance of Him in the Lord's 
 Supper. Let us seek to ' know Him/ so that we 
 maybe able to remember Him ; then the sweet re- 
 membrance of Himself^ and His exceeding great 
 love will include remembrance of the words and 
 ways of the Lord Jesus f then it will arouse our love 
 into a vivid reality of personal affection ; then He 
 will draw nigh to us:^ for * Thou meetest Him 
 that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that 
 remember Thee in Thy ways. '^ 
 
 Have we not sometimes gone rather to get some- 
 thing for ourselves than simply to remember Him ? 
 and may not this account for some of the disap- 
 pointment, which is no uncommon experience, that 
 we did not run exactly in the way of His command- 
 ment ?' We went to get strengthening and refresh- 
 ing. We went perhaps vaguely expecting some 
 peculiar manifestation of Himself, some almost 
 sensible consciousness of His presence which is 
 quite outside of His written promise or command. 
 We went expecting something because we went, a 
 sort of reward in and for the outward act. W^e re- 
 membered our weakness, and our wants, and our 
 
 1 2 Cor. V. i6. 2 I John ii. 3. 83 Pet. iii. 18. 
 
 ■* Prov. xiv. 10. ^ Cant. i. 4. 6 John xiv. 26, xvi. 4. 
 
 J Lam. iii. 57. 8 jsa. Ixiv. 5. 8Ps. cxix. 33. 
 
f82 IRo^ai Commandments. 
 
 wishes, and we forgot that He commanded ' one 
 thing ' — the remembrance of Himself. Shall we not 
 ask the Holy Spirit next time to fix our hearts, so 
 that the whole desire of our soul may be ' to Thy 
 name, and to the remembrance of Thee ' ?^ 
 
 There was no ' remembrance ' in that first cele- 
 bration of the Lord's Supper, that first solemn 
 evening communion : for He was bodily present as 
 the Master of the feast. ^ The very word was a 
 shadow cast before of the time when He should ' be 
 taken from them.'^ But now 'the bright light 
 which was in the cloud'* shines all along the dim 
 waiting time, revealing * this same Jesus ;'^ for He 
 whom we specially * remember ' at His table, is 
 with us ^alway,' all the days, '■ the same yesterday, 
 to-day, and forever.'^ He loves us now as He loved 
 us when He prayed for * all them which shall be- 
 lieve on Me'^ in ' the same night in which He was 
 betrayed.'^ He loves us now as He loved us when 
 He would not come down from the cross to save 
 Himself.^ 
 
 Love is the link between the remembrance and 
 the anticipation ; for the two melt into each other, 
 and form one hallowed radiance of present great 
 delight. ' For as often as ye eat this bread, and 
 drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till He 
 come.'^^ So perhaps some will be showing it forth 
 at the very moment when He comes ! What a 
 transition of unimaginable blessedness ! It is 
 almost too dazzlingly beautiful to think of. 
 
 1 Isa.xxvi. 8. 2 Mark xiv. 17; Matt. xxvi. 20; Lukexxii. 11. 
 
 3 Matt. ix. 15. 4 Job xxxvii. 21, 5 Acts i. 11. 6 Heb. xiii. 8. 
 
 f John xvii. 20. • 8 i Cor. xi. 23. ^ Mark xv. 30. 
 
 10 I Cor. xi. 26. 
 
1bi6 %n6t CommanDment, 183 
 
 Luther said : ' I feel as if Jesus Christ died yes- 
 terday.' So fresh, so vivid, be our love and thank- 
 fulness ! But may we add : ' And as if He were 
 coming to-day ! ' Then our lives would indeed be 
 rich in remembrance and radiant in anticipation/ 
 * looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious 
 appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus 
 Christ; who gave Himself for us, that He might 
 redeem us from all iniquity.'^ 
 
 «• According to Thy gracious word. 
 
 In deep humility, 
 This will I do, my gracious Lord, 
 I will remember Thee. 
 
 Remember Thee, and all Thy pains. 
 
 And all Thy love to me ; 
 Yes, while a breath, a pulse reiriains. 
 
 Will I remember Thee. 
 
 James MoNTGOMEav. 
 
 THIRTY-FIRST DAY. 
 
 ^be (Breat IRewarb* 
 
 * In keeping of them there is great reward.' — Ps. xix. ii, 
 
 NOT, * Because I keep them I shall have a great 
 reward;' but 'In keeping of them there is 
 great reward. ' God Himself wants us to keep them, 
 
 1 Ps. cxlv. 7. 2 Titus ii. 13, 14. 
 
1 84 IRoigal Commandments. 
 
 because He loves us. He says : ' O that there were 
 such an heart in them, that they would fear Me, 
 and keep all My commandments always, that it 
 might be well with them ' ! ^ This reward is an indis- 
 putable, though too often not fully recognized, fact 
 of every Christian's experience. That we may have 
 to keep His commandments in the very teeth of 
 trial, loss, opposition, or distress does not touch 
 the matter f for, nevertheless, not afterward, but in 
 the keeping of His words. He takes care to keep 
 His word that there shall be great reward. 
 
 Ifthereisnot great reward, it only shows that 
 there is not real keeping. The essence of true 
 keeping of God's commandments is love.^ (See 
 how many times keep and love are joined together 
 in all parts of His word.)* Now, if we have only 
 been obeying in mere form and letter, because we 
 were afraid to disobey, this is nofC^Q heart-obedience 
 which is always crowned with blessings. So, if we 
 cannot quite set to our seal that God is true to this 
 promise,^ let us be quite sure tlmt it is because we 
 have not fulfilled His condition. And let us now, 
 at once, ask Him to write His laws in our hearts,^ 
 and so to shed abroad His love in us by the Holy 
 Ghost, '^ that we may begin at once to keep them for 
 very love to our glorious Lawgiver and Mediator.^ 
 Then we shall know for ourselves that they are 
 not grievous,^ but that they are * for our good, 
 always. ^'^^ 
 
 1 Deut. V. 29. 2 Matt. xix. 29, s John xiv. 24. 
 
 4 Ex. XX. 6; Deut. xi. i ; John xiv. 15, etc. 6 John iii. 33. 
 
 6 Heb. viii. 10. " Rom. v. 5. 8 Deut. v. 27. 
 
 9 I John V. 3. ^0 Deut. vi. 24. 
 
trbe (Breat IRewarD. 185 
 
 Yet surely we may appeal to the experience of 
 every one of the King's servants, that, however 
 feeble and imperfect our obedience has been, we do 
 know something about ^ great reward,' not /or it, 
 but m it. As in the days of Hezekiah, when the 
 hand of God was to give them one heart to do the 
 commandment of the king, the result was great 
 gladness, great joy, great blessing, and great pros- 
 perity, so is it now in the spiritual reign of our 
 King.^ Not outward and visible reward, though 
 even that He very often adds, far more exceeding ; 
 but inward and spiritual reward. 
 
 Not in general only, but in minutest particulars. 
 Having pledged Himself to this, He is *not un- 
 righteous to forget '^ the least act of Spirit-wrought 
 obedience. Sometimes he puts such wonderful 
 sweetness into the doing of or the refraining from 
 some little thing for His sake, that we wonder 
 what makes us so happy about it, and cannot but 
 be conscious that it is not exactly one's mere 
 natural feeling. Is not this a precious experience 
 of * great reward,' all the greater because it came 
 through some very little thing? 
 
 Let us put together into a bright bit of Bible- 
 mosaic the scattered gems which are part of this 
 great present reward, ' the promise of the life that 
 now is,'^ the hundred-fold which we are to receive 
 ^ now in fMs time' :* — i. Strength: ' Therefore shall 
 ye keep all the commandments . . . that ye may 
 be strong j*^ for ' the way of the Lord is strength to 
 
 1 2 Chron. xxx. 12, 21, 26; ib. xxxi. 10, 21 ; Job xxxvi. 11. 
 
 2 Heb. vi. 10. 3 I Tim. iv. 8. * Mark x. 30. 
 6 Deut. xi. 8. 
 
1 86 IRo^al Commandments. 
 
 the upright!^ 2. Safety : * Whoso keepeth the com- 
 mandment shall feel no evil thing/^ much less be 
 hurt by it ! 3. Liberty: *I will walk at liberty: 
 for I seek Thy precepts.'^ Every commandment 
 kept is a fetter of Satan broken by the grace and 
 might of the * stronger than he.'* 4. Peace: 
 ' Great peace have they that love Thy law. '^ And 
 in proportion as we hearken to His commandments, 
 does our peace flow as a river.^ Disobedience dries 
 it all up instantly. 5. Life and Health: Perhaps 
 more literally than we suppose; for it stands to 
 reason there is less friction and wear and tear even 
 of our nerves and physique when we keep His peace- 
 bearing commands to trust and not be afraid/ to 
 be without carefulness and anxious thought.^ * Let 
 thine heart keep My commandments : for length of 
 days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to 
 thee.'» at is your life.''" at shall be health. ' " 'I 
 know that His commandment is life everlasting.'^' 
 6. Knowledge : ' If any man will do His will, he 
 shall know of the doctrine. '^^ af ye continue in 
 My word, ... ye shall know the truth.' 7. 
 Answered Prayers: * Whatsoever we ask, we 
 receive of Him, because we keep His command- 
 ments. ''* 8. Gladness: Again and again we find 
 this the result of seeking out and keeping the com- 
 mands of God.^^ 9. The Father' s Love : ' He that 
 hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it 
 is that loveth Me : and he that loveth Me shall be 
 
 1 Prov. X. 29. 2 Eccles, viii. 5. 8 Ps. cxix. 45. < Luke xi. 22. 
 
 5 Ps. cxix. 165. 6 Isa. xlviii. 18. 7 Ps. Ixii. 8. 
 
 8 I Pet. V. 7; I Cor. vii. 32; Matt. vi. 25-34. ^ Prov. iii. i, 2. 
 
 10 Deut. xxxii. 47. l^ Prov. iii. 8. ^2 John xii. 50. 
 
 13 John vii. 17. l* John viii. 31, 32. i^ j John iii. 22. 
 
Zbc Great IRewarD. 187 
 
 loved of My Father.'* 10. TAe Manifestation of 
 Jesus : 'And I will love Him, and will manifest 
 Myself unto Him.'^ 11. The indwelling of the 
 Triune God: 'And we will come unto him, and 
 make our abode with him.'^ 12. The Witness of 
 the Spirit to this indw.elling : ' He that keepeth His 
 commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. 
 And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the 
 Spirit which He hath given us.' * 
 
 ' What shall I more say ? '^ Verily, in keeping of 
 them there is great reward ! 
 
 Ps. cxii. I. 
 
 1 Neh. Tiii. 14, 17, etc. 2 John xiv. 21. 
 
 * John xiv. sj. ^ i John iii. 34. 5 Heb. xi. jc. 
 
ROYAL BOUNTY 
 
 OR 
 
 KVKNING THOUGHTS 
 
 FOR 
 
 tEbe Iking's (Buest» 
 13 
 
I 
 
FIRST DAY. 
 
 *And King Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her 
 desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave 
 her of his royal bounty.' — i Kings x. 13. 
 
 ALL God's goodness to us is humbling. The more 
 He does for us, the more ready we are to say, 
 ' I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, 
 and of all the truth, which Thou hast shewed unto 
 Thy servant.'^ The weight of a great answer to 
 prayer seems almost too much for us.^ The grace of 
 it is ' too wonderful '^ for us. It throws up in such 
 startling relief the disproportion between our little, 
 poor, feeble cry, and the great shining response of 
 God's heart and hand, that we can only say : * Who 
 am I, O Lord God, that Thou hast brought me 
 hitherto? Is this the manner of man, O Lord God ? '^^ 
 But it is more humbling still, when we stand face 
 to face with great things which the Lord hath done 
 for us and given us,^ which we never asked at all,** 
 never even thought of asking — royal bounty, with 
 which not even a prayer had to do. It is so hum- 
 
 1 Gen. xxxii. lo. 2 Luke v. 8, 9. 3 Job xlii. 3. 
 
 4 2 Sam. vii. 18. ^ Ps. cxxvi. 3. 61 Kings iii. 13. 
 
192 IRosal :sounti2» 
 
 bling to get a view of these, that Satan tries to set 
 up a false humility to hinder us from standing still 
 and considering how great things the Lord hath 
 done for us ;^ thus he also contrives to defraud our 
 generous God of the glory due unto His name.^ 
 
 For, of course, we do not praise for what we will 
 not recognize. 
 
 Let us try to baffle this device to-day, and give 
 thanks for the overwhelming mercies^ for which we 
 never asked. ' Blessed be the Lord, who daily 
 loadeth us with benefits.'* Just think of them de- 
 liberately (they are far too many to think of all in a 
 flash); and how many did we actually ask for? 
 Even that poor little claim was never brought to 
 bear on thousands of them. 
 
 ^To begin at the beginning, we certainly did not 
 ask Him to choose us in Christ Jesus before the 
 world began, ^ and to predestinate us to be con- 
 formed to the image of His Son J Was not that 
 * royal bounty ' indeed ? 
 
 Then, we certainly did not ask Him to call us by 
 His grace f for before that call, we could not have 
 wished, much less asked, for it.* Then, who taught 
 us to pray,^° and put into our entirely corrupt and 
 sinful hearts" any thought of asking Him for any- 
 thing at all ?^^ Was not all this ' royal bounty? ' 
 
 Look back at our early prayers. Has He not 
 more than granted them ? did we even know how 
 much He could do for us ? did He not answer prayer 
 
 1 I Sam. xii. 7, 24. 2 Ps.xxix. 2. 3 Isa. Ixiii. 7. 
 
 4 Ps. Ixviii. 19 ; ib. ciii. 2. ^ 1 Thess. ii. 13. 6 Eph. i. 4. 
 
 7 Rom. viii. 29. 8 2 Tim. i. 9. ^ Rom. i. 6. 
 
 10 Luke xi. i. 11 Job xxxvii. 19. 12 Rom. viii. 26. 
 
^bc.lRosal :©ountB» 193 
 
 by opening out new vistas of prayer before us, giv- 
 ing us grace to ask for more grace, faith to plead 
 for more faith ?^ Why, it is all * royal bounty' 
 from beginning to end ! And this is going on now, 
 and will go on forever, when He has brought us 
 with gladness and rejoicing into His own palace.'* 
 Not till then shall we understand about those riches 
 of glory in Christ Jesus,^ out of which He is even 
 now pouring out the supply of all our need. 
 
 Tlje marginal reading is very beautiful ; it is, 
 * that which he gave her according to the hand of 
 King Solomon.' We may link this with David's 
 grateful words : ''According to Thine own heart hast 
 Thou done all these great things ; '* and again : 
 ^ Thou hast dealt well with Thy servant, O Lord, 
 according to Thy word.''^ His hand. His heart. 
 His word — what an immeasurable measure of His 
 bounty ! The great hatid that holds the ocean in 
 its hollow ^ is opened to satisfy our desire,^ and to 
 go beyond that exceeding abundantly,® giving us 
 according to the heart that ' so loved the world, '^ and 
 according to the word^^ which is so deep and full 
 that all the saints that ever drew their hope and joy 
 from it cannot fathom its ever upspringing fountain. 
 Perhaps nobody knows the Bible well enough to 
 know the full significance of saying, ' Be it unto me 
 according to Thy word ; '^^ how much less can we 
 imagine what shall be the yet unrevealed royal 
 bounty according to His heart of infinite love and 
 
 1 John i. 16 ; Rom. i. 17 ; Luke xvii. 5. 2 pg, xlv. 15. 
 
 8 Phil. iv. 19. * 2 Sam. vii. 21. ^ Ps. cxi.x. 65. 
 
 * Isa. xl. 12. 7 Ps. cxlv. 16. 8 Eph. iii. 20. 
 
 * John iii. 16. 10 John iv. 11, 14. ^^ Luke i. 38. 
 
194 IRo^al :fi3ount^. 
 
 hand of infinite power ! ' What I do thou knowest 
 not now, but thou shalt know hereafter.'^ 'And ye 
 shall ... be satisfied, and praise the name of the 
 Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with 
 you.'^ 
 
 When this passing world is done, 
 
 When has sunk yon glaring sun, 
 
 When we stand with Christ in gl^^ry, 
 
 Looking o'er life's finished story, 
 
 Then, Lord, shall I fully know — 
 
 Not till then — how much I owe ! 
 
 R. M'Cheyne. 
 
 1 John xiii. 7. Joel ii. «6. 
 
Zbc Qpcnct> tireaaure. 195 
 
 SECOND DAY. 
 
 ^be ©penet) ^reaeure^ 
 
 *The Lord shall open unto thee His good treasure.' — 
 Deut. xxviii. 12. 
 
 WHEN the wise men ' opened their treasures/ 
 they brought out gold and frankincense and 
 myrrh. -^ When Jehovah opens' unto us His good 
 treasure, we shall see greater things than these. ^ 
 
 The context of this rich promise seems to make 
 * the heaven ' the treasure-house ; and in its primary 
 and literal sense, the fertilizing rain is the first out- 
 pouring of the opened treasure, soon after expanded 
 into beautiful details of the ' precious things of 
 heaven and . . . the precious things of the earth. '^ 
 But the spiritual blessings are closely interwoven 
 with the temporal in the whole passage, and the 
 faithful Israelites who did not ' look only for transi- 
 tory promises '* may well have claimed the opening 
 of heavenly treasure through this promise.^ 
 
 What shall He ' open unto thee ? ' In a word, 
 'the unsearchable riches of Christ.'^ In Him 
 
 ^ Matt. ii. II. 2 John i. 50. * Deut. xxxiii. 13-16. 
 
 * Deut. xxviii. 1-14. 6 Art. vii. ^ Eph. iii. 8. 
 
19^ IRoi^al JBounts, 
 
 ' are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowl- 
 edge," but the Lord shall open them unto thee. 
 Riches of goodness, and forbearance, and long- 
 suifering^ shall be meted out in infinitely gracious 
 proportion to our sins, and provocations, and 
 repeated waywardness ; exceeding riches^ of grace 
 for all our poverty now, and riches in glory* enough 
 and to spare for all the needs of glorified capacities 
 though all eternity. 'All are yours ' in Him.^ 
 
 Faith is the key to this infinite treasury, and in 
 giving us faith^ He gives us treasure for treasure. 
 He is ready to make us 'rich in faith,''' and then 
 still to ' increase our faith '^ * unto all riches of 
 the full assurance of understanding.'^ Ask for this 
 golden key, and then put it into the Lord's hand, 
 that He may turn it in the lock. 
 
 He shall open unto thee the good treasure not 
 only of the living Word, but of the written word.^** 
 This is indeed ' treasure to be desired, '^^ 'more to 
 be desired than gold ; '^^ and when Jehovah the 
 Spirit opens this to us, we shall, we do, rejoice ' as 
 one that findeth great spoil. '^^ Christ, the true 
 Wisdom, has said, ' I will fill their treasures,'^* and 
 ' the chambers shall be filled with all precious and 
 pleasant riches. '^^ So that when He has done this 
 we are ' made treasurers over treasuries,'^® and may 
 * bring forth out of ' our ' treasure things new and 
 old.'i^ 
 
 1 Col. ii. 3. 2 Rom. ii. 4. 8 Eph. ii. 7. 
 
 * Phil. iv. 19. 6 I Cor. iii. 22. ^ Eph. ii. 8. 
 
 ^ Jas. ii, 5. 8 Luke xvii. 5. Col. ii. 2. 
 
 '" Luke xxiv. 32. 11 Prov. xxi. 20. ^2 Ps. xix. 10. 
 
 ^3 Ps. cxix. 162. 1* Prov, viii. 21. 16 Prov. xxiv. 4. 
 
 " Neh. xiii. 13. 17 Matt. xiii. 52. 
 
^be ©peneD treasure. 197 
 
 It is only with God-given treasure that we can 
 enrich others. When we want to give a word to 
 another, it generally seems to come with more power 
 if, instead of casting about for what we think likely 
 to suit them, we simply hand over to them any 
 treasure word which He has freshly given to our- 
 selves. When He opens to us some shining bit of 
 treasure, let us not forget : ' Freely ye have received, 
 freely gwe.'^ 
 
 Afto, let us not stand idly waiting for some 
 further opening of the treasure,'^ but ' let there be 
 search made in the king's treasure-house,'^ ' in the 
 house of the rolls where the treasures were laid 
 up,'* where the 'decrees' and 'records' of our 
 King are to be ' found. '^ They are truly 'hidden 
 riches.'^ Neither must we trust in our own store of 
 spiritual treasures, whether of memory, experience, 
 or even of grace, ^ for we shall soon come under the 
 condemning word, ' O backsliding daughter, that 
 trusted in her treasures ! '^ No, it is only continual 
 drawing from His good treasure that will profit us, 
 even ' the light of the knowledge of the glory of 
 God in the face of Jesus Christ.'^ And ' we have 
 this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency 
 of the power may be of God and not of us.'^** 
 
 1 Matt. X. 8. 2 Prov. ii. 4. 3 Ezra v. 17. 
 
 * Ezra vi. i. 5 Ezra vi. 2. 6 isa. xlv. 3. 
 
 7 Jer. xlviii. 7. 8 Jer. xlix. 4. 9 2 Cor. iv. 6. 
 10 2 Cor. iv, 7. 
 
198 IRogal JBountig^ 
 
 THIRD DAY. 
 
 Zbc Iking'e Signature anb SeaU 
 
 ' The writing which is written in the king's name, and 
 sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse.' — Esther 
 viii. 8. 
 
 SUCH is the writing which by God's great good- 
 ness is the glory of our land and the treasure 
 of our hearts, full of exceeding great and precious 
 promises,^ of commands not less great and not less 
 precious,^ and of words of prophecy (which are only 
 words of promise a little farther off) ' more sure' 
 than the testimony of an apostle's senses to the 
 excellent glory and the heavenly voice. ^ 
 
 It is written in the King's name. The living 
 Word of God, who came to declare, to manifest, 
 and to glorify the Father,* has imprinted His own 
 name upon the same testimony as written by the 
 Spirit, and has given it to us as the ' word of God.'* 
 
 It is sealed with the King's ring. Sealing is a 
 special work of the Holy Spirit, exercised in differ- 
 ent ways f and how clearly has He sealed this great 
 
 1 2 Pet. i. 4. 2 Ps. cxix. 97. 3 2 Pet. i. 17-19. 
 
 * John i. 1 ; ib. xvii. 4, 6, 26. 6 John xvii. 14. 
 
 6 Eph. i. 13, etc. 
 
XLbc IkinQ's Signature auD Seal* 199 
 
 writing with the King's ring, engraved with His own 
 image and superscription, the convincing token of 
 its being indeed from Himself, and sent forth in 
 unchangeable authority and power !^ 
 
 It is a double sealing, without and within^ — first, 
 the external and distinctly visible declaration that 
 the writing is ' by the Holy Ghost ; '^ and then the 
 all-convincing evidence that it is so by its effectual 
 working* in our own hearts with a power which, we 
 know for ourselves, cannot be less than almighty 
 and therefore divine.^ 
 
 It is thus written in the King's name, and * sealed 
 with His own signet,'^ not only that we may know 
 it to be His, but that we may have the right humbly, 
 yet confidently, to show Him, so tjp speak. His own 
 name and His own sign-et as our claim for the ful- 
 filment of all contained UheBeici.' He will never 
 fail to acknowledge them. 
 
 This royal writing 'may no man reverse.' The 
 King Himself cannot reverse it, for He changes 
 not;** He ^cannot lie,'^ 'He cannot deny 
 Himself: ^^^ for unchangeable truth is not only an 
 essential attribute, but the very essence of His 
 Deity. ^^ This one great ' cannot ' is the security for 
 all that He * can ' and will do. And if God ' can- 
 not,' who can? All 'the craft and subtilty ' of 
 devil or man is powerless against one syllable of this 
 royal writing. ' The word of our God shall stand 
 forever, '^^ and the hoarse recoil of every furious 
 
 1 John xii. 48. 2 2 Sam. xxiii. 2. ^ Mark xii. 36; i Pet. i. 11. 
 
 4 I Thess. ii. 13. . ^ Heb. iv. 12. 6 Dan. vi. 17. 
 7 Gen. xxxviii. 17, 18, 25, 26. 8 Mai. iii. 6. 
 
 9 Titus i. 2. 10 2 Tim. ii. \-\, n John xiv. 6. 
 
 12 Isa. xl. 8. 
 
200 IRoi^al J3ounti2. 
 
 wave that is shattered into foam against this ever- 
 lasting rock only murmurs, ' I cannot reverse it.''^ 
 
 And is it not a most blessed and comforting 
 thought that we ourselves cannot reverse it, though 
 this is the quarter from which we are practically 
 most tempted to dread its reversal ? For,^ ' if we 
 believe not, yet He abideth faithful.' All the earth- 
 born or devil-breathed fogs and clouds of doubt, 
 from the fall till this hour, have not been able to 
 touch the splendor of one star that He has set in 
 the unassailable firmament of His eternal truth. 
 
 All the promises of God are yea and Amen^ — 
 where? — '■in Hhn^' the Son of God.* He holds 
 these stars in His right hand ; He has held the 
 great promise of eternal life for us^ since God gave 
 it to Him for us before the world began, and every 
 other is subincluded. And it is one of His offices 
 ' to confirm the promises.'^. Signed, sealed, held, 
 and confirmed thus, should not ' It is written * be 
 enough for our present ' light, and gladness, ar.d joy, 
 and honour? '^ 
 
 Another clause of this beautiful verse is too striking 
 to be passed over : * Write ye also for the Jews, As 
 it likeih' you, in the king's name, and seal it with 
 the king's ring.'^ Does not this remind us of 
 another writing of our King: * If ye abide 
 in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask 
 uhat ye will, and it shall be done unto you.' 
 He places His own name and His own signet at 
 the disposal of His ' abiding ' ones, and says :* 
 
 1 Num. xxiii. 20. 2 2 Tim. ii. 13, ^ 2 Cor. i. 20. 
 
 * 2 Tim. i. I. 6 John x. 28. « Rom. xv. 8. 
 
 "i Esther viii. 16. 8 Esther viii. 8. 9 Isa. xlv. 11. 
 
^be fkim'B Signature ano SeaU 201 
 
 *Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons, and 
 concerning the work of My hands command ye 
 J/<?.'^ ' Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall 
 be established unto thee.' Should not this encour- 
 age us in intercession ? Perhaps we are saying, like 
 Esther,^ ' How can I endure to see the destruction 
 of my kindred ? ' Have we as yet fully availed 
 ourselves of ^ the King's name,' and 'the King's 
 ring? ' 
 
 «• For He hath given us a changeless writing. 
 
 Royal decrees that light and gladness bring, 
 Signed with His name in glorious inditing, 
 
 Sealed on our hearts with His own signet ring. 
 
 1 Job xxii. 28. 2 Esther viii. 6. 
 
20 2 IRogal asountig. 
 
 FOURTH DA7, 
 
 tTbe Cant)our of Cbriat 
 
 * Come, see a man which told me all things that ever I did : 
 is not this the Christ ? ' — John iv. 29. 
 
 YES ! it is not merely a vague general belief in 
 Christ as the Teacher who * will tell us all 
 things '^ which suffices for heart conviction of * the 
 reality of Jesus Christ,' but the individual knowl- 
 edge of Him as the Searcher who ' told 7ne all things 
 that ever I did.'^ This was what led the woman of 
 Samaria to exclaim, 'Is not this the Christ?* this 
 was to her the irresistible proof of His Messiahship. 
 What about ourselves ? If we know anything of 
 true intercourse with the Lord Jesus our experience 
 will not be unlike hers.^ When He who ' searches 
 Jerusalem with candles'* turns the. keen flame of 
 His eyes upon the dark corners of our hearts, and 
 flashes their far-reaching, all-revealing beam upon 
 even the far-off and long-forgotten windings of our 
 lives ; when in His light we see the darkness, and 
 in His purity we see the sin that has been, or that 
 
 ' John iv. 25. 2 John iv. 29. 
 
 3 Zeph. i. 12. 4 Rev. ii. 18, 23. 
 
^be CanOouc of Cbrist* 203 
 
 is ; when He ' declareth unto man what is his 
 thought,'^ and then convinces that 'as he thinketh 
 in his heart, so is he,'^ then we know for ourselves 
 that He ' with whom we have to do '^ is ' indeed 
 the Christ.'* 
 
 He does not merely show us ; it is something 
 more than that. It is not merely an invisible hand 
 drawing away a veil from hidden scenes, and a 
 light brought to bear upon them, so that we can 
 see Jhem if we will ; it is more personal, more 
 terrible, and yet more tender than that. He tells 
 us what we have done ; and, if we listen, the telling 
 will be very clear, very thorough, very unmistak- 
 able. 
 
 At first we are tempted not to listen at all ; we 
 shrink from the still small voice which tells us such 
 startlingly unwelcome things. 
 
 Many feel what one expressed : ' Whenever I do 
 think about it, I feel so horribly bad that I don't 
 like to think any more.' Ah, ' if thou hadst known, 
 even thou, at least in this thy day,'^ that it was not 
 mere ' thinking about it,' but the voice of the Sa- 
 viour beginning to tell thee what would have cleared 
 the way for ' the things which belong linto thy 
 peace, '^ what blessing might not the patient and 
 willing listening have brought ! Oh, do not stifle 
 the voice, do not fancy it is only uncomfortable 
 thoughts which you will not encourage lest they 
 should make you low-spirited ! Instead of that, ask 
 Him to let His voice sound louder and clearer, and 
 believe ' that the goodness of God leadeth thee to 
 
 1 Amos iv. 13. 2 Prov. xxiii. 7, 3 Heb. iv. 13. 
 
 4 John iv. 42. 6 Luke xix. 42. 6 Isa. xlviii. 18. 
 
204 TRo^al JBount^. 
 
 repentance.'^ Only listen, and He will tell you not 
 only all things that ever you did, but all things 
 which He has done for you. He never leaves off in 
 the middle of all He has to tell, unless we wilfully 
 interrupt Him. 
 
 Perhaps we have gone through all this, and known 
 the humbling blessedness of being searched and 
 ' told,'^ and then pardoned and cleansed ; ^ and now 
 again there is something not right. We hardly 
 know what,* only there is a misgiving, a dim, vague 
 uneasiness ;^ we 'really don't know of anything in 
 particular,'^ and yet there is something unsatisfied 
 and unsatisfactory. There is nothing for it but to 
 come to our Messiah afresh, and ask Him to tell us 
 what we have done, or are doing, which is not in 
 accordance with His will.^ It will be useless com- 
 ing if we are not sincerely purposed to let Him tell 
 us what He will, and not merely what we expect f 
 or if we hush up the first word of an unwelcome 
 whisper, and say, ' Oh, that can't have anything to 
 do with it ! ' or, 'I am all right thei^e, at any rate ! ' 
 We must simply say, ' Master, say on ; '^ and 
 perhaps He will then show us, as He did Simon, ^^ 
 that we have not done Him the true and loving 
 service which some poor despised one has ren- 
 dered. 
 
 Oh, never shrink from the probings of our be- 
 loved Physician. ^^ Dearer and dearer will the hand 
 become as we yield to it.^^ Sweeter and sweeter will 
 
 1 Rom. ii. 4. 2 Ps xciv. 12, 3 Ps xxxii. i. 
 
 4 2 Sam. xxi. i. 6 Job xv. 11. 8 Job x. 2. 
 
 T Ps. cxxxix. 23 ; Matt. vii. 21. 8 Job xiii. 22, 23. 
 
 9 Luke vii. 40. 10 Luke vii. 44, 45, 46. ll Matt. ix. 12. 
 
 12 Job V. 18. 
 
tibe CanDouc of Cbdst* 205 
 
 be the proofs that He is our own faithful Friend, 
 who only wounds that He may perfectly heal.* 
 
 Only this I know, I tell Him all my doubts, and griefs, and 
 
 fears ; 
 Oh, how patiently He listens, and my drooping soul He 
 
 cheers ! 
 Do you think He ne'er reproves me? What a false friend 
 
 He would be, 
 If He never, never told me of the sins which He must see ! 
 Do you think that I could love Him half so well, or as I ought, 
 If Ift did not tell me plainly of each sinful deed and thought ? 
 No ! He is very faithful, and that makes me trust Him more; 
 For I know that He does love me, though He wounds me very 
 
 sore. 
 
 Ellen Lakshmi Goreh. 
 
 1 Prov. xxvii. 6. 
 
 '4 
 
2o6 tRoisal JSount)2* 
 
 FIFTH DAY. 
 
 from Beatb THnto Xlfe* 
 
 * Is passed from death unto life.' — John v. 24. 
 
 TWO distinct states with nothing between. No 
 broad space between the two where we may 
 stand, leading to the one or to the other ; only a 
 boundary line too fine to balance upon. Not many 
 steps — not even two or three from one to the other, 
 but one step from death unto life ;' the foot lifted 
 from the hollow crust over the volcanic fire, and set 
 upon the Rock of salvation.^ 
 
 How tremendously important to know whether 
 this step is taken ; but how clear and simple the test : 
 ' He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him 
 that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not 
 come into condemnation ; but is passed from death 
 unto life.' Are you trembling and down-hearted, 
 wanting some very strong consolation for your very 
 weak faith ? ^ Lay hold of this.* See how the roi)e 
 is let down low enough to meet the hand which you 
 can scarcely lift.^ 
 
 'He that heareth My word.' Can you say you 
 
 1 Acts xxvi. 18. 2 Ps. xl. 2. 8 Heb. vi. i8. 
 
 4 I Tim. vi, 12. 6 Heb. xii. 12. 
 
yrom 2)catb unto Xife, 207 
 
 have not heard ? You have heard His word as His 
 word, recognizing it as such, receiving it ^ not as 
 the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of 
 God.'^ It ' is come unto you,' because it ^ is sent ' 
 unto you.^ The word of Jesus is heard by your 
 innermost self, and you would not be hearing and 
 recognizing it if you were still dead. A marble 
 statue hears not. 
 
 'And believeth on Him that sent Me.' 'But 
 that is the very question,' you say; ' if 1 were sure 
 I believed, 1 should know I had everlasting life.'^ 
 Why should you know? Because He says so, and 
 ou could not but believe what He says. Then 
 listen now to what He says : ' The father sent the 
 Son to be the Saviour of the world.'* Do you not 
 believe this? Did the Father;^;?/ send the S^^a? 
 Did He not so love the world ?^ Let the very recoil 
 from such plain English of unbelief show you the 
 sin and folly of doubting any more. You do hear 
 His word, you do believe on the Father who sent the 
 Son to be your Siviour,*' will you not now believe 
 that Jesus means what He says in threefold assur- 
 ance : ' Hath everlasting life, and shall not come 
 into condemnation; but is passed from death unto 
 life?'^ 
 
 Not * is passing,' but Ms passed ; ' a fact whose 
 full blessedness cannot be fully realized here, while 
 we only ' know in part '^ God's great gift of eternal 
 life,^ but not affected by varving degrees of realiza- 
 tion.^" 
 
 1 I Thess. ii. 13. 2 Col. i. 6. 3 John vi. 47. 
 
 * I John iv. 14. 6 John iii. 16. 6 John xvi. 9. 
 
 7 John V. 24. 8 I Cor. xiii. 12. 9 Rom. vi. 23. 
 10 2 Tim. ii, 13. 
 
2o8 IRo^al :fi5ounts. 
 
 See your position, — or rather, take His word about 
 it, — and give Hira thanks — oh, give Him thanks — 
 for having lifted you in your blindness and helpless- 
 ness over that solemn boundary line when you 
 could not even step over it. ' Sing ... for the 
 Lord hath done it ;'^ and when you begin to sing 
 and to praise,^ the Lord's own ambushments of 
 promises will start up before your eyes {there all 
 the time, only you did not see them), and the 
 shadowy hosts of fears and doubts shall flee away, 
 and you shall ' know ' that you have passed from 
 death unto life.^ 
 
 From death — cold, dark, hopeless, useless, love- 
 less ; the death in trespasses and sins ;* the death 
 that lives (strange paradox) forever in the lake of 
 fire^ — unto life with its ever-increasing abundance f 
 life crowned with light and love ; life upon which 
 only a shadow of death can ever pass, and that only 
 the shadow of the portal of eternal glory -^ life in 
 Jesus, life for Jesus, life with Jesus. 
 
 This is your position now — made nigh instead of 
 far off;® reconciled to God instead of * enemies in 
 your mind ; '^ found instead of lost ;^° fellow-citi- 
 zens with the saints instead of strangers and foreign- 
 ers ;" sometimes darkness, but now light in the 
 Lord ;" passed from death unto life. And all be- 
 cause Jesus passed from life unto death, even the 
 death of the cross, for you ;^'^ because it was the 
 Father's will that He should come as the only re- 
 
 1 Isa. xliv. 23. 2 2 Chron. xx. 22. 3 j John iii. 14. 
 
 ■^Eph. ii. 1. 6 Rev. XX. 14. ® John x. 10. 
 
 ' Ps. xxiii. 4. 8Eph. ii. 13. ^Col. i.21. 
 
 10 Luke XV. 32. 11 Eph. ii. 19. 12 Eph. v. 8. 
 isphil. ii. 8. 
 
3from 5)eatb unto %itc, 209 
 
 quired ' sacrifice for sin ; '^ and He, our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, was ' content to do it.'^ 
 
 There is life for a look at the Crucified One ; 
 
 There is life at this moment for thee ; 
 Then look, sinner — look unto Him, and be saved — 
 
 Unto Him who was nailed to the tree. 
 
 Oh, doubt not thy welcome, since God has declared 
 
 There remaineth no more to be done; 
 Xhat once in the end of the world he appeared, 
 
 And completed the work He begun. 
 
 But take, with rejoicing, from Jesus at once, 
 
 The life everlasting He gives : 
 And know with assurance, thou never canst die, 
 
 Since Jesus, thy righteousness, lives. 
 
 A. M. Hull. 
 
 1 Ps. xl. 9, P. B. V. 2 Ps. xl. 10. 
 
2IO IRoisal 3ISounti2» 
 
 SIXTH DAY. 
 
 3u0tifieb* 
 
 'And by Him all that believe are justified from all things, 
 from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.' — 
 Acts xiii. 39. 
 
 ' A ND.' For justification does not come first. 
 -^^ The robe of righteousness^ is not put on un= 
 til the sinner is ' purged from his old sins.'^ So 
 this is God's order — first, ' Through this man is 
 preached unto you the forgiveness of sins ; ' and 
 then, ' By Him all that believed are justified.' 
 
 But ' in Thy sight shall no man living be justi- 
 fied.'^ 'For not the hearers of the law are just 
 before God, but the doers of the law shall be justi- 
 fied.'* But we have not ' obeyed the voice of the 
 Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set 
 before us. '^ So ' that no man is justified by the 
 law in the sight of God, it is evident ; '® for 'by the 
 deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in 
 His sight.''' ' How then can man be justified with 
 God ? '^ ' The law was our schoolmaster to bring 
 
 1 Isa. Ivi. 10. 22 Pet. i. 9. ^ Ps. cxliii. 2. 
 
 *Rom. ii. 13. * Dan. ix. 10. ^Gal. iii. 11. 
 
 T Rom. iii. 20. ^Job xxv. 4. 
 
S^ustifteD. 2 1 1 
 
 us unto Christ, that we might be justified by 
 faith. '^ 
 
 This glorious justification by faith is sevenfold. 
 We are justified, i. ^ By His grace ^"^ — the grace 
 of God the Father, one of whose most wonderful 
 titles is, ' The Justifier of him which believeth in 
 Jesus. '^ 2. 'By His blood ^^ — that precious blood 
 which has to do with every stage of our redemption 
 and effectuated salvation ; from the writing of our 
 nan^s ' in the book of life of the Lamb slain from 
 the foundation of the world, '^ till the chorus of the 
 'new song '^ is full in heaven. 3. 'By the Right- 
 eousness of One\oi the One), ' by the obedience 
 of One ; '^ by which the free gift, the unspeakable 
 gift of eternal life — nay, of Christ Himself to be our 
 life^ — 'came upon all men unto justification of 
 life. 4. '^ By the resurrection of Jesus our Lord, 
 who ' was raised again for our justification,' the 
 grand token that our Substitute had indeed fulfilled 
 all righteousness for us.^° 
 
 ' For God released our Surety 
 To show the work was done.'^^ 
 
 5. ^By His knowledge shall My righteous Servant 
 justify many ; for He shall bear their iniquities.'" 
 For true faith is founded upon the knowledge of 
 Him, and 'this is life eternal."'^ 6. By faith ; just 
 only believing God's word, and accepting God's 
 way about it.^* 7. By works ; because these are the 
 
 1 Gal. iii. 24. 2 Rom. iii. 24. 3 Rom. iii. 26. 
 
 * Rom. V. 9. 5 Rev. xiii. 8. 6 Rev. v. 9. 
 
 7 Rom. V. 18, 19. 8 Col. iii. 4. 9 Rom. iv. 24, 25. 
 
 10 Matt. iii. 15. n John xix. 30. 12 Isa. liii. n. 
 
 13 John xvii. 3. l* Rom. v. i. 
 
212 TRo^al :©ount^» 
 
 necessary and inseparable evidence that faith is not 
 mere fancy or talk.^ We are 'justified by faith with- 
 out the deeds of the law,'^ the old dead galvanic 
 struggle to do duties and keep outward obligations ; 
 but not without works, which ' do spring out neces- 
 sarily from a true and lively faith ; ' for ' faith with- 
 out works is dead.^^ 
 
 ' Therefore, being justified by faith,' what then ? 
 I. ' We have peace with God.'* 2. ' We shall be 
 saved from wrath through Him.'^ 3. We are made 
 heirs of eternal life.^ 4. We shall be glorified by 
 Him and with Him for ever.^ 
 
 What about my own part and lot in the matter? 
 Whom does God thus justify? and may I hope to be 
 among them? He begins indeed at the lowest 
 depth, so that none may be shut out ; for He ' would 
 justify the heathen through faith, '^ and He ' justi- 
 fieth the ungodly.'^ The publican who could only 
 cry, ' God be merciful to me the sinner, '^*^ was 
 justified. I can come in here, at all events. 
 
 But how shall I be actually and effectually justi- 
 fied now? Let God speak and I will listen :^^ 
 * Even the righteousness of God which is by faith 
 of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that be- 
 lieve :^^ for there is no difference.' ' By Him all that 
 believe are justified. '^^ * I believe in Jesus Christ 
 His only Son our Lord.' Do I? 'Lord, I believe.''^^ 
 Then His righteousness is upon me, and I am justi- 
 
 1 Jas. ii. 24. 2 Rom. iii. 28 ; Gal. ii. 16; ib. v. 4. 
 
 3Jas. ii. 26. * Rom. v. i. ^ Rom. v. 9. 
 
 * Titus iii. 7 ^ Rom. viii. 30 ; John xvii. 22. 
 
 8 Heb. vii. 25; Gal. i'i. 8. ^ Rom. iv. 5. 10 Luke xviii. 14. 
 
 11 Ps. Ixxxv. 8. 12 Rom. iii. 22. l^ Acts xiii. 39. 
 
 " Mark ix. 24. 
 
Justified. 213 
 
 fied. * Knowing that a man is not justified by the 
 works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, 
 even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we 
 might be justified by the faith of Christ.'^ And 
 now, * He is near that justifieth me.'^ * Who shall 
 lay anything to the charge of God's elect ? It is 
 God that justifieth. '^ 
 
 By the grace of God the Father, thou art freely justified, — * 
 Through the great redemption purchased by the blood of Him 
 
 who died, — ^ 
 By His life, for thee fulfilling God's command exceeding 
 
 broad, — ^ 
 By His glorious resurrection, seal and signet of our God J 
 
 Therefore, justified for ever by the faith which He hath 
 
 given,^ 
 Peace, and joy, and hope abounding smooth thy trial-path to 
 
 heaven : ^ 
 Unto Him betrothed for ever, who thy life shall crown and 
 
 bless,io 
 By His name thou shall be called, Christ, * The Lord our 
 
 Righteousness.' ^^ 
 
 1 Gal. ii. 16. 2 Isa. 1. 8. 3 Rom. viii. 33. 
 
 4 Rom. iii. 24. 6 Rom. v. 9. • Rom. x. 4. 
 
 7 Rom. iv. 25. 8 Rom. v. i. 9 Rom. xv. 13. 
 
 10 Hos. ii. 19. 11 Jer. xxxiii. 16. 
 
ai4 ViO'S&l JBOuntg. 
 
 SEVENTH DAY. 
 
 Zhe IRoi^al Mine. 
 
 * Thy love is better than wine.' — Cant. i. 2. 
 
 WINE is the symbol of earthly joy; and who 
 that has had but one sip of the love of 
 Christ does not know this * royal wine,'^ this true 
 *wine of the kingdom,'^ to be better than the best 
 joy that the world can give ! How much more, 
 then, when deeper and fuller draughts are the 
 daily portion, as we ' follow on to know '^ the love 
 * which passeth knowledge ! '* It is the privilege 
 not of a favoured few, but of ' <3;// saints, ' to com- 
 prehend something of what is incomprehensible. '^ 
 
 I . The breadth, contrasted with the narrowness of 
 earthly love and all its joy. Perhaps it is not so 
 much by looking at His love to all the redeemed 
 ones whom no man can number,® that we realize 
 this, as by seeing that the love of Jesus was broad 
 enough to reach and include ' even me.' ^Who 
 loved Pie; '^ is not that more incomprehensible than 
 that He loved all the saints and angels ? 
 
 1 Esther i. 7. 2 John xiv. 27. 3 Hos. vi. 3. 
 
 * Eph. iii. 19. 5 Eph. iii. 18. ^ Rev. vii. 9. 
 
 ' Gen. xxvii. 38 ; Gal. ii. 20. 
 
XLbc IRoisal Wiinc. 215 
 
 2. The length, contrasted with the passing 
 shortness of the longest earthly love and joy. What 
 is the length? * Unto the end.'^ And even that 
 is not the full measure, for His immeasurable love 
 is everlasting f and when inconceivable ages have 
 passed, we shall be no nearer 'the end ' than now. 
 
 3. The depth, contrasted with the shallowness 
 which is always felt, however disguised, in the 
 world's best.^ Down to the very depth of our fall 
 went^that wonderful love of Christ, to the depth of 
 our sin, to the depth of our need, to the depth of 
 those caverns of our own strange inner being which 
 we ourselves cannot fathom, and which only His 
 love can fill. 
 
 4. The height, contrasted with the lowness and 
 littleness of all that is represented by the world's 
 wine. This all ends in self, which is like a low 
 vaulted roof, keeping down every possibility of 
 rising ; and so the earthly joy can take but a bat-like 
 flight, always checked, always limited, in dusk and 
 darkness. But the love of Christ breaks through 
 the vaulting, and leads us up into the free sky above,, 
 expanding to the very throne of Jehovah, and draw- 
 ing us ' still upward '^ to the infinite heights of 
 jflory. Is there any height beyond, 'As the Father 
 hath loved Me, so have I loved you ' f These 
 measures (so to speak) of Christ's love are those of 
 the unsearchable perfection of God Himself. ' It is 
 as high as heaven, deeper than hell '^ (thank God 
 
 1 I John ii. 17; I Cor. vii. 29-31 ; John xiii. i. 2 Jer. xxxi. 3. 
 
 3 Prov. xiv. 13 ; Eccles. ii. 10, ii ; John iv. 13. * Ezek. xli. 7. 
 
 5 John XV, 9. ® Job xi. 7~f. 
 
2r6 tRoi^al :BountB. 
 
 for that word deeper), ' longer than the earth, arid 
 broader than the sea. ' 
 
 For whom is this love? Oh how glad we are 
 that it is not for the worthy and the faithful, so 
 tliat we must be shut out, but for His own, though 
 the chief of sinners!^ It is 'the love of the Lord 
 toward the children of Israel, who look to other 
 gods, and love flagons of wine.' Has it been so 
 with us, that we have been looking away from Jesus 
 to heart-idols and* ' other lords,'''' and loving some 
 earthly ' flagons of wine' — other love, other pleas- 
 ures, other joys, ' other things,' which are not Jesus 
 Christ's? Then only think of ' the love of the Lord 
 toward ' us / Well may we say, ' Thy love to me 
 was wonderful,'^ and own it to be ' better than wine,' 
 ' above my chief joy.'* 'He proved His love to you 
 and me to be ' strong as death ;' and when all God's 
 waves and billows went over Him, the many waters 
 could not quench it.^ 
 
 In His love and in His pity He redeemed us ; in 
 the same love He bears us and carries us all the day 
 long,^ He * loveth at ^// times, '^ and that includes 
 this present moment ; now, while your eye is on 
 this page, His eye of love is looking on you, and 
 the folds of His banner of love are overshadowing 
 •you.^ 
 
 Is there even a feeble pulse of love to Him ? He 
 meets it with, * I love them that love Me.'^ ' I will 
 love him, and will manifest Myself to him.' And 
 
 1 1 Tim. i. 15. 2 Isa. xxvi. 13. 3 2 Sam. i. 26. 
 
 * Ps. cxxxvii. 6. ^ Cant. viii. 6; Ps. xlii. 7; Cant. viii. 7. 
 
 * Isa. Ixiii. 9 ; ib. xlvi. 4. ^ Prov. xvii. 17. 8 Cant. ii. 4. 
 ''Prov. viii. 17. 
 
^be IRo^al Mine* 217 
 
 so surely as the bride says, * Thy love is better than 
 wine,* so surely does the heavenly Bridegroom 
 respond with incomprehensible condescension : 
 * How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse ! how 
 much better is thy love than wine.'^ May this love 
 of Christ constrain us to live unto Him * who loved 
 me and gave Himself for me.'^ 
 
 Christ, He is the fountain, 
 
 • The deep, sweet well of love ! 
 
 The streams on earth I've tasted, 
 
 More deep I'll drink above. 
 There to an ocean-fulness 
 
 His mercy doth expand, 
 "Where glory, glory dwelleth 
 
 In Immanuel's land. 
 
 Oh! I am my Beloved's, 
 
 And my Beloved is mine ! 
 He brings a poor vile sinner 
 
 Into * His house of wine.' 
 
 1 stand upon His merits ; • 
 
 I know no safer stand, 
 Not e'en where glory dwelleth 
 In Immanuel's land. 
 
 A. B. CousiN' 
 
 1 Cant. iv. lo. 2 Qal. U. 20. 
 
2i8 IRo^al JSountB. 
 
 EIGHTH DAY. 
 
 Zbc 6ift of peace* 
 
 *My peace I give unto you.' — John xiv. 27. 
 
 'PEACE I leave with you' is much; 'My 
 A peace I give unto you ' is more. The added 
 word tells the fathomless marvel of the gift — ' My 
 peace.' Not merely ' peace with God ; '^ Christ 
 has made that by the blood of His cross, and being 
 justified by faith we have it through Him.^ But af- 
 ter we are thus reconciled, the enmity and the sep- 
 aration being ended, Jesus has a gift for us from His 
 own treasures; and this is its special and wonderful 
 value, that it is His very own} How we value a 
 gift which was the giver's own possession ! what a 
 special token of intimate friendship we feel it to be ! 
 To others we give what we have made or purchased ; 
 it is only to very near and dear ones that we give 
 what has been our own personal enjoyment or use. 
 And so Jesus gives us not only peace made and 
 peace purchased, but a share in His very own peace, 
 — divine, eternal, incomprehensible peace, — which 
 dwells in His own heart as God, and which shone 
 
 iCol. i. 20. 2 Rom. V. I. 3 Ps. Ixviii. 18. 
 
XLbc (3m of peace* 219 
 
 in splendour of calmness through His life as man. 
 No wonder that it ' passeth all understanding.'^ 
 
 But how ? Why does the sap flow from the vine 
 to the branch ? Simply because the branch is 
 joined to the vine.^ Then the sap flows into it by 
 the very law of its nature. So, being joined to our 
 Lord Jesus by faith, that which is His becomes 
 ours, and flows into us by the very law of our spirit- 
 ual life. If there were no hindrance, it would in- 
 deed" flow as a river. ^ Then how earnestly we 
 should seek to have every barrier removed to the 
 inflowing of such a gift ! Let it be our prayer that 
 He would clear the way for it, that He would take 
 away all the unbelief, all the self, all the hidden 
 cloggings of the channel. 
 
 Then He will give a sevenfold blessing :* ' My 
 peace,' ' My joy,' ' My love,' at once and always, 
 now and for ever ; ' My grace ' and ' My strength ' 
 for all the needs of our pilgrimage ; ' My rest ' and, 
 * My glory ' for all the grand sweet home- life of 
 eternity with Him. 
 
 Thy reign is perfect peace, 
 Not mine, but Thine ; 
 
 A stream that cannot cease, 
 For its fountain is Thy heart. Oh, depth unknown ! 
 Thou givest of Thine own. 
 
 Pouring from Thine, and filling mine. 
 
 1 Phil. iv. 7. * John xv. 5. 
 
 8 Isa. xlviii. 18. *John xv. 10, 11. 
 
220 IRoi^al JBounti2» 
 
 NINTH DAY. 
 
 ^be Hbibing 3o^. 
 
 * These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might 
 remain in you, and that your joy might be full.' — John xv. ii, 
 
 WHO that has known anythmg of joy in the 
 Lord but has asked, ' But will it last ? ' 
 And why has the question been so often the very 
 beginning of its not lasting ? Because we have 
 either asked it of ourselves or of others, and not of 
 the Lord only. His own answers to this continually 
 recurring question are so different from the cautious, 
 chilling, saddening ones which His children so 
 often give. They are absolute, full, reiterated. We 
 little realize how unscriptural we are when we meet 
 His good gift of joy to ourselves or to others with a 
 doubtful, and therefore faithless, '//' it lasts !' 
 
 ' To the law and to the testimony,'^ O happy 
 Christian ! there you shall find true and abundant 
 answer to your only shadow on the brightness of the 
 joy. So long as you believe your Lord's word 
 about it, so long it wi7/ last.^ So soon as you ask 
 of other counsellors, and believe their word instead, 
 
 1 Isa. viii. 20. 2 Isa. vii. 9. 
 
XLbC B&lNtiQ 5015. 221 
 
 so soon it will fail. Jesus meets your difficulty ex- 
 plicitly. He has provided against it by giving the 
 very reason why He spoke the gracious words of 
 His last discourse, ^ That My joy might remain in 
 you.'^ Is not this exactly what we were afraid to 
 hope, what seemed too good to be true, that it 
 'might remain'? And lest we should think that 
 this abiding joy only meant some moderate measure 
 of qualified joy, He adds, 'And that your joy may 
 be^///,'^ repeating in the next chapter, and inten- 
 sifying it in the next. And lest we might think 
 this was said with reference only to an exceptional 
 case, He inspired His beloved disciple to echo the 
 words in \{\?>- general epistle : 'That your joy may 
 be full,' and ' the anointing which ye have received 
 of Him abideth in you.' 
 
 Never in His word are we told anything contra- 
 dicting or explaining away this precious and reiter- 
 ated promise. All through we are brightly pointed 
 not merely to hope of permanence, but to increase. 
 ' The meek shall increase (not merely shall keep up) 
 their joy in the Lord.'^ There are mingled 
 promises and commands as to growth and increase 
 in grace, knowledge, love, strength, and peace, and 
 does not increase of these imply and ensure joy ? * 
 Is joy to be the only fruit of the Spirit of which it 
 may not be said that it ' sprang up and increased' f* 
 
 When it is suggested that we ' cannot ' (some even 
 say, ' must not') ' expect to be always joyful,' re- 
 member that ' it is written,' ' Rejoice in the Lord ' 
 
 ^ John XV. II. 2 John xvi. 24. 3 jga. xxix. lo. 
 
 *2 Pet. iii. 18; Col. i. 10; i Thess. iii, 12; iv. 10; Isa. xl. 29; ib. ix. 7; 
 Gal. V, 22. 6 Mark iv. 8. 
 
 15 
 
222 IRo^al JBount^, 
 
 (not 'sometimes/ but) ' alway.^'^ 'As sorrowful, 
 yet alway rejoicing.'^ When we are told that 'it 
 would not even be good for us,' remember that ' it 
 is written again,' 'The joy of the Lord is your 
 strength.' Perhaps in that word ' of lies the whole 
 secret of lasting joy ; for it is more than even ' joy 
 in the Lord : ' it is His own joy flowing into the 
 soul that is joined to Himself, which alone can * re- 
 main ' in us, not even our joy in Him. ' That they 
 might have My joy fulfilled in themselves. '^ Let 
 us, then, seek not the stream, but the fountain ; not 
 primarily the joy, but that real and living union 
 with Jesus by which His joy becomes ours. 
 
 Let us not, either for ourselves or others, ac- 
 quiesce in disobedience to any of His command- 
 ments. See how absolute they are ! ' Serve the Lord 
 with gladness ; '* ' Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous,'^ 
 and many others. Turn to the terribly distinct 
 condemnation, * Because thou servedst not the Lord 
 thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, 
 . . . therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies, 
 . . . and He shall put a yoke of iron on thy neck 
 until He have destroyed thee.'^ 
 
 No one need be cast down because they cannot 
 yet tell of abiding joy, or because others cannot tell 
 of it. Thank God, our experience is not the meas- 
 ure of His promises ; they are all yea and Amen 
 in Christ Jesus,' and our varying, short-falling ex- 
 perience touches neither their faithfulness nor their 
 fulness. Forget the things which are behind, and 
 
 * Phil. iv. 4. 2 2 Cor. vi. 10. 3 John xvii. 13. 
 
 *Ps. c, 2. 6 Ps. xcvii. 12. 6I)eut. xxviii. 47, 48. 
 
 7 2 Cor. i. 20. 
 
^be BbiDing 3-0^, 223 
 
 press on to firmer grasp and fuller reception of 
 Christ and His joy.^ Then it shall be always 
 'praise . . . more and more,' *more grace,' 'grace 
 for grace, '^ 'from strength to strength,'^ — yes, even 
 'from glory to glory.'* Then you shall indeed 
 ' hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the 
 hope firm unto the end.'^ 
 
 May I earnestly ask every reader who is saying, 
 ' WiH it last ? ' to seek ' out of the book of the Lord' 
 for themselves ; taking a concordance, and looking 
 out, under the words, Joy, Rejoice, Gladness, etc., 
 the overwhelming reiterations of promises and com- 
 mands which can leave them in no doubt as to 
 God's answer. 
 
 1 Phil. Hi. 13. 2Jas. iv. 6, sps. Izxxiv. 7. 
 
 ^2 Cor. iii. 18. &Heb. iii. 6. 
 
224 IRoigal JSountig* 
 
 TENTH DAY. 
 
 ^be Sure Hfterwar&* 
 
 * Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, i 
 but grievous : nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable 
 fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.' 
 — Heb. xii. II. 
 
 THERE are some promises which we are apt to 
 reserve for great occasions, and thus lose the 
 continual comfort of them. Perhaps we read this 
 one with a sigh, and say : ' How beautiful this is for 
 those whom the Lord is really chastening ! I al- 
 most think I should not mind that, if such a prom- 
 ise might then be mine. But the things that try me 1 
 are only little things that turn up every day to 
 trouble and depress me.* Well, now, does the 
 Lord specify what degree of trouble, or what kind 
 of trouble, is great enough to make up a claim to 
 the promise ? And if He does not, why should 
 you ? He only defines it as * not joyous, but griev- 
 ous.' Perhaps there have been a dozen different 
 things to-day which were ' not joyous, but grievous ' 
 to you. And though you feel ashamed of feeling 
 them so much, and hardly like to own to their hav- 
 ing been so trying, and would not think of dignify- 
 
XLbc Sure BttccwarD, 225 
 
 ing them as 'chastening,' yet, if they come under 
 the Lord's definition, He not only knows all about 
 them, but they were, every one of them, chasten- 
 ings from His hand ; neither to be despised and 
 called * just nothing,' when all the while they ///^ 
 * grieve ' you ; nor to be wearied of ; because they 
 are working out blessing to you and glory to Him. 
 Every one of them has been an unrecognized token 
 of Jlis love and interest in you; for ' whom the 
 Lord loveth, He chasteneth.'^ 
 
 Next, do not let us reserve this promise for chas- 
 tenings in the aggregate. Notice the singular pro- 
 noun, ' Nevertheless, afterward IT yieldeth,' not 
 W/iey yield.' Does not this indicate that every 
 •separate chastening has its own special ' afterward ' r* 
 We think of trials as intended to do us good in the 
 long-run, and in a general sort of way ; but the 
 Lord says of each one, *// yieldeth.' Apply this to 
 'the present.' The particular annoyance which 
 befell you this morning ; the vexatious words which 
 met your ear and ' grieved ' your spirit ; the dis- 
 appointment which was His appointment for to- 
 day ; the slight but hindering ailment ; the pres' 
 ence of some one who is ' a grief of mind ' to you ; 
 whatever this day seemeth not joyous, but grievous, 
 is linked in * the good pleasure of His goodness,'^ 
 with a corresponding afterward of ' peaceable 
 fruit ; ' the very seed from which, if you only do 
 Tiot choke it, this shall spring and ripen. 
 
 If we set ourselves to watch the Lord's dealings 
 with us, we shall often be able to detect a most beau- 
 
 1 Heb. xii. 6. ^2 Thess, i. 11. 
 
226 IRo^al 3Bount^. 
 
 tiful correspondence and proportion between each 
 individual 'chastening ' and its own resulting ' after- 
 ward.' The habit of thus watching and expecting 
 will be very comforting, and a great help to quiet 
 trust when some new chastening is sent : for then 
 we shall simply consider it as the herald and earn- 
 est of a new * afterward.' 
 
 Lastly, do not let us reserve this promise for some 
 far future time. The Lord did not say ' a long 
 while afterward,' and do not let us gratuitously in- 
 sert it. It rather implies that, as soon as the chas- 
 tening is over, the peaceable fruit shall appear 'unto 
 the glory and praise of God.'^ So let us look out 
 for the '■ afterward ' as soon as the pressure is past. 
 This immediate expectation will bring its own bless- 
 ing if we can say, 'My expectation is from Him,'^ 
 and not from any fruit- bearing qualities of our own ; 
 for only ' from Me is thy fruit found. '^ Fruit from 
 Him will also be fruit unto Him. 
 
 What shall Thine afterward be, O Lord ? 
 
 I wonder, and wait to see 
 (While to thy chastening hand I bow) 
 What peaceable fruit may be ripening now, 
 
 Ripening fast for Thee ! 
 
 1 Phil. i. II. 2Ps. Ixii. 5. 8Hos. xiv. %, 
 
IBo IDutt. 227 
 
 ELEVENTH DAY. 
 
 IR0 iburt. 
 
 * Nothing shall by any means hurt you.' — Luke x. 19. 
 
 IS not this one of those very strong promises which 
 we are apt to think are worded a little too 
 strongly, and off which we ' take a great discount ' ? 
 Now, instead of daring a * Yea, hath God said ' ?^ 
 let us just take all the comfort and rest and gladness 
 of it for ourselves. Let us believe every word, just 
 as our beloved Master uttered it to the simple- 
 hearted seventy who were so surprised to find His 
 name so much more powerful than they expected. 
 
 Nothing! If He said * nothing,' have we any 
 right to add, * Yes, but except . . . ' ? Nothing 
 can hurt those who are joined to Christ, ' for with 
 me thou shalt be in safeguard,'^ unless anything 
 could be found which should separate us from Him. 
 And * who shall separate us ?'^ Earthly tribulations, 
 even the most terrible, shall not do it, for ' in all 
 these things we are more than conquerors through 
 Him that loved us.'* Yet a farther reaching and, 
 
 1 Gen. iii. 1. * i Sam. xxii. 23. 
 
 8 Rom. viii. 35. * Rom. viii. 37. 
 
2 28 IRoi^al JiSount^, 
 
 indeed, entirely exhaustive list is given, none of 
 which, * nor any other creature, shall be able to 
 separate us.* Let us take everything that possibly 
 could hurt us to that list, and see for ourselves if it 
 is not included, and then rejoice in the conclusion, 
 based and built upon Christ's bare word, but but- 
 tressed and battlemented by this splendid utterance 
 of His inspired apostle that it is indeed so — ' notJmig 
 shall by any means hurt you.' 
 
 But He who knows our little faith never gives an 
 isolated promise. He leaves us no chance of over- 
 looking or misunderstanding any one, except by 
 wilful neglect, because it is always confirmed in 
 other parts of His word. So He has given the same 
 strong consolation in other terras. * The Lord 
 shall preserve thee from all evil ' (do you believe 
 that ?'). ' There shall no evil happen to the just,'^ 
 ' In seven (troubles) there shall no evil touch thee."^ 
 Then see how He individualized it to Shadrach,, 
 Meshach, and Abednego, even /« the burning fiery 
 furnace, ' They have no hurt ; ' to Daniel among 
 the lions, ' They have not hurt me ; ' to St, Paul 
 among turbulent men with a care-nought governor, 
 * No man shall set on thee to hurt thee.'^ We are. 
 not likely to be more exposed to ' hurt ' than these, 
 and we have the same God, ' who keepeth His 
 promise for ever. '* He is the * wall of fire round 
 about ^ us ; and what fortification so impenetrable — 
 nay, so unapproachable ! And ' He that toucheth 
 you toucheth the apple of His eye'^ — the very least 
 touch is felt by the Lord, who loves us and is 
 
 1 Prov. xii. 21. 2 Job V. 19. 3 Acts xviii. 10. 
 
 4 Ps. cxlvi. 6. 5 2ech. ii. 5. 6 Zech. ii. 8. 
 
Bo 1burt, 229 
 
 mighty to save ! Well may He say, 'And who is 
 he that will harm you? ' 
 
 ' Nothing shall by any means hurt you,' for ' no 
 weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper ; '^ 
 man's curse shall be turned into God's blessing. 
 Jehovah Himself, watering His vineyard every 
 moment, says : ' Lest any hurt it, I will keep it 
 night and day.'^ Again, the promise, with a 
 solenyi condition, takes an even stronger form: 
 * Whoso keepeth the commandment shall fee/ no 
 evil thing. '-"^ 
 
 Is not all this enough? It might well be, but 
 His wonderful love has yet more to say — not only 
 that nothing shall hurt us, but that all things work 
 together for our good ;* not merely s/ia// work, but 
 actually are working. All things, if it means all 
 things, must include exactly those very things, 
 whatever they may be, which you and I are tempted 
 to think will hurt us, or, at least, may hurt us. 
 Now will we this evening trust our own ideas, or 
 Christ's word? One or other must be mistaken. 
 Which is it? Christ, my own Master, my Lord 
 and my God, has given a promise which meets 
 every fear ; therefore, ^ I will both lay me down in 
 peace, and sleep : for Thou, Lord, only makest me 
 to dwell in safety,'^ and ' nothing shall by any means 
 hurt 'me. 
 
 ^ Isa. liv. 17. 2 Isa. xxrii. 3. 3 Eccles. viii. 5. 
 
 4 Rom. viii. 28. 6 Ps. iv. 8. 
 
230 IRosal JBount)2^ 
 
 TWELFTH DAY. 
 
 Zhc putting 3fortb of tbe Sbeep. 
 
 * When He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before 
 them.' — John x. 4. 
 
 WHAT gives the Alpine climber confidence in 
 wild, lonely, difficult passes or ascents, 
 when he has ' not passed this way heretofore ' ?^ It 
 is that his guide has been there before ; and alsa 
 that in every present step over unknown and possi- 
 bly treacherous ice or snow, his guide ' goeth be- 
 fore. '^ 
 
 It is to Christ's * own sheep ' that this promise 
 applies ; simply those who believe and hear His 
 voice. It is when Ife putteth them forth that it 
 comes true ; not when they put themselves forth, or 
 when they let a ' stranger '^ lure them forth, or such 
 traitors as self-cowardice or impatience drive them 
 forth. 
 
 Sometimes it is a literal putting forth. We have 
 been in a sheltered nook of the fold, and we are 
 sent to live where it is windier and wilder. The 
 
 1 Josh. iii. 4. 2I$a. xlv. 2. sjohn x. 26, 27; ib. x. 3. 
 
IPuttinfl 3Fortb ot tbe Sbeep. 231 
 
 home nest is stirred up/ and we have to go (it may 
 be only for a few days, it may be for years, it may 
 be for the rest of our lives) into less congenial sur- 
 roundings, to live with fresh people, or in a differ- 
 ent position, or in a new neighborhood. We do 
 not put ourselves forth, we would rather stay ; but 
 it has to be. But Jesus ' goeth before. ' He prepares 
 the earthly as well as the heavenly places for us. 
 He will be there when we get to the new place. 
 He went in the way before to search us out a place 
 to pitch our tents in^ (and perhaps we were forget- 
 ting that they were tents and not palaces).^ If we 
 wilfully persisted in staying where we were when 
 He said, / Arise and depart, for this is not your 
 rest,'* we should find that Presence was gone which 
 only could cause us to rest. He is not sending us 
 forth away from Him, but only putting us forth 
 with His own gentle hand, saying, * Rise up. My 
 love, and come avra.y,'^ ' Come with Me.' 
 
 Sometimes it is putting forth into service. We 
 had such a nice little quiet shady corner in the 
 vineyard, down among the tender grapes, with such 
 easy little weedings and waterings to attend to. 
 And then the Master comes and draws us out into 
 the thick of the work, and puts us into a part of 
 the field where we never should have thought of go- 
 ing, and puts larger tools into our hands, that we 
 may do more at a stroke. And we know we are 
 not sufficient for these things,^ and the very tools 
 seem too heavy for us, and the glare too dazzling, 
 and the vines too tall. xAh ! but would we really go 
 
 1 Deut. xxii. II, ^Deut. i. 33. 3 Heb. xiii. 14. 
 
 4 iVf icah ii. 10. ^ Cant ii. 10 : ib. iv. 8. ^ 2 Cor. ii. 16. 
 
232 IRoi^al :©ount^, 
 
 back? He would not be in the old shady corner 
 with us now ; for when He put us forth He went 
 before us, and it is only by close following that we 
 can abide with Him. Without Him we could do 
 nothing if we perversely and fearfully ran back to 
 our old work. With Hira, ' through Christ which 
 strengtheneth ' us, we * can do all things ' in the 
 new work. Not our power, but His presence will 
 carry us through.-^ 
 
 Sometimes it is putting forth into the rough places 
 of suffering, whether from temptation, pain, * or any 
 adversity.' Not one step here but Jesus has gone 
 before us ; and He still goeth before us, often so 
 very close before us, that even by the still waters^ 
 we never seemed so near Him. * He Himself hath 
 suffered, being tempted.'^ How strangely comfort- 
 ing to remember that He has passed even that way 
 before us ! ' The things which He suffered ' include 
 and cover, and stretch wide on every side beyond, 
 all possible ' sufferings of this present time.'* It is 
 in patient suffering, rather than in doing, that we 
 are specially called * to follow His steps. '^ 'The 
 footsteps of Thine anointed have lain through re- 
 proach,' and ' the reproach of Thy servants' is no 
 light part of * the fellowship of His sufferings.' 
 How specially tender the Master's hand is when it 
 is laid upon us to put us forth into any path of suf- 
 fering ! How specially precious, then, to know that 
 it is indeed His own doing ! 
 
 Sooner or later, perhaps again and again, He puts 
 forth His own sheep into a position of greater sep- 
 
 1 Zech. iv. 6. 2 Ps. xxiii. 2. ^pjeb. ii. 18. 
 
 *Rom. viii. 18. ^ i Pet. ii. 21. 
 
Safe Steppfnfl. 233 
 
 aration — forth from an outer into an inner circle, 
 always nearer and nearer to the great Centre. Let 
 us watch very sensitively for such leading. Every 
 hesitation to yield to His gentle separation from the 
 world results in heart separation from Him. When 
 He thus goeth before, shall we risk being left be- 
 hind ? 
 
 He will put forth His own sheep at last into the 
 path which none of them shall ever tread alone,, 
 becajuse He trod it alone. ' Yea, though I walk 
 through the valley of the shadow of death, I will 
 fear no evil : for Thou art with me. '^ Our ' Joshua, 
 he shall go over before thee, as the Lord hath said.'^ 
 Jesus knows every single step of that valley ; and 
 when His people enter it, they will surely find that. 
 * their King shall pass before them ; '^ and the Com- 
 forter will say, ' He it is that doth go before thee.'* 
 
 THIRTEENTH DAY. 
 
 Safe Stepping. 
 
 « Thy foot shall not stumble.' — Prov. iii. 23. 
 
 MANY a Christian says : * I shall be kept from 
 falling at last ; but, of course, I shall stum- 
 ble continually by the way. ' But ' have ye not read 
 
 1 Ps. xxiii. 4. 2 Deut. xxxi, 3. 
 
 >Micah iu 13. * Deut. xxxi. 8. 
 
234 IRotgal :fi5ounts. 
 
 this Scripture,'' Thy foot shall not stumble ' ?^ And 
 if we have only once read it, ought not the ' of 
 course ' to be put over on the other side ? for ' hath 
 He spoken, and shall He. not make it good ? '^ 
 *And the Scripture cannotht broken.'^ 
 
 ' But as a matter of fact we do stumble, and 
 though he riseth up again, yet even the just man 
 falleth seven times.'* Of course we do; and this 
 is entirely accounted for by the other * of course.' 
 God gives us a promise, and, instead of humbly 
 saying, ' Be it unto me according to Thy word,'^ 
 we either altogether overlook or deliberately refuse 
 to believe it ; and then, ' of course,' we get no ful- 
 filment of it. The measure of the promise is God's 
 faithfulness ; the measure of its realization is our 
 faith. Perhaps we have not even cried, ' Help Thou 
 mine unbelief as to this promise, much less said, 
 'Lord, I believe.'^ 
 
 It does not stand alone; it is reiterated and varied. 
 He knew our constant, momentary need of it. He 
 knew that without it we must stumble, and fall too ; 
 that we have not the least power to take one step with- 
 out a stumble — or, rather, that we have no power to 
 take one single onward step at all. And He knew 
 that Satan's surest device to make us stumble would 
 be to make us believe that 'it can't be helped.' 
 We have thought that, if we have not said it. 
 
 But 'what saith the Scripture?''' 'When thou 
 runnest ' (the likeliest pace for a slip), ' thou shalt 
 not stumble.'^ 'He will not suffer thy foot to be 
 
 1 Mark xii. lo. 2 Num. xxiii. 19. 3 John x. 35. 
 
 * Prov. xxiv. 16. 5 Luke i. 38. ^Mark ix. 24. 
 
 7Rom. iv. 3, sprov.iv. 12. 
 
Safe Stepping. 235 
 
 moved. '^ 'He will keep the feet of His saints.'^ 
 'He led them . . . that they should not stumble.'* 
 Can we say, 'Yea, hath God said?'* to all this? 
 Leave that to Satan ; it is no comment for God's 
 children to make upon His precious promises. If 
 we do not use the power of faith, we find the neu- 
 tralizing power of unbelief. 
 
 ' But how can I keep from stumbling ? ' You 
 cannot keep from stumbling at all ; but He is ' able 
 to keep you from falling,'^ which in the Greek is 
 strongly and distinctly 'without stumbling' The 
 least confidence in, or expectation from, yourself 
 not only leads to inevitable stumbling, but is itself 
 a grievous fall. But again we are met with the very 
 promise we need to escape this snare : ' For the 
 Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy 
 foot from being taken. '^ 
 
 ' Still, how shall I be kept ? ' Jesus Himself has 
 answered : ' If any man walk in the day, he stum- 
 bleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.''" 
 'Walk in the light,' 'looking unto Jesus,' and so 
 shall we be ' kept by the power of God through 
 faith.' 
 
 We tell a little child to look where it steps and 
 pick its way ; but Christ's little children are to do 
 just the opposite : they are to look away to Him. 
 ' Let thine eyes look,' not down, but ' right on, and 
 let thine eyelids look straight before thee.'* Why ? 
 Because ' He it is that doth go before thee,'^ and it 
 
 1 Ps. cxxi. 3. '^1 Sam. ii. 9. 8 15a. Ixiii. 13. 
 
 *Gen. iii, i. 5 Jude 24. cProv. iii. 26. 
 
 ^ John xi. 9. 8prov. iv. 25. * Deut. xxxi. 8. 
 
236 IRoisal :©ounts, 
 
 is on Him, the Light of the world, that the gaze 
 must be fixed. 
 
 * Having therefore these promises, dearly be- 
 loved,'^ let us use them. Let us turn them into 
 prayers of faith. ' Hold up my goings in Thy 
 paths, that my footsteps slip nof '^ (did David add 
 the whisper, ' But nevertheless, of course, they wi7I 
 slip ' ?). ' Hold Thou me up, and I ska// be safe.' 
 ' When I said. My foot slippeth ; Thy mercy, O 
 Lord, held \Ti& up ' (not ^picked me up ').^ 
 
 Then comes the New Testament echo : ' Yea, he 
 shall be holden up : for God is able to make him 
 stand.'* But take 'all the counsel of God; '° for 
 this, too, is needed : 'And thou standest by faith. 
 Be not high-minded, but fear.' 
 
 Now if these promises are worth the paper they 
 are written on, ought we not to believe and accept 
 and give thanks for them, and go on our way re- 
 joicing, claiming His promise not once for all, not 
 for to-morrow, but always for the 7iexi step of the 
 way ? ' Thy foot shall /z<?/ stumble ! ' Jesus is now 
 ' upholding all things by the word of His power ; '* 
 shall our unbelief make us the exception ? Shall 
 we not rather say, ' Uphold me, according to Thy 
 word'?^ 
 
 Look away to Jesus, 
 Look away from all ! 
 
 Then we shall not stumble. 
 Then we need not fall. 
 
 I2 Cor. vii. I. 2Ps. xvii. 5. ^Ps. cxix. 117; ib. xciv. 18. 
 
 4Rom. xiv. 4. ^Actsxx. 27. ^jJeb. i. 3. 
 
 'Ps. cxix. 116. 
 
XL\)inc. 237 
 
 FOURTEENTH DAY. 
 
 * I am Thine.' — Ps. cxix. 94. 
 
 'TMIIS is a wonderful stone for the sling of faith. 
 
 A It will slay any Goliath of temptation, if we 
 
 only sling it out boldly and determinately at him. 
 
 When self tempts us (and we know how often 
 that is), let it be met with ' not your own,'^ and 
 then look straight away to Jesus with ' I am T/iine.* 
 
 If the world tries some lure, old or new, remem- 
 ber the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said :^ ' If 
 ye were of the world, the world would love his 
 own f . . . but I have chosen you out of the 
 world ; '* and lest the world should claim us as ' his 
 own,' look away to Jesus, and say, ' I am Thine.'' 
 
 Is it sin, subtle and strong and secret, that claims 
 our obedience ? Acknowledge that * ye were the 
 servants of sin ; ' but now, * being made free from 
 sin, ye became the servants of righteousness,'^ and 
 conquer with the faith-shout, ' I am Thine. '^ 
 
 Is it a terrible hand-to-hand fight with Satan him- 
 self, making a desperate effort to reassert his old 
 power? Tell the prince of this world that he hath 
 nothing in Jesus,^ and that you are ' in Him that is 
 
 1 1 Cor. vi. 19. 2 Acts XX. 35. 3 John xv. 19. 
 
 4Johnxvii. 16. 5Rom. vi. 17, 18. ^Johnxiv. 30. 
 
 16 
 
238 IRo^al :fi5ounti2, 
 
 true,*^ a member of His body, His very own ; and 
 see if he is not forced to flee at the sound of your 
 confident * I am Thine ! ' 
 
 But after all, ' I am Thine ' is only an echo, vary- 
 ing in clearness according to faith's atmosphere and 
 our nearness to the original voice. Yes, it is only 
 the echo of 'Thou art Mine,'*'^ falling in its mighty 
 music on the responsive, because Spirit-prepared, 
 heart. This note of heavenly music never origi- 
 nated with any earthly rock. It is only when God 
 sends forth the Spirit of His Son in our hearts 
 that we cry, 'Abba, Father.'^ It was when the 
 anointed but not yet openly crowned king had gone 
 out to meet Amasai, and the Spirit came upon him, 
 that he said, * Thine are we, David.' Therefore do 
 not overlook the Voice, in the gladness of the echo. 
 Listen, and you will hear it falling from the myste- 
 rious heights of high-priestly intercession : ' They 
 are Thine. And all Mine are Thine, and Thine are 
 Mine.'* 
 
 This is no vague and general belonging to Christ, 
 but full of specific realities of relationship. ' I am 
 Thine' means, * Truly I am Thy servant.'^ lam 
 one of Thy 'dear children.'^ I am Thy chosen 
 soldier.' I am Thy ransomed one.^ I am Thy 
 ' own sheep.' I am Thy witness. I am Thy friend.® 
 And all these are but aniens to His own conde- 
 scending declarations. He says we are all these, 
 and we have only to say, 'Yes, Lord, so I am.' 
 Why should we ever contradict Him ? 
 
 1 1 John V. 20. 2 Isa. xliii. i. 3 Rom. viii. 15. 
 
 4 John xvii. 9, 10. 6ps. cxvi. 16. ^Eph. v. i. 
 
 1 2 Tim. ii. 4. 8 Isa. xxxv. lo. ^ John x. 4. 
 
tlbfne. 239 
 
 In deeper humility and stronger faith let us listen 
 further to the voice of our Beloved, as He breathes 
 names of incomprehensible condescension and love. 
 Shall we contradict Him here, in the tenderest out- 
 flow of His divine affection, and say, * Not so, 
 Lord ' ? Shall we not rather adoringly listen, and 
 let Him say even to us in our depths of utter un- 
 worthiness, ' My sister, My spouse,' * My love, My 
 dove. My undefiled,' answering only with a won- 
 denng, yet unquestioning, ' I am Thine,' ' I am all 
 that Thou choosest to say that I am ' ? 
 
 The echo may vary and falter (though it is nothing 
 short of atrocious ingratitude and unbelief when it 
 does), but the Voice never varies or falters. He 
 does not say, ' Thou art Mine ' to-day, and reverse 
 or weaken it to-morrow. We are ' a people unto 
 Thee for ever,'' and why grieve His love by doubt- 
 ing His word, and giving way to a very fidget of 
 faithlessness? Love that is everlasting cannot be 
 ephemeral ; it is everlasting, and what can we say 
 more? 
 
 The more we by faith and experience realize that 
 we are His own in life and death, the more willing 
 we shall be that He should do what He will with 
 His own, and the more sure we shall be that He will 
 do the very best with it, and make the very most of 
 it. May we increasingly find the strength and rest 
 of this our God-given claim upon God. * I am 
 Thine, save me ! '^ And * He will save. He will 
 rejoice over thee with joy ; He will rest in His love. '^ 
 
 1 Ps. cxix. 94. 2 Zeph. iii. 17, 
 
240 IRoisal JSountis. 
 
 * Not your own ! ' but His ye are, 
 
 Who hath paid a price untold 
 For your life, exceeding far 
 
 All earth's store of gems and gold. 
 With the precious blood of Christ, 
 Ransom-treasure all unpriced, 
 Full redemption is procured. 
 Full salvation is assured. 
 
 * Not your own ! ' but His by right. 
 
 His peculiar treasure now, 
 Fair and precious in His sight, 
 
 Purchased jewels for His brow. 
 He will keep what thus He sought. 
 Safely guard the dearly bought. 
 Cherish that which He did choose, 
 Always love and never lose. 
 
 FIFTEENTH DAY. 
 
 "innto ZTbee for fiver* 
 
 • What one nation in the earth is like Thy people, even like 
 Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to Himself, 
 and to make Him a name, and to do for you great things and 
 terrible, for Thy land, before Thy people, which Thou re- 
 deemedst to Thee from Egypt, from the nations and their 
 gods? For Thou hast confirmed to Thyself Thy people 
 Israel to be a people unto Thee for ever : and Thou, Lord, 
 art become their God.' — 2 Sam. vii. 23, 24, 
 
 ONE thought, containing three thoughts, seems 
 to pervade this epitome of the history of God's 
 people. The one thought is ' Unto Thee ! ' The 
 
"Glnto XTbee tor Bvet. 241 
 
 three thoughts contained in it arfe — Redeemed, 
 Separated, Confirmed unto Thee. 
 
 Let us take them in order, i. God * went to 
 redeem ' His people. It was no easy sitting still, 
 no costless fiat : * Thou wentest forth for the salva- 
 tion of Thy people, even for salvation with Thine 
 anointed.'^ These 'goings forth have been from 
 of old, from the days of eternity,'^ and we have 
 seen by faith these 'goings of my God, my King.'* 
 
 It. was not only to purchase them out of bondage 
 and death, as one might buy a captive thrush on a 
 winter evening, and let it loose into the hungry 
 cold, and think no more about it ; it was to re- 
 deem them unto Himself, to be His own portion 
 and inheritance and treasure and delight, to be a 
 ' people near unto Him,* to be the objects on which 
 all His divine love might be poured out, to be the 
 very opportunity of His joy. 
 
 His glory and our good were inseparably joined 
 in it. He did it 'to make Him a name; ' and we 
 may reverently say, that even the very Name which 
 is above every name* could not have been the crown 
 of the exaltation of the Son of God but for this. 
 
 He also did it because He would ' &o for you great 
 things and terrible,' — great things in mercy, 'terri- 
 ble things in righteousness,* — bringing all His sub- 
 limely balanced attributes to bear on His great 
 work ' for you.^ ^Before His people,' that we might 
 see, and know, and believe, and praise. 
 
 2. This redemption to Himself necessarily in- 
 volved separation ' from Egypt, from the nations 
 
 1 Hab. iii. 13. ^Micah v. 2, margin.. 
 
 3 Ps. Ixviii. 24. *Phil. ii. 9. , 
 
242 IRoi^al Sountis, 
 
 and their gods.' We cannot have the ' to ' without 
 the ' from,' any more than we could go to the equa- 
 tor and not come away from the arctic regions. 
 And the test and proof of the ' to Thee ' lies in the 
 * from Egypt.' But what do we want with Egypt? 
 what is there to attract us to the house of bondage and 
 its old taskmasters ? Did we not have enough of 
 them ? and shall we not gratefully accept redemp- 
 tion 'from the nations,' ^ out of them, from the 
 tyranny of ' the customs of the people,' ' from our 
 vain conversation,'^ and say henceforth, ' Thy peo- 
 ple shall be my people' ?^ ' What have /to do any 
 more with idols,'^ when God Himself has redeemed 
 me ' from their gods ' ? Yes, has redeemed me, for 
 He says so. ' Sing, O ye heavens ; for the Lord 
 hath done it ! ' He ' gave Himself for us, that He 
 might redeem us from all iniquity.'* 
 
 3. How magnificently God seals all His transac- 
 tions ! So He has not only redeemed and sepa- 
 rated us unto Himself, but 'Thou hast confirmed to 
 Thyself Thy people Israel.' He, not we. His 
 hands laid the fouridation, and His hands shall also 
 finish it. He stablisheth us in Christ, and He 
 ' hath also sealed us.' He ' shall also confirm you 
 to the end ; '° your life shall be one great Confirma- 
 tion Day of continual defending and strengthening 
 and blessing ; He avouching you this day and every 
 day to be His peculiar people, ' as He hath prom- 
 ised,' and establishing you an holy people unto 
 Himself, and you avouching the Lord to be your 
 God and to walk in His ways. 
 
 1 1 Pet. i. 18. 2 Ruth i. 16. 3 Hos. xiv. 8. 
 
 4 Titus ii. 14. 5 I Cor. i. 8. 
 
IHnto ^bee tor JSvct, 243 
 
 Not * this day, only 'for we are confirmed to Him 
 * to be a people unto Thee for ever.' 'Thine for 
 ever ! ' ' For I know that whatsoever God doeth, 
 it shall be for ever ; '^ so, having done this, it must 
 be ' for ever ! * Fling this at the enemy when he 
 tempts you to doubt your complete and eternal 
 redemption — ' Unto Thee forever ! ' when he tempts 
 you to regret or tamper with your separation — 
 ' Unto Thee for ever ! ' when he tempts you to quiver 
 about your confirmation ' to the end ' — ' Unto Thee 
 /or ever ! ' 
 
 For ' the Lord is faithful.'^ * And now, O Lord 
 God, the word that Thou hast spoken . . . estab- 
 lish it for ever, and do as Thou hast said.'^ 
 
 In full and glad surrender, 
 
 I give myself to Thee, 
 Thine utterly and only, 
 
 And evermore to be. 
 O Son of God, who lovest me, 
 
 I will be Thine alone, 
 And all I have and all I am 
 
 Shall henceforth be Thine own. 
 
 lEcclcs. iii. 14. 2 2Thess. iii. 3. ^2, Sam, vii. 25. 
 
244 IRo^al :fiSounts. 
 
 SIXTEENTH DAY. 
 
 Captive ^bougbt0» 
 
 * Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of 
 Christ.' — 2 Cor. x. 5. 
 
 ARE there any tyrants more harassing than our 
 own thoughts ? Control of deeds and words 
 seems a small thing in comparison ; but have -we not 
 been apt to fancy that we really can't help our 
 thoughts? Instead of our dominating them, they 
 have dominated us ; and we have not expected, nor 
 even thought it possible, to be set free from the 
 manifold tyranny of vain thoughts, and still less of 
 wandering thoughts. Yet, all the time, here has 
 been God's word about this hopeless, helpless mat- 
 ter, only where has been our faith? 
 
 It is very strong language that the inspiring Spirit 
 uses here — not ' thoughts ' in general, but definitely, 
 and with no room for distressing exceptions, * every 
 thought.'^ Must it not be glorious rest to have 
 every thought of day and night brought into sweet, 
 quiet, complete captivity to Jesus, entirely * obedient 
 to the faith, '^ to His holy and loving influence, to 
 His beautiful and perfect law ? We should not have 
 dared to hope or dream of such a rest unto our souls ; 
 we should not have guessed it included in that prom- 
 
 iPs. xciv. 19. 2 Acts vi. 7. 
 
Captive ^bougbts* 245 
 
 ise to those who take the yoke of Christ upon 
 them ; and if we could find one text stating that it 
 was not any part of God's iiijfinitely gracious pur- 
 poses for us, we should only say, ' Of course, for it 
 stands to reason it could not be ! ' 
 
 To reason, perhaps, but not to faith ; for words 
 cannot be plainer than these in which St. Paul sets. 
 forth this marvellous privilege not of himself person- 
 ally, but of all God's children, if they are only 
 wilting and simply believing in the matter. For 
 while ' the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus '^ is 
 the measure of the fulness of His promises, 'accord- 
 ing to your faith '^ is the appointed measure of their 
 reception and benefit by ourselves. ' Lord, increase 
 our faith. '^ 
 
 But there is an order in their effectual working, 
 and we must not begin at the wrong end. Before 
 this triumph-leading of every thought can take place,, 
 there is the ' casting down imaginations,'* or, as in 
 the more correct margin, ' reasonings.' As long as 
 we are reasoning about a promise, we never know 
 its reality. It is not God's way. It is the humble 
 who hear thereof and are glad.^ Have we not found 
 it so? Did we (?z/^r receive the powerful fulfilment 
 of a?^j; promise so long as we argued and reasoned, 
 whether with our own hearts or with others, and 
 said, ' How can these things be ? '^ Has it not al- 
 ways been, that we had to lay down our arms and 
 accept God's thought and God's way instead of our 
 own ideas, and be willing that He should ' speak the 
 word only,' and believe it as little children believe 
 
 1 Phil. iv. 19. 2 Matt. ix. 29. 3 Luke xvii. 5. 
 
 4 2 Cor. X. 5. 6 Ps. xxxiv. 2. 6 John iii. 9. 
 
246 IRosal J3ounti2. 
 
 our promises? Then, never till then, the promise 
 and the privilege became ours not only in potential- 
 ity but in actuality. Now, how is it that we do not 
 yet understand, and apply the same principle to 
 every promise or privilege which as yet we see only 
 afar off? It is the old way and the only way: 
 * Who through faith . . . obtain promises.'^ 
 
 It is a solemn thought that the alternative of ' the 
 obedience of Christ '^ is disobedience. Thoughts 
 that are not brought into the one are in the other ; 
 for * the thought of foolishness is sin,'*^ nothing less 
 or lighter ; and when the Holy Spirit * declareth 
 unto man what is his thought,' unsuspected sin and 
 unrecognized guilt come terribly to light. But ' how 
 long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?'* 
 The Conqueror, the always triumphing Saviour, 
 stands at the door and knocks ; shall we not ' open 
 unto Him tmmedtately,^ and now cast down the 
 reasonings which hinder His present triumph, and 
 yield up to Him ' who alone can order them ' the 
 unruly will and affections, and deliver into His vic- 
 torious hands the unmanageable thought-garrison 
 (reserving no private slaves, who would quickly 
 again become our masters), and then let Him dwell 
 in our hearts by faith as absolute Captain of our 
 salvation ?^ Then He will garrison our hearts with 
 the peace of God which passeth all understanding.® 
 
 Let every thought 
 Be captive brought, 
 Lord Jesus Christ, to Thine own sweet obedience ; 
 
 1 Heb. xi. 33. 2 2 Cor. x. 6. 3 Prov. xxiv. 9. 
 
 *Jcr. iv. 17. 6 Heb. ii. 10. *Phil. iv. 7. 
 
Zbongbts of tbe Ibeart, 247 
 
 That I may know, 
 In ebbless flow, 
 The perfect peace of full and pure allegiance. 
 
 SEVENTEENTH DAY. 
 
 Zbc llmaalnation of tbe ^bougbta 
 of tbe Ibeart* 
 
 * Keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of 
 the heart of Thy people, and prepare (margin, stablish) their 
 heart unto Thee.' — i Chron. xxix. i8. 
 
 THE words are probably more familiar to us in 
 another connection : * And God saw . . . 
 that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart 
 was only evil continually.'^ There is Satan's work 
 through the fall ; now let us look at God's work 
 through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.'* 
 
 What was to be kept for ever in the imagination 
 of the thoughts of the heart ? Something that God 
 had put there ; for you cannot keep a thing in any 
 place till it is first put there. The people had re- 
 sponded to the appeal of their king, ' Who then is 
 willing to consecrate his service this day unto the 
 Lord ? '^ As the expression of this service, they 
 had offered willingly and rejoicingly to the Lord. 
 What they had offered was all His own : * Of thine 
 
 1 Gen. vi. s» ' Rom, iii„ 24. 8 i Chron. xxix, 5. 
 
248 IRo^al :Bounti?» 
 
 own have we given Thee.'^ And David acknowl- 
 edges that it was all of Him that they were enabled 
 (margin, obtained strength) * to offer so willingly 
 after this sort.' Was all this consecration and joy 
 to be a thing of a day ? Nay ! in his grand inspired 
 prayer, David, foreshadowing the Royal Intercessor, 
 by whom alone we ' offer up spiritual sacrifices,' 
 prays, * O Lord God, keep this for ever in the im- 
 agination of the thoughts of the heart of Thy peo- 
 ple.' 
 
 Now, does not this precisely meet the fear, the 
 desire, and the need of our souls? I may have 
 yielded myself unto God to-day, I may have sin- 
 cerely presented myself a living sacrifice to Him'^ 
 to-day, but what about to-morrow ? My heart is so 
 treacherous, I dare not trust it, I cannot even know 
 it. Who that has consecrated himself to the Lord 
 has not had some such thought ! In too many in- 
 stances, the thought is brooded over till it grows into 
 doubt of His power; and then, of course, we begin 
 to sink, for only by faith do we stand or walk in the 
 bright path of consecration. Doubt indulged soon 
 becomes doubt realized. 
 
 He who by His free grace and mighty power put 
 it into our hearts must be equally willing and able 
 to keep it there. If He can keep it there for one 
 day, — nay, for one hour, — He can keep it — how 
 long? Two days? A whole year? What saith 
 the Scripture? ' For Ever.' Yes, but He only ; not 
 ourselves. We cannot ' keep ' it one minute. The 
 more totally we distrust our own ability to put or to 
 
 1 1 Chron, xxix. 14. 2 Rom. vi. 13 ; ib. xii. i. 
 
Zbo\xQbt6 ot tbe Ibcart. 249 
 
 keep any right thing whatever in our minds, the 
 more we shall see that we may and must totally 
 trust His power. 
 
 There is real comfort in knowing that every im- 
 agination of the thoughts of the natural heart is 
 on/y evil continually, because this shows how really 
 He is working in us when we find Him putting and 
 keeping holy things in our minds. We may be 
 quite sure no Godward thought comes natural to us ; 
 but His new covenant is : ■ 'I will put My laws into 
 their mind, and write them in their hearts.'^ 
 
 The words are very remarkable and far-reaching. 
 We feel that they go to the very depths, that it is 
 our whole mental being which is to be thus pervaded 
 with the incense of consecration ; not that it is to 
 be kept only in some inner recess of the heart, and 
 not equally so in the mental consciousness. ' Keep 
 this for ever in the imagination,' so that the mind 
 (margin, imagination) may be stayed on Thee, and 
 the keeping in perfect peace may result.^ Just the 
 very thing that seems most curbless, the mental 
 lightning that seems too quick for us ! The flash- 
 ing wings that used to bear us too swiftly whither 
 we would not, shall be folded over the golden pur- 
 pose of consecration. ' In the imagination of the 
 thoughts.' ' Bringing into captivity every thought 
 to the obedience of Christ.' And then the peace 
 of God enters in to garrison the heart and thoughts 
 (for it is the same word, here translated ' mind '). 
 * In the imagination of the thoughts of the heart' 
 the very central self, the inner citadel of the soul. 
 
 1 Heb. viii. 8-10. 2 isa. xxvi. 3. 
 
«5o TRoi^al :©ounts. 
 
 That shall be ' established with grace/ stablished 
 unblameable in holiness, '■ fixed ' so that it shall sing 
 and give praise ; for Thou, Lord, ^ hast heard the 
 desire of the humble : Thou wilt establish their 
 heart.' 
 
 We rejoice in His omniscience ; for, because'the 
 Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the 
 imaginations of the thoughts,'^ we are fully per- 
 suaded that what He has promised He is able also 
 to perform.^ 
 
 ' Only for Jesus ! ' Lord, keep it for ever 
 Sealed on the heart and engraved on the life ; 
 
 Pulse of all gladness, and nerve of endeavour. 
 Secret of rest, and the strength of our strife. 
 
 EIGHTEENTH DAY. 
 
 ^be jEverlaeting Service^ 
 
 * And he shall serve him for ever.' — Ex. xxi, 6. 
 
 A PROMISE only differenced from a threat by 
 one thing, love ! But that makes all the 
 difference. 
 
 To those who are still * enemies in their minds, '^ 
 the prospect of serving for ever would be anything 
 but pleasant. But when the enmity is slain by the 
 
 1 I Chron. xxviii. 9. 2 Rom. iv. 21. ^ Col. i. 21. 
 
XLbc jSveclastfnfi Service* 251 
 
 cross of Christ,^ and all things are become new/ 
 and the love of Christ constraineth,^ then it is 
 among the brightest of our many bright anticipa- 
 tions, and everlasting joy and everlasting service 
 become almost synonymous. 
 
 Rest is sweet, but service (in proportion to our 
 love) is sweeter still. Those who have served much 
 here cannot but anticipate the fuller and more per- 
 fect service above. Those who have to do little 
 more than * stand and wait ' here, will perhaps revel 
 even more than others in the new experience of ac- 
 tive service, coming at once, as it were, into its full 
 delight. 
 
 The Hebrew servant had trial of his master's ser- 
 vice for six years, and in the seventh he might go 
 out free if he would. But then, ' if the servant shall 
 plainly say ' (plainly, avowedly, no mistake about 
 it), ' I love my master, . . . I z£//// not go out free,' 
 then, publicly and legally, he was sealed to his ser- 
 vice ' for ever.' It all depended on the love. He 
 would say, ' I will not go away from thee ; * because 
 he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well 
 with thee.' 
 
 How this meets our case, dear fellow-servants ! 
 We do not want to ' go away from ' Jesus, because 
 we love Him ; and we love His house too, — not only, 
 * the house of God ' with which so much of our ser- 
 vice is connected, but ' His own house,' the ' spirit- 
 ual house,' *the blessed company of all faithful 
 people.' 
 
 And are we not * well ' with Him ? Where else 
 
 1 Eph. ii. 16. 8 2 Cor. v. 17. 
 
 3 2 Cor. V. 14. 4 Deut. xv. 16. 
 
252 IRo^al 3Bount^, 
 
 so well ? where else anything but ill ? Has He not 
 dealt well with His servants?^ What a chorus it 
 would be if we all spoke out, and said, ^ I love my 
 Master, and it hath been well for me with Him ' ! 
 Why donU we speak out, and let people know what 
 a Master He is, and what a happy service His is ? 
 Who is to speak out, if we have not a word to say 
 about it ! Let us stand up for Jesus and His service, 
 every one of us ! 
 
 Perhaps, when we do speak out, we shall realize 
 the joy of this promise as never before. It was not 
 till the servant had owned his love, and given up 
 'the rest of his time in the flesh,' and had his ear 
 bored, that the word was spoken, ' He shall serve 
 him for ever; '^ and it is only the loving and con- 
 secrated heart that leaps up for joy at the heavenly 
 prospect : 'And His servants shall serve Him." 
 
 Think about it a little. What will it be to be 
 able at last to express not only all the love we now 
 feel, but all the perfected love of infinitely enlarged 
 capability of loving in the equally perfected service 
 of equally enlarged capability of serving ? — able to 
 show Jesus a love which would burst our hearts if 
 poured into them now ! Able to put all the new 
 rapture of praise into living action for Him ! Able 
 to go on serving Him day and night,* without any 
 weariness in it, and never a hateful shadow of 
 weariness of it ; without any interruptions ; without 
 any mistakes at all ; without any thinking how much 
 better some one else could have done it, or how 
 much better we ought to have done it ; above all. 
 
 1 Ps. cxix. 65. 2 Ex. xxi. 6. 
 
 2 Rev, xxii. 3. * Rev. vii. 15, 
 
ilbe Bverlaetfng Service, 255 
 
 without the least mixture of sin in motive or deed — 
 pure, perfect service of Him whom we love and see 
 face to face ! What can be more joyful ? 
 
 We are not told much about it, we could not 
 understand it now ; the secrets of this wonderful 
 service will only be told when we are brought to His 
 house above, and see what are the heavenly ' good 
 works which God hath before ordained ' (margin, 
 prepared^ for us. 
 
 H[pw full of surprises the new service will be ! — 
 new powers, new and entirely congenial fellow- 
 workers, new spheres, new ministries ; only two 
 things not new, if our earthly service has been true, 
 — no new power, and no new end and aim, but the 
 same, even His power and His glory ! Then shall 
 come the full accomplishment of the Messianic 
 prophecy : * A seed shall serve Him ; '^ and still we 
 shall say (only I think we shall sing it), ' Thine is 
 the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. 
 Amen.'^ 'Whose I am and whom I serve' for 
 
 ever 
 
 /3 
 
 My Lord hath met my longing 
 
 With word of golden tone, 
 That I shall serve for ever 
 
 Himself, Himself alone. 
 * Shall serve him,' — and ' for ever! ' 
 
 Oh hope most sure, most fair ! 
 The perfect love outpouring, 
 
 In perfect service there ! 
 
 1 Ps, xxii. 30. 2 Matt. vi. 13. 3 Acts xxvii. 23. 
 
 17 
 
254 TRoisal JBount^, 
 
 NINETEENTH DAY. 
 
 flDo0t Bleeeeb for Ever* 
 
 • Thou hast made him most blessed for ever, Thou hast 
 made him exceeding glad with Thy countenance.' — Ps. xxi. 6. 
 
 PROBABLY every one who reads this has at least 
 one of those golden links to heaven which 
 God's own hand has forged from our earthly treas- 
 ures. It may be that the very nearest and dearest 
 that had been given are now taken away. And how 
 often ' no relation, only a dear friend ' is an ' only ' 
 of heart-crushing emphasis ! 
 
 Human comfort goes for very little in this ; but 
 let us lay our hearts open to the comfort wherewith 
 we are comforted of God^ Himself about it. 
 
 There is not much directly to ourselves; He 
 knew that the truest and sweetest comfort would 
 come by looking not at our loss, but at their gain. 
 
 Whatever this gain is, it is all His own actual and 
 immediate doing. ' TJiou hast made him ' (read 
 here the name of the very one for whom we are 
 mourning) 'most blessed.' 
 
 ' Most ! ' How shall we reach that thought ? 
 Make a shining stairway of every bright beatitude 
 in the Bible, blessed upon blessed, within and also 
 far beyond our own experience. And when we 
 
 1 2 Cor. i. 4. 
 
/Ift06t :fi3lC0seD 3For Bver, 255 
 
 have built them up till they reach unto heaven, still 
 this ' most blessed ' is beyond, out of our sight, in 
 the unapproachable glory of God Himself. It will 
 always be 'most,' for it is 'forever' — everlasting 
 light withoiJt a shadow, everlasting songs without a 
 minor. 
 
 No more death, neither sorrow nor crying, 
 neither shall there be any more pain.^ 'And the 
 inhabitant shall not say, I am sick.'^ No more sun- 
 sets^ no more days of mourning. The troubling of 
 the wicked and the voice of the oppressor ceased 
 for ever.^ No more memory of troubles ; no more 
 tears. No more anything that defileth ! All this 
 only the negative side of our dear one's present 
 blessedness. 
 
 Then, the rest for the weary one, the keeping of 
 the sabbath that remaineth, and yet the service free 
 and perfect and perpetual. The crowns of life, of 
 righteousness, and of glory. The great reward in 
 heaven, full of love-surprise to the consciously un- 
 profitable servant. The far more exceeding weight 
 of glory * borne by some to whom the grasshopper 
 had been a burden.^ 
 
 The scene of all the blessedness, — the better 
 country, the continuing city, the King's palace, the. 
 Father's house, the prepared mansions (perhaps, 
 full of contrasts to the past pilgrimage) — all summed 
 up in the transcendent simplicity and sublimity of 
 His words, ' That where I am, there ye may be 
 also.' 
 
 The music ! What will all the harps of heaven 
 
 1 Rev. xxi. 4. 2lsa. xxxiii. 24. 3 Job iii. 17, 18. 
 
 * 2 Cor. iv. 17. 6 Eccles. xii. 5. 
 
256 IRoBal 3Bount^» 
 
 be to the thrill of the One Voice, saying, * Come, 
 ye blessed of my Father ! '^ and, ' Well done, good 
 and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy 
 Lord.'^ Out dea.r ones have heard that! and that 
 one word of the King must have made them most 
 blessed for ever. 
 
 But more yet. * Thou hast made him exceeding 
 glad with thy countenance.' * Hast,' for it is done. 
 At this moment they are exceeding glad, and the 
 certainty of it stills every quiver of our selfish love. 
 The glory and joy of our Lord Christ are revealed 
 to them, and they are * glad also with exceeding 
 joy,'^ rejoicing together with Jesus. 
 
 How can they help reflecting His Divine joy 
 when they see it no longer by faith and afar ofl", but 
 visibly, actually ' face to face ! '* nay, more, * eye 
 to eye,' that very closest approach of tenderest in- 
 tercourse too deep for words. They see Him ' as 
 He is ; ' in all His beauty and love and glory; 
 through no veil, no glass, no tear-mist. 
 
 The prayer for them, ' The Lord lift up His coun- 
 tenance upon thee,'^ is altogether fulfilled, and they 
 are ' full of joy with Thy countenance.' And every 
 other prayer we ever prayed for them is fulfilled ex- 
 ceeding abundantly, above all we asked or thought. 
 We may not pray any more for them, because God 
 has not left one possibility of blessedness unbe- 
 stowed. 
 
 ' Breaking the narrow prayers that may 
 Befit your narrow hearts, away 
 In His broad, loving will.' 
 
 — E. B. Browning. 
 
 1 Matt. XXV, 34. 2 Matt. xxv. 21, 23. 3 Luke xv. 6. 
 
 4 1 Cor. xiii. 12. 6 Num. vi. 26. 
 
S)o Zborx tor /Hbe. 257 
 
 God Himself, their exceeding joy, has done and 
 is doing His very best for them. * Even so, Father ! '* 
 
 For I know 
 That they who are not lost, but gone before, 
 Are only waiting till I come ; for death 
 Has only parted us a little while, 
 And has not severed e'en the finest strand 
 In the eternal cable of our love : 
 The very strain has twined it closer still. 
 And added strength. The music of their lives 
 * , Is nowise stilled, but blended so with songs 
 Around the throne of God, that our poor ears 
 No longer hear it. 
 
 TWENTIETH DAY. 
 
 2)0 ti;bou for flDe. 
 
 * Do Thou for Me.' — Ps. cix. 21. 
 
 THE Psalmist does not say what he wanted God 
 to do for him. He leaves it open. So this 
 most restful prayer is left open for all perplexed 
 hearts to appropriate ^ according to their several ne- 
 cessities.' And so we leave it open for God to fill 
 up in His own way. 
 
 Only a trusting heart can pray this prayer at all : 
 
 ^ Matt. xi. 26. 
 
258 IRoi^al JBount^, 
 
 the very utterance of it is an act of faith. We 
 could not ask any one whom we did not know inti- 
 mately and trust implicitly to ' do ' for us, without 
 even suggesting what. 
 
 Only a self-emptied heart can pray it. It is when 
 we have come to the end of our own resources, or 
 rather, come to see that we never had any at all, 
 that we are willing to accept the fact that we can 
 ^ do nothing,' and to let God do everything for us. 
 
 Only a loving heart can pray it. For nobody 
 likes another to take them and their affairs in hand, 
 and ' do ' for them, unless that other is cordially 
 loved. We might submit to it, but we should not 
 like it, and certainly should not seek it. 
 
 So, if we have caught at this little prayer as being 
 just what we want, just what it seems a real rest to 
 say, I think it shows that we do trust in Him and 
 not in ourselves, and that we do love Him really and 
 truly. There is sure to be a preface to this prayer. 
 ' Neither know we what to do.'^ Perhaps we have 
 been shrinking from being brought to this. Rather 
 let us give thanks for it. It is the step down from 
 the drifting wreck on to the ladder still hanging at 
 the side. Will another step be down into the dark 
 water? Go on, a little lower still, fear not ! The 
 next is, 'We know not what we should pray for.'^ 
 Now we have reached the lowest step. What next ? 
 ' Do Thou for me.' This is the step into the cap- 
 tain's boat. Now He will cut loose from the wreck 
 of our efforts, ladder and all will be left behind, and 
 we have nothing to do but to ' sit still ' and let Him 
 
 1 2 Chron. xx. 12. 2 Rom. viii. 26. 
 
2)0 XTbou tor /Ifte. 259 
 
 take us to our 'desired haven,' probably steering 
 quite a different course from anything we should 
 have thought best. Not seldom ' immediately the 
 ship is at the land whither' we went. 
 
 What may we, from His own word, expect in 
 answer to this wide petition ? 
 
 1. ' What His soul desireth, even that He doeth.'^ 
 Contrast this with our constantly felt inability to do 
 a hundredth part of what we desire to do for those 
 we love. Think of what God's desires must be for 
 us, whom He so loves, that He spared not His own 
 Son.=^ ' That nQdoQt\\\ ' 
 
 2. * He performeth the thing that is appointed for 
 rae.'^ This is wonderfully inclusive; one should 
 read over all the epistles to get a view of the things 
 present and future, seen and unseen, the grace and 
 the glory that He has appointed for us. It includes 
 also all the * good works which God hath before or- 
 dained, that we should walk in them.' It will not 
 be our performance of them, but His; for He 
 ' worketh in you to will and to do,'* and 'Thou 
 also hast wrought all our works in us.'^ 
 
 3. The beautiful old translation says, He ' shall 
 perform the cause which I have in hand.'^ Does 
 not that make it very real to us to-day? Just the 
 very thing that ' I have in hand,' my own particular 
 bit of work to-day — this cause that I cannot manage, 
 this thing that I undertook in miscalculation of my 
 own powers, this is what I may ask Him to do ' for 
 
 1 Job xxiii. 13. 2 Rom. viii. 32. 3 Job xxiii. 14. 
 
 * Phil. ii. 13. 5 Isa. xxvi. 12. 6 Ps. Ivii. 2. 
 
26o iRosal :©ounti2, 
 
 me,' and rest assured that He will perform it. ' The 
 wise and their works are in the hand of God ! ' 
 
 4. He * performeth all things for me.'^ Does 
 He mean as much as this ? Well, He has caused it 
 to be written for us ' that we might have hope ; "^ 
 and what more do we want? Then let Him do it. 
 Let Him perform all things for us. 
 
 Not some things, but ^//things ; or the very things 
 which we think there is no particular need for Him 
 to perform will be all failures — wood, hay, and 
 stubble to be burnt up. One by one let us claim 
 this wonderful word ; * the thing of a day in his day,' 
 *as the matter shall require,' being always brought 
 to Him with the God-given petition, * Do Thou for 
 me.' 
 
 Do not wait to feel very much * oppressed ' before 
 you say, * O Lord, undertake for 'me. '^ Far better 
 say that at first than at last, as we have too often 
 done ! Bring the prayer in one hand, and the 
 promises in the other, joining them in the faith-clasp 
 of ' Do as Thou hast said ! '* And put both the 
 hands into the hand of Him whom the Father 
 heareth always, saying, ' Do Thou for me, O Lord 
 God, for Thy name's sake,' for the sake of Jehovah- 
 Jesus, the tnighty God, the everlasting Father, yet 
 the Saviour of sinners. 
 
 J Ps. Ivii. 2. 2 Rom. XV. 4. 
 
 3 Isa. xxxviii. 14. * 2 Sam. vii. 2. 
 
/IRarvcUouslis IbelpeD, 261 
 
 TWENTY-FIRST DAY. 
 
 flDarvellouel^ Ibelpeb* 
 
 • Marvellously helped,' — 2 Chron. xxvi, 15. 
 
 UZZIAH seems to have been the type of a vari- 
 ously busy and successful man. He had all 
 sorts of irons in the fire. So many energetic interests 
 and tastes, with both faculty and opportunity for 
 developing them, must have made his life much 
 more agreeable and lively than most royal careers. 
 His architecture and his agriculture, his war organi- 
 zations and his engineering, spread his name far 
 abroad. For * as long as he sought the Lord, God 
 made him to prosper.' Yet the end of his story is 
 a strange contrast — -a leper, dwelling in a several 
 house, and cut off from the house of the Lord. 
 
 Where was the turning-point? Probably in the 
 words, ' He strengthened himself exceedingly.' It 
 had been God's help and strength before, and he 
 had risen very high. Then he thought he was 
 strong, and he was brought fearfully low, 
 
 ' Marvellously helped //// he was strong.' Then 
 who would not be always weak, that they might be 
 always ' marvellously helped ! ' 
 
 * Marvellously ! ' For is it not wonderful that 
 God should help us at all ? Have we not wondered 
 hundreds of times, at the singular help He has 
 
262 IRo^al :fi5oimti?, 
 
 given ? If we have not, what ungrateful blindness ! 
 For He has been giving it ever since we were help- 
 less babies. ' Through Thee have I been holden up 
 ever since I was born.'^ How much of His help 
 has been forgotten or altogether unnoticed. 
 
 The very little things, the microscopical helpings, 
 often seem most marvellous of all, when we con- 
 sider that it was Jehovah Himself who stooped to 
 the tiny need of a moment. And the greater mat- 
 ters prove themselves to be the Lord's doing, just 
 because the}^ are so marvellous in our eyes. 
 
 Why should we fear being brought to some depth 
 of perplexity and trouble when we know He will be 
 true to His name, and be 'our Help,' so that we 
 shall be even ' men wondered at ' because so mar- 
 vellously helped ! 
 
 It is not a mere expression. The Bible always 
 means what it says ; and so the help to Uzziah, and 
 the same help with which God makes us to prosper, 
 is literally ' marvellous.' We do wonder at it, or 
 ought to wonder at it. Wonder is one of the God- 
 given faculties which distinguish us from the beasts 
 that perish. And He gives us grand scope for its 
 happy exercise not merely in His works in general, 
 but in His dealings with us in particular. But won- 
 der is always founded upon observation. We do 
 not wonder at that which we do not observe. So, 
 if we have not wondered very much at the help He 
 has given us, it is because we have not noticed, nor 
 considered very much, how great things He hath 
 done for us. 
 
 1 Ps. Ixxi. 6, p. B. V. 
 
/Iftarvellousl^ IbelpeD, 263 
 
 Let us turn our special attention to it each day. 
 We are wanting help of all kinds all day long ; now 
 just observe how He gives it ! Even if nothing the 
 least unusual happens, the opened and watching eye 
 will see that the whole day is one sweet story of 
 marvellous help. And perhaps the greatest marvel 
 will be, that He has helped us to see His help after 
 very much practical blindness to it. And then the 
 marvelling will rise into praising *the name of the 
 Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrous! y with 
 you.'^ 
 
 The times of marvellous help are times of danger. 
 ' When thou hast eaten and art full, . . . and all 
 that thou hast is multiplied,' * beware lest ' ^ then 
 thy heart be lifted up.'^ ^When he was strong, his 
 heart was lifted up to his destruction.'^ Unclasp 
 the ivy from the elm, and it is prostrate at once. 
 Thank God, if He keeps us realizing, amidst the 
 busiest work, and the pleasantest success, that we 
 have no power at all of ourselves to help ourselves ! 
 Then there will be nothing to hinder His ' contin- 
 ual help.' As long as we say quite unreservedly, 
 * My help cometh from the Lord,'* the help will 
 come. As long as we are saying, ' Thou art my 
 help,' 'He is our help,' 'a very present help.' 
 Then we shall not * be holpen with a /////<? help,' 
 which is too often all we really expect from our 
 omnipotent Helper, just because we do not feel that 
 we have * ^^^^i might.' Peter was a good swimmer, 
 but he did not say, * Lord, help me to swim ! ' He 
 said, ' Lord, save me ! '^ and so the Master's help 
 
 1 Joel ii. 26. 2 Deut. viii. 11-14. 3 2 Chron. xxW, 16. 
 
 * Ps. cxxi. 2. 6 Matt. xiv. 30, 31. 
 
264 IRosal :©ount^. 
 
 was instant and complete. * Most gladly therefore 
 will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power 
 of Christ may rest upon me.'^ 
 
 The Lord hath done great things for thee ! 
 
 All through the fleeted days 
 Jehovah hath dealt wondrously ; 
 
 Lift up thy heart and praise ! 
 For greater things thine eyes shall see, 
 
 Child of His loving choice ! 
 The Lord will do great things for theej 
 
 Fear not, be glad, rejoice ! 
 
 TWENTY-SECOND DAY. 
 
 tCbou 1nn^er0tan^est. 
 
 'Thou anderstandest my thought.' — Ps. cxxxix. 2. 
 
 WHO does not know what it is to be misunder- 
 stood ? Perhaps no one ever is always and 
 perfectly understood, because so few Christians are 
 like their Master in having the spirit of ^ quick un- 
 derstanding."^ But this does not make it the less 
 trying to you ; and you do not feel able to say with 
 St. Paul, ' With me it is a very small thing. '^ But 
 this precious Word, which meets every need, gives 
 you a stepping-stone which is quite enough to ena- 
 
 1 2 Cor. xii. 9. 2 Isa. xi. 3. 3 j Cor. iv, 3. 
 
Zbo\x Tan5crstanJ>e6t. 265 
 
 ble you to reach that brave position, if you will 
 only stand on it. ' TAou understandest my thought. ' 
 
 Even if others * daily mistake ' your words, He 
 understands your thought, and is not this infinitely 
 better? He Himself, your ever-loving, ever-pres- 
 ent Father, understands. He understands perfectly 
 just what and just when others do not. Not your 
 actions merely, but your thought — the central self 
 which no words can reveal to others. 'AH my de- 
 sire is before Thee.'^ He understands how you de- 
 sired to do the right thing when others thought you 
 did the wrong thing. He understands how His 
 poor weak child wants to please Him, and secretly 
 mourns over grieving Hun. ' Thou understandest ' 
 seems to go even a step further than the great com- 
 fort of ' Thou knowest.' * His understanding is 
 infinite.'^ 
 
 Perhaps you cannot even understand yourself, 
 saying, * How can a man then understand his own 
 way?'^ Even this He meets, for 'He declareth 
 unto man what is His thought.'* But are you 
 willing to let Him do this? He may show you 
 that those who have, as you suppose, misunder- 
 stood you, may have guessed right after all. He 
 may show you that your desire was not so honest, 
 \ our motives not so single as you fancied ; that 
 there was self-will where you only recognized resolu- 
 tion, sin where you only recognized infirmity or 
 mistake. Le/ Him search, let Him ' declare ' it 
 unto you. For then He will declare another mes- 
 
 1 Ps. xxxviii. 9. 2 Ps. cxlvii. 5. 
 
 " Prov. XX. 34. * Amos iv. 13. 
 
266 iRosai :Bount^. 
 
 sage to you : * The blood of Jesus Christ His Son 
 cleanseth us from all sin.'^ 
 
 Then, when all is clear between Him and you, 
 * nothing between ' (and let that ' when ' be 
 ^now/^), how sweet you will find it in the light 
 of His forgiveness, and the new strength of His 
 cleansing, to look up and say, ^ T"/^*??^ understandest ! ' 
 and wait patiently for Him to let you be understood 
 or misunderstood, just as He will, even as Jesus did. 
 For who was ever so misunderstood as He ? 
 
 Almighty God, unto whom all hearts be open, all 
 desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid; 
 Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspira- 
 tion of Thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love 
 Thee, and worthily magnify Thy holy name, through 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 TWENTY-THIRD DAY. 
 
 ^be proof of 1bi0 purpose* 
 
 'No man can come unto me, except it were given him of 
 my Father.' — John vi. 65. 
 
 lERHAPS we have hardly counted this as any 
 part of the royal comfort of our King. And 
 yet it is full of * strong consolation.'^ 
 
 1 1 John i. 7. 2 Heb. vi. 18. 
 
^be proof ot Ibis purpose. 267 
 
 If some of us were asked, ' How do you know 
 you have everlasting life ? ' we might say, ' Because 
 God has promised it.'^ But how do you know He 
 lias promised it to you? And then if we answered, 
 not conventionally, nor what we think we ought to 
 say, but honestly what we think, we might say, 
 'Because I have believed and have come to Jesus. ''^ 
 And this looks like resting our hope of salvation 
 upon something that we have done, upon the fact 
 of OTir having consciously believed a-nd consciously 
 'come.* And then, of course, any whirlwind of 
 doubt will raise dust enough to obscure that fact 
 and all the comfort of it. 
 
 Yet there is grand comfort not in it, but in 
 the glorious chain of which even this little human 
 link is first forged and then held by Jehovah's 
 own hand. Apart from this, it is worth nothing at 
 all. 
 
 Do not shrink from the words ; do not dare to 
 explain them away ; the Faithful and True Witness 
 spoke them, the Holy Ghost has recorded them for 
 ever : ' No man can come unto Me, except it were 
 given unto him of My Father.'*'' There it stands; 
 reiterated and strengthened instead of softened, 
 because many even of His disciples murmured at it. 
 So our coming to Jesus was not of ourselves; it 
 was the gift of God.* 
 
 How did the gift operate ? Not by driving, but 
 by drawing. ' No man can come to Me, except the 
 Father which hath sent Me, draw him.'^ Here 
 comes in the great ' Whosoever will.^'^ For unless 
 
 1 I John ii. 25. 2 John iil. i6. 3 John vi. 60-66. 
 
 4 Epli. ii. 8. 5 John vi. 44. ^ Rev. xxii. 17. 
 
268 IRoi^al :©ount^. 
 
 and until the Father drew us, no mortal born of 
 Adam ever wanted to come to Jesus. Tliiere was 
 nothing else for it ; He had to draw us, or we never 
 should have thought of wishing to come ; nay, we 
 should have gone on distinctly willing not to come, 
 remaining aliens and enemies. Oh, the terrible 
 depth of depravity revealed by that keen sword- 
 word, ' Ye will not come to Me that ye might have 
 life.'^ Settle it, then, that you never wanted to 
 come till He -drew you, and praise Him for thus 
 beginning at the very beginning with you. You 
 were not ready for the ' whosoever will ' before. 
 But no one ever had a glimmer of a will to come, 
 but that shining '■ whosoever '^ flashed its world-wide 
 splendour for their opening eyes. 
 
 By your will, now being wrought upon more and 
 more by His Spirit, the P'ather drew you, ' with 
 cords of a man, with bands of love. '^ Just examine 
 now, — was it not so? was it with anything but lov- 
 ing-kindness that He drew you ? Remember the 
 way by which He led you;* it may have been 
 hedged with thorns, but was it not ' paved with 
 love ? ' were not the very stones laid ' with fair 
 colours?'^ Can you help seeing 'the loving-kind- 
 nesses of the Lord ' all along? and what were they 
 lavished for, but to draw you ? 
 
 . That being acknowledged, what next ? Loving- 
 kindness is the fruit and expression and absolute 
 proof of everlasting love. There is no escape from 
 this magnificent conclusion, — ' Yea, 1 have loved 
 thee' (personally //z(?f) * with an everlasting love,' 
 
 1 John V. 40. " John iii. 15, 16. 3 Hos. xi. 4. 
 
 4 Deut. viii. 2. 5 isa. liv. 11. 
 
^be iproof ot Ibis purpose. 269 
 
 for ' therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn 
 thee' (personally thee)} The coming was personal 
 and individual; it may have been ' in the press, '^ 
 but we had nothing to do with the rest of the 
 throng ; we know in ourselves that we, you and I, 
 individually, have come. That personal coming 
 was because of God the Father's personal drawing. 
 I do not know how He drew you, you do not know 
 how He drew me ; but without it most certainly 
 neiflier you nor I ever could have come, because we 
 never would have come. This personal drawing by 
 personal loving-kindness was because of personal 
 and individual everlasting love. Coming only be- 
 cause drawn, drawn only because loved ! Here we 
 reach, and rest on, the firm foundation of the elect- 
 ing love of God in Christ, proved by His drawing, 
 resulting in our coming ! When we know that this 
 sun is shining in the heaven of heavens, should we 
 be watching every flicker of our little farthing 
 candle of faith ? 
 
 From no less fountain such a stream could flow, 
 No other root could yield so fair a flower : 
 
 Had He not loved, He had not drawn us so ; 
 Had He not drawn, we had nor will nor power 
 
 To rise, to come, — the Saviour had passed by 
 
 Where we in blindness sat without one care or cry. 
 
 1 Jer. xxxi. 3. 2 Mark v. 27. 
 
 18 
 
270 IRogal JBounts* 
 
 TWENTY-FOURTH DAY. 
 
 Zhc (Barnering of tbe Xeaet (5rain» 
 
 *I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as 
 corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon 
 the earth.' — Amos ix. 9, 
 
 THERE is double comfort here, as to others and 
 as to ourselves. 
 
 As to others, — have not some of us had a scarcely 
 detected notion, as if to some extent the salvation 
 of others depended upon our efforts ? Of course, 
 we never put it in so many words ; but has there 
 not been something of a feeling that if we tried 
 very hard to win a soul we should succeed, and if 
 we did not try quite enough it would get lost? 
 And this has made our service anxious and burden- 
 some. 
 
 But what says Christ ? 'All that the Father giv- 
 eth Me shall come to Me.'^ They shall come, for 
 the Father will draw them, and Jesus will attract 
 them, and the Holy Spirit will lead them. And the 
 purpose precedes the promise, even as the promise 
 precedes the call, and the call precedes the coming. 
 Thus God first planned and proposed the ark for 
 the salvation of Noah from the flood. Then He 
 said, * Thou shalt come into the ark. '^ Long after 
 
 1 John vi. 37. 2 Gen. vi. 13, 16; ib. ver. i8. 
 
(3arnerlna of tbe Xeast (3rafn. 271 
 
 that, when all things were ready, He said, ' Come 
 thou and all thy house into the ark.'^ And then 
 Noah went in; and then ' the Lord shut him in.'^ 
 
 Now let us, in our work, practically trust our 
 Lord as to His purposes, promises, and calls ; quite 
 satisfied that He ' will work, and who shall let it ? ''^ 
 that He will not accidentally miss anybody, or lose 
 anything of all that the Father hath given Him, for 
 this is the Father's own will.* 
 
 It'may seem a great trial of trust very often, but 
 who is it that we have to trust thus unquestioningly 
 and quietly ? Jesus Christ ! Cannot we trust Hira 
 whom the Father trusted with the tremendous work 
 of redemption ? Shall He not do right ? Cannot 
 we trust the Good Shepherd about His own sheep? 
 Wily should it actually seem harder to trust Him 
 about His own affairs than about our own ? ' Trust 
 in Him at all times, '^ includes the time when we 
 almost 'fancy the salvation of a dear one depends 
 on our little bits of prayers and efforts. Not that 
 this trust will teiKl to easy-going idleness. It never 
 does this when it is real. The deepest trust leads 
 to the most powerful action. It is the silencing oil 
 that makes the machine obey the motive power with 
 greatest readiness and result. 
 
 Then the comfort for ourselves. Satan has de- 
 sired to have us, that he may sift us as wheat f but 
 the Lord Himself keeps the sieve in His own hand, 
 and pledges His word that not the least grain shall 
 fall on the earth. ^ 
 
 1 Gen. vii i. 2 Gen. vii. 7, 16. 3 Isa. xliii. 13. 
 
 ■* John vi. 39. 5 ps ixii 8. 8 Luke xxii. 31, 
 
 ^ Amos ix. Q. 
 
272 IRo^al JBountig* 
 
 We are so glad of that word, 'not the least ;^ 
 not even me, though less than the least of all saints,^ 
 though feeling as if my only claim upon Christ 
 Jesus is that I am the chief of sinners.'^ 
 
 ' Not the least grain ; ' for He says, ' Ye shall be 
 gathered one by one.' Think of His hand gather- 
 ing you separately and individually out of His 
 million-sheaved harvest ; gathering you, one by one 
 always, into His garner, even in that tremendous 
 day of sifting, when He shall thoroughly purge His 
 floor.^ You may feel a little overlooked sometimes 
 now ; only one among so very many, and perhaps 
 not first nor even second in anybody's love, or care, 
 or interest, but He is watching His * least grains ' 
 all the time. A flock of sheep look most uninter- 
 estingly alike and hopelessly undistinguishable to 
 us, but a good shepherd knows every one quite well. 
 Yes, the Good Shepherd calleth His own sheep by 
 name here,* and ' in Zion every one of them ap- 
 peareth before God.'^ 
 
 For as He said at first, 'All that the Father giveth 
 Me shall come to Me ; '^ so He says they ' shall come 
 from the east and west'"^ to receive the eternal wel- 
 come to the great feast of His kingdom ; His * sons 
 shall come from far,'^ ' they shall come up with ac- 
 ceptance; ' till every one (and that means you and 
 I) has heard His own ' Come, ye blessed of My 
 Father,'^ and has come into the fulness of all that 
 He has prepared for us. 
 
 1 Eph. iii. 8. 2 j Tim. i. 15. » Matt. iii. 12. 
 
 * John X. 3. 5 Ps. Ixxxiv. 7. ^ John vi. 37. 
 
 ' Matt. viii. 11. 8 Isa. Ix. 4, 7. 6 Matt. xxv. 34,. 
 
Dinmcatfom 273 
 
 Our Saviour and our King, 
 
 Enthroned and crowned above, 
 Shall v^^ith exceeding gladness bring 
 
 The children of His love. 
 
 All that the Father gave 
 
 His glory shall behold ; 
 Not one whom Jesus came to save 
 
 Is missing from His fold. 
 
 TWENTY-FIFTH DAY. 
 
 \D(nt>icat(on. 
 
 * And they shall know.' — Ezek. vi. lo; :?xxvi. 38, etc. 
 
 ^TF they only knew ! ' How often we say or think 
 i> this when ' they ' misunderstand and misjudge 
 a person, a position, or an action, just because 
 ' they ' do not know what we know ! How we chafe 
 against their speaking evil of things which they 
 know not, and most of all when * they ' speak 
 wrongly or unworthily of a person whom we know 
 much better than * they ' do ! Ah ! if they only 
 knew ! 
 
 This grieving sense of the injustice of ignorance 
 rises to a feeling which needs much tempering of 
 faith and patience when we see our God Himself 
 m^isunderstood and misjudged. Oh, how they ' daily 
 mistake ' His words and His character, and how it 
 
274 IRo^al :flSounti5, 
 
 does pain us ! How we do want them to know what 
 He is, even so far as we are privileged to know Him ! 
 How every word which shows they do not know 
 His exceeding great love and absolute goodness, and 
 the sublime balancing of all His attributes, jars upon 
 us and distresses us, and causes a quick up-glance 
 of His little children who have known the Father, 
 and an involuntary closer nestling of their hand in 
 His, as if they wanted to give Him fresh assurance 
 of their love and confidence, just because these 
 others do not know Him ! 
 
 What an added grandeur it gives to our anticipa- 
 tions of the day when every eye shall see Him, that 
 He, our Father, will be known at last to be what 
 He is, and that Jesus, our Lord and Master, will be 
 seen in His own glory, and can never, never be 
 misunderstood any more? One revels in the thought 
 of this great and eternal vindication of Him whom 
 we love ; His ways, His works, His word all justi- 
 fied, and Himself revealed to the silenced universe, 
 henceforth only to receive honour and glory and 
 blessing ! It seems as if we should almost forget 
 our own share in the glory and joy of His coming 
 in this transcendent satisfaction. 
 
 'And they shall \ir\ow ! ' It is one of tlie shining 
 threads that run all through the Bible, a supply indeed 
 for the heart's desire of those who delight in the 
 Lord. It is never long out of sight, judgments and 
 mercies being alike sent for this great purpose, that 
 men may know that Jehovah is Most High over all 
 the earth. For this the waters of the Red Sea re- 
 ceded and returned again ; for this Jordan was dried 
 up j for this Goliath was delivered into David's 
 
\t)inMcat(on, 275 
 
 hand; for this 185,000 of the Assyrians were smit- 
 ten by God's angel ; and many more instances. 
 Throughout Ezekiel it seems the very keyword, re- 
 curring seventy-five times as the divine reason of 
 divine doings, that they may ' know that I am the 
 Lord.'^ Is there not a peculiar solace in this? 
 
 His word, too, shall be vindicated, for ' ye shall 
 hiow that I the Lord have spoken it.'^ 
 
 His ways shall be vindicated, for 'ye shall know 
 that i have not done without cause all that I have 
 done in it/^ * Thou s/iaU know hereafter.'* 
 
 His house shall be vindicated, for He will answer 
 the prayers ascending from it, ' that they may know 
 that thy name is called upon this house.' 
 
 And He will not leave His own children out of 
 the great vindication ; for ' the hand of the Lord 
 shall be known toward His servants.'^ 'AH that 
 see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the 
 seed which the Lord hath blessed.'® More than 
 that, the whole world shall ' know that Thou hast 
 loved them as Thou hast loved Me,'^ and ' I will 
 make them ... to know that I have loved thee.'* 
 Is not this superabounding compensation for any 
 tiny share we may now have in the world-wide mis- 
 understanding of our Father's wisdom and our 
 Saviour's love ? 
 
 ' And they shall know,' is not only for those who 
 do not know at all ; for ' at that day ye shall know 
 that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in 
 you,' — revelations of the mysteries of Godhead and 
 
 1 Ezek. XV. 7, etc. 2 Ezek. xvii. 21. 3 Ezek. xiv. 23. 
 
 * John xiii. 7. 6 Isa. Ixvi. 14 6 Isa. Ixi. 9. 
 
 7 John xvii. 23. 8 Rev. iii. 0. 
 
276 TRo^al :©ount^. 
 
 of the ineffable union of Christ with His people, 
 which have not yet entered into our hearts to con- 
 ceive. * Then shall we know (if we follow on to 
 know) the Lord.'^ * For now I know in part 3 but 
 then shall I know even as also I am known. '^ 
 
 Oh ! the joy to see Thee reigning, 
 
 Thee, my own beloved Lord ! 
 Every tongue Thy name confessing, 
 Worship, honour, glory, blessing, 
 
 Brought to Thee with glad accord! 
 Thee, my Master and my Friend, 
 
 Vindicated and enthroned. 
 Unto earth's remotest end, 
 
 Glorified, adored, and owned ! 
 
 TWENTY-SIXTH DAY. 
 
 Mafteful Ibours. 
 
 'Thou holdest mine eyes waking,' — Ps. Ixxvii. 4. , 
 
 IF we could always say, night after night, ' I will 
 both lay me down in peace and sleep, '^ receiv- 
 ing in full measure the Lord's quiet gift to His be- 
 loved, we should not learn the disguised sweetness 
 of this special word for the wakeful ones. When 
 the wearisome nights come, it is hushing to know 
 that they are appointed. But this is something 
 
 ' Hos. vi. 3. 2 1 Cor. xiii. 12. 3 Ps. iv. 8. 
 
mafteful fbonxe* 277 
 
 nearer and closer-bringing, something individual 
 and personal ; not only an appointment, but an act 
 of our Father: ' Thou /loMesf mine eyes waking.'^ 
 It is noi that He is merely not giving us sleep ; it is 
 not a denial, but a different dealing. Every mo- 
 ment that the tired eyes are sleepless, it is because 
 our Father is holding them waking. It seems so 
 natural to say, ' How I wish I could go to sleep ! ' 
 Yet even that restless wish may be soothed by the 
 happjr confidence in our Father's hand, which will 
 not relax its ' hold ' upon the weary eyelids until 
 the right moment has come to let them fall in slum- 
 ber. 
 
 Ah ! but we say, ' It is not only wi'sA, I really 
 wan f sleep. ^ Well; wanting it is one thing, and 
 needing it is another. For He is pledged to supply 
 'all our need, not all our notions.^ And if He 
 liolds our eyes waking, we may rest assured that, so 
 long as He does so, it is not sleep but wakefulness 
 that is our true need. 
 
 Now, if we first simply submit ourselves to the 
 appointed wakefulness, instead of getting fidgeted 
 because we cannot go to sleep, the resting in His 
 will, even in this little thing, will bring a certain 
 blessing. And the perfect learning of this little 
 page in the great lesson-book of our Father's will, 
 will make others easier and clearer. 
 
 Then, let us remember that He does nothing 
 without a purpose, and that no dealing is meant 
 to be resultless. So it is well to pray that we may 
 make the most of the wakeful hours, that they may 
 
 1 Ps. xxiii. 14. 
 
27^ TRo^al :fi5ount^. 
 
 be no more wasted ones than if we were up and 
 dressed. They are His hours, for ' the night also 
 is Thine. '^ It will cost no more mental effort (nor 
 so much) to ask Him to let them be holy hours, 
 filled with His calming presence, than to let the 
 mind run upon the thousand 'other things' which 
 seem to find even busier entrance during the night. 
 
 * With thoughts of Christ and things divine 
 Fill up this foolish heart of mine.' 
 
 It is an opportunity for proving the real power of 
 the Holy Spirit to be greater than that of the 
 Tempter. And He will without fail exert it, when 
 sought for Christ's sake. He will teach us to com- 
 mune with our own heart upon our bed, or perhaps 
 simply to * be still, '^ which is, after all, the hardest 
 and yet the sweetest lesson. He will bring to our 
 remembrance many a word that Jesus has said, and 
 even * the night shall be light about '^ us in the 
 serene radiance of such rememberings. He will so 
 apply the word of God that the promise shall be 
 fulfilled: 'When thou awakest, it shall talk with 
 thee.'* He will tune the silent hours, and give 
 songs in the night, which shall blend in the Father's 
 ear with the unheard melodies of angels. 
 
 Can we say, ' With my soul have I desired Thee 
 in the night '?^ and, ' By night on my bed I sought 
 Him whom my soul loveth ' ?^ Then he will fulfil 
 that desire ; the very wakefulness should be recog- 
 nized as His direct dealing, and we may say, 
 
 1 Ps. Ixxiv. i6. 2 ps. iv. 4. 3 pg. cxxxix. ii. 
 
 4 Prov. vi. 22. 5 Isa. xxvi. 9. ^ (Jant. iii. i, 4. 
 
/lRlDni0bt 1RememberlnQ6, 279 
 
 * Thou hast visited me in the night. '^ It is not an 
 angel that comes to you as to Elijah, and arouses 
 you from slumber, but the Lord of angels. He 
 watches while you sleep^ and when you are awake 
 you are still with Him who died for you, that 
 whether you wake or sleep, both literally and figura- 
 tively, you should live together with Him. 
 
 TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY. 
 
 fIDibnigbt IRememberinge. 
 
 * When I remember Thee upon my bed.' — Ps. Ixiii. 6. 
 
 MEMORY is never so busy as in the quiet time 
 while we are waiting for sleep ; and never, 
 perhaps, are we more tempted to useless recollec- 
 tions and idle reveries than * in the night watches.* 
 Perhaps we have regretfully struggled against them ; 
 perhaps yielded to effortless indulgence in them, 
 and thought we could not help it, and were hardly 
 responsible for * vain thoughts ' at such times. But 
 here is full help and bright hope. This night let 
 us ' remember Thee. ' We can only remember 
 what we already know ; oh praise Him then, that 
 we have material for memory ! 
 
 There is enough for all the wakeful nights of a 
 
 * Ps. xvii. 3. 
 
28o IRo^al :©ounti2, 
 
 lifetime in the one word 'Thee.' It leads us 
 straight to 'His own self;' dwelling on that one 
 word, faith, hope, and love, wake up and feed and 
 grow. Then the holy remembrance, wrought by 
 His Spirit, widens. For ' we will remember the 
 name of the Lord our God,'^ in its sweet and mani- 
 fold revelations. * I will remember the years ' and 
 ' the works of the Lord.' ' Surely I will remember 
 Thy wonders of old.'^ Most of all 'we will re- 
 member Thy love,'' the everlasting love of our 
 Father, the 'exceeding great love of our Master 
 and only Saviour,' the gracious, touching love of 
 our Comforter. And the remembrance of all this 
 love will include that of its grand act and proof, 
 *■ Thou shalt remember that . . . Jehovah thy God 
 redeemed thee.'^ 
 
 Perhaps we know what it is to feel peculiarb 
 weary-hearted and dispirited 'on our beds.' Bu( 
 when we say, ' O my God, my soul is cast dowi 
 within me ; ' let us add at once, ' Therefore will 
 remember Thee.'* 
 
 And what then ? what comes of thus remember^ 
 ing Him? 'My soul' (yes, your soul) 'shall be 
 satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth'' 
 shall praise Thee with joyful lips : when I remem- 
 ber Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee ii 
 the night watches.'^ What can be a sweeter, fullei 
 promise than this ! — our heart's desire fulfilled inl 
 abundant satisfaction and joyful power of praise ! 
 Yet there is a promise sweeter and more thrilling 
 still to the loving, longing heart. ' Thou meetest 
 
 1 Ps. XX. 7. 2 Ps. Ixxvii. 10, II. 3 Deut. xv. 15. 
 
 4 Ps. xlii. 6, 5 Ps. Ixiii. 5, 6. 
 
^be :fficigbt SfOe of (Browing ©lDer» 281 
 
 . . . those that remember Thee in Thy ways,'^ 
 And so, this very night, as you put away the profit- 
 less musings and memories, and remember Him 
 upon your bed, He will keep His word and meet 
 you. The darkness shall be verily the shadow of 
 His wing, for your feeble, yet Spirit-given remem- 
 brance, shall be met by His real and actual pres- 
 ence, for ' hath He said and shall He not do it? '^ 
 Let us pray that this night ' the desire of our soul ' 
 maybe * to Thy name, and to the remembrance of 
 Thee:'' 
 
 TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY. 
 
 Hbe ffirigbt Si5e of (Browing ©Iber* 
 
 • And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday ; thou 
 shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.' — Job xi. 17. 
 
 I SUPPOSE nobody ever did naturally like the 
 idea of getting older, after they had at least 
 * left school.' There is a sense of oppression and 
 depression about it. The irresistible, inevitable 
 onward march of moments and years without the 
 possibility of one instant's pause — a march that, 
 even while on the uphill side of life, is leading to 
 the downhill side — casts an autumn-like shadow 
 over even many a spring-birthday ; for perhaps this 
 
 1 Isa. Ixiv. 5. 2 Num. xxiii. 19. « ^ isa_ xxvi. 8. 
 
282 IRoi^al :©ounti2. 
 
 is never more vividly felt than when one is only pass- 
 ing from May to June, — sometimes earlier still. But 
 how surely the Bible gives us the bright side of 
 everything ! In this case it gives three bright sides 
 of a fact, which, without it, could not help being 
 gloomy. 
 
 First, it opens the sure prospect of increasing 
 brightness to those who have begun to walk in the 
 light. Even if the sun of our life has reached the 
 apparent zenith, and we have known a very noon- 
 day. of mental and spiritual being, it is no poetic 
 ' western shadows ' that are to lengthen upon our 
 way, but ' our age is to be clearer than the noon- 
 day.'^ How suggestive that word is! The light, 
 though intenser and nearer, shall dazzle less; Mn 
 Thy light shall we see light, '^ be able to bear much 
 more of it, see it more clearly, see all else by it 
 more clearly, reflect it more clearly. We should 
 have said, 'At evening-time there shall be shadow ; ' 
 God says, * At evening-time there shall be light.'* 
 
 Also we are not to look for a very dismal after- 
 noon of life with only some final sunset glow ; for 
 He says it ' shineth more and more unto the perfect 
 day ; '^ and 'more and more ' leaves no dark inter- 
 vals; we are to expect a continually brightening 
 path. ' The future is one vista of brightness and 
 blessedness ' to those who are willing only ' to walk 
 in the light.' Just think, when you are seven, or 
 ten, or twenty years older, that will only mean 
 seven, or ten, or twenty years' more experience of 
 His love and faithfulness, more light of the knowl- 
 
 1 Job xi. 17. 2 Ps_ xxxvi. 9. 3 Zech. xiv. 7. •* Prov. iv. 18. 
 
^be :©ngbt Si^e ot ©rowing ©IDer, 283 
 
 edge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus 
 Christ ; and ^//7/the ' more and more unto the per- 
 fect day/^ will be opening out before us ! We are 
 
 * confident of this very thing ! '^ 
 
 The second bright side is increasing fruitfulness. 
 Do not let us confuse between works and fruit. 
 Many a saint in the land of Beulah is not able to 
 do anything at all, and yet is bringing forth fruit 
 unto God beyond the busiest workers. So that 
 even tvhen we come to the days when ' the strong 
 men shall bow themselves, '^ there may be more 
 pleasant fruits for our Master, riper and fuller and 
 sweeter, than ever before. For * they shall still 
 bring forth fruit in old age ; '* and the man that 
 simply ' trusteth in the Lord ' ' shall not be careful 
 in the year of drought, neither shall cease from 
 yielding fruit. '^ 
 
 Some of the fruits of the Spirit seem to be espe- 
 cially and peculiarly characteristic of sanctified 
 older years ; and do we not want to bring them all 
 forth ? Look at the splendid ripeness of Abraham's 
 
 * faith ' in his old age ; the grandeur of Moses' 
 ■* meekness,' when he went up the mountain alone 
 to die; the mellowness of St. Paul's 'joy' in his 
 later epistles; and the wonderful 'gentleness' of 
 St. John, which makeS us almost forget his early 
 character of 'a son of thunder,' wanting to call 
 
 .down God's lightnings of wrath. And 'the same 
 
 Spirit ' is given to us, that we too may bring forth 
 
 ^ fruit that may abound,'^ and always * more fruit. '^ 
 
 The third bright side is brightest of all : ^Even 
 
 ^ Prov. iv. 18. 2 Phil. i. 6. 3 Eccles. xii. 3. * Ps. xcii. 14. 
 
 5 Jer. xvii. 7, 8. ^ Phil, iy, 17. 1 John xv. 2. 
 
284 TRoisal JSounti2, 
 
 to your old age, I am He;^^ always the same 
 Jehovah- Jesus ; with us 'all the days,' bearing and 
 carrying us * all the days ; ' reiterating His promise 
 — ' even to hoar hairs will I carry you . . . ; even 
 I will carry and will deliver you,'^ just as He car- 
 ried the lambs in His bosom. ^ For we shall always 
 be His little children, and ' doubtless '* He will 
 always be our Father. The rush of years cannot 
 touch this ! 
 
 Fear not the westering shadows, 
 
 O Children of the Day ! 
 For brighter still and brighter, 
 
 Shall be your homeward way. 
 Resplendent as the morning, 
 
 With fuller glow and power, 
 And clearer than the noonday. 
 
 Shall be your evening hour. 
 
 TWENTY-NINTH DAY. 
 
 ^tbe jearne0t0 of flDore anb fiDore* 
 
 * He hath given you the former rain moderately, and He 
 will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, 
 and the latter rain in the first month,'' — Joel ii. 23. 
 
 OD keeps writing a commentary on His Word 
 in the volume of our own experience. That 
 
 1 Isa. xlvi. 4. 2 Isa. Ixiii. 9 ; ib. xlvi. 4. 
 
 8 Isa. xl. II. * Isa. Ixiii, 16. 
 
Xlbc Earnests ot /Iftorc anD /Iftore* 285 
 
 is, in so far as we put that volume into His hands, 
 and do not think to fill it with our own scribble. 
 We are not to undervalue or neglect this com- 
 mentary, but to use it as John Newton did, when 
 he wrote — 
 
 ' His love in time past forbids me to think 
 He'll leave me at last in trouble to sink ; 
 Each sweet Ebenezer I have in review 
 Confirms His good pleasure to help me quite through/ 
 
 The keywords of what the Spirit writes in it are, 
 ' He hath,' and therefore ' He will.' Every record 
 of love bears the great signatures, ' I am the Lord, 
 I change not ; '^ ' Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, 
 and to-day, and for ever. '^ Every Hitherto of 
 grace and help is a Henceforth of more grace and 
 more help. Every experience of the realities of 
 faith widens the horizon of the possibilities of faith. 
 Every realized promise is the stepping-stone to one 
 yet unrealized. 
 
 This principle (and it is a very delightful one) 
 of arguing from what God has done for us to what 
 He will do for us, comes up perpetually in all parts 
 of His word. If He ka^k given us the former rain, 
 it is the pledge and proof that ' He wi7/ cause to 
 come down for us the rain, the former rain, and the 
 latter rain ; '^ the blessing already given shall be 
 continued or repeated, and a fuller future one shall 
 be certainly added. Manoah's wife argued well: 
 ' If the Lord were pleased to kill us. He would not 
 . . . have showed us all these things, nor told us 
 such things as these.'* Oh consider wAaf things 
 
 1 Mai. iii. 6. 2 Heb. xiii. 8. 3 Joel ii. 26. * Judges xiii. aj. 
 
 19 
 
286 IRoi^al JBounti2» 
 
 the Lord has shown and told yon and me ! are they 
 not abounding proofs of His purposes towards us? 
 David made frequent use of the thought, arguing 
 from the less to the greater : ' The Lord that de- 
 livered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the 
 paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the 
 hand of this Philistine.'^ St. Paul gives a close 
 parallel, rising from temporal to spiritual deliver- 
 ance : ' I was delivered out of the mouth of the 
 lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every 
 evil work.'^ 
 
 ' Who delivered us from so great a death and 
 doth deliver ; in whom we trust that He will yet 
 deliver us.'^ 
 
 ' The Lord hath heard the voice of my supplica- 
 tion ; the Lord ^£//// receive . my prayer.'* 'The 
 Lord hath dealt bountifully with me,' comes first ; 
 then follows, * Deal bountifully with Thy servant ; ' 
 and then, 'Thou shalt deal bountifully with me.' 
 ' The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof 
 we are glad,'^ leads us on to the prophecy, ' Be 
 glad and rejoice, for the Lord will do great things.'® 
 
 The same argument is used in prayer. ' Pardon, 
 I beseech Thee, the iniquity of Thy people, . . . 
 as Thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even 
 until now.'^ ' Thou hast delivered my soul from 
 death ; wilt Thou not deliver my feet from falling?'^ 
 So in the lovely typical request of Achsah to her 
 father, 'Give me a blessing; for thou hast given 
 me a south land ; give me also springs of water. '^ 
 
 * I Sam. xvii. 37. 2 2 Tim. iv. 17, 18. 3 2 Cor. i. 10. 
 
 * Ps. vi. 9. 6 Ps. cxxvi. 3. 6 Joel ii. 21. 
 
 ' Num. xiv. 19. 8 Ps. Ivi. 13. 9 Judges i. 15. 
 
Zbc JEarneets of /IBore ano /iBore. 287 
 
 Turn now to the basis of such expressions of trust 
 and petition. * He that spared not His own Son,' 
 — there is the entirely incontrovertible fact of what 
 He hath done : ' shall He with Him also freely give 
 us all things,'^ — there is the inspired conclusion of 
 what He will do. ' Having loved His own which 
 were in the world, He loved them unto the end.'^ 
 ' He which /ia//i begun a good work in you wi7l 
 perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.'^ For how 
 true is the type, both as to each individual temple 
 of the Holy Ghost, and ' all the building that 
 groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord :'* — ' The 
 hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of 
 this house, his hands shall also finish it,'^ — ' His 
 own house, whose house are we.'^ Our Lord Jesus 
 Christ endorses it in the very amen of His great 
 prayer : ' I have declared unto them Thy name, 
 and wi7/ declare it.'^ Only let us simply receive 
 and believe what He shows us and tells us, and then 
 to every Nathanael who comes to Him, He will 
 say, ' Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under 
 the fig-tree, believest thou ? thou shalt see greater 
 things than these. '^ Then we shall have, personally 
 and indeed, ' showers of blessing.'^ 
 
 Unto him that hath Thou givest 
 
 Ever more abundantly ; 
 Lord, I live because Thou livest, 
 
 Therefore give more life to me, 
 Therefore speed me in the race, 
 Therefore let me grow in grace. 
 
 1 Rom. viii. 32. 2 John xiii. i. 3 Phil. 1. 6. 
 
 * Eph. ii. 21. 6 Zech. iv. 9. 6 Heb. iii. 6. 
 
 ^ John xvii. 26. 8 John i. 50. ^ Ezek. xxxiv. 26b 
 
288 IRosal JSountg* 
 
 THIRTIETH DAY. 
 
 tTbc perpetual preeence^ 
 
 ' Lo, I am with you alway.' — Matt, xxviii. 20, 
 
 SOME of us think and say a good deal about * a 
 sense of His presence ; ' sometimes rejoicing 
 in it, sometimes going mourning all the day long 
 because we have it not; praying for it, and not 
 always seeming to receive what we ask ; measuring 
 our own position, and sometimes even that of 
 others, by it ; now on the heights, now in the 
 depths about it. And all this April-like gleam and 
 gloom instead of steady summer glow, because we 
 are turning our attention upon the se^ise of His 
 presence, instead of the changeless reality of it ! 
 
 All our trouble and disappointment about it is 
 met by His own simple word, and vanishes in the 
 simple faith that grasps it. For if Jesus says simply 
 and absolutely, ' Lo, I am with you alway,'' what 
 have we to do with feeling or ' sense ' about it ? 
 We have only to believe it, and to recollect it. And 
 it is only by thus believing and recollecting that we 
 can realize it. 
 
 It comes practically to this : Are you a disciple 
 of the Lord Jesus at all? If so. He says to you, 
 ' I am with you alway. ^ That overflows all the 
 regrets of the past and all the possibilities of the 
 future, and most certainly includes the present. 
 
^be perpetual ipresence. 289 
 
 Therefore, at this very moment, as surely as your 
 eyes rest on this page, so surely is the Lord Jesus 
 with you. *I ani,^ is neither 'I was,' nor 'I will 
 be.' It is always abreast of our lives, always en- 
 compassing us with salvation. It is a splendid per- 
 petual ^ Now.'' It always means 'I am with you 
 now,^ or it would cease to be * I am ' and ' alway.' 
 
 Is it not too bad to turn round upon that gracious 
 presence, the Lord Jesus Christ's own personal 
 presence here and now, and, without one note of 
 faith or whisper of thanksgiving, say, '■ Yes, but I 
 don't realize it ! ' Then it is, after all, not the 
 presence, but the realization that you are seeking — 
 the shadow, not the substance ! Honestly, it is so ! 
 For you have such absolute assurance of the reality, 
 put into the very plainest words of promise that 
 divine love could devise, that you dare not make 
 Him a liar and say, ' No ! He is not with me ! ' 
 All you ca7i say is, *I don't feel a sense of His 
 presence.' Well, then, be ashamed of doubting 
 your beloved Master's faithfulness, and ' never open 
 thy mouth any more '^ in His presence about it. 
 For those doubting, desponding words were said in 
 His presence. He was there, with you, while you 
 said or thought them. What must He have thought 
 of them ! 
 
 As the first hindrance to realization is not be- 
 lieving His promise, so the second is not recollecting 
 it, not 'keeping it in memory.'^ If we were always 
 recollecting, we should be always realizing. But 
 we go forth from faith to forgetfulness, and there 
 
 1 Ezek. xvi. 63. 2 i Qor. xv. 2. 
 
290 TRoisal Sount^, 
 
 seems no help for it. Neither is there, in ourselves. 
 But ' in Me is thine help.'^ Jesus Himself had pro- 
 vided against this before He gave the promise. He 
 said that the Holy Spirit should bring all things to 
 our remembrance.'^ It is no use laying the blame 
 on our poor memories, when the Almighty Spirit is 
 sent that He may strengthen them. Let us make 
 real use of this promise, and we shall certainly find 
 it sufficient for the need it meets. He can, and He 
 will, give us that holy and blessed recollectedness, 
 which can make us dwell in an atmosphere of re- 
 membrance of His presence and promises, through 
 which all other things may pass and move without j 
 removing it. 
 
 Unbelief and forgetfulness are the only shadows J 
 which can come between us and His presence ; 
 though, when they have once made the separation, 
 there is room for all others. Otherwise, though all 
 the shadows of earth fell around, none could fall 
 between ; and their very darkness could only in- 
 tensify the brightness of the pavilion in which we 
 dwell, the Secret of His Presence. They could not 
 touch what one has called ' the unutterable joy of 
 shadowless communion.' 
 
 What shall we say to our Lord to-night? He 
 says, *I am with you alway.' Shall we not put 
 away all the captious contradictoriness of quota- 
 tions of our imperfect and double-fettered experi- 
 ence, and say to Him, lovingly, confidingly, and 
 gratefully, * Thou art with me ! '^ 
 
 1 Hos. xiii. 9. 2 John xiv. 26. 3 Ps. xxiii. 4. 
 
{Tbe 3fame*e?:celllng IRealit^, 291 
 
 * I am with thee ! ' He hath said it, 
 
 In His truth and tender grace ! 
 Sealed the promise, grandly spoken, 
 With how many a mighty token 
 
 Of His love and faithfulness ! 
 
 * I am with thee ! ' With thee always 
 
 All the nights and ' all the days ; ' 
 Never failing, never frowning, 
 With His loving-kindness crowning, 
 
 Tuning all thy life to praise. 
 
 THIRTY-FIRST DAY. 
 
 tTbe 3fame*eycelUng IRealit^j. 
 
 * Thou exceedest the fame that I heard.' — 2 Chron. ix. 6. 
 
 THOU ! Lord Jesus ! for whom have I in heaven 
 but Thee ? and there is none upon earth that 
 I desire beside Thee/ Thou ! who hast loved me 
 and washed me from my sins in Thine own blood. 
 Thou ! who hast given Thyself for me. Thou ! 
 who hast redeemed me, called me, drawn me, 
 waited for me. Thou ! who hast given me Thy 
 Holy Spirit to testify of Thee. Thou ! whose life 
 is mine, and with whom my life is entwined, so that 
 nothing shall separate or entwine it. ^ Thou ex- 
 ceedest the fame that I heard 1 ' 
 
 1 Ps. Ixxiii. 23. 
 
292 IRoi^al :fi3ounti2. 
 
 Yet I heard a great fame of Thee. They told 
 me Thou wert gracious. They told me as much as 
 they could put into words. And they said, ' Come 
 and see.'^ I tried to come, but I could not see. 
 My eyes were holden,^ though Thou wast *not far.'^ 
 Then I heard what Thou wast to others, and I knew 
 that Thou wast the same Lord. But now I believe, 
 not because of their saying, for I have heard Thee 
 myself, and know that Thou art indeed the Christ, 
 the Saviour of the world — my Saviour. Thee, 
 'whom 1 shall see for myself,'* I now know for my- 
 self; my Lord and my God.^ 
 
 I did not understand how there could be satisfac- 
 tion here and now. It seemed necessarily future, 
 in the very nature of things. It seemed, in spite of 
 Thy promises, that the soul could never be filled 
 with anything but heaven. But Thou fillest, Thou 
 satisfiest it. 
 
 Now it wonderingly rejoiceth, 
 
 Finds in Thee unearthly bliss, 
 Rests in Thy divine perfection, 
 
 And is satisfied with this. 
 
 Altogether fair and lovely, 
 
 Evermore the same to me ; 
 Precious, infinite Lord Jesus, 
 
 / am satisfied with Thee ! ' 
 
 — Jean S. Pigoft. 
 
 For Thou exceedest the fame that I heard. I find 
 in Thee more than I heard, more than I expected. 
 
 1 John i. 46. 2 Luke xxiv. 16. 3 Acts xvii. 27. 
 
 * Job xix. 27. 5 John xx. 28. 
 
Zbc 3fame=ejceUin9 IRealftig. 293 
 
 'more than all.' The excellency of the knowledge 
 of Thee, Christ Jesus my Lord, not only includes 
 all other treasures of wisdom and knowledge, but 
 outshines them all. Every other fame that I heard 
 has had some touch of disappointment ; imagina- 
 tion could always flash beyond reality, even if actual 
 expectation, quieted by experience, had kept within 
 the mark. But ' now I see '^ that Thou exceedest 
 all that God-given mental powers can reach ; every 
 glirnpse is but an opening vista, all the music is but 
 a prelude ; what I know of Thee only magnifies the 
 yet unknown. All the God-implanted craving for 
 something beyond, all the instinct for the infinite, 
 is met, responded to, satisfied in Thee. There is no 
 part of my being but finds its full scope and its true 
 sphere in Thee. 
 
 Thou exceedest all that I heard in every respect. 
 No one could tell me what Thy pardoning love, 
 Thy patience. Thy long-suffering would be to me. 
 No one could tell me how Thy strength, Thy grace, 
 Thy marvellous help woula fit into the least as well 
 as the greatest of my continual needs. No one 
 could tell me what grace was poured into Thy lips 
 for me.^ Thou art All to each of Thy children ; a 
 complete and all excelling Christ to every one, as 
 if it were only for each one. Thy secret is with 
 each.^ Thou givest the white stone and the nev/ 
 name which no man knoweth saving he that re- 
 ceiveth it.* And if Thou exceedest all that I heard, 
 now and here amid the shadows and the veils, how 
 
 1 John ix, 25. 2 Ps. xlv. 2. 
 
 8 Ps. XXV. 14. 4 Rev. ii. 17, 
 
294 TRogal JSount^. 
 
 far more exceeding will be Thy unshadowed and 
 unveiled glory ! Lord Jesus, I bless Thee for Thy 
 promised eternity. For I shall need it all to praisfc 
 Thee, that Thou exceedest the fame that I heard i 
 
THE ROYAL INVITATION 
 
 OR 
 
 DAII^Y THOUOHTS 
 
 OF 
 
 Coming to Cbriet 
 
FIRST DAY. 
 
 - ^be 6fver of tbc flnvitation. 
 
 'Come unto Me.' — Matt. xi. 28. 
 
 THIS is the Royal Invitation. For it is given 
 by the King of kings. We are so familiar 
 with the words, that we fail to realize them. May 
 the Holy Spirit open our ear that we may hear the 
 voice of our King in them/ and that they may 
 reach our souls with imperative power.'' Then, 
 * they shall know in that day that I am He that 
 doth speak. '^ 
 
 ^ Lord, to whom shall we go?'* Not 'to w/iaf 
 shall we go.' For the human heart within us craves 
 a personal, living rest and refuge. No doctrines, 
 however true ; no systems, however perfect ; noth- 
 ing mental, moral, or spiritual, will do as the 
 answer to this question of every soul that is not 
 absolutely dead in trespasses and sins.^ As surely 
 as you and I are persons, individualities, real sep- 
 arate existences, so surely must we have a Person, 
 no less real and individual, to whom to go in our 
 more or less conscious need of salvation. And sc^ 
 
 1 John X. 27. 2 I Thess. i. 5. 8 Isa. lii. 6» 
 
 ^ John vi. 68. 5 Eph. ii. z. 
 
 (297) 
 
29S ^be TRoi^al Ifnvitation. 
 
 the great word of Invitation, Royal and Divine, 
 is given to us, ' Come unto Me ! ' 
 
 'Unto M^e.' Just think what that one word 
 means ! Seek out all the great and wonderful 
 titles of Christ for yourself, and write after each 
 one — 'And He says, Come unto Me/^ Unto 
 Me, 'the mighty God, '^ nothing less than that! 
 * Mighty to save '^ and ' ready to save me.'^ 
 
 Then seek out all the exquisitely winning 
 beauties of the character and words and ways of 
 Him who went about doing good,^ till you 'have 
 heard Him and observed Him '^ all through those 
 years of patient and perfect ministry, and recollect 
 all the time that it is Ife who says to you, ' Come 
 unto Me/'^ Unto Him, the man Christ Jesus,'^ 
 full of compassion, and tender yet royal grace. 
 
 Then look at the great central scene of the 
 universe, — the central moment not of a world's 
 history only, but of eternity ; — look at the Saviour, 
 who His own self bare our sins in His own body 
 on the tree,^ bowing His bleeding head under that 
 awful burden,^ because His faithfulness was unto 
 the death,^° and His love was strong as death ! ^^ 
 'Behold your God,''' and 'Behold the Man,''' 
 who loved you and gave Himself for you;'* hear 
 His own touching call, ' I said, Behold Me, behold 
 Me ! "^ Look away from all the 'other things,* 
 look at the Crucified One, and, as you gaze, re- 
 member that He says, 'Come unto Me ! ' 
 
 1 Isa. ix. 6. 2 Isa. Ixiii. i. 3 Jsa. xxxvili. 20. 
 
 4 Acts X. 38. 5 Hos. xiv. 8. f* Matt. xx. 28. 
 
 ^ I Tim. ii. 5, ^ i Pet. ii. 24. ^ Isa. liii. 6. 
 
 10 Johnxiii. I. H Cant. viii. 6. ^2 Isa. xl. 9. 
 
 13 John xix. 5. 14 Gal. ii. 20. 15 Isa. Ixv. i. 
 
\ ^be (3iver of tbe Invitation, 299 
 
 Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by,^ that 
 both from the depth of sorrow and from the height 
 of glory this Royal Invitation comes to you ? 
 
 For it is the call not only of Jesus Crucified, but 
 of Jesus Reigning and Jesus Coming. ' See that ye 
 refuse not Him that speaketh,'^for He is coming to 
 judge the quick and the dead.^ He is reigning now, 
 and there are no neutrals in His kingdom.* All are 
 either willing and loyal subjects, or actual rebels, — 
 those who have obeyed the King's call, and come, 
 and those who have 'made light of it,'^ and not 
 come. 
 
 Which are you ? 
 
 Think of the day when the great white throne is 
 set,^ and when the Son of man shall come in His 
 glory j'^ when all will be gathered before Him, and 
 He shall separate them one from another,^ and know 
 that it is ' this same Jesus '^ who now says to you, 
 *Come unto Me T 
 
 Just as I am — without one plea, 
 But that Thy blood was shed for me, 
 And that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee, 
 O Lamb of God, I come! 
 
 1 Lam. i. 12. 2 Heb. xii. 25. 3 Acts x. 42. 
 
 * Luke xi. 23. 5 Matt. xxii. 5. 6 Rev. xx. 11. 
 
 '^ Matt. XXV. 31. 8 Matt. xxv. yz. 9 Acts i. 11. 
 
3°o <lse IRogai Invitation. 
 
 SECOND DAY. 
 
 Mbat 10 ' eoming ' ? 
 
 * Come unto Me,' — Matt. xi. 28. 
 
 BUT what is '^coming"?' 
 One's very familiarity with the terms used 
 to express spiritual things, seems to have a ten- 
 dency to make one feel mystified about them. 
 And their very simplicity makes one suspicious, 
 as it were, that there must be some mysterious and 
 mystical meaning behind them,^ because they 
 sound too easy and plain to have such great 
 import. 'Come' means 'come,' — ^just that ! and 
 not some occult process of mental effort. 
 
 What would you understand by it, if you heard 
 it to-day for the first time, never having had any 
 doubts or suppositions or previous notions what- 
 ever about it? What does a little child under- 
 stand by it ? It is positively too simple to be 
 made plainer by any amount of explanation. If 
 you could see the Lord Jesus standing there, right 
 before you, and you heard Him say, ' Come ! ' ^ 
 would you say, ' What does '* come " mean ? ' And 
 if the room were dark, so that you could only hear 
 
 1 I Cor. ii. 14. 2 Matt. xiv. 29. 
 
Mbat [6 'Coming'? 301 
 
 and not see, would it make any difference ? Would 
 you not turn instantly towards the * Glorious 
 Voice ' ? ^ Would you not, in heart, and will, and 
 intention, instantaneously obey it ? ^ — that is, if 
 you ^believed it to be Himself.^ For * he that 
 cometh to God must believe that He is.' * The 
 coming so hinges on that, as to be really the same 
 thing. The moment you really believed, you would 
 realiy come ; and the moment you really come, you 
 really believe. Now the Lord Jesus is as truly and 
 actually * nigh thee '^ as if you could see Him. 
 And He as truly and actually says ' Come ' to you 
 as if you heard Him. Fear not, believe only,^ and 
 let yourself come to Him straight away ! * Take 
 with you words, and turn to the Lord : say unto 
 Him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us gra- 
 ciously.'^ And know that His answer is, 'Him that 
 cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.'^ 
 
 Do you still feel unaccountably puzzled about it? 
 Give a quiet hour to the records of how others came 
 to Him. Begin with the eighth of St. Matthew, 
 and trace out all through the Gospels how they 
 came to Jesus with all sorts of different needs, and 
 trace in these your own spiritual needs of cleansing, 
 healing, salvation, guidance, sight, teaching. They 
 knew what they wanted, and they knew Whom they 
 wanted. And consequently they just came. Ask 
 the Holy Spirit to show you what you want and 
 Whom you want, and you will talk no more about 
 
 1 Isa. XXX. 30. 2 Jer. iii. 22. 3 Heb. xi. 6. 
 
 i John vi. 35. 5 Deut. xxx. 14. 6 Luke viii. 50. 
 
 Hos. xiv. 2. 8 John vi. 37. 
 
 20 
 
302 XTbe IRo^al ITnvitatiom 
 
 what it means, you will just co7ne} And then you 
 will say, ' Now we believe, not because of thy say- 
 ing ; for we have heard Him ourselves, and 
 know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of 
 the world ;'^ and you will say, 'J/yLord and my 
 God.'^ 
 
 THIRD DAY. 
 
 HII ^binga are IReabij* 
 
 * Come ; for all things are now ready.' — Luke xiv. 17. 
 
 /t LL things ! God the Father is ready to save 
 .zl you.* Jesus Christ is ready to receive you."* 
 The Holy Spirit is ready to dwell in you.^ Are you 
 ready ? 
 
 All things. The ' great salvation ' is ready for 
 you.^ The full atonement is made for you.^ The 
 eternal redemption is obtained for you.^ Are you 
 ready? 
 
 All things. The cleansing fountain is opened 
 for you.^° The robe of righteousness is wrought for 
 you.^^ The way into the holiest is consecrated for 
 you.^^ Are you ready? 
 
 All things. All things that pertain unto life and 
 
 1 John xii. 32. 2 John iv. 42. 3 John xx. 28. 
 
 4 Isa. xxxviii. 20. 5 John vi. 37. 6 Rom. viii. 9. 
 
 7 Heb. ii. 3. 8 Rom. v. 11. 9 Heb. ix. 12. 
 
 10 Zech. xiii. i. ^^ Rom. iii. 22. l^ Heb. x. 19, 20. 
 
mi Zbims ate IReaD^. 303 
 
 godliness are given you by His Divine power. ^ 
 Exceeding great and precious promises are given 
 you.^ The supply of all your need is guaranteed 
 to you.^ Strength and guidance, teaching and 
 keeping, are provided for you. Even the good 
 works in which you shall walk are prepared for 
 you.* A Father's love and care and a Saviour's 
 gift of peace are waiting for you. The feast is 
 spread for you.^ All these things are ready for 
 you.* Are you ready for them ? 
 
 Even if you did not heed nor believe any other 
 words of Jesus, could you — can you — doubt His 
 dying words ? Surely they are worthy of all ac- 
 ceptation ! ^ What are they ? 
 
 ' It is finished ! '^ 
 
 Wha^ is finished ? ^ I have finished the work 
 that Thou gavest Me to do.'^ And what is that 
 work? Simply the work of our salvation. That is 
 the reason why all things are now ready, because 
 Jesus has finished that all-inclusive work. When 
 a thing is finished, how much is there left to do ? 
 The question sounds too absurd with respect to or- 
 dinary things. We hardly take the trouble to an- 
 swer, ' Why nothing, of course ! ' When Jesus h.is 
 finished the work, how much is there left for you to 
 do ? Do you not see ? Nothing, of course ! You 
 have only to accept that work as really finished, and 
 a' rept His dying declaration that it is so.^*^ What 
 further assurance would you have ? Is not this 
 tjnough ? Does your heart say Yes, or No ? 
 
 1 I Tim. iv. 8. 22 Pet. i. 3, 4. 3 Phil. iv. 19. 
 
 ^Eph. ii.io. 5 Isa. XXV. 6. •^ Matt. xxii. 4. 
 
 7 I Tim. i. 15. ^ John xix. 30. 9 John xvii. 4. 
 10 2 Tim. ii. 13. 
 
304 ^^^ IRoi^al Ifnvitation, 
 
 *Do ye now believe?'^ Settle that; and then 
 what follows ? Hear another word of the Faithful 
 Witness.^ Remember, it is no less true than the 
 other. The Holy Lips that spoke that grand truth 
 on the cross spoke nothing that could deceive or 
 mislead. 'Verily, verily, I say unto you. He that 
 believeth on Me hath everlasting life.'^ What does 
 this mean? Just what it says, and nothing less! 
 It means that even if you never believed before — even 
 if you never had a spark of faith or glimmer of 
 hope before — yet if you have now given your heart- 
 assent to Jesus and His finished work, you have 
 now everlasting life !* That heart-assent is believ- 
 ing ;^ and ' he that believeth on the Son hath ever- 
 lasting life.' ^ And this * believing' is * coming;''' 
 and thus coming you shall find for yourself that all 
 things are indeed ready. 
 
 What now ? Shall praise be the only thing not 
 ready? Will you not now prove your acceptance 
 of the great gift of eternal life ® by pouring out your 
 thanks ^ at once for it, and prove your trust in the 
 finished work^° by praising the Saviour who died to 
 finish it for you ?^^ 
 
 From the cross uplifted high, 
 Where the Saviour deigns to die, 
 What melodious sounds I hear, 
 Bursting on my ravished ear ! 
 Love's redeeming work is done; 
 Come, and welcome ! sinner, come ! 
 
 1 John xvi. 31 ; Mark ix. 24. 2 Rev. i. 5. 3 John vi. 47. 
 
 4 Acts viii. 32-39. ^ John iii. 16. 6 John iii. 36. 
 
 "^ John vi. 35. 8 Rom. vi. 23; 2 Cor. ix. 15. ^ Cor. i. la, 
 
 W Isa. xii. I, 2. 11 I Pet. ii. 9. 
 
Bow, 305 
 
 Spread for thee the festal board, 
 See with richest dainties stored ; 
 To thy Father's bosom pressed, 
 Yet again a child confessed. 
 Never from his house to roam ; 
 Come, and welcome ! sinner, come ! 
 
 Thomas Haweis. 
 
 FOURTH DAY. 
 
 mow. 
 
 ' Come now.' — Is A. i. 18. 
 
 ALL things are now ready, therefore come 
 now ! 
 Experience does not run on rails laid regularly 
 down, and readers do not always go hand in hand 
 and heart to heart with the writer. I only wish 
 they did. Then we might try to lead on more 
 quickly, instead of reiterating the one call, in the 
 hope that it may, first or last, be heard and obeyed.^ 
 Please do not imagine, because there are twenty- 
 seven more chapters on the same subject, that 
 there is any sort of slow necessary progress, any- 
 set of ideas and feelings to be gone or got through, 
 gradually working up to the climax of ^coming.' 
 This is all cut short by the simple word, * Come 
 now /^ Nothing can be plainer. Therefore, if 
 you postpone coming, you are calmly disobeying 
 God. When we bid a child to 'come,' we do not 
 
 1 Isa. xxviii. 10. 
 
3o6 ZTbe IRoi^al ITnvitatfon. 
 
 count it obedience unless it comes at once, then 
 and there. It is not obedience if it stops to con- 
 sider, and coolly tells you it is ^really thinking about 
 coming,' and waits to see how long you will choose 
 to go on calling it/ 
 
 What right have we to treat our holy Lord as we 
 would not think of letting a naughty child treat 
 us?^ He says, 'Come now.' And 'now' does not 
 mean to-morrow.^ ' To-day, if ye will hear His 
 voice, harden not your hearts.'^ 
 
 Put it to yourself, what if this night God should 
 require your soul of you, ^ and you had not 'come?' 
 What if the summons finds you still far off, when 
 the Precious Blood was ready, by which you might 
 have been made nigh?^ You do not know what a day 
 may bring forth.'' There are plenty of things be- 
 sides immediate death which may just as effectually 
 prevent your ever coming at all if you do not come 
 now. This might be your last free hour for com- 
 ing. To-morrow the call may seem rather less 
 urgent, and the 'other things entering in '^ may 
 deaden it, and the grieved Spirit may withdraw^ 
 and cease to give you even your present inclination 
 to listen to it, and so you may drift on and on, 
 farther and farther from the haven of safety^" (into 
 which you may enter now if you will), till it is out 
 of sight on the horizon. And then it may be too 
 late to turn the helm, and the current may be too 
 strong; and when the storm of mortal illness at 
 
 1 Rom. X. 21. 2 Jer. vii. 13 ; Isa. Ixv. 2. 
 
 ^ Jas. iv. 14. 4 Heb. iv. 7. 5 Luke xii. 20. 
 
 6 Eph. ii. 13. "^ Prov. xxvii. i 8 Mark iv. 19, 
 
 9 Eph. iv. ^o. 10 Ps. li. n. 
 
Comina into tbe Brfi. 307 
 
 last comes, you may find that you are too weak 
 mentally or physically to rouse yourself even to 
 hear, much less to come. What can one do when 
 fever or exhaustion are triumphing over mind and 
 body? Do not risk it. Come now! And ' though 
 your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as 
 snow ; though they be red like crimson, they shall 
 be as wool.'^ 
 
 FIFTH DAY. 
 
 Coming into tbe Hrft* 
 
 * Come thou, and all thy house, into the Ark.' — Gen. vii. I. 
 
 NO need to repeat the story ! We knew it all at 
 six years old. To-day the words are sent to 
 you, ' Come thou ! ' 
 
 We are either inside or outside the Ark. There 
 is no half-way in this. Outside is death, inside is 
 life.^ Outside is certain, inevitable, utter destruc- 
 tion.^ Inside is certain and complete safety.* 
 Where are you at this moment? Perhaps you dare 
 not say confidently and happily, * I am inside;' and 
 yet you do not like to look the alarming alternative 
 in the face, and say, 'I am outside!' And you 
 prefer trying to persuade yourself that you do not 
 exactly know, and can't be expected to be able to 
 
 1 Isa. i. 18. 2 Deut. xxx. 15-19. 
 
 s John iii. 36. 4 i John v. 12. 
 
3o8 ^be TRoi^al Unvitation* 
 
 answer such a question. And you say, perhaps with 
 a shade of annoyance, * How a?n I to know?'^ 
 God's infallible Word tells you very plainly, 'If 
 any man be in Christ, he is a new creature : old 
 things are passed away; behold, all things are 
 become new.'^ 'A very severe test!' you say. I 
 cannot help that ; I can only tell you exactly what 
 God says. * I cannot reverse it,'^ and you cannot 
 alter it. So then, if old things have not passed 
 away in your life, and if you are not a new crea- 
 ture,* 'born again, '^ altogether different in heart 
 and life and love and aim,^you are not 'in Christ.'^ 
 And if you are not ' in Christ,' you are out of 
 Christ,® outside the only place of safety. 
 
 ' Come thou into the Ark ! ' It is one of the 
 devices of the destroyer to delude you into fancy- 
 ing that no very decided step is necessary. He is 
 very fond of the word 'gradually.' You are to 
 become more earnest — gradually. You are to find 
 salvation — gradually. You are to turn your mind 
 to God — gradually. Did you ever think that God 
 never once uses this word nor anything like it ? 
 Neither the word nor the sense of it occurs in any 
 way in the whole Bible with reference to salvation.^ 
 You might have been ' gradually ' approaching the 
 Ark, and 'gradually' making up your mind to 
 enter ; but unless you took the one step into the 
 Ark, the one step from outside to inside, what 
 would have been your fate when the door was shut ?^° 
 
 1 I John V. 13. 2 2 Cor. v. 17. 3 Num. xxiii. ao. 
 
 * Gal. vi. 15. 5 John iii. 3. 61 John iii. 14. 
 
 "^ Eph. ii. 12, 13. 8 Acts iv. 12. 9 Prov. xviii. 10. * 
 10 Gen. vii. 21, 22. 
 
Coming into tbe Brft, 309 
 
 * Come thou into the Ark ! ' I want the call to 
 haunt you, to ring in your ears all day and all night, 
 till you come} 
 
 For at this moment, if you are not in the Ark, 
 you are in more awful danger than you can conceive. 
 Just because you know it is so awful, you shut your 
 eyes and try not to think of it ! But there it is, all 
 the same. Any moment the door may be shut for 
 yoiu^ Any hour may be the sunset of your day of 
 grace, with no twilight of possibilities of salvation 
 beyond.^ And then, as the tree falleth, so it lieth.* 
 As death finds you, so the judgment will find you.^ 
 Where it finds you, inside or outside the Ark, there 
 the day of the Lord will find you, ' in the which 
 the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and 
 the elements shall melt with fervent heat ; the 
 earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be 
 burned up. '^ What will you do then,'^ when neither 
 heavens nor earth afford even a standing place for 
 you?^ 
 
 But ' come thou into the Ark ! ' Jesus is the Ark. 
 He is the hiding-place ^ from that fiery tempest. *I 
 flee unto Thee to hide me ^^^ * from the wrath to 
 come.'" 'Thou art my Hiding-place.'^^ 
 
 He who brings the flood ^^ has provided the Ark. 
 And the door is open. It ?£//// be shut some day 
 — it may be shut to-morrow. What will you do if 
 you find yourself not shut in,^'^ but shut out? Whose 
 fault is it if you do not enter in and be saved ? 
 
 1 Heb. xii. 25. 2 Matt. xxv. 10. ' 3 Luke xiii. 25-28. 
 
 4 Eccl. xi. 3. 5 Rev. XX. 12, 6 2 Pet. iii. 10. 
 
 7 Jer. V. 31. 8 Rev. vi. 17. 9 Isa. xxxii. 2. 
 
 10 Ps. cxliii. 9. H Matt. iii. 7. 12 Ps. xxxii. 7. 
 
 13 Gen,, vi. 17. 14 Gen. vii. 16. 
 
3IO Zbc IRo^al ITnvitation, 
 
 Noah did not put it off. He and his family 
 entered the self-same day into the Ark.^ I wonder 
 if any of Noah's acquaintances were thinking about 
 coming when the flood overtook them, and even 
 coming ' gradually ' nearer ! We are told that 
 ' Noah on/y^ remained alive, and they that were with 
 hiai z'tz the Ark.' Then, once more, 'Come thou 
 into the Ark,' that when the 'great and terrible 
 day '^ comes, you may be ' found of Him in 
 peace,'* ' found zn Him.'^ 
 
 The rising tempest sweeps the sky, 
 The rain descends, the winds are high ; 
 The waters swell, and death and fear 
 Beset thy path, no refuge near ; 
 Haste, traveller, haste ! 
 
 Oh, haste ! a shelter you may gain, 
 A covert from the wind and rain, 
 A hiding-place, a rest, a home, 
 A refuge from the wrath to come : 
 Haste, traveller, haste ! 
 
 W. B. COLLYER. 
 
 1 Gen. vii. 13. 2 Gen. vii. 23. 3 Joel ii. 31, 
 
 4 2 Pet. iii. 14. 5 Phil. iii. 9. 
 
S)rawn into tbe Brfe. 311 
 
 SIXTH DAY. 
 
 2)rawn into tbe Hrft* 
 
 * Thou shall come into the Ark.' — Gen. vi. i8. 
 
 YOU would like to take this great step out of 
 danger into safety ; but you find it very hard, 
 though it sounds very easy. You feel as if you had 
 spiritual nightmare, — seeing the danger, and not 
 able to stir hand or foot to escape it.^ 
 
 Perhaps every one who comes to Christ has this 
 sense of utter helplessness about it.^ This is because 
 the Holy Spirit must convince us that the whole 
 thing is God's doing, and not ours, so that He may 
 have a// the glory of saving us from beginning to 
 end.^ It is not at all because He is not willing to save 
 us, but just because He zs willing, that He lets us 
 find out for ourselves that our own will is so numb 
 that it cannot rouse and move without the fire of 
 His love and grace.* 
 
 Now just trust His promise, ^ Thou shalt come 
 into the Ark;' in other words, believe that His 
 power and love are even now being exerted upon 
 
 1 Rom. V. 6. 2 Deut. xxxii. 36. 
 
 3 Isa. xlii. 8: ib. lix. 16. * Eph. ii. i. 
 
^^. 2 
 
 XLhc IRoi^al Ifnvitation* 
 
 you, and that your sense of helplessness is only part 
 of Hi? wonderful way of drawing you to Jesus. 
 God th^ Father is 'not willing that any should 
 perish/ but that all should come to repentajice.'^ 
 
 Then why do any perish? Simply because they 
 /£'^;zV come; because they will not yield to the 
 winning love and the drawing' power which i.; 
 now being put forth to save you, if, as you read this, 
 you wan^ to be saved. There is no sadder word in 
 the Bible than ' Ye 7c>i7/ not come to Me, that ye 
 might have life.'^ But if you are saying, ever so 
 feebly and faintly, 'I will,' God meets it with His 
 strong and gracious 'Thou shalt.^'^ 
 
 Do not fear to take the ^Thou' to yourself. Re- 
 member the great 'Whosoever will, '^ and look up 
 at this star of promise in the dark, ' Thou shalt come 
 into the Ark.' Jesus said, 'AH that the Father 
 giveth Me shall come to Me.'^ And the Father 
 says, 'I will cause him to draw near, and he shall 
 approach unto Me ; for who is this that engaged his 
 heart to approach unto Me?'^ Whose heart? Is it 
 not yours? You would hardly be reading these 
 pages, if your heart were not at all engaged to 
 •approach unto Him. And if it is so engaged, who 
 engaged it ? Who but the God from whom alone 
 <2// holy desires do proceed ? 
 
 Then go on a few verses farther, and see the word 
 of the Lord to you. ' Yea, I have loved thee with 
 an everlasting love ; therefore with loving-kindness 
 
 1 2 Pet. iii. g. 2 i Tim. ii. 4. 3 John v. 40. 
 
 ^Jer. iii. 19. 5 Rev. xxii. 17. 6 John vi. 33 
 
 ? Jer. XXX. 21. 
 
Drawn into tbc Brft., 313 
 
 have I drawn thee.'^ Now do not wrong, and 
 wound, and insult that tremendous love by refusing 
 to believe it. He is at this moment giving you the 
 personal proof of it, by 'drawing'^ you even for 
 these few minutes. Do not resist the half-formed 
 wish to come to Jesus. It is very solemn to realize 
 that this is no less than the Father's own drawing 
 of you to His dear Son.^ Without it you could not 
 come, because you know you would have refused to 
 come";* but with it, if only you yield to it, ^ thou 
 shalt come into the Ark.' 
 
 When the dove found no rest for the sole of her 
 foot, and returned to Noah because the waters were 
 on the face of the whole earth, 'then he put forth 
 his hand, and took her, and pulled her in '^ (margin, 
 'caused her to come') 'unto him into the Ark.' 
 What a beautiful picture is this little helpless tired 
 dove ^ of our helplessness and weariness, and the 
 kind Hand, strong and tender, which does not leave 
 us to flutter and beat against a closed window, but 
 takes us, zxiA pulls us ^unfo Him,^ into the Ark ! ' 
 
 So we have the willingness of the Father ^ in one 
 part of the type,^ and the willingness of the Son in 
 another part,^" — willingness to receive you into safety 
 and rest." Then ' Come thou into the Ark ! '^^ 
 
 1 Jer. xxxi. 3. 2 Hos. xi. 4. 3 John vi. 44. 
 
 4 Luke xiii. 34. ° Gen. viii. 9. 6 Isa. Ix. 8. 
 
 ■7 Luke xiv. 23. 8 Ezek. xviii. 23. ^ 2 Cor. vi. 17. 
 
 10 Luke XV. 2. 11 John xii. 32. 12 Gen. vii. i. 
 
3^4 XLbc IRoisal Ifnvltatfon. 
 
 SEVENTH DAY. 
 
 Coming for IReet* 
 
 * Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and 
 I will give you rest.' — Matt. xi. 28. 
 
 'npHIS is nof your rest.'^ God says so, and 
 A therefore it is no use seeking or hoping or 
 trying for it.^ You may as well give up first as 
 last. The dove found no rest for the sole of her 
 foot till she came to the ark f and neither will you. 
 And the end of the dreary vista of unrest all 
 through the years of a life without Christ, is, ' They 
 have no rest day nor night.'* 
 
 'The people shall weary themselves for very 
 vanity.'^ Do you know anything about that? 
 'They weary themselves to commit iniquity.'® 
 'Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way.' ^ 
 Do these words come home to you ? Or, ' But 
 now He hath made me weary ; Thou hast made 
 desolate all my company ? '® Whether it is the 
 weariness of sin or of sorrow, of vanity or of deso- 
 lation (and sooner or later the one must lead into 
 
 1 Mic. ii. 10. 2 Eccl. ii. 17-ao. 3 Gen. viii. 9. 
 
 * Rev. xiv. II. 5 Hab. ii. 13. 6 Jer. ix. 5. 
 
 f Isa. Ivii. 10. 8 Job xvi. 7. 
 
Comlns for IRest. 315 
 
 the other), the gentle call floats over the troubled 
 waters, * Come unto Me all ye that labor ' (or * are 
 weary ') * and I will give you rest.' 
 
 But stay ; you may, or rather you must, put in a 
 double claim to the promise. You may not be 
 consciously, particularly weary or labouring; but 
 whether conscious of it or not, you are heavy 
 laden, unless the one great burden of sin is taken 
 away from you.^ It is a fact, whether the Holy 
 Spirrt has convinced you of it or not as yet,^ that 
 unless your iniquity is taken away by personal 
 washing in the only Fountain,^ you are in the posi- 
 tion described in the 38th Psalm, ' Mine iniquities 
 are gone over my head : as an heavy burden, they 
 are too heavy for me.'* So much too heavy for 
 you, that if you do not accept Christ's offer of rest 
 from that burden,^ you will never be able to find or 
 follow the path of life.® But why bear it one min- 
 ute longer when Jesus says, * Come unto Me, all ye 
 that are heavy laden, and I will give you rest ' ? 
 
 * He hath given us rest by His sorrow, and life 
 by His death ;' * rest from thy sorrow and from thy 
 fear, and from thy hard bondage wherein thou wast 
 made to serve, ''^ Come and take the gift! It is 
 gloriously real. It is no mere slight and tempo- 
 rary sense of relief. ' We which have believed do 
 enter into rest.'® 
 
 And He gives us ' rest on every side,'^ — complete 
 rest, guarded and sheltered all round. ^° 
 
 1 Isa. i. 4; ib. liii. 6. 2 John xvi. 8, 9, 
 
 3 Zech. xiii. 1 ; i John i. 7. 4 Ps. xxxviii. 4. 
 
 5 Ps. Iv. 22 ; Ezek. xxxiii. 10. 6 Ps. xvi. 11 ; i Pet ii. 24. 
 
 ' Isa. xiv. 3. 8 Heb. iv. 3. 
 
 8 I Chron. xxii. 18. 10 i Kings v. 4. 
 
31 6 tibe IRo^al IFnvftatiom 
 
 It is not only xtst from all the weariness and bur- 
 dens, but rest in Himself. Jesus is spoken of in 
 type as ' the Man of Rest,'^ ' and His rest shall be 
 glorious.'^ It is this, His own Divine rest, that He 
 will give. 
 
 * This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the 
 weary to rest.'^ Is it not worth having? Will you 
 not come for it ? You> cannot have it without com- 
 ing to Jesus ;* but only come, and it .shall be yours 
 — for there stands His word — and ' in returning and 
 rest shall ye be saved. '^ 
 
 I heard the voice of Jesus say, 
 
 * Come unto Me and rest ; 
 Lay down, thou weary one, lay down 
 
 Thy head upon My breast.' 
 I came to Jesus as I was, 
 
 Weary, and worn, and sad ; 
 I found in Him a resting-place, 
 And He has made me glad. 
 
 Dr. H. BonaRo 
 
 1 I Chron. xxii. 9. 2 Isa. xi. 10. 3 Isa. xxviii. 12- 
 
 * Hos. xiii. 9. 5 Isa. xxx. 15. 
 
TOant ot OTiu. :<i7 
 
 EIGHTH DAY. 
 
 Mant of Mill. 
 
 ' Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life.' — John 
 V. 40. 
 
 IT is almost certain that some whose eyes glance 
 over these pages will be conscious that they do 
 not very much care to come to Christ, for this is at 
 once the commonest and the most fatal hindrance. 
 Vou cannot honestly say that you want to come. 
 You perhaps go as far as to say, with momentary 
 seriousness, ' I wish that I wished ! ' but no farther. 
 In your inmost heart you would rather be ' let 
 alone, '^ not considering that that is the most ter- 
 ribly certain beginning of doom. You are not per- 
 fectly comfortable, but you are not so uncomfort- 
 able as to feel inclined to make any effort. And 
 as long as you can keep from thinking about it, you 
 say you are * very happy.' Now believe me, yours 
 is a ten times worse and more dangerous state than 
 if you were a condemned murderer, knowing his 
 doom, realizing his sin and therefore seeking the 
 
 1 Hos. iv. 17. 
 21 
 
3i8 Ebe TRo^al ITnvltatfon* 
 
 Saviour and coming to Him ' with all the desire of 
 his mind.'^ 
 
 For so long as you are not willing, /.<?., not 
 actually and actively willing to come (for that is the 
 meaning of the original), of course you cannot 
 come. And without coming to Jesus you cannot 
 have life.^ And if you do not have life, there is 
 nothing but death for you, — the second death with 
 all its unknown terrors, into the realities of which 
 any moment may plunge you.^ Your not believing 
 this makes no difference to the fact.* Your doubt- 
 ing it makes no difference to its certainty. I assert 
 it on the authority of the Word of God. * I call 
 heaven and earth to record this day against you, 
 that I have set before you life and death. There- 
 fore choose life.'^ For in not willing life, you are 
 willing death, and ' why will ye die ? '^ 
 
 W/iy ? Is it not utterly unreasonable ? Would 
 any but a lunatic walk with mirth and fun over the 
 thin crust which hides unknown depths of boiling 
 lava ? Would you enjoy a picnic in the midst of it ? 
 Yet this is less mad than what you are doing. 
 
 Then you will say, 'I can't help it ! I can't 
 make myself care ! ' Exactly so ; and just in this 
 fact lies, not your excuse, but your one hope and 
 help. You cannot make yourself care to flee from 
 the wrath to come. '^ You cannot rouse yourself to 
 be willing to come to Christ for salvation. But 
 One can.^ And you may and can ask for the Holy 
 
 1 Deut. xviii. 6, 2 i John v. 12. 3 Rev. xxi. 8. 
 
 * Rom. iii. 3, 4. 5 Deut. xxx. 19 ; Jer, xxi. 8. 
 
 * Ezek. xviii. 31. 7 Matt, iii, 7. 8 Hos. xiii. 9. 
 
mant ot Winu 319 
 
 Spirit to make you willing. You can say, ' O God, 
 give me Thy Holy Spirit to make me willing to 
 come, for Jesus Christ's sake.' God makes no con- 
 dition whatever as to giving this. The Blessed 
 Spirit is promised most simply and unconditionally 
 
 • to them that ask Him.'^ T/ti's promise says noth- 
 ing even about desiring or thirsting; it premises 
 absolutely nothing, but comes to the lowest depths 
 of sjn-paralyzed will — it is only and simply, ' Ask.* 
 
 Remember that one spirit or the other is now 
 working in you. It is very awful to read of ' the 
 spirit that now worketh in the children of disobe- 
 dience ; '^ and what is more direct disobedience 
 than not coming when Jesus calls ? Therefore 
 'ask,' and ask at once, for the other spirit, the 
 Holy Spirit, who can make you ' willing in the day 
 of His power, '^ — God the Holy Ghost, who 
 ' worketh in us to will.'* 
 
 Think of Jesus saying, * How often would I,' 
 
 * but ye would not. '^ Ife is willing. 
 
 May He give you ' one heart to do the command- 
 ment of the King ! '^ 
 
 Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove, 
 With all Thy quickening powers ! 
 
 Come, shed abroad a Saviour's love. 
 And that shall kindle ours ! 
 
 Dr. Watts. 
 
 1 Luke xi. 9-13. ^ Eph. ii. 2. 3 Ps. ex. 3. 
 
 * Phil. ii. 13. 6 Luke xiii. 34. 6 2 Chron. xxx, 12. 
 
320 XLbc IRoisal fnvitatfom 
 
 NINTH DAY. 
 
 ^be Call of tbe Spirits 
 
 *And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come.' — Rev. xxii. 17, 
 
 HAVE you thought about ' the love of the 
 Spirit ' ?^ Have you realized that God's 
 ' loving Spirit '^ says to you, ' Come ' ? Are you 
 conscious that if you refuse to listen to this gentlest 
 call, you are ' grieving '^ the Holy Spirit of God, 
 — ' vexing '* Hun by the rebellion to which this 
 refusal really amounts, — ' resisting '^ the Holy 
 Ghost, whose power alone can work ^ in you the 
 holiness without which you can never see the 
 Lord?^ 
 
 Every ' Come ! ' in the Bible is the call of the 
 Spirit. For 'all Scripture is given by inspiration 
 of God,'^ and the ' holy men of God spake as they 
 were moved by the Holy Ghost. '^ And every time 
 that a still small voice in your heart says ' Come/ 
 it is the call of the Spirit. Every time the remem- 
 brance of the Saviour's sweetest spoken word floats 
 
 1 Rom. XV. 30. 2 Ps. cxliii. 10, p. v. b. 3 Eph. iv. 30. 
 
 4 Isa. Ixiii. 10. 5 Acts vii. 51. 6 2 Thess. ii. 13. 
 
 V Heb. xii. 14. ^ 2 Tim. iii. 16. ^ 2 Pet. i. 21. 
 
tibe Call ot tbe Spirit 321 
 
 across your mind, it is the Holy Spirit's fulfilment 
 of our Lord's promise that * He shall bring all 
 things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have 
 said unto you.'^ Last time those words, ' Come 
 unto Me,' came into your mind, whether in some 
 wakeful night hour, or suddenly and unaccountably 
 amid the stir of the day, did you think that it was 
 the very voice of the Holy Spirit speaking in your 
 heart ? Or did you let other voices drown it, not 
 knowing that the goodness of God was leading you 
 by it?^ 
 
 Every time an ambassador of Christ^ bids you 
 come, and every time that any one who loves Him 
 tries to speak a word for Jesus to you, it is the call 
 of the Spirit and the Bride ; for the Bride is the 
 Church of Christ,* and she is the privileged instru- 
 ment through which the clear music of the call is 
 oftenest heard. 
 
 What makes you take the trouble to read this 
 book ? Why is there any attraction at all for you 
 in the subject? Is it not that the Holy Spirit is 
 causing your heart to vibrate, it may be but very 
 feebly as yet, at the thrill of His secret call ? Your 
 awakening wish to come is the echo of that call. If 
 you stop and listen, it will be heard more distinctly 
 and winningly. The call -will grow fuller and 
 stronger as you turn and yield, and follow it. And 
 the same blessed Spirit will give you power to do 
 this.^ He will show you your need of Jesus, and 
 He will testify of Jesus to you, so that you shall he 
 
 1 John xiv. 26. 2 Rom. ii. 4. ^ 2 Cor. v. 20. 
 
 ^ Eph. V. 25-32 ;2Chron. xxxvi. 15, 16. 5 i Thess. v. 24. 
 
12 J. XTbe IRoi^al ITnvitation. 
 
 willing to come.^ Do you feel very helpless about 
 it T Do you wish you had the mighty aid of the 
 Almighty Spirit, so that you might rise and come 
 while Jesus of Nazareth passeth by ?'^ Then why do 
 you not ask for it ? Who is to blame if you do 
 not have what is to be had for the asking?* Christ 
 Himself has put the promise in the very plainest 
 words: 'Ask, and it shall be given you,' and 
 * Every one that asketh receiveth.'^ What could 
 you wish Him to say more ? What could He possi- 
 bly say more? Clearly, if you have not, it is 
 because you ask not.* But if you are asking for 
 the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus, you have al- 
 ready the earnest of the Spirit,'^ and you shall have 
 more and more.® So take courage ! 
 
 But it is no light thing to put away a holy desire, 
 however feeble ; because it sprang not from your 
 own heart, but is the voice of the Spirit saying, 
 Come ! It will not always speak, if not obeyed. 
 Turn back from Revelation to Genesis, and you 
 find the shadow of the bright light of the winning 
 call in the unchanged warning note : * My Spirit 
 shall not always strive with man.'^ Not always, 
 dear, unknown friend, whom I would fain win for 
 my Lord, — not always ! But He is striving now. 
 He is calling now, * To-day, if ye will hear His 
 voice. '^" Listen, yield, come ! 
 
 1 John XV. 26. 2 John v. 7. 3 Mark x 47-49. 
 
 4 Luke xi. 13. 5 Matt. vii. 7, 8. 6 Jas. iv. 2. 
 
 "^ 2 Cor. i. 22. 8 Matt. xiii. 12. 9 Gen. vi. 3 ; Prov. xxix. x. 
 10 Heb. iv. 7. 
 
Come ano See* 323 
 
 TENTH DAY. 
 
 Come anb See* 
 
 * He (Jesus) saith unto them, Come and see.' * Philip saith 
 Unto him, Come and See.' — John i. 39, 46. 
 
 WHEN Jesus had found Philip, Philip knew 
 that he had found Him. And the next 
 thing to knowing that ' we have found Him ' is to 
 find some one else, and say, * Come and see ! ' I 
 say it now to you, dear friend, known or unknown, 
 * We have found Him ! '^ ^ We see Jesus ! 'Mf you 
 only knew the irresistible longing,^ the very heart's 
 desire * that you should find and see Him too, you 
 would pardon all the pertinacity, all the insistence, 
 with which again and again we say, ' Come and 
 see ! ' The woman of Samaria left her water-pot, 
 and went her way into the city with the same mes- 
 sage : * Come, see a man which told me all things 
 that ever I did.'^ And we to whom Jesus has said, 
 ^ I that speak unto thee am He,'^ cannot do other- 
 wise or less. 
 / _^___ 
 
 1 John i. 45. 2 Heb. ii. 9. ^ 1 Cor. v. 14. 
 
 * Rom. X. I. 6 John iv. 28, 29. 6 John iv. 26 : i Cor. ix. 16 
 
324 ^be IRoisal ITnvltatiom 
 
 It is not always very easy to say it. You little 
 know how much it sometimes costs us ! ^ You do 
 not know that though the few words seem so easily 
 spoken, and you take them as a matter of course 
 from us, because you know we are of ' that way"^ of 
 thinking, they may have cost us not a little wrest- 
 ling with God for faith and courage to utter them, 
 and an effort which will leave us weary and 
 exhausted. But *we cannot but speak the things 
 which we have seen and heard; '^ 'we also believe, 
 and therefore speak.'* We have seen Jesus,^ and 
 therefore we must tell you of the sight, and entreat 
 you to * come and see.' Understand or misunder- 
 stand us as you will, we must ' say, Come ! '^ 
 
 But what is it that we are so burningly eager for 
 you to see ? Very likely you suppose it is just that 
 we have a certain set of views that we have taken 
 up, and we want you to hold the same. You think 
 it is merely that we want to bring you over to our 
 opinions, and that we want to have the satisfaction 
 of getting you to agree with us ! Oh, how wide of 
 the mark ! It is no such thing. We are not speak- 
 ing of what we think, but ' we speak that we do 
 know, and testify that we have seen.'^ We have 
 seen by faith^ the only sight that is worth gazing 
 upon, the sight that satisfies the angels,^ the sight 
 that is enough for the joy and satisfaction of im- 
 mortal vision throughout eternity. One thing we 
 know, that, whereas we were blind, now we see.^" 
 
 1 2 Sam. xxiv. 24. 2 Acts xix. 9 ; ib. ix. 2. 3 Acts iv. 20. 
 
 4 2 Cor. iv. 13. 5 I John i. 3. 6 Rev. xxii. 17. 
 
 7 I Johniv. 14 ; Johniii. 11. * Heb. xi. 27. 9 i Tim. iii. 16. 
 
 10 John ix. 25. 
 
Come anD See* 325 
 
 We see Jesus, as our Lord and our God.^ 
 
 We see Him as the very Saviour we need, and 
 the very Friend we craved. 
 
 We see Him as ' the Son of God, who loved me 
 and gave Himself for me.'^ 
 
 We see Him wounded for our transgressions, and 
 bruised for our iniquities f our Substitute and our 
 Sin-bearer. 
 
 We see Him, too, crowned with glory and 
 honour,^ and we rejoice in His glory and beauty f 
 we make our boast of Him.^ 
 
 If you say to us, ^ What is thy Beloved more than 
 another beloved? '^ we reply, 'My beloved is the 
 chiefest among ten thousand. Yea, He is alto- 
 gether lovely.' 
 
 It is not at all only for your own sakes that we 
 want you so very much to come and see. We do 
 want you to look and be saved. ^ But our earnest- 
 ness has a stronger spring than even that. We love 
 our Lord, so that we cannot bear Him not to be 
 esteemed aright. We cannot bear Him to be 
 thought little of, and to be misunderstood f it is 
 pain, real pain, to us when He is not appreciated 
 and loved and adored, ^° — when all that He has done 
 is treated as not worth whole-hearted gratitude and 
 love," — when His great and blood-bought salvation 
 is neglected. ^^ For His own beloved sake, for His 
 own glory's sake, we want you to come and see, 
 that you may love and bless and glorify Him ! 
 
 1 John XX. 28. 2 Gal. ii. 20. 3 Isa. liii. 5. 
 
 4 Heb. ii. 9. 5 Zech. ix. 17. 6 Ps. xxxiv. 2. 
 
 7 Cant. V. 9, 10, 16. 8 Isa.xlv. 22. 9 i Pet. ii. 4. 
 
 ^0 Isa. liii. 3. 11 Lam. i. 12 12 Heb. ii. 3. 
 
326 Zbc "fi^o^al irnvitatiom 
 
 But, remember, this is not only our feeble human 
 entreaty; it is Jesus Himself who first said, ar.d 
 still says, ' Come and see ! ' He says, ' Behold Me, 
 behold Me ! '^ 
 
 I know what you will say when you have come. 
 You will say, ' Howbeit, I believed not their word . 
 uniill came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, be- 
 hold, the half was not told me.^ Thou exceedest 
 the fame that I heard ! '^ 
 
 O Master, blessed Master, it is hard indeed to know 
 
 That thousands round our daily path misunderstand Thee so I 
 
 Despised and rejected yet, no beauty they can see, 
 
 O King of glory and of grace, beloved Lord, in Thee. 
 
 O Saviour, precious Saviour, come in all Thy power and 
 
 grace, 
 And take away the veil that hides the glory of Thy face \ 
 Oh, manifest the marvels of Thy tenderness and love. 
 And let thy name be blessed and praised all other names 
 
 above. 
 
 1 Isa. Ixv. I. 2 I Kings x. 7. 83 Chron. ix. 6. 
 
Zbc Safe IDenture* 327 
 
 ELEVENTH DAY. 
 
 Zbc Safe Denture* 
 
 * Bid me come unto Thee. . . . And He said, 
 Come.' — Matt. xiv. 28, 29. 
 
 IF Jesus says, * Come ! ' don't you think you 
 may venture ? 
 
 Perhaps it is night in your soul,^ — ^as dark as 
 ever it can be. It would not be so bad if you 
 could even distinctly see the waves of the troubled 
 sea^ on which you, are tossing. You do not know 
 where you are. All seems vague and uncertain and 
 wretched and confused.' And though the Lord 
 Jesus is very near you, though He has come to you 
 walking on the water, and has said, ' It is I, be not 
 afraid,'* you cannot see Him, and you are not at 
 all sure it is His voice ;^ or if it is, that He is 
 speaking to you. So of course you are ' troubled.'^ 
 
 And if, in this trouble, you go on trying -to steer 
 and row for yourself, these same waves will prove 
 
 1 Ps. cvii. 14. 3 Job. xvi. 16. 3 Jer. xvii. 9. 
 
 4 Matt. xiv. 25. Matt. xiv. 27. 6 Matt. xiv. a6. 
 
328 XTbe IRopal Unvftatlon, 
 
 themselves to be awfal realities, and you will be lost 
 in the storm. Do not venture that ; but venture 
 out through the darkness and upon the waves at the 
 bare word of Jesus. 
 
 You do not need even to say, * Lord, bid me 
 come to Thee ! ' for He has done that already. 
 Jesus has bid you ' Come ! '^ and the bidding would 
 be no more real if He opened the heavens, and 
 said it again to you from the right hand of the 
 throne of God. So the only question is, Will you 
 venture? 
 
 True, it is but a word, but think Whose word P 
 Could the word that Jesus Christ Himself uttered 
 be a vain deceit ?^ Is not the Person the guarantee 
 of the word?* 'The word only,'^ of the Son of 
 God has proved enough for every one of the great 
 multitude that no man could number,® and it will 
 be enough for you. 
 
 It does not matter in the least that you cannot 
 see, and that you cannot feel, and that you cannot 
 hear or distinguish anything else at all.^ It does 
 not matter in the least that you feel miserable and 
 confused, and that you don't know what will come 
 next.® It does not matter in the least that you can- 
 not exactly understand how this simple coming can 
 result in calm, and peace, and safety, and finding 
 yourself at the land.^ It does not matter in the 
 least th^t the waters are casting up all the mire and 
 dirt^° of all the sinfulness of heart and life, the 'old 
 
 1 Matt. xi. 28. 2 Matt. xxiv. 35. 3 John xii. 48. 
 
 4 Num. xxiii. 19. 5 Matt. viii. 8. 6 Rev, vii. 9. 
 
 7 Isa. 1. 10. 8 Isa. ix. 5 ; 2 Chron. xx. 12. 
 
 9 John vi. 21. 10 Isa. Ivii. 20. 
 
XLbc Safe Denture. 329 
 
 sins,'^ and the besetting sins.^ It does not matter 
 in the least that all the winds of doubt seem let 
 loose upon you, boisterous and blowing from every 
 point to which you turn.^ All this, and everything 
 else that is 'contrary,'* is only so much the more 
 reason for the simple venture. Just only you 
 'come ! ' And even if in the very act of coming 
 you are afraid,^ and think you are beginning to 
 sink, come on with the cry, ' Lord, save me ! '® and 
 immediately Jesus will save you, and with the 
 strong grasp of His hand the unanswerable ques- 
 tion will come, 'Wherefore didst thou doubt ?'^ 
 You need not say, 'If I perish, I perish,'® for you 
 will not perish, and cannot perish, in this blessed 
 venture of your soul upon His word.^ He ' will 
 cause you to know His hand and His might j'^" ' He 
 will save. He will rejoice over thee with joy ; He 
 will rest in His love,'^^ and you shall rest in His 
 love, now and for ever. 
 
 ' They shall know in that day that I am He that 
 doth speak; behold, it is I.'^^ 
 
 Come, ye weary, heavy laden, 
 
 Lost and ruined by the fall; 
 If you tarry till you're better, 
 
 You will never come at all. 
 Not the righteous, 
 
 Sinners Jesus came to call. 
 
 Lo ! the incarnate God, ascended, 
 ' Pleads the merit of His blood ; 
 
 1 2 Pet. i. 9. 2 Heb. xii. i. 3 z Tim. u. 13. 
 
 * Matt. xiv. 24. 5 Mark v. 33. 6 Mati. xiv. 30. 
 
 T Matt. xiv. 31. 8 Esth. iv. 16. 9 John x. 27, 2b. 
 
 10 Jer. xvi. 21. H Zeph. iii. 17. 1^ jga, lij, g. 
 
330 ^be TRoisal ITnvitatlom 
 
 Venture on Him, venture wholly, 
 Let no other trust intrude. 
 
 None but Jesus 
 Can do helpless sinners good. 
 
 Joseph Hart. 
 
 TWELFTH DAY, 
 
 Coming BoIMij* 
 
 * Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that 
 we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.' 
 — Heb. iv. 1 6. 
 
 THEREFORE ! ' because we have ' such an 
 High Priest,'^ touched with the feeling of 
 our infirmities, and in all points tempted like as we 
 are;^ because He is * a Priest upon His throne/^ ever 
 living, with His royal power to save to the utter- 
 most/ and His priestly power to make intercession ; 
 * let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of 
 grace. '^ 
 
 Boldness and faith go together ; fear and unbe- 
 lief go together.^ *If ye will not believe, surely 
 ye shall not be established.'^ It is always want of 
 faith that is at the bottom of all fear. ' Why are 
 ye fearful?' is the question for those "^ of little 
 
 1 Heb. vii. 26. 2 Heb. iv. 14^ 15, 3 Zech. vi. 13. 
 
 4 Heb. vii. 25. 5 Heb. iv. 16. 6 Rev. xxi. 8. 
 
 7 Isa. vii. 9. 
 
Coming :©olDli2. ^^t 
 
 faith. *^ So, in order to come boldly, and there- 
 fore joyfully, all we need is more faith in the Great 
 High Priest who sits upon the throne of grace. 
 
 Now, do not sigh, 'Ah, I wish I had more faith !' 
 It will not come to you by languid lamentations 
 abvout your want of faith. ^It is the gift of God.'^ 
 And if thou knewest this gift of God,^ and who it 
 is that only waits to be inquired of,* that He may 
 give it thee, surely thou wouldst ask of Him ! For 
 H^giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not,^ 
 ' — not even with all your neglect of Him and His 
 gifts. Just ask / and he says, * It shall be given 
 you.'^ 'Ye have not, because ye ask not.'^ And 
 let the least glimmer of dawning faith iii your heart 
 lead you to go on asking, and to pray continually, 
 ' Lord, increase our faith. ' ^ Then you will be able 
 to come boldly ; for ' in Christ Jesus our Lord . . . 
 we have boldness and access with confidence by the 
 faith of Him.'^ 
 
 People do not come for what they do not want. 
 Until the Holy Spirit shows us our need of mercy, 
 and puts reality into the Litany prayer, 'Have 
 mercy upon us miserable sinners, '^° we shall never 
 come to the throne of grace to obtain mercy. 
 
 ' He that into God's kingdom comes, 
 Must enter by this door.' 
 
 So, if you have never yet felt that you could sin- 
 cerely say, ' God be merciful to me a sinner ' ^^ (or. 
 
 1 Matt. viii. 26. 2 Eph. ii. 8. 3 John iv. 10. 
 
 ^ Ezek. XXXVI. 37. 5 Jas. i. 5. 6 Matt. vii. 7. 
 
 '' Jas. iv. 2. 8 Luke xvii. 5, 9 Eph. iii. ir, 12. 
 
 ^^ Ps. U. I. 11 Luke xviii. 13. 
 
332 Zbc IRo^al ITnvitation. 
 
 as the Greek has it more emphatically, ' to me, ^ke 
 sinner '), and therefore have never yet felt particu- 
 larly anxious to come to the throne of grace to ob- 
 tain it, I would urgently entreat you to pray, 
 ^ Lord, show me myself !' When the Holy Spirit 
 answers that prayer, you will be eager enough to 
 come and obtain mercy ! It will be the one thing^ 
 then that you will be particularly anxious about. 
 
 Obtaining mercy comes first; if/ien finding grace 
 to help in time of need. You cannot reverse 
 God's order. You will not find grace to help in 
 time of need till you have sought and found mercy 
 to save. You have no right to reckon on God's 
 help and protection and guidance, and all the other 
 splendid privileges which He promises to ^the chil- 
 dren of God by faith in Jesus Christ,'^ until you 
 have this first blessing, the mercy of God in Christ 
 Jesus ; for it is ^ in ' Jesus Christ that all the prom- 
 ises of God are yea, and Amen.^ But He is *rich 
 in mercy,'* and *delighteth in mercy.'^ All who 
 have come to the throne of grace for it ' are now 
 the people of God, which had not obtained mercy, 
 but now have obtained mercy. '^ And then no less 
 surely will they, and do they, ' find grace to help 
 in every time of need.'^ 
 
 ' Let us therefore come boldly ! ' 
 
 Behold the throne of grace ! 
 
 The promise calls me near ; 
 There Jesus shows a smiling face, 
 
 And waits to answer prayer. 
 
 1 Luke X. 42. 2 Gal. iii. 26. 3 2 Cor. i. 19, 20. 
 
 4 Eph. ii. 4. 5 Mic. vii. 18. 6 i Pet. ii. 10. 
 
 7 Heb. iv. 16. 
 
M IbinDcance, 333 
 
 My soul, ask what thou wilt, 
 
 Thou canst not be too bold ; 
 Since His own blood for thee He spilt, 
 
 What else can He withhold ? 
 
 John Newton. 
 
 THIRTEENTH DAY. 
 
 a 1bint)rance. 
 
 * First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer 
 thy gift.' — Matt. v. 24. 
 
 IT is a strange gift that we have to bring, — so 
 strange, that it is in one sense ^nothing,' and 
 yet in another sense everything. He asks us for it, 
 saying, 'Give Me thine heart; '^ and this heart of 
 ours, this gift that we are to bring, worthless and 
 yet priceless,^ is one mass of sins and burdens.^ 
 Jesus asks for it just as it is, with all the sins and all 
 the burdens ; and the moment it is given over to 
 Him, the sins are cleansed and the burdens are 
 borne for us. 
 
 Do you wish to come to Him with it, and yet 
 find that there seems something preventing you from 
 really doing so? If so, the verse at the head of this 
 chapter may throw God's light upon the secret 
 obstacle. * Is there any secret thing withM^^^'* 
 
 1 Prov. xxiii. 26. 2 Jer. xvii. 9. 
 
 3 Matt. XV. 19. 4 Job XV. ii. 
 
 22 
 
334 ^bc TRo^al Ifnvitatton. 
 
 Christ will either accept the gift altogether, or not 
 at ail.^ If there js something which you do not 
 really mean to do right about, — some sin which you 
 have no real intention of giving up, — it will be a 
 fatal barrier. He forgives all or none. If you are 
 but willing, His precious blood shall cleanse you 
 from all sm.^ But He does not save by halves ; and 
 if there is a sin knowingly kept back, then ' ye are 
 yet in your sins, '^ and ' thou hast neither part nor 
 lot in this matter ; for thy heart is not right in the 
 sight of God.'^ 
 
 This may seem a very stern way of putting it ; 
 but when such tremendous issues hang upon it, is it 
 not folly to shrink from looking the matter straight 
 in the face ? The Lord says, ^ First be reconciled 
 to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift-* 
 
 This may be literally your case. Som€ one may 
 have somewhat against you, — an old quarrel, or a 
 fresh misunderstanding, — and you are too proud to 
 acknowledge your fault, or your share of it f or you 
 are too timid, or even too idle to do so. When 
 there are faults on both sides, it is pretty often the 
 one most in fault who is the least ready to forgive. 
 Now do look into the matter, and see if 3''0u are 
 truly^ ' in love and charity with all raen.''^ It is n'> 
 use trying to explain away your daily words, ' For- 
 give us our trespasses, as we forgive them that 
 trespass against us,'® for Christ Himself haj) ex- 
 plained and emphasized them. He said, ' But if ye 
 forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your 
 
 1 Hos. X. 2. 2 I John i. 7. 3 i Cor. xv. 17 ; \h. iii. 3. 
 
 4 Acts viii 21. 5 Jas. v. 16. 6 Heb. xii. 14, 15, 
 
 7 I John iii. 10, 15. 8 Matt. vi. 15, 
 
% IbfnDrancc, 335 
 
 Father forgive your trespasses.' There is no evading 
 this. There is absolutely 71a forgiveness for you, if 
 you do not forgive ; for * who can forgive sins but 
 God only? '^ 
 
 And it is no use saying, ' Well, I will forgive, but 
 I can't forget!' You know quite well in your 
 heart that the very tone in which you say that, shows 
 that you are not really forgiving, and God knows 
 what is at the bottom of your * caLn't/orgef /' 
 
 DTn't turn round fiercely, and say, 'But if I 
 can't, I can't ! ' For * the things which are impos- 
 sible with men, are possible with God.'^ 
 
 Read the 45th of Genesis, and see how Joseph 
 forgave f and remember that the same Spirit of 
 God which was in him is freely promised to you. for 
 the asking. 
 
 And then look at the still greater example of per- 
 fect forgiveness, — hear the smitten King in His 
 lonely death-agony saying, ' Father, forgive them ! '* 
 ' For He knew that forgiveness would raise them to 
 the very level of H^.s ihrur.e ; so Ho must have 
 literally loved His murderers with the love where- 
 with His Father loved Him.'^ Oh, it is hard to for- 
 give anything, when one looks away to the for- 
 giveness of Jesus. ^ 
 
 Then come and offer thy gift. 
 
 I Mark ii. 7. 2 Luke xviii. 27. 3 Gen. xlv. 1-15. 
 
 4 Luke xxiii. 34. 5 John xvii. 26. fi Eph. iv. 32. 
 
33<5 ilbe TRoi^al fnvttatlom 
 
 FOURTEENTH DAY. 
 
 ^be fintreat? to Come* 
 
 * Come near tome, \ pray you.' — Gen. xlv. 4. 
 
 ^ nPHERE stood no man with him, while Joseph 
 A made himself known to his brethren. And he 
 wept aloud. '^ They had hated him, conspired 
 against him to slay him, very nearly killed him, 
 sold him into exile and slavery, and here was the 
 brother's recompense for all this — love ! No such 
 exquisite story of love and forgiveness was ever 
 imagined by any writer ; no such climax of tender 
 ness as Joseph's words through his tears, ' Come 
 near to me, I pray you.' Only one thing surpasses 
 the type, and that is the antitype. 
 
 Our Elder Brother was more than ' very nearly 
 killed.' He poured out His soul unto death.'' 
 We are not innocent of His blood ;^ for ^ He was 
 wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised 
 for our iniquities.'* 'Christ died /(?r our sinsj*^ 
 Mark that, — not merely ' for us,' but 'for our sins t^' 
 
 1 Gen. xlv. i. 2 Isa. liii. 12. 3 Zech. xiii. 6. 
 
 4 Isa. liii. 5. 01 Cor. xv. 3. 
 
Zbc jEntreat^ to Come, 337 
 
 for yours. tAnd where has been the love and 
 gratitude that you have owed Him all this time?^ 
 Where has been the mefe acknowledgment of what 
 He has suffered for your sins?^ He did this for 
 you, and because of you. And what have you done 
 for Him, and because of Him ?' 
 
 And what could you now expect from Him ? 
 What did Joseph's brothers expect after their be- 
 havior to him ? Well may the Lord say^ ' I know 
 the tlioughts that I think towards you — thoughts of 
 peace, and not of evil.'* For just as Joseph's words 
 to |;iis brethren were not, ' Go away, I will have no 
 more to do with you,' so the Lord Jesus ' upbraideth 
 not,' but says, ' Come near to Me, \pray you.' 
 
 His whole life says it. It is the epitome of all 
 He said and did, — winning, beseeching, entreating 
 the far-off to come nigh, giving His own blood that 
 they might be made nigh.^ 
 
 What is the eloquence of * those wounds in 
 Thine hands ?'^ Are they not always saying, *I 
 pray you ' ? For ' all day long I have stretched forth 
 My hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying 
 people.'^ 
 
 ' All day long,' while you are dressing, and eat- 
 ing, and talking, and laughing, and working or 
 amusing yourself, Jesus is stretching forth His 
 hands to you, calling you, waiting for you, looking 
 for the first little thrill of recognition from you, 
 saying, * I am Jesus whom thou persecutest,^ whom 
 thou neglectest, whom thou grievest.' 
 
 1 Ps. cxvi. 12 ; 2 Cor v. 15. 2 i Pet. iii. 18. 
 
 3 Phil. iii. 8. 4 Jer. xxix. 11. 5 Eph. ii. 13. 
 
 6 Zech. xiii. 6. 5f Rom. x. 21. 8 Acts ix. 5. 
 
33^ n:be TRoi^al 1[nvltation» 
 
 Joseph's brethren were troubled at His presence.* 
 Do you reply, ' Therefore I am troubled at His 
 presence ; when I consider/ 1 am afraid of Him '?^ 
 Would you, honestly, rather flee from His presence ?' 
 Stay and listen. 
 
 ' Come near to Me, I pray you.' 
 
 There is forgiveness with Him ;* will you not 
 come and receive it ? — Forgiveness for you, though 
 every sin of yours that is forgiven had to be borne 
 in His dying agony.^ His love has not changed 
 from the moment when He said, * Father, forgive 
 them.'^ What must that love have been ! And 
 what must it be for you and me, for whom He can- 
 not make the gracious excuse, 'They know not 
 what they do ! ' 
 
 Come alone to Him, and Jesus will make known 
 Himself^ and His forgiving love to you. 
 
 One there is above all others, 
 
 Well deserves the name of Friend; 
 
 His is love beyond a brother's, 
 Costly, free, and knows no end : 
 
 They who once His kindness prove 
 
 Find it everlasting love. 
 
 John Newton. 
 
 1 Gen. xlv. 3. 2 Job xxiii. 15. 3 Ps. cxxxix. 7. 
 
 4 Ps. cxxx. 4. ^ I Pet. ii. 34. 6 Luke xxiii, 34 
 
 7 Gen. xlv. i. 
 
Cbe Command to Come. 339 
 
 FIFTEENTH DAY. 
 
 ^be CommanJ) to Come^ 
 
 * Come unto me. . . . Now thou art commanded, this do 
 ye, ... and come.' — Gen. xlv. i8, 19. 
 
 WE are too much inclined to forget that ^Come' 
 is not merely an invitation, but a command. 
 An ordinary invitation can be accepted or refused ; 
 but a Royal Invitation^ is always a Royal Command, 
 giving no option, but requiring obedience. There- 
 fore, just so long as we are hanging back, just so 
 long as \ye have not come to Jesus, we are living in 
 a state of actual disobedience to Him. 
 
 Joseph, whose dealings with his brethren are 
 among the most beautiful types, was to say to them 
 not only, * Come unto me,' but ^ Now thou art 
 cofnmandedy this do ye, — and come ! ' 
 
 The Lord Jesus, the King of Glory, has said the 
 very same words, ' Come unto Me ! 'Ho you and 
 me. And so we are commanded. There is no 
 excusing .ourselves by any uncertainty about it. 
 
 1 Matt. xxii. 2, 3. 2 Matt. xi. 28. 
 
340 ^be IRoisal 1[nvltation. 
 
 The very moment that ' Come '^ first fell on our 
 heart, the command was upon us, and we were 
 responsible for obeying it. And every moment 
 since, we have been disobeying the plainest and 
 sweetest word of command that ever fell on mortal 
 ear, unless we have really and truly * come to 
 Jesus. ' 
 
 So it is not at all a light thing, but a heavy and 
 tremendous sin in which we are living, — the sin of 
 direct and continued disobedience to Christ. 
 
 If one single and sudden act of disobedience was 
 enough to lose Paradise^ and lead to incalculable 
 consequences of misery,^ what about this persistence 
 in refusal* to obey this strong and gentle command, 
 clearly understood, continually reiterated, and un- 
 mistakably personal, Christ's personal command 
 to you personally? 'Death without mercy' is as 
 terrible a punishment as can well be imagined ; but 
 what must be the ' much sorer punishment ' than 
 that, which is denounced by the Word of our God 
 on those who, instead of merely ' despising Moses' 
 law,' have ' trodden under foot the Son of God ?'^ 
 
 We must not and dare not leave out of sight, the 
 awful revelation that it is the Lord Jesus Himself,^ 
 the very same tender Saviour who now bids you 
 * Come,' who will take vengeance in flaming fire on 
 them ' that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ,^ who shall be punished with everlasting de- 
 struction from the presence of the Lord.'^ 
 
 1 Deut. XXX. II, 14. 2 Gen. iii. 24. 3 Rom. v. 19. 
 
 4 Prov. i. 24-26. 5 Heb. x. 28, 29. ^ Acts i. 11. 
 
 ? 2 Thess. i. 7-9. 8 Matt. xxv. 41, 46 
 
trbe CommanD to Come* 341 
 
 When I began to write this little book, I never 
 meant to say all this. I only wanted to win you by 
 ihe sweet, sweet music of my Master's call. I only 
 meant to tell you of His patient, forbearing love,* 
 waiting so long for you, wanting you to come to 
 Him.^ But what can I do ? Half a truth is not *the 
 truth.' You may not like it ; but I dare not speak 
 to you only smooth things,^ I dare not shun to de- 
 clare unto you the whole counsel of God* in this 
 matter. * I cannot go beyond the word of the 
 Lord my God to do /ess.'^ I should come under 
 the awful condemnation of those who ' take away 
 from the words of the book,'^ if I did not tell the 
 whole message. The Lord has said, ' Diminish not 
 a word,'^ and so I entreat you to look for yourselves 
 at the passages I have quoted, and * /tear the word 
 of the Lord' in them. 
 
 Oh, ' see that ye refuse not Him thatspeaketh !'* 
 If you do not obey the ' Come unto Me,' there 
 remaineth nothing for you but the ' Depart from 
 Me. " 
 
 >9 
 
 Life alone is found in Jesus, 
 
 Only there 'tis offered thee, — 
 
 Offered without price or money, 
 
 'Tis the gift of God sent free : 
 
 Take salvation. 
 Take it now, and happy be. 
 
 Albert Midlane. 
 
 1 Rom. X. 21. 2 Rom. ii. 4. 3 Isa. xxx. 10. 
 
 4 Acts XX. 27. 5 Num. xxii. 18. 6 Rev. xxii. 19. 
 
 1 Jer. xxvi. 2. 8 Heb. xii. 25. 9 Matt. xxv. 41. 
 
342 ^be IRosal fnvitatfon. 
 
 SIXTEENTH DAY. 
 
 * Come unto Me : and I will give you the good of the land of 
 Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. . , . Also 
 regard not your stuff ; for the good of all the land of Egypt is 
 yours.' — Gen. xlv. i8, 20. 
 
 ' TF I become a Christian, I shall have to give up 
 A so many things! '^ Spoken or unspoken, this 
 is the invariable thought of every one who has not 
 found Christ. The presence of this thought is an 
 actual test as to whether you have come to Him or 
 not ; for the moment you have really come, you 
 will know better ! 
 
 * Giving up '^ this, that, and the other, is a down- 
 right unfair way of putting it ; unless, indeed, the 
 magnificent gain is distinctly set against the paltry 
 loss. As well talk of an oak tree ' giving up ' the 
 withered leaves which have clung to the dry twigs 
 all the winter, when the sap begins to rise fresh and 
 strong, and the promise of all the splendour of 
 summer foliage is near ! 
 
 1 Matt. xix. 22. a Phil. iii. 7. 
 
The sons of Jacob were called away from their 
 famine-stricken fields by their brother, that they 
 might be * nourished '^ by him, and share his pros- 
 perity, and dwell 'in the best of the land;'^ receiv- 
 ing from his hand a place and possessions far 
 beyond what they had 'given up.' Of course 
 they could not have all this till they had actually 
 come to him ! Before they came, they had only 
 his bare word for it.' But they considered his 
 word enough, and they came ; and he kept his 
 word to the full.* 
 
 Not less, but infinitely more, does the Lord 
 Jesus, our Lord and Brother, hold forth to you. Is 
 riis word worthy of less belief? Over and above 
 the unspeakable gift of eternal life,^ He promises to 
 those who leave anything for His sake that they 
 ' shall receive an hundred-fold now, in this time P^ 
 Do you suppose He did not mean what He said ? 
 
 Listen again to the twin promises, negative and 
 positive, in their all-inclusive simplicity : ' No good 
 thing will He withhold from them that walk up- 
 rightly;''' and ' The Lord will give that which is 
 good.'® And yet your secret feeling is, that if you 
 come and give yourself up to Him, you will have 
 to go without all sorts of things that you fancy are 
 good and nice and pleasant, and that you will find 
 yourself let in for all sorts of things which do not 
 seem to you ' good ' at all ! ^ Is this fair, when he 
 has said positively just the opposite ? 
 
 1 Gen. xlv. ii. 2 Gen. xlvii. ii, 27. 3 Gen. xlvi. 31- 
 
 * Gen. xlvii. 11, 12. 5 2 Cor. ix. 15. 6 Mark x. 30. 
 
 ^ Ps. Ixxxiv. II. 8 Ps. Ixxxv. 12; Matt. vii. ii. 
 ^ Ps. xxxiv. 10. 
 
344 ^t)e IRoisal ITnvitatfon. 
 
 Listen again to what He says to those who have 
 come, and who are His own : ' Whether . . . the 
 world, or life, or death, or things present, or things 
 to come ; all are yours ! '^ What do you make of 
 that ? It is not figurative, but perfectly true and 
 literal. Only you will never be able to understand 
 it, until the next verse is true of you : * Ye are 
 Christ's.'^ Then another verse will be true of you : 
 ' Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, 
 but the spirit which is of God ; that we might 
 know the things which are freely given to us of 
 God.*^ Ask for that blessed Spirit of God, and you 
 will receive it,* and then you will understand.^ 
 
 Knowing what he was purposing to do for thefn 
 as soon as they came, Joseph naturally said to his 
 brethren, ' Also regard not your stuff; for the good 
 of all the land of Egypt is yours. '^ Take this 
 advice, ' regard not your stuff ! ' However much 
 you have or may have to give up for Christ, oh, do 
 believe the words of His prophet : ' The Lord is 
 able to give thee much 77iore than this ! '^ 
 
 Can you not instinctively feel what a thrill of 
 deep triumphant joy there is in St. Paul's words: 
 * Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for 
 the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my 
 Lord ! '^ Did you ever feel anything like as glad as 
 that? Christ Jesus my Lord is willing and waiting 
 to give that same fulness of gladness and blessing to 
 every one who will take Him at His word and come 
 to Him. 
 
 1 I Cor. iii. 22. 2 I Cor. iii. 23. 3 i Cor. ii. 12. 
 
 4 Luke xi. 13. 5 Prov. xxviii. 5. 6 Gen. xlv. 20. 
 
 1 2 Chron. xxv. 9. 8 Phil. iii. 8. '' 
 
Harris IRot^ 345 
 
 Yes, to you / 
 
 Oh, the happiness arising 
 
 From the life of grace within, 
 When the soul is realizing 
 
 Conquests over hell and sin ! 
 Happy moments ! 
 
 Heavenly joys on earth begin. 
 
 On the Saviour's fulness living, 
 All His saints obtain delight ; 
 "With the strength which He is giving, 
 They can wrestle, they can fight. 
 
 Happy moments, 
 When King Jesus is in sight ! 
 
 Joseph Irons. 
 
 SEVENTEENTH DAY. 
 
 ^arr? Iftot. 
 
 * Come down unto me, tarry not.' — Gen. xlv. 9. 
 
 IT is just this ' tarrying' that is hindering so many 
 from coming to the Saviour. What reason 
 could there be for Joseph's brethren to ' tarry, '^ and 
 go on starving a little longer in their own land, 
 when Joseph was waiting to settle them and their 
 father and their whole families in the land of Goshen 
 ^ in the best of the land ?'^ And what reason can 
 
 1 Geo. xliii. i, 2, 2 Gen. xlvii. n. 
 
346 ^be IRoi^al ITnvjftatfon, 
 
 there be for you to tarry, and go on starved and 
 unsatisfied a little longer, when the Lord Jesus is 
 waiting to receive you into the * pleasant land'^ of 
 His all-satisfying love? Why tarry in the 'far 
 country'^ with the husks and the heart-loneliness? 
 * Ye shall haste ! ' said Joseph, for his heart was 
 eager to do great things for them. 
 
 If you grant the reality of Christ's love at all, do 
 you not see that delay in coming down to Him, and 
 hesitation in letting Him save you in His own way 
 (and there is no other), and putting Him off fr.om 
 day to day, must be wounding His love ?^ 
 
 Why do you tarry ? Have you any reason what- 
 ever to give Him? 'What wilt thou say?'* Do not 
 flatter yourself that all this delay and putting off is 
 any preparation for coming, much less any part of 
 coming to Him. There are no steps in coming to 
 Jesus. Either you come, or you do not come. 
 There is only the 'one step, out of self, into Christ. '' 
 There are no gradations of approach marked out in 
 His Word. If you think there are, search and see; 
 do not take my word for it ; look for yourself, and 
 see what is the Lord's word about it.^ 
 
 You have nothing to gain, but very much, per- 
 haps everything, to lose by 'tarrying.' You are 
 accumulating the guilt of disobedience. You are, 
 it may be very unconsciously, hardening your 
 heart,^ and making the great step more and more 
 difficult. Instead of being in a better position for 
 coming to-morrow, you will be in a worse one.' 
 
 1 Ps. cvi. 24. 2 Luke xv. 13, 16. 3 Cant. v. 2, 6. 
 
 4 Jer. xiii. 21. 5 Acts xvii. 11, 12. 6 Acts xxiv. 25. 
 
 7 Heb. iii. 7, 8. 
 
Znn^ IRot* 347 
 
 While you are doing nothing, the enemy is very 
 busy strengthening his toils around you, and they 
 will be stronger to-morrow than to-day. 
 
 While you are, as you fancy, only lying still, you 
 are drifting fast down the stream into the stronger 
 current, nearing the rapids, nearing the fatal fall. 
 
 It is a question of life and death. ' Escape for 
 thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in 
 all the plain. '^ It is the old story of 
 
 * If you tarry till you're better, 
 You will never come at all.' 
 
 I do not know any one promise in all the Bible 
 for the lingerers. And if you put yourself out cf 
 the sphere of God's promises, what have you to 
 found any hope at all upon ? 
 
 * Tarry not ! '^ Oh, if I could but reach you and 
 rouse you ! 
 
 'And if I care 
 For one unknown, oh how much more doth He !'' 
 
 For one who perishes through straightforward 
 refusal, there are probably thousands who perish 
 through puUi'ng of .^ 'How shall we escape if we' 
 refuse — no, if we merely ^neglect — so great salva- 
 tion ?'^ 
 
 Yet there is room ! The Lamb's bright hall of song, 
 With its fair glory, beckons thee along. 
 
 Yet there is room ! Still open stands the gate, 
 The gate of love ; it is not yet too late. 
 
 1 Gen. xix. 17. 2 Heb. iv. 7. 82 Pet. iii. 9. 
 
 * Matt. xxii. 3, 5. 5 Heb. xii. 25 ; Heb. ii. 3. 
 
348 Zhc IRoijal ITnvltatlon. 
 
 Pass in, pass in ! That banquet is for thee ; 
 That cup of everlasting love is free. 
 
 Ere night that gate may close, and seal thy doom ; 
 Then the last, low, long cry, — ' No room, no room ! * 
 
 Dr. H. Bonar, 
 
 1 
 
 EIGHTEENTH DAY. 
 
 Wlftbout (Tbrist. 
 
 *At that time ye were without Christ.' — Eph. li. 12= 
 
 I COULD not do without Thee, 
 O Saviour of the lost ! 
 Whose precious blood redeemed me 
 
 At such tremendous cost. 
 Thy righteousness, Thy pardon, 
 Thy precious blood — must be 
 My only hope and comfort. 
 My glory and my plea. 
 
 I could not do without Him ! 
 
 Jesus is more to me 
 Than all the richest, fairest gifts 
 
 Of earth could ever be. 
 But the more I find Him precious. 
 
 And the more I find Him true. 
 
mitbout Cbrist. $4^, 
 
 The more I long for you to find 
 What He can be to you. 
 
 You need not do without Him, 
 
 For He is passing by ; 
 He is waiting to be gracious, 
 
 Only waiting for your cry. 
 He is waiting to receive you, — 
 
 To make you all His own ! 
 Why will you do without Him, 
 
 And wander on alone ? 
 
 Why will you do without Him ! 
 
 Is He not kind indeed ? 
 Did He not die to save you? 
 
 Is He not all you need ? 
 Do you not want a Saviour? 
 
 Do you not want a Friend ? 
 One who will love you faithfully, 
 
 And love you to the end ? 
 
 Why will you do without Him ? 
 
 The word of God is true : 
 The world is passing to its doom, 
 
 And you are passing too. 
 It may be, no to-morrov/ 
 
 Shall dawn for you or me, 
 Why will you run the awful risk 
 
 Of all eternity ? 
 
 What will you do without Him 
 In the long and dreary day 
 23 
 
550 n:be IRo^al irn\?ftatfon. 
 
 Of trouble and perplexity, 
 
 When you do not know the way ; 
 
 And no one else can help you, 
 And no one guides you right, 
 
 And hope comes not with morning, 
 And rest comes not with night? 
 
 You could not do without Him, 
 
 If once He made you see 
 The fetters that enchain you 
 
 Till He hath set you free ; 
 If once you saw the fearful load 
 
 Of sin upon your soul, — 
 The hidden plague that ends in death 
 
 Unless He makes you whole ! 
 
 What will you do without Him 
 
 When death is drawing near. 
 Without His love — the only love 
 
 That casts out every fear; 
 When the shadow-valley opens, 
 
 Unlighted and unknown, 
 And the terrors of its darkness 
 
 Must all be passed alone ? 
 
 What will you do without Him 
 
 When the great White Throne is set, 
 And the Judge who never can mistake, 
 
 And never can forget, — 
 The Judge whom you have never here 
 
 As Friend and Saviour sought. 
 Shall summon you to give account 
 
 Of deed, and word and thought ? 
 
Mltbout Cbrist. 351 
 
 What will you do without Him 
 
 When He hath shut the door, 
 And you are left outside, because 
 
 You would not come before ; 
 When it is no use knocking, 
 
 No use to stand and wait, 
 For the word of doom tolls through your 
 heart, 
 
 That terrible ' Too late ' ? 
 
 You cannot do without Him ! 
 
 There is no other name 
 By which you ever can be saved, — 
 
 No way, no hope, no claim ! 
 Without Him — everlasting loss 
 
 Of love, and life, and light ! 
 Without Him — everlasting woe, 
 
 And everlasting night. 
 
 But with Him — oh ! with Jesus / — 
 
 Are any words so blest ? 
 With Jesus — everlasting joy 
 
 And everlasting rest ! 
 With Jesus — all the empty heart 
 
 Filled with His perfect love ! 
 With Jesus — perfect peace below. 
 
 And perfect bliss above ! 
 
 Why should you do without Him ? — 
 
 It is not yet too late ; 
 He has not closed the day of grace. 
 
 He has not shut the gate. 
 
352 ^be IRoisal ITnvitatfon* 
 
 He calls you ! — hush ! He calls you l- 
 He would not have you go 
 
 Another step without Him, 
 Because He loves you so. 
 
 Why will you do without Him ? 
 
 He calls and calls again — 
 * Come unto Me ! Come unto Me ! ' 
 
 Oh, shall He call in vain ? 
 He wants to have you with Him ; 
 
 Do you not want Him too ? 
 You cannot do without Him, 
 
 And He wants — even you ! 
 
 NINETEENTH DAY. 
 
 Come Hwai?* 
 
 * My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my 
 fair one, and come away.' — Cant. ii. lo. 
 
 WHAT a loving call ! What astonishing con- 
 descension, that the Heavenly Bridegroom 
 should use such words to — whom ? Would you not 
 like to be able to fill up that blank, and say, ' My 
 Beloved spake, and said unto m^ /' 
 
 Perhaps you think this is too much for you. You 
 feel too sinful and unworthy to be so loved, — too 
 defiled to be called * my fair one. ' If so, will you 
 
Come Bwa^. 353 
 
 turn to a wonderful picture of those upon whom He 
 sets His love/ and of what His love does for them, 
 asking the Holy Spirit to open your eyes while you 
 read it, that you may behold wondrous things out 
 of it.=* 
 
 I will not quote it here, because I want you to go 
 to His own Book for it. See in it how the Lord 
 Jesus goes down to the very depths, and begins at 
 the very beginning.^ Your case is not deeper than 
 those depths ; for it is even when we are dead^ in 
 sins that the great love wherewith God loved us 
 reaches and raises us.^ He says, 'Awake, thou that 
 sleepest, and rise from the dead, and Christ shall 
 give thee light. '^ You cannot be worse than 'dead ; ' 
 and the very sense of sin and death working in 
 you'' ' is a proof ' that He has said unto you, 
 ^ Live ! '« 
 
 The call to arise and come away is a proof that 
 He is passing by.^ And when Jesus passes by, He 
 looks upon you, though you are not yet able to see 
 Him. And He says that when He does this, it is 
 *the time of love.' ^° And oh, what //zi^;/ implies ! 
 What will He not do, when the bright, warm, pow- 
 erful rays of the love which passeth knowledge" are 
 focussed upon you, and He says even to you, ' My 
 love ! ' giving you the glorious right to respond, ' My 
 beloved ! ''' 
 
 Read on, and see what He will do 'then ! ' ' Then ' 
 the ' thoroughly' washing^^ and the anointing which 
 
 1 Ezek. xvi. 5, 14. 
 
 2 Ps. cxix. 18. 
 
 3 Ps. xl. 2. 
 
 4 Eph. ii. I. 
 
 5 Eph. ii. 4, 5. 
 
 6 Eph. V. 14. 
 
 7 Rom. vii. 13. 
 
 8 Ezek. xvi. 6. 
 
 9 Luke xviii. 37 
 
 10 Ezek. xvi. 8. 
 
 11 Eph. iii. 19. 
 
 12 Cant. ii. 16. 
 
 13 Ps. U. 2. 
 
 
 
354 ^be TRo^al ITnvitatfom 
 
 prepares you for the delight of the King.^ ' Then ' 
 the clothing, the girding, and the covering, each 
 with their treasures of significance.^ Then 'also' 
 the decking and the crowning, and the being made 
 ' exceeding beautiful ' and ' perfect through My 
 comeliness which I had put upon thee, saith the 
 Lord God ! '^ When He puts the beauty of the Lord 
 our God upon us,* then He can indeed say, ' My 
 fair one ! '^ * Fair ' only with His comeliness /' other- 
 wise the fairest natural character that was ever seen 
 is 'black as the tentsof Kedar,'^ — those miserable 
 goats' -hair tents, which are to this day the very type 
 of the filthiest blackness. Yet with it, whatever 
 your natural character, and whatever your added 
 deformity through having been ' accustomed to do 
 evil,'^ you will be 'comely as the curtains of Solo- 
 mon,' — the type of all that is costly and beautiful 
 in colours and workmanship. 
 
 Let Him do all this for you !^ Rise up and come 
 away from all that pollutes and separates you from 
 Him. 'Shake thyself from the dust, and arise !'^* 
 'Arise, shine, for thy Light is come ! '^^ ' Though 
 ye have lien among the pots, yet ' (when you come 
 to the Light that is come so close to you), ' yet 
 shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with 
 silver, and her feathers with yellow gold, '^'^ shining 
 and gleaming as you rise and come away, resplen- 
 dent in the beams of the Sun of righteousness.^* 
 ' Rise, He calleth thee ! 'i* ' Come away ! ' 
 
 1 Esth. ii. 12-14. ^ Isa. Ixi. 10; Ps. xlv. 13. 3 Ezek. xvi. 14. 
 
 < Ps. xc. 17. 6 Cant. iv. 7. 6 Rom. viii. 7. 
 
 7 Cant. i. 5. 8 Jer. xiii. 23. » Phil. ii. 13. 
 
 10 Isa. lii. 2. 11 Isa, Ix. i. 12 Ps. Ixviii. 13. 
 
 IS Mai. iv. a. 1* Mark x. 49. 
 
domfns after ^cens. 355 
 
 TWENTIETH DAY. 
 
 Coming after 3cBm. 
 
 * G>me and follow Me.' — ^Matt. xix. 21. 
 
 FOLLOWING is the only proof of coming.^ 
 There is hardly a commoner lamentation 
 than this : * I do not know whether I have come or 
 not ! '^ And nobody ever says that with a happy 
 smile. It is always with a dismal look ; and no 
 wonder ! When so much hinges upon it, — poverty 
 or riches, safety or danger, life or death, — uncer- 
 tainty must and will be miserable. Now, do you 
 really want to know whether you have come or not? 
 Oar Lord gives you the test, 'Come and follow 
 Me!'^ 
 
 If you are willing for that, willing with the will 
 that issues in act and deed, then the coming is 
 real.* 
 
 If you are not willing to follow, then you may 
 dismiss at once any idea that perhaps you have 
 come or are coming : there is no reality in it, and 
 there is nothing for you but to go away sorrowful. 
 
 1 Ezek. xxxiii. 31. 2 i Kings xviii. 21. 
 
 8 John X. 27. * Matt. xx. 34. 
 
356 zhe IRoisal IFnvitatfon. 
 
 as the rich young man did, who * came,' but would 
 not ' follow.'^ 
 
 The following will be just as real and definite as 
 the coming, if there is any reality in you at all ; 
 and if you are not deluding yourself with a deceitful 
 cloudland of sentimental religion, without founda- 
 tion and without substance, which is but a refuge of 
 lies which the hail shall sweep away.^ Do not sit 
 down in this most serious state of uncertainty, but 
 ' give diligence to make your calling and election 
 sure.'^ 
 
 But you say, ' How am I to know whether I am 
 following ? ' Well, following is not standing stilL 
 Clearly it is not staying just where you always were. 
 You cannot follow one thing without coming away 
 from something else.^ Apply this test. What 
 have you le/^ for Jesus ?^ What have you left off 
 doing for His sake ?^ If you are moving onward, 
 some things must be left behind. What are * the 
 things which are behind'^ in your life? If the 
 supposed coming has made no difference in your 
 practical daily life,^ do not flatter yourself that you 
 have ever yet really come at all.^ Jesus says, ' If 
 any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, 
 and take up his cross and follow Me.'^° What light 
 does that saying throw upon your case ? Be honest 
 about it ; all true coming to Jesus must issue in thus 
 coming after Him.^^ 
 
 1 Matt. xix. 22. 2 Isa. xxviii. 17. 3 2 Pet. i. 10. 
 
 4 Rom. vi. 2, 4, 13, 22. 5 Matt. iv. 18-20. 6 Matt. ix. 9. 
 
 7 Phil. iii. 13. 8 Matt. vii. 21. 9 2 Cor. v. 17. 
 
 10 Matt. xvi. 24. 11 Luke xiv. 27. 
 
domiuQ atter 5c6U0. 357 
 
 Then look at it from the positive side. He has 
 left us ' an example that ye should follow His steps. '^ 
 As the beautiful collect puts it, * Give us grace that 
 we may daily endeavour ourselves to follow the 
 blessed steps of His most holy life.'^ Now, what 
 are those steps ? Perhaps you are not even looking 
 to see what they are, let alone following them ! 
 Following the steps is quite a different thing from 
 thinking to follow one's own idea of the general 
 direction of a course. If you would only take one 
 Gospel, and read it through with the earnest pur- 
 pose of noting, by the Holy Spirit's guidance, 
 what the steps of Jesus are, you would soon see 
 clearly whether you are following or not,^ far more 
 clearly than by reading any amount of books about 
 it, or consulting any number of human counsellors. 
 Take for to-day only one indication of what those 
 steps were. ^ Who went about doing good.'* Do 
 your steps correspond with that ? ^ It is not, * went 
 about doing no harm,' but actively and positively 
 * doing good.' 
 
 Oh, dear friends, they are ' blessed ' steps in all 
 senses of the word ! For His ways are ways of 
 pleasantness, and all His paths are peace. ^ Once 
 fairly and fully entered, the paradox is always 
 solved, the self-denial is lost in the greater joy of 
 pleasing Him,' the cross becomes a sceptre in 
 the hand of His 'kings and priests.'^ Then you 
 
 1 1 Pet. ii. 21. 2 John xiii. 15. 3 Matt. xi. 29. 
 
 4 Acts X. 38. 5 I John ii. 6. 6 Prov. iii. 17. 
 
 t Phil, iii, 7. 8 Rev, i. 6. 
 
358 ^be IRo^al ITnvltatfom 
 
 shall * continue following the Lord your God.** 
 And the end of the following is, * that where I am, 
 there shall also My servant be." 
 
 TWENTY-FIRST DAY. 
 
 Coming witb Jesus. 
 
 * Come with Me.' — Cant. iv. 8. 
 
 '/^^OME away '^ is not all that the Lord Jesus has 
 V^ to say to us. ' Come unto Me '* and * Come 
 after Me,'^ only lead up to the even more gracious 
 invitation, ' Come wi'fA Me.'^ 
 
 ' Ye see your calling ;'^ it is nothing less than to 
 come wiifk Jesus. The enviable privilege of the 
 twelve whom Jesus ordained ' that they should be 
 with Him,'^ is freely offered to you. Will you 
 avail yourself of it? Will you come with Jesus, 
 walking with Him^ from this day every step ot the 
 way? Will you accept Him as the Guide with 
 whom you will go, the Friend with whom you will 
 commune by the way ?^° It will be no dreamy or 
 nominal coming with Him, if only you are willing 
 to come. You will find it very real in all respects. 
 You can never be so really always with any 
 earthly friend as you can be with Jesus, and as you 
 
 1 I Sam. xii. 14. 2 John xii. 26 ; Rev. xiv, 4. 3 Cant, ii, 10. 
 
 4 Matt. xi. 28. 5 Matt. xvi. 24. 6 2 Sam. xix, 33. 
 
 7 I Cor. i. 26. 8 Mark iii. 14. 9 Rev. iii. 4, 21. 
 
 10 John vi. 68 ; Ex. xxxiii. 14. 
 
Coming wftb ^csne* 359 
 
 wi// he, if you. accept the invitation.^ For there 
 are two sides to that ' with. ' If you will but come 
 with Him, He will come unto you and abide with 
 you.' Your natural fear lest, even when you con- 
 sent to come to be with Him, you might not re- 
 main with Him, is met and completely settled by 
 His promise, ' I will never leave thee. '^ And of 
 course if He never leaves you, you will always be 
 with Him. And if He has said that, of course He 
 will So it.* So do not let that objection come up 
 again ! 
 
 It is a very common experience in great things 
 and small, that the person or thing we most want is 
 not there just when we most want him or it. Never 
 shall we have to complain of this as to the prom- 
 ised perpetual presence of our Lord f for He says, 
 ' T will be with him in trouble. '® ^ When thou 
 passest through the waters, I will be with thee.'^ 
 And in the deepest need of all, in the valley of the 
 shadow of death, the soul that has yielded to 
 the present call will be able to say, * Thou art with 
 me.'«» 
 
 I do not think we consider enough how we dis- 
 appoint the love of Jesus when we refuse to come 
 with Him.^ For He does truly and literally desire 
 us to be with Him.^° Would He have made it the 
 very climax of His great Prayer, representing it as 
 the very culmination of His own rest and glory 
 that His people should be with Him,^^ if He did 
 
 1 Prov. xviii. 24. 2 John xiv. 23. 3 Heb. xiii. 5. 
 
 4 Num. xxiii. 19. 5 Matt, xxviii. 20. 6 Ps. xci. 15. 
 
 7 Isa. xliii. 2. 8 Ps. xxiii. 4. 9 Luke .xiii. 34. 
 
 10 Cant. V. 2. 11 John xvii. 24. 
 
360 Zbc IRo^al ITnvftation. 
 
 not so very much care about it, and was only seek- 
 ing and saving us out of bare pity ? No, it was in 
 His love as well as in His pity that He redeemed 
 us ! ^ And love craves nearness. This is the very 
 thing that differences love from the lesser glow of 
 mere pity, or kindness, whatever their degrees or 
 combinations. The Lord Jesus would not say, 
 ' Come wifk Me,' if He did not feel towards us 
 something far beyond any degree of pity and kind- 
 ness. It is the Royal Invitation of His kingly 
 love. 
 
 But now, what are you going to do about it ? 
 Hearing it, and thinking it very gracious, and all 
 that, is not enough. You must come to a point 
 about it.^ You must give as definite an answer to 
 this as mere common courtesy demands to any 
 earthly invitation. Giving no answer is an acknowl- 
 edged insult. Will you treat the King thus? And 
 if not what shall your answer be? You must give 
 it yourself. Christ Himself is waiting for it.^ 
 
 There is a beautiful type* which tells us how a 
 maiden was chosen to be the bride of the son of a 
 ' mighty prince '^ in a far-off land. She was to 
 answer for herself about it, and so * they said, We 
 will call the damsel and enquire at her mouth. And 
 they called Rebekah, and said, Wilt thou go with 
 this man ? And she said, I will go.'^ 
 
 Shall this be your answer to-day ? 
 
 1 Isa. Ixiii. 9. 2 i Kings xviii. 21. 3 John vi. 67. 
 
 4 Gen. xxiv. •*> Gen. xxiii. 6. 6 Gen. xxiv. 57, 58, 
 
Cbe Xivlng Water. 361 
 
 TWENTY-SECOND DAY. 
 
 ^be Xivina Mater. 
 
 *If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.* 
 — ^JoHN,vii. 37. 
 
 THE Invitation could not have been given in 
 any wider form. Neither could it have been 
 given in any form which so certainly concentrates 
 all its light and warmth on one point, that point 
 yourself ! 
 
 First, there is the grand sweep of the ^anf man. 
 Instead of amplifying this into a list of all possible 
 varieties of 'rich or poor, old or young,' and soon, 
 just never mind about these usual human para- 
 phrases, which may or may not seem to include you, 
 and come face to face with the magnificently simple 
 word of our Lord, 'Any !' and know that it means 
 ^you r for you cannot possibly get outside of this 
 great circle, described by the hand of Infinite Love. 
 You cannot possibly say it does not include you. 
 Words mean nothing, if this word does not mean 
 that you, whose eyes now rest upon it, are included 
 and intended. To you the Lord Jesus says, 'Let 
 him come unto Me. ' 
 
 But another word is appended which seems at 
 first sight to be a limitation. 'If any man thirsty 
 
362 Zhc IRoisal ITnvitatfon. 
 
 let him come.'^ Is it a limitation ? Ask your own 
 heart ! Is there any one who does not thirst ?'^ In 
 other words, is there any one who can say before 
 God who searches the heart, ^ *I am satisfied. I 
 have no sense of thirst, no nameless craving' ? Are 
 you satisfied? I do not mean, are you tolerably 
 contented and comfortable on the whole and in a 
 general way when things are at their best ? But, 
 satisfied! — the deep under-the- surface rest and com- 
 plete satisfaction of the very heart, the filling of its 
 emptiness, the stilling of all its cravings ; and this 
 not during the false frothing of excitement or busi- 
 ness, but when you are alone, when you lie awake 
 in the night, when you are shut away from any 
 fictitious filling of your cup, and when the broken 
 cisterns have leaked out,* as they will, and do, and 
 must, — are you satisfied then? Verily, He who 
 knew what was in man^ knew that He was not nar- 
 rowing the invitation when He said, 'Let him that 
 is athirst, come !'^ 
 
 Did you ever think why it is so utterly hopeless 
 and useless to try to quench that inner thirst with 
 anything but the living water, 'the supply of the 
 Spirit of Jesus Christ' ?^ He has said plainly and 
 positively that you shall not succeed !^ He hath 
 said, 'Whosoever drinketh of this water shall \ki\x%\. 
 again. '^ You see there is no chance for you, for 
 His word cannot be broken, and He says you ^ shall 
 thirst again. '^° There are only two issues of that 
 
 1 Rev. xxi. 6. 2 Ps. cvii. 5. 3 Ezek. xi. 5. 
 
 4 Jer. ii. 13. 5 John ii. 25. 6 Rev. xxii. 17. 
 
 '^ Phil. i. 19. 8 John vii. 39. 9 John iv. 13. 
 
 10 
 
 John X. 35. 
 
Zbc Xivfng mater. 36^ 
 
 perpetual thirst. One is the unanswered entreaty 
 for a drop of water, only so much as the tip of a 
 finger may bear, not to quench the unquenchable 
 thirst, but only to coo/ a. flame-tormented tongue.^ 
 The other, the on/y other, is, ' Whosoever drinketh 
 of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst."^ 
 And lest our slow perceptions should fail to grasp 
 the fact in the figure, the Lord Jesus repeats the 
 promise, and says, *He that believeth on Me shall 
 never thirst.'^ Never! for ' He satisfieththe longing 
 soul.'* 
 
 *Let him come un/o Me, and drink. '^ You see 
 there is only this one way of drinking of the living 
 water : you must come to Jesus Himself, personally 
 and really. Knowing all about it is not enough. 
 Consulting Christian friends, and reading good 
 books, and doing any amount of religious duties 
 and exercising any amount of self-denial, will 
 not stay the more or less conscious heart-thirst. 
 The Lord says not a word about any channels ; He 
 only says, Tf any man thirst, let him come unto 
 Me, and drink.' And ' Whosoever will, let him 
 take of the water of life freely.'^ Will not you 
 come ? 
 
 1 Luke xvi. 24. 2 John iv. 14. 3 John vi. 35. 
 
 4 Ps. cvii. 9. 5 John vii. 37. 6 Rev. xxii. 17. 
 
364 Zbc IRoisal irn\>(tation. 
 
 TWENTY-THIRD DAY. 
 
 Zhc Breat) anb Mine* 
 
 * Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have 
 mingled.' — Prov. ix. 5. 
 
 IN several chapters of Proverbs the Lord Jesus 
 Christ is beautifully described under the figure of 
 Wisdom. For He is ' the Wisdom of God,' and He 
 is ' made unto us Wisdom.'^ 
 
 In this verse He gives a double Invitation, — to 
 eat of His bread, and drink of His wine. These 
 are the symbols of life and joy — His life and His 
 joy. 
 
 ' Come, eat of My bread.' * Feed on Him in thy 
 heart by faith, with thanksgiving. ' For Jesus Him- 
 self is the true Bread from heaven.^ And he that 
 eateth of this Bread shall live for ever. For He 
 is the Bread of Life, life-giving and life -sustaining.^ 
 
 How shall we eat? It is the old story, — only 
 coming, only believing ! For ' he that cometh to 
 Me shall never hunger,'* and ^ we are made /^r- 
 takers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our 
 confidence steadfast unto the end.'^ 
 
 1 1 Cor i. 24, 30. 2 John vi. 51. 3 John vi. 48 ; Gal. ii. 20. 
 
 4 John vi. 35. 5 Heb. iii. 14. 
 
^be JSreaO anD mine. 365 
 
 It is not a mere tasting or a bare subsisting to which 
 Christ invites us. He says, ' Eat, O friends ; drink, 
 yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.'^ For 'I am 
 come that they might have life, and that they might 
 have it more abundantly ; '^ fulness and vigour of 
 life, abounding pulses of vitality, fresh and strong; 
 life that shall not and cannot fail, for 'He ever 
 liveth ; '^ and ' because I live, ye shall live also. '* 
 
 How often we have sung, ' He hath filled the 
 hungry with good things ! '^ Are you hungry ?^ 
 Come, eat of His bread, leaving the husks and 
 ashes, and you shall know what it is to be filled 
 with good things.^ For ' He filleth the hungry 
 soul with goodness.'® 
 
 It is not only the solid life-need of bread that is 
 provided at the feast which the Lord has made for 
 us, but Wine, the symbol of joy, * that maketh 
 glad the heart of man.'^ ' Come, buy wine and 
 milk without money and without price, '^"because 
 the price is already paid for it. His sorrow was the 
 price of the joy offered to us. He poured out His 
 soul unto death, ^^ that He might pour out His joy 
 into our lives. ^^ He emptied the cup which His 
 Father gave Him,^^ that He might fill ours till it 
 runs over.^* Without price to us, — but oh, the 
 price to Him ! 
 
 The Lord Jesus says it is wine which He has 
 mingled. Not all one kind, but mingled by Divine 
 care and, skill into a perfect draught of manifold 
 
 1 Cant. V. I. 2 John x. lO. 3 Heb. vii. 25. 
 
 4 John xiv. 19. 5 Luke i. 53. 6 Luke xv. 16; Isa. xliv. 20. 
 
 7 Jer, xxxi. 14,25. 8 Ps. cvii. 9. 9 Ps. civ. 15. 
 
 lOlsa. Iv. 1. 11 Isa. liii, 12. 12 John xv. ii„ 
 
 13 John xviii. 11. 14 Ps. xxiii. 5. 
 
 24 
 
3^6 Zbc TRo^al ITnvftation. 
 
 gladness : ' If they obey and serve Him, they shall 
 spend their days in prosperity, and their years in 
 pleasures.'^ T/iaf is the heritage of the servants of 
 the Lord !^ Did you think it was so pleasant ? Did 
 you know that He meant you to spend your years in 
 pleasures here^ as well as to give you the pleasures 
 for evermore hereafter ?^ * Come, drink of the 
 wine that He has mingled,' and you will find out 
 what these pleasures are, and how exceedingly real 
 they are ! No wonder you are a little skeptical 
 about it ! for * eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
 neither have entered into the heart of man, the 
 things which God hath prepared for them that love 
 Him; but,^ notice now exactly what is said, * God 
 HATH revealed them unto us by His Spirit. ^^ So, 
 unless or until God reveals them to you by His 
 Spirit, you cannot see or conceive what these pleas- 
 ures are which He has prepared for those who love 
 Him, — what this wine is which He has mingled for 
 those who come to Him. Oh taste and see !* 
 Come and put your trust under the shadow of His 
 wings '^ and then you shall be abundantly satisfied 
 with the fatness of His house, ^ and he shall make 
 you drink of the river of His pleasures. 
 
 1 Job xxxvi. II ; Ps. xc. 14. 2 Isa. Ixv. 13, 14. 
 
 3 Ps. iv. 7; Pror. iii. 17. * Ps. xvi. 11. 
 
 5 I Cor. ii. 9, ID. 6 Ps. xxxiv. 8. 
 
 ■^ Ps. xxxvi. 7, 8. 8 Ps. Ixiii. 5. 
 
'mm lou mot come? 367 
 
 TWENTY-FOURTH DAY. 
 
 Mill IPou mot Come ? 
 
 * TKou hast received gifts for men ; yea, for the rebellious 
 also.'— Ps. Ixviii. 18. 
 
 WILL you not come to Him for life ? 
 Why will ye die, oh why ? 
 He gave His life for you, for you ! 
 The gift is free, the word is true ! 
 
 Will you not come ? oh, why will you die ? 
 
 Will you not come to Him for peace — 
 
 Peace through His cross alone ? 
 He shed His precious blood for you ; 
 The gift is free, the word is true ! 
 
 He is our Peace! oh, is He your own? 
 
 Will you not come to Him for rest? 
 
 All that are weary, come ! 
 The rest He gives is deep and true ; 
 'Tis offered now, 'tis offered you ! 
 
 Rest in His love, and rest in His home. 
 
 Will you not come to Him for joy, — 
 
 Will you not come for this ? 
 He laid His joys aside for you, 
 
3 '8 ^be IRo^al irnvltatfom 
 
 To give you joy, so sweet, so true ! 
 Sorrowing heart, oh drink of the bliss ! 
 
 Will you not come to Him for love — 
 
 Love that can fill the heart. 
 Exceeding great, exceeding free? 
 He loveth you. He loveth me ! 
 
 Will you not come ? Why stand you apart ? 
 
 Will you not come to Him for all ? 
 
 Will you not ' taste and see ' ? 
 He waits to give it all to you ; 
 The gifts are free, the words are true ! 
 
 Jesus is calling, ' Come unto Me ! ' 
 
 i 
 
 TWENTY-FIFTH DAY. 
 
 Come IRear* 
 
 * Come ye near unto Me.' — ISA. xlviii. i6. 
 
 * O HE obeyed not the voice ; . . . she trusted 
 ^ not in the Lord, she drew not near to her 
 God.'* What was her portion? *Woe to her !' ^ 
 
 * But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of 
 you, though we thus speak.' ' For Jesus says that 
 if He is lifted up, He will draw all men unto Him.* 
 
 1 Zeph. iii. a. 2 Zeph. iii. i. 3 Heb. vi. 9. * John xii. 32. 
 
Come Bear. 3^9 
 
 And it is the Lord Jesus Himself (see context) 
 who says, * Come ye near unto Me, hear ye this !'^ 
 No matter how far off you may be, this call of 
 peace is to you who are far off.^ And if you 
 hearken, then shall your peace be as a river. ' And 
 if you have already come to Jesus, still He says to 
 them that are nigh, ^ Now ye have consecrated 
 yourselves to the Lord, cpme near,'* — nearer still, 
 closer and closer to the Lord who loves you. 
 
 There is only one way of coming near or being 
 made near, but that way is open for you. Not 
 into the outer court of religious profession, but 
 
 * into the Holiest,' into the reality of most sacred 
 nearness to your Lord, you may enter ' by the 
 blood of Jesus. '^ The moment you claim by faith 
 the power of that precious blood,^ — the moment 
 you let your Great High Priest put it upon you,^ 
 that moment * ye who sometimes were far off are 
 made nigh by the blood of Christ.'® Then, having- 
 this High Priest,^ and having this one blessed and 
 unfailing means of access, ' let us draw near with a 
 true heart, in full assurance of faith. '^° 
 
 Do not be discouraged from coming near because 
 you feel far off. Take that rather as your very 
 claim to be included in the call, for He says, 
 ' Hear ye that are far off, what I have done !'" and 
 take it as your very reason for coming ; come just 
 because you are *a great way off,' for He says, 
 
 * They that are far off shall come.' " 
 
 1 Isa. xlviii. 16. 2 Isa. Ivii. 19. 3 Isa. xlviii. 18. 
 
 * 2 Chron. xxix. 31. 5 Heb. x. 19. 6 Heb. xiii. 12. 
 
 7 Lev. xiv. 14; Heb. ix. 13, 14. 8 Eph. ii. 13. 
 
 3 Heb. iv. 14. 10 Rom. v. 9 ; Eph. iii. 12 ; Heb. x. 21, 22. 
 
 *l Isa. xxxiii. 13. 12 Zech. v\. 15. 
 
2 JO ^be IRo^al ITnvitatlon, 
 
 If you feel very powerless about it, plead and 
 claim the promise of His enabling grace, ' I will 
 cause him to draw near.'^ And then you will find 
 that ' blessed is the man whom Thou choosest, and 
 causest to approach unto Thee ;'^ and your experi- 
 ence will be, ' It is good for me to draw near unto 
 God.'^ 
 
 He who causes you to come near will keep you 
 near. Joseph did not only say to his brethren, 
 ^ Come near to me,'* in that moment of tenderest 
 love when he made himself known to them, but his 
 promise was, 'And thou shalt be near unto me. '^ 
 This is your calling. Never to be far off any more ! 
 Never any more distance and separation !^ Never 
 any more wandering in the far country^ without 
 God,® but henceforth to be 'a people near unto 
 Him ! '^ ' No more strangers and foreigners, but 
 fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household 
 of God,'^° having found the very home of the weary 
 heart, from which you shall no more go out." 
 
 1 Jer. XXX. 21. 2 Ps. Ixv. 4. 3 Ps. Ixxiii. 28. 
 
 4 Gen. xlv. 4. 5 Gen. xlv. lo. ^ Rom. viii. 35-39. 
 
 V Luke XV. 13. 8 Eph. ii. 12. ^ Ps. cxlviii. 14. 
 
 10 Eph. ii. 19. 11 Rev. iii. 12. 
 
XTo tbe TUttermost. 371 
 
 TWENTY-SIXTH DAY. 
 
 Zo tbe "lattermoet* 
 
 * But this man, because He continueth ever, hath an un- 
 changeable priesthood. Wherefore He is able also to save 
 them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him.' — Heb. vii. 
 24, 25. 
 
 * A ND suppose I do come, what then ? Suppose I 
 -^^ do receive all this blessedness to-day, what 
 
 about to-morrow? ' Something like this thought is 
 very often in the minds of those who see the lions 
 not only outside but inside the doors of the House 
 Beautiful. But it is all met by that wonderful word, 
 
 * to the uttermost. ' 
 
 This does not only mean that the Lord Jesus is 
 able to save out of the uttermost depth of need and 
 misery and sin, and that He is able to save from the 
 uttermost regions of distance and despair. It means 
 all that, but more besides. It is not only bringing 
 you up out of the horrible pit and miry clay, but 
 setting your feet upon a rock, and establishing your 
 goings.^ 
 
 The word is one of those remarkable compound 
 ones for which we have no equivalent. It means 
 that He is able to save unto all completeness, unto 
 the total perfection of saving.^ 
 
 1 Ps. xl. 2. 2 Eccl. iii. 14 ; Isa. xlv. 17 ; Jer. xvii. 14. 
 
372 XLbc IRoi^al 1In\?itation. 
 
 Suppose I were drowning, and you drew me out 
 of the deepest water, just in time to save my life, 
 but then left me wet and shivering and exhausted 
 on the bank, to run the more than risk of wretched 
 after-effects of cold and rheumatism, from which I 
 might never entirely recover ! That would not be 
 saving * to the uttermost ' in this sense of the word. 
 But if you did the thing completely, — carrying me 
 home, and doing everything necessary to restore me, 
 and avert ill effects, and that effectually; never re- 
 laxing in care and effort, nor letting me go, till you 
 had me safe and well, however long and difficult it 
 might be, then you would have saved me * to the 
 uttermost,' in the true meaning of it. 
 
 This is what Jesus is able to do for you. Your 
 first coming to Him is only like letting Him grasp 
 you in your terrible danger, and draw you out of 
 the fatal depths. But ' because He continueth ever,'^ 
 always the same loving and faithful Saviour, He will 
 complete what He begins.' For we are ^confident 
 of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good 
 work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus 
 Christ.'^ Having saved you from destruction. His 
 very name* is the guarantee that He will not leave 
 you to struggle helplessly with your sins, much less 
 to ' continue '^ in them, but that He shall save you 
 from them.^ You will find it a daily continual sal- 
 vation, by which He will keep you by the power of 
 God through faith,' unto the consummated salvation 
 of body and soul, ' ready to be revealed in the last 
 time.'^ 
 
 1 Heb. vii. 24. 2 i Thess. v. 24. 3 Phil. i. 6. 
 
 4 Matt. i. 21. 5 Rom. vi. i. ^ Ps. ciii. 3-5. 
 
 7 2 Pet. i. 4. 81 Pet. i. 5. 
 
tTbe proof of abvieVs Bbilft^ to Save. 373 
 
 TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY. 
 
 ^be proof of Cbriet'a Hbilit? to 
 Save. 
 
 ' Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost 
 that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make 
 intercession for them.' — Heb. vii. 25. 
 
 SEE what is the proof that the Lord Jesus Christ 
 is able to save you thus, ' to the uttermost.' 
 It is that He ever liveth to make intercession. For 
 whom ? For them * that come unto God by Him.' 
 Or, as He Himself said, in that wonderful prayer 
 when He lifted the veil from His own Divine com- 
 muning with the Father, and let us hear His 
 mighty intercession : * Neither pray I for these 
 alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me 
 through their word,'^ — thus again identifying 
 ' coming ' with believing. Then, if you come, the 
 perpetual intercession of our ascended High Priest 
 will be for you, always for you.^ Only think that 
 this is what Jesus is now living for, — Miveth to 
 make intercession'^ for you ! Should we ever have 
 dared to imagine such grace and love ? Should we 
 ever have conceived that such a privilege could be 
 ours? 
 
 1 John xvii. 20. 2 Heb. iv. 14. 3 Rom. viii. 34 ; Heb. ix. 24. 
 
374 ^t>e l^osal trnvltation* 
 
 Only think what security there must be in it t 
 If the Lord Jesus is praying for you, can you per- 
 ish ? ^ If He is praying for you, will not the 
 Father's answer of blessing be beyond anything 
 you would ask for yourself? Is not this enough to 
 answer all your misgivings as to what you will find 
 and how you will get on when you have come ? 
 
 There is a solemn side to it. He not only says 
 nothing about making intercession for those who do 
 not come, but He plainly and positively says, '■ I 
 pray not for the world, but for them which Thou 
 hast given Me;'^ the proof of having been given 
 to Christ being \\\q coining X.o Him, for 'all that the 
 Father giveth Me shall come to Me.'^ Then face 
 the terrible position which is yours, if you will not 
 come ! Christ will 7iot pray for you ! you shut 
 yourself out from the prayer of Him whom the 
 Father heareth always} He prays not for all alike, 
 but only for those who receive His words. He says 
 ' I pray for them ; I pray not for the world.' You 
 dare not and cannot explain this away. It is no 
 mere inference, no question of differing 'views,' 
 but spoken by Him whose words can never pass 
 away.^ Will you not *' come,' and share in this un- 
 speakable privilege of Christ's intercession ? 
 
 We must not overlook the fact that it is for those 
 who 'come unto God by Him.' Your coming to 
 Jesus is also coming to your Father. In our right 
 earnestness to have clear views of the Trinity, we 
 are liable to forget the Unity of the Godhead. ' I 
 and My Father are one,'^ saith the Lord Jesus ; and 
 
 1 John X. 28. 2 John xvii. 9. 3 John vi. 37. 
 
 4 John xi. 42. 8 Luke xxi. 33. ^ John x. 30. 
 
XLbc IProot ot Gbdst'0 Bbllitis to Save. 375 
 
 this blessed and glorious unity is our key to many 
 an apparent difficulty. Yet there is a Divine order 
 in the approach which we invert at our eternal 
 peril. It must be * by Him/ or it is no coming at 
 all. For He hath said, ' No man cometh unto the 
 Father but by Me.'^ The redemption of Christ is 
 for them ' who l^y Him do believe in God. '^ You 
 cannot be made nigh to God except by the blood 
 of Christ.^ You cannot reach the Father except 
 through the Son, for it is through Him and in Him 
 that we alone have access.* You cannot offer 
 thanks, any more than prayer, to God, except in 
 the same way, for it is * by Him ' that we are to 
 offer it.^ In one word, you cannot be saved any 
 other way at all, except by Jesus, ^ and it is no use 
 talking about being simply saved by God's mercy, 
 for God's own Word says, * There is none other 
 name under heaven given among men whereby we 
 must be saved,' ^ so that fallacy is disposed of for- 
 ever. So diminish not a word;'® do not venture 
 to leave out the words * by Him,' but come in 
 God's own appointed way, and you shall be saved 
 in His own grand and perfect way, * to the utter- 
 most ! ' 
 
 1 John xiv. 6. 2 i Pet. i. 21. 3 Eph. ii. 13, 
 
 4 Eph. ii. i8. 5 Heb. xiii. 15. 6 Rom. v. 9, 10. 
 
 ? Acts iv. xa. 8 Deut. xii. 32. 
 
37^ XTbe IRoi^al fnvftatfom 
 
 TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY. 
 
 Continual ComlnQ* 
 
 * To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed 
 of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively 
 stones, are built up, a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to 
 offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.' 
 — I Pet. ii. 4. 
 
 * 'TpO whom coming, ' Here is the secret of 
 A advance in the narrow way, after we have 
 entered by the Strait Gate.^ It is not the having 
 come once and to begin with, but the coming con- 
 tinually to Jesus. When we have once really come 
 to Him, it is not only our privilege, but our con- 
 stant joy, to come to Him about everything — to go 
 on drinking at the fountain. It is a beautiful para- 
 dox which is realized and reconciled in the 
 experience of those who come, that we may be 
 continually coming afresh without ever going away, 
 — always at the fountain-head, and yet always com- 
 ing to it. 
 
 As the first coming to Jesus gives us the true and 
 only foundation,^ so by the very same coming, con- 
 tinued with ever fresh peace and joy, we shall be 
 built up in Him.* It is as we have received Christ 
 Jesus the Lord that we are to walk in Him, and 
 
 1 Matt. vii. 14. 2 I Cor, iii. 11. » Col. ii. 6, 7. 
 
Continual doming, 377 
 
 then we shall be rooted and built up in Him.* 
 Think what this building up implies ! Coming to 
 Him, you individually, as well as all who come col- 
 lectively, shall be builded together for an habitation 
 of God through the Spirit,^ that Christ may dwell 
 in your hearts by faith,^ that your bodies may be 
 the temple of the Holy Ghost.* Coming to Him, 
 you shall no longer be a loose stone, lying about and 
 getting weatherworn, but you ' shall be built in the 
 midsrof My people,' saith the Lord.^ 
 
 Coming to Him, you shall also be built up as a 
 holy and royal priesthood.^ For He that loved us 
 and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 
 hath made us kings and priests unto God.'' What 
 does this priesthood involve, which the Lord has 
 ^ given unto you as a service of gift' ?® Does it not 
 involve the very point on which you had a m-isgiv- 
 ing, namely, ^ if 1 do come to-day, what about to- 
 morrow?' for the priests had everything provided 
 for them.^ When they were set apart to the priest's 
 office, they did not need to have a thought or a care 
 about their maintenance in it all the rest of their 
 lives. ^° When once this * service of gift' was theirs, 
 they were joined unto the high priest himself, and 
 shared his privileges and his provision ; they were 
 given to him, and he was given to them." This 
 provision for them was ' all the best of the oil, and 
 all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, and the 
 first-fruits,' besides *all the best thereof of other 
 
 1 1 Pet. ii. 5. 2 Eph. ii. 22. 3 Eph. iii. 17. 
 
 4 I Cor. vi. 19 5 Jer. xii. 16. 6 i Pet. ii. 5, 9. 
 
 1 Rev. i. 5, 6; ib. v. 10. 8 Num. xviii. 7. 
 
 9 Num. xviii. 9, 14. 10 Ezek. xliv. 28-30: 2 Cor. vi. 10. 
 11 Num. xviii. 2, 4. 
 
378 XLhc IRoisal Unvitatlon. 
 
 things ;^ * for it is your reward for your service.' 
 And the Lord says, ' I will satiate the soul of my 
 priests with fatness.'^ They shall be abundantly 
 'satisfied with the plenteousness of Thy house.'* 
 For ' His divine power hath given unto us a// things 
 that pertain unto life and godliness.'^ 
 
 Coming to Him, you shall ' offer up spiritual 
 sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.'^ 
 You will offer by Him the sacrifice of praise con- 
 tinually ;* and what can the angels do more ? Con- 
 tinual praise mus^ be continual gladness.^ And 
 when you are able to say, ' O Lord, I will praise 
 Thee ; though Thou wast angry with me, Thine 
 anger is turned away, and Thou comfortedst me ; 
 behold, God is my salvation ;' then, and ^therefore, 
 with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of 
 salvation.'* 
 
 This is what is before you, as soon as you come 
 to Jesus. Thenceforth it shall be continual coming, 
 and that will be continual rest, continual peace, 
 continual joy.^° 
 
 1 Num. xviii, 12. 2 Num. xviii. 29, 31. 3 Jer. xxxi. 14. 
 
 4 Ps. xxxvi. 8, p.B.v. 5 2 Pet. i. 3. 
 
 6 1 Pet. ii. 5 ; Rom. xii. i. 7 Heb. xiii. 15. 
 
 8 Ps. Ixxi. 6, 14 ; ib. xxxiv. i. 9 Isa. xii. 1-3. 
 
 /O Phil. iv. 4, 6, 7. 
 
f ellowsbfp an& Cleansing, 379 
 
 TWENTY-NINTH DAY. 
 
 fellowabip an& Cleanaing* 
 
 * Come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.*— 
 IsA. ii. 5. 
 
 IT is not only the Spirit but the Bride who says, 
 ' Come.'^ And it is remarkable that the Bride 
 is never found saying ' Come ' without including 
 herself. * Come with us ; '^ ' Come, and let us join 
 ourselves unto the Lord ; '^ < Come, and let us re- 
 turn unto the Lord; ** * Let us come boldly.'^ It 
 is always ' us, ' expressed or implied, though the 
 speaker be patriarch, prophet, or apostle. And 
 you may be very sure that those who venture to 
 * say. Come ' to you, are truly and deeply feeling 
 the need of continual coming for themselves. If 
 the Master's call were not sounding very fresh 
 and sweet in their own hearts, they would not be 
 constrained to sound it out to you.® 
 
 'Come ye,' then, *and let us walk in the light of 
 the Lord.'^ This is one of the blessed results and 
 tests of true following, as following is of coming. 
 For the Lord says, ' He that foUoweth Me shall not 
 
 1 Rev. xxii. 17. 2 Num. x. 29. 3 Jer. 1. 5. 
 
 * Hos. vi. 1. 5 Heb. iv. 16. 6 2 Cor. v. 14. 
 ' Isa. ii. 5. 
 
3^0 XTbe IRoi^al ITnvitatlon* 
 
 walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. '^ 
 And the results of this walking in the light are 
 fellowship and cleansing; and these, when fully 
 accepted, are all that we can need for the brightest, 
 happiest pilgrim course. ' If we walk in the light, 
 as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with 
 another ; and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son 
 cleanseth us from all sin.'^ This is not merely 
 fellowship with other Christians, though that, with 
 all its warmth and pleasantness, is no doubt includ- 
 ed.' But scholars tell us that the true meaning is 
 that we and the Lord have fellowship with each 
 other — a marvellous mutual interchange of sympathy, 
 interest, and love. * Truly our fellowship is with 
 the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.'* Fel- 
 lowship implies a good deal more than even friend- 
 ship ; the word is really * communion,' in its 
 widest and yet closest sense. It is literally having 
 all things in common. It is the Lord saying,.; 
 * Thou art ever with Me, and all that I have is ' 
 thine. '^ It is our responding, * My Beloved is 
 mine, and I am His.'® It is, 'All are yours, and ye 
 are Christ's, and Christ is God's. '^ It is the present 
 fact, which yet we cannot fully apprehend,^ till ' at 
 that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, 
 and ye in Me, and I in you.'^ ' Come ye, and let 
 us walk in the light of the Lord,' that this glorious 
 fellowship may be ours.^° 
 
 But there can be no fellowship without the cleans- 
 ing. For how ' can two walk together, except they 
 
 1 John viii. 12. 2 i John i. 7. 3 i John iii. 14. 
 
 4 1 John i. 3. 5 Luke xv. 31. 6 Cant. ii. 16. 
 
 ^ I Cor. iii. 22, 23. 8 Phil. iii. 12. 9 John xiv. 20. 
 
 10 Isa. ii. 5 ; Gen. v. 22 ; Rev. iii. 4. 
 
3fcllow6blp anO Cleansing, 381 
 
 be agreed? '^ And sin is the one great obstacle to 
 this agreement. God never makes peace with sin.^ 
 No armistice, no truce, no compromise is possible ! 
 If you would read through Jeremiah or Ezekiel with 
 your eyes open to observe what God thinks of sm, 
 you would be perfectly startled. It leaves the im- 
 pression that no language can convey His indignant 
 loathing of ' this abominable thing which I hate.'^ 
 But this one precious promise shows it all in a 
 mooaent. 'The blood of Jesus Christ His Son 
 cleanseth us from all sin ! ' * If anything less than 
 the blood of His own Son could have cleansed us, 
 would He not have spared Him ?^ Nothing shows 
 us the exceeding sinfulness of sin like this one 
 word. 
 
 But oh, thank God for the ' all ' ! As nothing 
 less than the blood of Christ is needed for one 
 single sin, so nothing more is needed for all sin.^ 
 Ask the Holy Spirit to open out this one word to 
 you,'' 'AU' the sin cleansed by it,^ — * all' that 
 separated between you and God put away by it,^ — 
 you yourself made nigh by it, and sanctified by it,^° — 
 the fellowship will be unbroken, the light will be 
 •anclouded, the following will be faithful," and the 
 coming will be sealed.^* 
 
 1 Amos iii. 3. 2 Ps. Ixvi. 18. 3 Jer. xliv. 4. 
 
 * I John i. 7. 6 Rom. viii. 32. 6 Heb. ix. 22. 
 
 7 Ps. cxix. 19. § Isa. lix. 2. 9 Eph. ii. 13. 
 
 10 Heb. xiii. 12. n Eph. v. 8. 12 Zech. x. 12. 
 
 25 
 
382 ^bc TRoigal invitation. 
 
 THIRTIETH DAY. 
 
 ^be perpetual Covenant* 
 
 * Come, and let us j©in ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual 
 covenant that shall not be forgotten.' — Jer. 1. 5. 
 
 THIS is no external joining of church or congre- 
 gation. ' He that is joined unto the Lord is 
 one spirit.'^ To this we are invited/ — to be so 
 joined that nothing shall separate f to be made one 
 with Christ in blessed and eternal union.* The in- 
 strument, so to speak, of the joining, is our con- 
 sent, in faith and obedience, to the perpetual cove- 
 nant that shall not be forgotten.^ 
 
 Herein lies the answer to all the distressing 
 doubts about persevering in which we ^err, not 
 knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.'® 
 For see what the terms of the new covenant are ! 
 * I will put My laws into their mind, and write them 
 in their hearts : and I will be to them a God, and 
 they shall be to Me a people. '^ This seems all one- 
 sided. It is all what God undertakes to do. Not 
 a word about what we undertake to do. How 
 different from any human covenant ! 
 
 1 X Cor. vi. 17. 2 Num. xviii. 2. 3 Rom. viii. 39. 
 
 * Eph. V. 30; John xvii. 23. 6 Jer. 1. 5. 
 6 Matt. xxii. 29. 7 Heb. viii. 10. 
 
^be perpetual Covenant. ^8^ 
 
 Ah, the Lord tried us with the other way, and we 
 failed ; and so the old covenant of works came to 
 naught.^ It was not only the children of Israel 
 who * continued not '^ in God's covenant; we have 
 done just the same. We have proved in our own 
 experience that we cannot keep any one condition 
 of it, let alone the whole ! ^ And so the Lord 
 makes a new covenant, in which the marvellous 
 terms are that He undertakes our part as well as 
 His Qjvn, by promising to put His laws into our 
 minds and write them upon our hearts, so that we 
 may keep them and really obey them.'* 
 
 And when He says He will be to us a God,^ He 
 has promised in that one word more than mortal 
 thought or, mortal desire can reach. And when He 
 says we ska// be toHima people,^ He guarantees us 
 all the safety and happiness, and all the privileges 
 and blessings, in all certainty and perpetuity, which 
 He promises to His people.^ He knows our total 
 weakness,^ and our utter inability to persevere,^ and 
 so He stoops to undertake the whole thing for us, 
 if we will only ' come, and join ourselves to the 
 Lord,' consenting to His perpetual covenant, and 
 accepting these wonderful provisions in simple 
 faith. 
 
 But remember, there is no such thing as drifting 
 into this covenant. We shall never ' happen ' to 
 find ourselves included in it by waiting to see what 
 \urns up, or by dint of admiringly contemplating it. 
 We must 'come;* and we must join ourselves to 
 
 1 Jer. xxxi. 32, 2 Heb. viii. 9. 3 Rom. iii. 19, 23. 
 
 * Isa. xxxviii. 14. 5 2 Cor. vi. 16; Rev. xxi. 3. 
 
 6 Deut. xxxiii. 29. 7 2 Cor. i. 20. 8 Ps. ciii. 14. 
 
 9 Jude 24. 
 
384 ^be "Ro^al f nvftatfon. 
 
 the Lord in it by our own voluntary act and deed.* 
 Each must * subscribe with his hand unto the 
 Lord.'^ This covenant requires the free individual 
 signature of each participator, so that each shall be 
 able to say, * Yet hath He made with me an ever- 
 lasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure." 
 Do you ask for some proof that you may thus come 
 and share its blessedness ? — some distinct evidence 
 that the covenant is meant for you ? The Lord, 
 who has given all the rest, has given this too. You 
 know the freeness of the call, ' Ho, every one that 
 thirsteth, come ye to the waters.** That is only 
 the beginning of the Invitation. It goes on, with- 
 out a break, still to every one, — ' Incline your ear, 
 and come unto Me ; hear, and your soul shall live ; 
 and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, '* 
 
 Oh, happy day that fixed my choice 
 On Thee, my Saviour and my God ! 
 
 Well may this glowing heart rejoice, 
 And tell its raptures all abroad. 
 
 'Tis done ! the great transaction's done. 
 
 I am my Lord's, and He is mine ; 
 He drew me, and I followed on, 
 
 Charmed to obey the Voice Divine. 
 
 Doddridge. 
 
 1 2 Cor. viii. 5. 2 Isa. xliv. 5. 83 Sam. xxiii. 5. 
 
 * Isa. Iv. I. 6 Isa. Iv. 3. 
 
■i 
 
 Zbc Consummation of tbc Ifnvttatfon^ ^s^i 
 THIRTY-FIRST DAY. 
 
 ^be Con0ummation of tbe 
 llnvttation* 
 
 ' Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand. 
 Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared 
 for you from the foundation of the world.' — Matt. xxv. 34. 
 
 ' npHEN ! ' when the sure but as yet unseen hope 
 A of the Church is fulfilled, and Jesus comes 
 in His glory :^ ' then ! ' when all are gathered before 
 Him, and * He shall separate them one from anoth- 
 er:' 'f/ien shall the King say unto them on His 
 right hand, Come !'* 
 
 The King — 'this same Jesus,** who now says, 
 * Come unto Me, ' * whom I shall see for myself, and 
 mine eyes shall behold, and not another'* (margin, 
 nof a stranger) — He shall utter with His own 
 gracious lips^ the same sweet call ; and we shall hear 
 it, no longer by faith, but literally. 
 
 The call will be no longer, * Come unto Me, all 
 ye that are weary and heavy laden ;'^ for the weari- 
 ness and the burdens that have been cast upon Jesus 
 will be at an end for ever.'^ It will be, * Come, ye 
 
 1 Tit. ii. 13. 2 Matt. xxiv. 30, 31 ; ib. xxv. 32. 
 
 3 Actsi. II. * Job xix. 27. 5 Luke iv. 22. 
 
 * Matt. xi. 28. 7 Ps. Iv. 22; ib. xxxviii. 4. 
 
386 ^be IRo^al irnvitatfon. 
 
 blessed !' Not * blessed ' then for the first time, but 
 * ye ' whose position already is that of ' the blessed 
 of the Lord. '^ Every one who comes to Jesus takes 
 that glorious position, and possesses all its manifold 
 privileges.^ If you are only come to-day for the 
 first time, ' thou art now the blessed of the Lord,'^ 
 and you shall be among the blessed ones who stand 
 in their lot at the end of the days.*. You' are /low 
 made kings and priests unto God by Him who loved 
 you and washed you from your sins in His own 
 blood f and if/ien the King will call you to * inherit 
 the kingdom.' For 'by faith in Christ Jesus' 
 (which is the same thing, in other words, as coming 
 to Christ), you are 'the children of God.'^ 'And 
 if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint- 
 heirs with Christ.''^ He will make you inherit the 
 throne of His glory, and grant you to sit with Him 
 in His throne,^ for it is your Father's good pleasure 
 to give you the kingdom.^ Confess now, that this ,. 
 is doing for you exceeding abundantly above all you | 
 asked or thought !^° To be permitted just to escape 
 the terrible doom of ' everlasting punishment, '^^ — ^ 
 just to get inside the door of the palace,^^ — a sort of. ^ 
 standing afar off, even in heaven, — is about as much 
 as you really thought of! But look at the grandeur 
 of Ifi's thought, and the riches of His love for you 1 
 He has prepared not only ' a place,'" and ' a city,'^* 
 but a kingdom for you, and that not since you be- 
 gan to pray for salvation, but from the foundation 
 
 1 Ps. cxv. IS. 2 Eph. i. 3- 3 Gen. xxvi. 29. 
 
 4 Dan. xii. 12, 13. 5 Rev. i. 5, 6. 6 Gal. iii. 26. 
 
 7 Rom. viii. 17. 8 Rev. iii. 21. 9 Luke xii. 32. 
 
 10 Eph. iii. 20. 11 Matt. xxv. 46. 12 Ps. xlv. 15. 
 
 13 John xiv. 2. 1* Heb. xi. 16. 
 
 J 
 
Zbc Consummation of tbe Ifnvitatfon* 387 
 
 of the world. ^ And all this time this splendid and 
 amaranthine inheritance has been reserved in heaven 
 for you,^ and you are being kept by the power of 
 God for it !^ Have you thanked Him for this? It is 
 not too soon to do so. 
 
 This is indeed the consummation of the Royal 
 Invitation, — the King on the throne of His glory 
 inviting you to come and reign with Him !* 
 
 Anji ' this same Jesus ' says to you to-day, * Him 
 that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out.'^ 
 
 Still shall the keyword ringing, echo the same sweet * Come !' 
 * Come ' with the blessed myriads, safe in the Father's home ; 
 *Come !' for the toil is over ; * come !' for the feast is spread; 
 ' Come !' for the crown of glory waits for the weary head. 
 
 1 Matt. XXV. 34 ; Eph. i. 4, 2 i Pet. i. 4, Gr. 
 
 * I Pet. i. 5. 4 Rev. v. 10. 6 John vi. 37. 
 
LOYAL RESPONSES 
 
 OR 
 
 r>AiivY m:kIvOdiks 
 
 FOR 
 
 Zbc lkinG'6 flDinatrela 
 
FIRST DAY. 
 
 (Consecration Ibi^mn. 
 
 * Here we offer and present unto Thee, O Lord, ourselves, 
 our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and lively sacri- 
 fice unto Thee.' 
 
 TAKE my life, and let it be 
 Consecrated, Lord, to Thee. 
 
 Take my moments and my days; 
 Let them flow in ceaseless praise. 
 
 Take my hands, and let them move 
 At the impulse of Thy love. 
 
 Take my; feet, and let them be 
 Swift and ' beautiful ' for Thee. 
 
 Take my voice, and let me sing 
 Always, only, for my King. 
 
 Take my lips, and let them be 
 Filled with messages from Thee. 
 
 Take my silver and my gold ; 
 Not a mite would I withhold. 
 
 (391) 
 
Xo^al 1Rcspox\6C3* 
 
 Take my intellect, and use 
 Every power as Thou shalt choose. 
 
 Take my will, and make it Thine ; 
 It shall be no longer mine. 
 
 Take my heart, it is Thine own ; 
 It shall be Thy royal throne. 
 
 Take my love ; my Lord, I pour 
 At Thy feet its treasure-store. 
 
 Take myself, and I will be 
 Ever, an/y, all for Thee. 
 
 SECOND DAY. 
 
 Set apart* 
 
 ♦ Know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for 
 Himself,' — Ps. iv. 3. 
 
 I. 
 
 SET apart for Jesus ! 
 Is not this enough, 
 Though the desert prospect 
 Open wild and rough ? 
 Set apart for His delight, 
 
 Chosen for His holy pleasure. 
 Sealed to be His special treasure ! 
 Could we choose a nobler joy ? — and would we if 
 we might ? 
 
Set Bpart. 593 
 
 II. 
 
 Set apart to serve Him ! 
 
 Ministers of light, 
 Standing in His presence, 
 Ready day or night ! 
 Chosen for the service blest, 
 
 He would have us always willing, 
 Like the angel host fulfilling 
 Swiftly and rejoicingly each recognized behest. 
 
 III. 
 
 Set apart to praise Him, 
 
 Set apart for this ! 
 Have the blessed angels 
 Any truer bliss ? 
 Soft the prelude, though so clear : 
 Isolated tones are trembling ; 
 But the chosen choir, assembling, 
 Soon shall sing together, while the universe shall 
 hear. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Set apart to love Him, 
 
 And His love to know ! 
 Not to waste affection 
 On a passing show. 
 Called to give Him life and heart. 
 
 Called to pour the hidden treasure. 
 That none other claims to measure, 
 Into His beloved hand ! thrice blessed * set apart I * 
 
394 Xo^al TResponses* 
 
 V. 
 
 Set apart for ever 
 
 For Himself alone ! 
 Now we see our calling, 
 Gloriously shown. 
 Owning, with no secret dread, 
 This our holy separation, 
 Now the crown of consecration 
 Of the Lord our God shall rest upon our willing 
 head l^ 
 
 THIRD DAY. 
 
 ^be Secret of a Ibappi? ®a?* 
 
 * The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him.'- 
 Ps. XXV. 14. 
 
 J 
 
 UST to let thy Father do 
 
 What He will ; 4 
 
 Just to know that He is true. 
 
 And be still. 
 Just to follow hour by hour 
 
 As He leadeth; 
 Just to draw the moment's power 
 
 As it needeth. 
 
 1 Num. vi. 7. 
 
^be Secret ot a 1bapp^ H)ai2. 395 
 
 Just to trust Him, this is all ! 
 
 Then the day will surely be 
 Peaceful, whatsoe'er befall, 
 
 Bright and blessed, calm and free. 
 
 II. 
 
 Just to let Him speak to thee 
 
 Through His Word, 
 Watching, that His voice may be 
 
 Clearly heard. 
 Just to tell Him everything 
 
 As it rises, 
 And at once to Him to bring 
 
 All surprises. 
 Just to listen, and to stay 
 
 Where you cannot miss His voice. 
 This is all ! and thus to-day, 
 Communing, you shall rejoice. 
 
 III. 
 
 Just to ask Him what to do 
 
 All the day. 
 And to make you quick and true 
 
 To obey. 
 Just to know the needed grace 
 
 He bestoweth. 
 Every bar of time and place 
 Overfloweth. 
 Just to take thy orders straight 
 
 From the Master's own command. 
 Blessed day ! when thus we wait 
 Always at our Sovereign's hand. 
 
39^ Xoisal TResponses. 
 
 IV. , 
 
 Just to recollect His love, 
 
 Always true ; 
 Always shining from above, 
 
 Always new. 
 Just to recognize its light, 
 
 All-enfolding ; 
 Just to claim its present might, 
 
 All-upholding. 
 Just to know it as thine own, 
 
 That no power can take away. 
 Is not this enough alone 
 For the gladness of the day ? 
 
 V. 
 
 Just to trust, and yet to ask 
 
 Guidance still ; 
 Take the training or the task. 
 
 As He will. 
 Just to take the loss or gain, 
 As He sends it ; 
 ^ Just to take the joy or pain. 
 
 As He lends it. 
 He who formed thee for His praise 
 Will not miss the gracious aim ; 
 So to-day and all thy days 
 
 Shall be moulded for the same. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Just to leave in His dear hand 
 
 Little things, 
 All we cannot understand, 
 
 All that stings. 
 
 I 
 
^be Tantaiiing ©ne* 39.7 
 
 Just to let Him take the care 
 
 Sorely pressing, 
 Finding all we let Him bear 
 Changed to blessing. 
 This is all ! and yet the way 
 
 Marked by Him who loves thee best ; 
 Secret of a happy day, 
 
 Secret of His promised rest. 
 
 FOURTH DAY. 
 
 ^be TUnfading ®ne. 
 
 * He faileth not,' — Zeph. iii. 5. 
 I. 
 
 HE who hath led, will lead 
 All through the wilderness ; 
 He who hath fed, will feed ; 
 
 He who hath blessed, will bless • 
 He who hath heard thy cry, 
 Will never close His ear ; 
 He who hath marked thy faintest sigh. 
 Will not forget thy tear. 
 He loveth always, faileth never ; 
 So rest on Him, to-day, for ever ! 
 
 n. 
 
 He who hath made thee whole 
 Will heal thee day by day ; 
 
 He who hath spoken to thy soul 
 Hath many things to say. 
 26 
 
39^ 3Lo^al IResponses. 
 
 He who hath gently taught 
 
 Yet- more will make thee know ; 
 He who so wondrously hath wrought 
 Yet greater things will show. 
 He loveth always, faileth never ; 
 So rest on Him, to-day, for ever I 
 
 III. 
 
 He who hath made thee nigh 
 
 Will draw thee nearer still ; 
 He who hath given the first supply 
 
 Will satisfy and fill. 
 He who hath given thee grace 
 
 Yet more and more will send ; 
 He who hath set thee in the race 
 
 Will speed thee to the end. 
 He loveth always, faileth never ; 
 So rest on Him, to-day, for ever ! 
 
 ly. 
 
 He who hath won thy heart 
 Will keep it true and free ; 
 He who hath shown thee what thou art 
 
 Will show Himself to thee. 
 He who hath bid thee live, 
 
 And made thy life His own, 
 Life more abundantly will give, 
 And keep it His alone ; 
 He loveth always, faileth never ; 
 So rest on Him, to-day, for ever ! 
 
©n tbe Xor^'s SiOe. 399 
 
 V. 
 
 Then trust Him for to-day 
 
 As thine unfailing Friend, 
 And let Him lead thee all the way, 
 
 Who loveth to the end. 
 And let the morrow rest 
 
 In His beloved hand ; 
 His good is better than our best, 
 
 As we shall understand, — 
 If, trusting Him who faileth never, 
 We rest on Him, to-day, for ever ! 
 
 FIFTH DAY. 
 
 ®n tbe Xorb'6 Si&e^ 
 
 * Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse.*- 
 I Chron. xii. 18. 
 
 I. 
 
 WHO is on the Lord's side ? 
 Who will serve the King ? 
 Who will be His helpers, 
 
 Other lives to bring ? 
 Who will leave the world's side ? 
 
 Who will face the foe ? 
 
 Who is on the Lord's side? 
 
 Who for Him will go ? 
 
400 Xo^al IResponscs* 
 
 Response. By Thy call of mercy. 
 By Thy grace divine, 
 We are on the Lord's side; 
 
 Saviour, we are Thine. j 
 
 i 
 
 II. 
 
 Not for weight of glory, 
 
 Not for crown and palm, 
 Enter we the army, 
 
 Raise the warrior-psalm ; 
 But for Love that claimeth 
 
 Lives for whom He died : 
 He whom Jesus nameth 
 Must be on His side. 
 Response. By Thy love constraining, 
 By Thy grace divine. 
 We are on the Lord's side; 
 Saviour, we are Thine. 
 
 in. 
 
 Jesus, Thou hast bought us. 
 
 Not with gold or gem, 
 But with Thine own life-blood, 
 
 For Thy diadem. 
 With Thy blessing filling 
 
 Each who comes to Thee, 
 Thou hast made us willing. 
 Thou hast made us free. 
 Response. By Thy grand redemption, 
 By Thy grace divine. 
 We are on the Lord's side ; 
 Saviour, we are Thine. 
 
®n tbe XorD'5 Si^e. 4oi 
 
 IV. 
 
 Fierce may be the conflict, 
 Strong may be the foe, 
 But the King's own army 
 
 None can overthrow. 
 Round His standard ranging, 
 
 Victory is secure, 
 For His truth unchanging 
 Makes the triumph sure. 
 Response. Joyfully enlisting 
 
 By thy grace divine. 
 We are on the Lord's side ; 
 Saviour, we are Thine. 
 
 V. 
 
 Chosen to be soldiers 
 
 In an alien land ; 
 ' Chosen, called, and faithful,* 
 
 For our Captain's band ; 
 In the service royal 
 
 Let us not grow cold ; 
 Let us be right loyal, 
 
 Noble, true, and bold. 
 Response. Master, Thou wilt keep us. 
 By Thy grace divine. 
 Always on the Lord's side. 
 Saviour, always Thine. 
 
402 Xoigal IResponses. 
 
 SIXTH DAY. 
 
 ^True^^bearteD, MboIe^bearteJ). 
 
 TRUE-HEARTED, whole-hearted, faithful and 
 loyal. 
 King of our lives, by Thy grace we will be ! 
 Under Thy standard, exalted and royal. 
 
 Strong in Thy strength, we will battle for Thee ! 
 
 11. 
 
 True-hearted, whole-hearted ! Fullest allegiance 
 Yielding henceforth to our glorious King ; 
 
 Valiant endeavour and loving obedience 
 Freely and joyously now would we bring. 
 
 III. 
 
 True-hearted ! Saviour, Thou knowest our story ; 
 
 Weak are the hearts that we lay at Thy feet. 
 Sinful and treacherous ! yet, for Thy glory. 
 
 Heal them, and cleanse them from sin and deceit. 
 
 IV- ^ I 
 
 Whole-hearted ! Saviour, beloved and glorious, 
 
 Take Thy great power, and reign Thou alone, 
 Over our wills and aifections victorious. 
 
 Freely surrendered, and wholly Thine own. 
 
tlruesbcarteD, TKHbolesbeattc^, 403 
 
 V. 
 
 Ha/f-hesLited, /a/se-hesirted ! Heed we the warning ! 
 
 Only the whole can be perfectly true ; 
 Bring the whole offering, all timid thought scorning, 
 
 True-hearted only if whole-hearted too. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Half-hearted ! Saviour, shall aught be withholden, 
 Gliding Thee part who hast given us all ? 
 
 Blessings outpouring, and promises golden 
 Pledging, with never reserve or recall. 
 
 vn. 
 
 Half-hearted ! Master, shall any who know Thee 
 Grudge Thee their lives, who hast laid down 
 Thine own ? 
 Nay; we would offer the hearts that we owe 
 Thee, — 
 Live for Thy love and Thy glory alone. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Sisters, dear sisters, the call is resounding, 
 
 Will ye not echo the silver refrain, 
 Mighty and sweet, and in gladness abounding, — 
 
 * True-hearted, whole-hearted ! ' ringing again? 
 
 IX. 
 
 Jesus is with us, His rest is before us, 
 Brightly His standard is waving above. 
 
 Brothers, dear brothers, in gathering chorus. 
 Peal out the watchword of courage and love ! 
 
404 Xoi^al TRcsponses, 
 
 X. 
 
 Peal out the watchword, and silence it never, 
 Song of our spirits, rejoicing and free ! 
 
 ' True-hearted, whole-hearted, now and for ever, 
 King of our lives, by Thy grace we will be ! ' 
 
 SEVENTH DAY. 
 
 '3B? tTb? CV08S mil passion.' 
 
 * He hath given us rest by His sorrow, and life by His death.' 
 — John Bunyan. 
 
 I. 
 
 WHAT hast Thou done for me, O mighty Friend, 
 Who lovest to the end ! 
 Reveal Thyself, that I may now behold ! 
 
 Thy love unknown, untold. 
 Bearing the curse, and made a curse for me. 
 That blessed and made a blessing I might be. 
 
 II. 
 
 Oh, Thou wast crowned with thorns, that I might 
 wear 
 
 A crown of glory fair ; 
 'Exceeding sorrowful,' that I might be 
 
 Exceeding glad in Thee ; 
 ' Rejected and despised,' that I might stand 
 Accepted and complete on Thy right hand. 
 
*3Bi3 Zb^ Cross anO passion/ 405 
 
 III. 
 
 Wounded for my transgression, stricken sore, 
 That I might ' sin no more ; ' 
 
 Weak, that I might be always strong in Thee ; 
 Bound, that I might be free ; 
 
 Acquaint with grief, that I might only know 
 
 Fulness of joy in everlasting flow. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Thine was the chastisement, with no release, 
 That mine might be the peace ; 
 
 The bruising and the cruel stripes were Thine, 
 That healing might be mine ; 
 
 Thine was the sentence and the condemnation. 
 
 Mine the acquittal and the full salvation. 
 
 V. 
 
 For Thee revilings, and a mocking throng, 
 
 For me the angel-song ; 
 For Thee the frown, the hiding of God's face. 
 
 For me His smile of grace ; 
 Sorrows of hell and bitterest death for Thee, 
 And heaven and everlasting life for me. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Thy cross and passion, and Thy precious death, 
 
 While I have mortal breath. 
 Shall be my spring of love and work and praise. 
 
 The life of all my days ; 
 Till all this mystery of love supreme 
 Be solved in glory — glory's endless theme ! 
 
4o6 Xo^al 1Respon0C0. 
 
 EIGHTH DAY. 
 
 Zbc ©peneb 3fountain* 
 
 * A fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness. 
 Wounded in the house of My friends,' — Zech. xiii. i, 6. 
 
 AND I have wounded Thee — oh, wounded 
 Thee !— 
 Wounded the dear, dear Hand that holds me 
 fast ! 
 Oh, to recall the word ! That cannot be ! 
 
 Oh, to unthink the thought that out of reach 
 hath passed ! 
 
 II. 
 
 Sorrow and bitter grief replace my bliss ; 
 
 I could not wish that any joy should be ; 
 There is no room for any thought but this, 
 . That I have sinned — have sinned — have wounded 
 Thee ! 
 
 HI. 
 
 How cou/d I grieve Thee so ! Thou couldst have 
 kept ; 
 
 My fall was not the failure of Thy word. 
 Thy promise hath no flaw, no dire * except,' 
 
 To neutralize the grace so royally conferred. 
 
Zbc ©pcneD jTountaln. 407 
 
 IV. 
 
 Oh, the exceeding sinfulness of sin ! 
 
 Tenfold exceeding in the love-lit light 
 Of Thy sufficient grace, without, within, 
 
 Enough for every need, in never-conquered 
 might! 
 
 V. 
 
 With all the shame, with all the keen distress, 
 Quick, 'waiting not,' I flee to Thee again; 
 
 Close to the wound, beloved Lord, I press, 
 
 That Thine own precious blood may overflow the 
 stain. 
 
 VI. 
 
 O precious blood ! Lord, let it rest on me ! 
 
 I ask not only pardon from my King, 
 But cleansing from my Priest. I come to Thee 
 
 Just as I came at first, — a sinful, helpless thing. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Oh, cleanse me now ! My Lord, I cannot stay 
 For evening shadows and a silent hour :^ 
 
 Now I have sinned, and now^ with no delay, 
 I claim Thy promise and its total power. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 O Saviour, bid me ' go and sin no more,' 
 And keep me always 'neath the mighty flow 
 
 Of Thy perpetual fountain ; I implore 
 
 That Thy perpetual cleansing I may fully know. 
 
4o8 xoisac TKcsponsea. 
 
 NINTH DAY. 
 
 Zbc preciou0 Bloob of 3cme< 
 
 I. 
 
 PRECIOUS, precious blood of Jesus, 
 Shed on Calvary ; 
 Shed for rebels, shed for sinners, 
 Shed for me. 
 
 II. 
 
 Precious blood, that hath redeemed us ! 
 
 All the price is paid ; 
 Perfect pardon now is offered, 
 
 Peace is made. 
 
 III. 
 
 Precious, precious blood of Jesus, 
 
 Let it make thee whole ; 
 Let it flow in mighty cleansing 
 
 O'er thy soul. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Though thy sins are red like crimson. 
 
 Deep in scarlet glow, 
 Jesus' precious blood can make them 
 
 White as snow. 
 
TTbe precious JSlooD of 5e5U6. 409 
 V. 
 
 Now the holiest with boldness 
 
 We may enter in, 
 For the open fountain cleanseth 
 
 From all sin. 
 
 VI. 
 
 •Precious blood ! by this we conquer 
 
 In the fiercest fight, 
 Sin and Satan overcoming 
 
 By its might. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Precious, precious blood of Jesus, 
 
 Ever flowing free ! 
 O believe it, O receive it, 
 
 *Tis for thee.! 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Precious blood, whose full atonement 
 
 Makes us nigh to God ! 
 Precious blood, our song of glory, 
 
 Praise and laud ! 
 
41 o Xoi^al TResponses* 
 
 TENTH DAY. 
 
 II IRemember ^bee* 
 
 ' Thus saith the Lord, I remember thee, the kindness of thy 
 youth, the love of thine espousals.' — Jer. ii, 2. 
 
 I. 
 
 MY Lord, dost Thou indeed remember me. 
 Just me, the least and last ? 
 With all the names of Thy redeemed, 
 And all Thy angels, has it seemed 
 As though my name might perhaps be overpassed ; 
 Yet here I find Thy word of tenderest grace, 
 True for this moment, perfect for my case, — 
 ' Thus saith Jehovah, I remember thee ! ' 
 
 II. • 
 My Lord, dost Thou remember this of me, 
 The kindness of my youth ? — 
 The tremulous gleams of early days, 
 The first faint thrills of love and praise, 
 Vibrating fitfully? Not much, in truth. 
 Can I bring back at memory's wondering call ; 
 Yet Thou, my faithful Lord, rememberest all, — 
 * Thus saith Jehovah, I remember thee ! * 
 
 IIL 
 My Lord, dost Thou remember this of me. 
 My love, so poor, so cold ? 
 Oh, if I had but loved Thee more ! 
 Yet Thou hast pardoned. Let me pour 
 
TT TRememDer T^cc* 4" 
 
 My life's best wine for Thee, my heart's best gold 
 (Worthless, yet all I have), for very shame 
 That Thou should' st tell me, calling me by 
 name, — 
 
 * Thus saith. Jehovah, I remember thee ! ' 
 
 IV. 
 
 My Lord, dost Thou remember this of me, 
 * The day of Thine own power ? 
 
 The love of 7m'ne espousals sweet, 
 
 The laying wholly at thy feet 
 Of heart and life, in that glad, willing hour? 
 That love was Thine — I gave Thee but Thine own, 
 And yet the Voice falls from the emerald throne, — 
 
 * Thus saith Jehovah, I remember thee ! ' 
 
 V. 
 
 My Lord, dost Thou remember ^Ms of me ? 
 Forgetting every fall. 
 
 Forgetting all the treacherous days. 
 
 Forgetting all the wandering ways. 
 With fulness of forgiveness covering all ; 
 Casting these memories, a hideous store. 
 Into the crimson sea, for evermore, 
 And only saying, * I remember thee ! ' 
 
 VI. 
 
 My Lord, art Thou indeed remembering me ? 
 Then let me not forget ! 
 Oh, be Thy kindness all the way, 
 Thy everlasting love to-day. 
 
412 Xo^al TResponses. 
 
 In sweet perpetual remembrance set 
 Before my view, to fill my marvelling gaze, 
 A.nd stir my love, and lift my life to praise. 
 Because Thou sayest, ' I remember thee ! * 
 
 ELEVENTH DAY. 
 
 Iknowing* 
 
 I. 
 
 I KNOW the crimson stain of sin. 
 Defiling all without, within ; 
 But now rejoicingly I know 
 That He has washed me white as snow. 
 I praise Him for the cleansing tide, 
 Because I know that Jesus died. 
 
 n. 
 
 I know the helpless, hopeless plaint, 
 
 ' The whole head sick, the whole heart faint | * 
 
 But now I trust His touch of grace, 
 
 That meets so perfectly my case, 
 
 So tenderly, so truly deals ; 
 
 Because I know that Jesus heals. 
 
 III. 
 
 I know the pang of forfeit breath, 
 When life in sin was life in deaths 
 
IRnovving. 413 
 
 But now I know His life is mine, 
 And nothing shall that cord untwine, 
 Rejoicing in the life He gives, 
 Because I know that Jesus lives. 
 
 IV. 
 
 I know how anxious thought can press, 
 I know the weight of carefulness ; 
 But now I know the sweet reward 
 Of casting all upon my Lord, 
 No longer bearing what He bears, 
 Because I know that Jesus cares. 
 
 V. 
 
 I know the sorrow that is known 
 
 To the tear-burdened heart alone ; 
 
 But now I know its full relief 
 
 Through Him who was acquaint with grief. 
 
 And peace through every trial flows, 
 
 Because I knov/ that Jesus knows. 
 
 VI. 
 
 I know the gloom amid the mirth, 
 The longing for the love of earth ; 
 But now I know the Love that fills, 
 That gladdens, blesses, crowns and stills. 
 That nothing mars and nothing moves, — 
 I know, I know that Jesus loves ! 
 
 VII. 
 
 I know the shrinking and the fear, 
 When all seems wrong, and nothing clear ; 
 27 
 
414 Xo^al IReeponses* 
 
 But now I gaze upon His throne, 
 And faith sees all His foes o'erthrown, 
 And I can wait till He explains, 
 Because I know that Jesus reigns. 
 
 TWELFTH DAY. 
 
 ^ruetluQ 3e9U0» I 
 
 I. 
 
 I AM trusting Thee, Lard Jesus, 
 Trusting only Thee ; 
 Trusting Thee for full salvation, 
 Great and free. 
 
 II. 
 
 I am trusting Thee for pardon ; 
 
 At Thy feet I bow, 
 For Thy grace and tender mercy, 
 Trusting now. 
 
 III. 
 
 I am trusting Thee for cleansing 
 
 In the crimson flood ; 
 Trusting Thee to make me holy 
 By Thy blood. 
 
XooWng unto 3^e6us. 41 S 
 
 IV. 
 
 I am trusting Thee to guide me ; 
 
 Thou alone shalt lead ! 
 Every day and hour supplying 
 All my need. 
 
 V. 
 
 I am trusting Thee for power ; 
 
 .Thine can never fail ! 
 Words which Thou Thyself shalt give me> 
 Must prevail. 
 
 VI. 
 
 9 
 
 I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus ; 
 
 Never let me fall ! 
 I am trusting Thee for ever, 
 And for all. 
 
 THIRTEENTH DAY. 
 
 Xoofting unto 3e0U0* 
 
 I. 
 
 LOOKING unto Jesus ! 
 Battle-shout of faith, 
 Shield o'er all the armour, 
 Free from scar or scathe. 
 
4i6 Xo^al IResponses* 
 
 Standard of salvation, 
 In our hearts unfurled. 
 
 Let its elevation 
 
 Overcome the -world ! 
 
 II. 
 
 Look a^vs-ay to Jesus ! 
 
 Look away from all ; 
 Then we need not stumble, 
 
 Then we shall not fall. 
 From each snare that lureth 
 
 Foe or phantom grim, 
 Safetv this ensureth : 
 
 Look aw9.y to Him. 
 
 III. 
 
 Looking into Jesus ! 
 
 Wonderingly we trace 
 Heights of power and glory, 
 
 Depths of love and grace. 
 Vistas far unfolding, 
 
 Ever stretch before, 
 As we gaze, beholding 
 
 Ever more and more. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Looking up to Jesus 
 
 On the emerald throne ! 
 Faith shall pierce the heavens 
 
 Where our King is gone. 
 Lord, on Thee depending, 
 
 Now, continually, 
 Heart and mind ascending. 
 
 Let us dwell with Thee. 
 
Sbining, 413 
 
 FOURTEENTH DAY. 
 
 SbiniriQ* 
 
 ARE you shining for Jesus, dear one ? 
 You have given your heart to Him ; 
 But is the Hght strong within it, 
 
 Or is it but pale and dim ? 
 Can everybody see it, — 
 
 That Jesus is all to you ? 
 That your love to Him is burning 
 
 With radiance warm and true ? 
 Is the seal upon your forehead, 
 
 So that it must be known 
 That you are * all for Jesus,' — 
 
 That your heart is all His own ? 
 
 IL 
 
 Are you shining for Jesus, dear one ? 
 
 You remember the first sweet ray, 
 When the sun arose upon you 
 
 And brought the gladsome day ; 
 When you heard the gospel message. 
 
 And Jesus Himself drew near. 
 And helped you to trust Him simply, 
 
 And took away your fear : 
 
41 8 Xoisal IReeponees, 
 
 When the darkness and the shadows 
 
 Fled like a weary night, 
 And you felt that you could praise Him, 
 
 And everything seemed bright. 
 
 III. 
 
 Are you shining for Jesus, dear one 
 
 So that the holy light 
 May enter the hearts of others, 
 
 And make them glad and bright «* 
 Have you spoken a word for Jesus, 
 
 And told to some arouno. 
 Who do not care about Him^ 
 
 What a Saviour yott Pave fc'jnd ? 
 Have you lifted the i.rmp for others, 
 
 That has guided youf own glad feet ? 
 Have you echoed '.ne loving message. 
 
 That seemed to yo\\ so sweet ? 
 
 IV. 
 
 Are you shinir.p for Jesus, dear one,— 
 
 Shining for W im all day, 
 Letting xh'c light burn always 
 
 Along the varied way ? 
 Always,— when those beside you 
 
 Are walking in the dark ? 
 Always, — when no one is helping. 
 
 Or heeding your tiny spark? 
 Not idly letting it flicker 
 
 In every passing breeze 
 Of pleasure or temptation, 
 
 Of trouble or r,i ease ? 
 
Sblning. 419 
 
 V. 
 
 Are you shining for Jesus, dear one,— • 
 
 Shining just everywhere, 
 Not only in easy places. 
 
 Not only just here or there? 
 Shining in happy gatherings. 
 
 Where all are loved and known ? 
 Shining where all are strangers ? 
 , Shining when quite alone ? 
 Shining at home, and making 
 
 True sunshine all around ? 
 Shining abroad, and faithful — 
 
 Perhaps among faithless — found? 
 
 VI. 
 
 Are you shining for y^esus, dear one, 
 
 Not for yourself at all ? 
 Not because dear ones, watching, 
 
 Would grieve if your lamp should fall ? 
 Shining because you are walking 
 
 In the Sun's unclouded rays. 
 And you canndt help reflecting 
 
 The light on which you gaze ? 
 ■ Shining because it shineth 
 
 So warm and bright above. 
 That you must let out the gladness, 
 
 And you must show forth the love ? 
 
 VII. 
 
 Are you shining for Jesus, dear one? 
 Or is there a little sigh 
 
420 Xo^al IResponees. 
 
 That the lamp His love had lighted 
 
 Does not burn clear and high ? 
 Is the heavenly crown that waits you. 
 
 Still, still without a star, 
 Because your light was hidden, 
 
 And sent no rays afar ? 
 Do you feel you have not loved Him 
 
 With a love right brave and loyal, 
 But have faintly fought and followed 
 
 His banner bright and royal ? 
 
 vni. 
 
 Oh, come again to Jesus ! 
 
 Come as you came at first, 
 And tell Him all that hinders, 
 
 And tell Him all the worst ; 
 And take His sweet forgiveness 
 
 As you took it once before, 
 And hear His kind voice saying, 
 
 * Peace ! go, and sin no more !* 
 Then ask for grace and courage 
 
 His name to glorify, , 
 That never more His precious light 
 
 Your dimness may deny. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Then rise, and, * watching daily,' 
 Ask Him your lamp to trim 
 
 With the fresh oil He giveth, 
 That it may not burn dim. 
 
 Yes, rise and shine for Jesus ! 
 Be brave, and bright, and true 
 
(BrowiuQ. 421 
 
 To the true and loving Saviour, 
 Who gave Himself for you. 
 
 Oh, shine for Jesus, dear one. 
 And henceforth be your way 
 
 Bright with the light that shineth 
 Unto the perfect day ! 
 
 FIFTEENTH DAY. 
 
 I. 
 
 UNTO him that hath, Thou givest 
 Ever *more abundantly,' 
 Lord, I live because Thou livest. 
 
 Therefore give more life to me ; 
 Therefore speed me in the race ; 
 Therefore let me grow in grace. 
 
 II. . 
 
 Deepen all Thy work, O Master, 
 Strengthen every downward root. 
 
 Only do Thou ripen faster. 
 
 More and more, Thy pleasant fruit. 
 
 Purge me, prune me, self abase, 
 
 Only let me grow in grace. 
 
 III. 
 
 Jesus, grace for grace outpouring, 
 Show me ever greater things ; 
 
422 Xo^al IRcsponscs. 
 
 Raise me higher, sunward soaring, 
 
 Mounting as on eagle -wings. 
 By the brightness of Thy face, 
 Jesus, let me grow in grace. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Let me grow by sun and shower, 
 
 Every moment water me ; 
 Make me really hour by hour 
 
 More and more conformed to Thee, 
 That Thy loving eye may trace. 
 Day by day, my growth in grace. 
 
 V. 
 
 Let me then be always growing. 
 
 Never, never standing still ; ^ 
 
 Listening, learning, better knowing 
 Thee and Thy most blessed will. 
 
 Till I reach Thy holy place. 
 
 Daily let me grow in grace. 
 
IRcatins* 423 
 
 SIXTEENTH DAY. 
 
 1Re0ting* 
 
 * This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest ; 
 and this is the refreshing.' — ISA. xxviii. 12. 
 
 I. 
 
 RESTING on the faithfulness of Christ our 
 Lord; 
 Resting on the fulness of His own sure word ; 
 Resting on His power, on His love untold ; 
 Resting on His covenant secured of old. 
 
 II. 
 
 Resting 'neath His guiding hand for untracked 
 
 days; 
 Resting 'neath His shadow from the noontide rays ; 
 Resting at the eventide beneath His wing ; 
 In the fair pavilion of our Saviour King. 
 
 III. 
 
 Resting in the fortress while the foe is nigh ; 
 Resting in the lifeboat while the waves roll high ; 
 Resting in His chariot for the swift, glad race ; 
 Resting, always resting in His boundless grace. 
 
424 Xoi^al IRcsponsea. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Resting in the pastures, and beneath the Rock ; 
 Resting by the waters where He leads His flock ; 
 Resting, whjle we listen, at His glorious feet ; 
 Resting in His very arms ! — O rest complete ! 
 
 V. 
 
 Resting and believing, let us onward press ; 
 Resting in Himself, the Lord our Righteousness ; 
 Resting and rejoicing, let His saved ones sing, 
 Glory, glory, glory be to Christ our King ! 
 
 SEVENTEENTH DAY. 
 
 filling. 
 
 * Filled \^^th all the fulness of God.' — Eph. ill. 19. 
 
 I. 
 
 HOLY Father, Thou hast spoken 
 Words beyond our grasp of thought,- 
 Words of grace and power unbroken, 
 With mysterious glory fraught. 
 
jfilUng. 425 
 
 n. 
 
 Promise and command combining, 
 Doubt to chase and faith to lift ; 
 
 Self renouncing, all resigning, 
 We would claim this mighty gift. 
 
 III. 
 
 Take us, Lord, oh, take us truly, 
 Mind and soul and heart and will ; 
 
 Empty us and cleanse us throughly, 
 Then with all thy fulness fill. 
 
 . IV. 
 
 Lord, we ask it, hardly knowing 
 What this wondrous gift may be. 
 
 But fulfil to overflowing, — 
 Thy great meaning let us see. 
 
 Make us in Thy royal palace 
 Vessels worthy for the King ; 
 
 From Thy fulness fill our chalice. 
 From Thy never- failing spring. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Father, by this blessed filling, 
 Dwell Thyself in us, we pray j 
 
 We are waiting, Thou art willing. 
 Fill us with Thyself to-day ! 
 
42 6 Xosal 1Rcsponse6» 
 
 EIGHTEENTH DAY. 
 
 Uncreaae our ffaitb* 
 
 ' Lord, increase our faith.' — Luke xvii. 5. 
 I. 
 
 INCREASE our faith, beloved Lord ! 
 For Thou alone canst give 
 The faith that takes Thee at Thy word, 
 The faith by which we live. 
 
 II. 
 
 Increase our faith ! So weak are we, 
 
 That we both may and must 
 Commit our very faith to Thee, 
 
 Entrust to Thee our trust. 
 
 III. 
 
 Increase our faith ! for there is yet 
 
 Much land to be possessed ; 
 And by no other strength we get 
 
 Our heritage of rest. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Increase our faith \ On this broad shield 
 * Al/^ fiery darts be caught j 
 
•ffncrcase our 3fa(tb. 427 
 
 We must be victors in the field 
 Where Thou for us hast fought. 
 
 V. 
 
 Increase our faith, that we may claim 
 
 Each starry promise sure, 
 And always triumph in Thy name, 
 
 And to the end endure. 
 
 VL 
 
 Increase our faith, O Lord, we pray, 
 
 That we may not depart 
 From Thy commands, but all obey 
 
 With free and loyal heart. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Increase our faith — increase it still — 
 
 From heavenward hour to hour 
 And in us gloriously * fulfil 
 
 The work of faith with power.* 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Increase our faith, that never dim 
 
 Or trembling it may be. 
 Crowned with the ' perfect peace' of him 
 
 * Whose mind is stayed on Thee.' 
 
 IX. 
 
 Increase our faith, for Thou hast prayed 
 
 That it should never fail ; 
 Our steadfast anchorage is made 
 
 With Thee, within the veil. 
 
428 Xoi^al IRcsponscB. 
 
 X. 
 
 Increase our faith, that unto Thee 
 More fruit may still abound ; 
 
 That it may grow ' exceedingly,' 
 And to Thy praise be found. 
 
 XL 
 
 Increase our faith, O Saviour dear, 
 By Thy sweet sovereign grace, 
 
 Till, changing faith for vision clear, 
 We see Thee face to face ! 
 
 NINETEENTH DAY. 
 
 ^mobobi? 1know0 but 3e6U0. 
 
 I. 
 
 * TVrOBODY knows but Jesus!' , 
 IN 'Tis only the old refrain 
 Of a quaint, pathetic slave-song, 
 But it comes again and again. 
 
 XL 
 
 I only heard it quoted. 
 
 And I do not know the rest ; 
 
 But the music of the message 
 Was wonderfully blessed. 
 
♦uaoboC)^ Iknows but Jesus/ 429 
 
 III. 
 
 For it fell upon my spirit 
 
 Like sweetest twilight psalm, 
 When the breezy sunset waters 
 
 Die into starry calm. 
 
 IV. 
 
 ^Nobody knows but Jesus !' 
 
 Is it not better so, 
 That no one else but Jesus, 
 
 My own dear Lord, should know? 
 
 V. 
 
 When the sorrow is a secret 
 
 Between my Lord and me, 
 I learn the fuller measure 
 
 Of His quick sympathy. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Whether it be so heavy, 
 
 That dear ones could not bear 
 To know the bitter burden 
 
 They could not come and share ; 
 
 VII. 
 
 Whether it be so tiny. 
 
 That others could not see 
 Why it should be a trouble. 
 
 And seem so real to me ; 
 28 
 
43° Xoigal IResponses. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Either, and both, I lay them 
 Down at my Master's feet, 
 
 And find them,- alone with Jesus, 
 Mysteriously sweet. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Sweet, for they bring me closer 
 To the dearest, truest Friend ; 
 , Sweet, for He comes the nearer. 
 As 'neath the cross I bend ; 
 
 X. 
 
 Sweet, for they are the channels 
 Through which His teachings flow ; 
 
 Sweet, for by these dark secrets 
 His heart of love I know. 
 
 XI. 
 
 * Nobody knows but Jesus ! ' 
 
 It is music for to-day. 
 And through the darkest hours 
 
 It will chime along the way. 
 
 XII. 
 
 ' Nobody knows but Jesus ! ' 
 My Lord, I bless Thee now 
 
 For the sacred gift of sorrow 
 That no one knows but Thou. 
 
Ibe (6 tTbs %itc. 431 
 
 TWENTIETH DAY. 
 
 Ibe 10 ^bi? Xife* 
 
 I. 
 
 JESUS, Thy life is mine ! 
 Dwell evermore in me ; 
 And let me see 
 That nothing can untwine 
 My life from Thine. 
 
 11. 
 
 Thy life in me be shown ! 
 Lord, I would henceforth seek 
 
 To think and speak 
 Thy thoughts, Thy words alone, 
 
 No more my own. 
 
 III. 
 
 Thy love. Thy joy, Thy peace, 
 Continuously impart 
 
 Unto my heart 
 Fresh springs, that never cease 
 
 But still increase. 
 
432 Xo^al TResponses* 
 
 IV. 
 
 The blest reality 
 
 Of resurrection power, 
 
 Thy Church's dower. 
 Life more abundantly, 
 
 Lord, give to me ! 
 
 V. 
 
 Thy fullest gift, O Lord, 
 Now at Thy feet I claim, 
 
 Through Thy dear name i 
 And touch the rapturous chord 
 
 Of praise forth poured. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Jesus, my life is Thine, 
 And evermore shall be 
 
 Hidden in Thee ! 
 For nothing can untwine 
 
 Thy life from mine. 
 
 TWENTY-FIRST DAY. 
 
 jEnougb^ 
 
 L 
 
 I AM so weak, dear Lord, I cannot stand 
 One moment without Thee ! 
 But oh ! the tenderness of Thine enfolding. 
 
J6nou0b. 433 
 
 And oh ! the faithfulness of Thine upholding, 
 And oh ! the strength of Thy right hand ! 
 That strength is enough for me ! 
 
 11. 
 
 I am so needy, Lord, and yet I know 
 
 All fulness dwells in Thee ; 
 And hour by hour that never-failing treasure 
 Supplies and fills, in overflowing measure, 
 My least, my greatest need ; and so 
 Thy grace is enough for me ! 
 
 III. 
 
 It is so sweet to trust Thy word alone : 
 
 I do not ask to see 
 The unveiling of Thy purpose, or the shining 
 Of future light on mysteries untwining : 
 Thy promise-roll is all my own, — 
 
 Thy word is enough for me ! 
 
 IV. 
 
 The human heart asks love ; but now I know 
 
 That my heart hath from Thee 
 All real, and full, and marvellous affection, 
 So near, so human ; yet divine perfection 
 Thrills gloriously the mighty glow ! 
 
 Thy love is enough for me ! 
 
 V. 
 
 There were strange soul-depths, restless, vast, and 
 broad, 
 Un fathomed as the sea ; 
 
434 Xo^al TResponscs, 
 
 An infinite craving for some infinite stilling; 
 But now Thy perfect love is perfect filling ! 
 Lord Jesus Christ, my Lord, my God, 
 Thou, Thou art enough for me ! 
 
 TWENTY-SECOND DAY, 
 
 mi 
 
 I. 
 
 GOD'S reiterated 'all!' 
 O wondrous word of peace and power ! 
 Touching with its tuneful fall 
 The rising of each hidden hour, 
 
 All the day. 
 
 11. 
 
 Only a// His word believe, 
 
 A// peace and joy your heart shall fill. 
 All things asked ye shall receive : 
 
 This is thy Father's word and will, 
 
 For to-day. 
 
 III. 
 
 *" A// 1 have is thine,' saith He. 
 
 ' A// things are yours,' He saith again ; 
 
©nils, 435 
 
 All the promises for thee 
 
 Are sealed with Jesus Christ's Amen, 
 
 For to-day, 
 
 IV. 
 
 He shall all your need supply, 
 
 And He will make all grace abound ; 
 ^/ways ^//sufficiency 
 " In Him for all things shall be found, 
 
 For to-day, 
 
 V. 
 
 All His work He shall fulfil, 
 
 All the good pleasure of His will, 
 Keeping thee in all thy ways, 
 
 And with thee always, ' all the days,' 
 
 And to-day I 
 
 TWENTY-THIRD DAY. 
 
 I. 
 
 ONLY a mortal's powers. 
 Weak at their fullest strength ; 
 Only a few swift-flashing hours. 
 Short at their fullest length. 
 
43^ Xoisal TResponses^ 
 
 II. 
 
 Only a page for the eye, 
 Only a word for the ear, 
 
 Only a smile, and by and by 
 Only a quiet tear. 
 
 III. 
 
 Only one heart to give, 
 Only one voice to use ; 
 
 Only one little life to live, 
 And only one to lose. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Poor is my best and small : 
 How could I dare divide ? 
 
 Surely my Lord shall have it all, 
 He shall not be denied ! 
 
 V. 
 
 All ! for far more I owe 
 Than all I have to bring ; 
 
 All ! for my Saviour loves me so t 
 All ! for I love my King ! 
 
 VI. 
 
 All ! for it is His own, 
 He gave the tiny store ; 
 
 All ! for it must be His alone ; 
 All ! for I have no more. 
 
ISs^ faster. 437 
 
 VII. 
 
 All ! for the last and least 
 
 He stoopeth to uplift : 
 The altar of my great High Priest 
 
 Shall sanctify my gift. 
 
 TWENTY-FOURTH DAY. 
 
 !Vi^ flDaater. 
 
 * I love my master ; . . . I will not go out free. 
 And he shall serve him for ever.' — Ex. xxi. 5, 6. 
 
 I. 
 
 I LOVE, I love my Master, 
 I will not go out free, 
 For He is my Redeemer, 
 He paid the price for me. 
 
 II. 
 
 I would not leave His service, 
 
 It is so sweet and blest ; 
 And in the weariest moments 
 
 He gives the truest rest. 
 
 III. 
 
 I would not halve my service. 
 
 His only it must be, — 
 His onfyf who so loved me 
 
 And gave Himself for me. 
 
43^ Xosal IReaponses* 
 
 IV. 
 
 My Master shed His life-blood 
 My vassal life to win, 
 
 And save me from the bondage 
 Of tyrant self and sin. 
 
 V. 
 
 He chose me for His service, 
 And gave me power to choose 
 
 That blessed, * perfect freedom * 
 Which I shall never lose : 
 
 VI. 
 
 For He hath met my longing 
 With word of golden tone, 
 
 That I shall serve for ever 
 Himself, Himself alone. 
 
 VII. 
 
 * Shall serve Him ' hour by hour, 
 For He will show me how ; 
 
 My Master is fulfilling 
 His promise even now ! 
 
 VIII. 
 
 ' Shall serve Him/ and ' for ever;* 
 O hope most sure, most fair ! , 
 
 The perfect love outpouring 
 In perfect service there ! 
 
IPerfect B>eace. 439 
 
 IX. 
 
 Rejoicing and adoring, 
 
 Henceforth my song shall be : 
 I love, I love my Master, 
 
 I will not go out free ! 
 
 TWENTY-FIFTH DAY. 
 
 perfect peace* 
 
 I. 
 
 LIKE a river glorious 
 Is God's perfect peace. 
 Over all victorious 
 
 In its bright increase. 
 Perfect — yet it floweth 
 
 Fuller every day ; 
 Perfect — yet it groweth 
 
 Deeper all the way. 
 Chorus. Stayed upon Jehovah, 
 
 Hearts are fully blest. 
 Finding, as He promised. 
 Perfect peace and rest. 
 
 II. 
 
 Hidden in the hollow 
 Of His blessed hand. 
 
440 Xo^al TResponses. 
 
 Never foe can follow, 
 Never traitor stand. 
 Not a surge of worry, 
 Not a shade of care. 
 Not a blast of hurry- 
 Touch the spirit there. 
 Chorus. Stayed upon Jehovah, 
 
 Hearts are fully blest, 
 Finding, as He promised. 
 Perfect peace and rest. 
 
 III. 
 
 Every joy or trial 
 
 Falleth from above. 
 Traced upon our dial 
 
 By the Sun of Love. 
 We may trust Him solely 
 
 All for us to do ; 
 They who trust Him wholly. 
 
 Find Him wholly true. 
 Chorus, Stayed upon Jehovah, 
 
 Hearts are fully blest, 
 Finding, as He promised. 
 Perfect peace and rest. 
 
H am witb Zbcc. 441 
 
 TWENTY-SIXTH DAY. 
 
 H am witb ^bee» 
 
 I. 
 
 * T AM with thee ! ' He hath said it 
 JL In His truth and tender grace j 
 Sealed the promise, grandly spoken, 
 With how many a mighty token 
 Of his love and faithfulness. 
 
 n. 
 
 He is with thee ! — In thy dwelling, 
 
 Shielding thee from fear of ill ; 
 All thy burdens kindly bearing, 
 For thy dear ones gently' caring, 
 Guarding, keeping, blessing still. 
 
 III. 
 
 He is with thee ! — In thy service 
 
 He is with thee ' certainly,' 
 Filling with the Spirit's power, 
 Giving in the needing hour 
 His own messages by thee. 
 
442 Xo^al TResponses. \ 
 
 IV. 
 
 He is with thee ! — With thy spirit, 
 With thy lips, or with thy pen ; 
 In the quiet preparation, 
 In the heart-bowed congregation, 
 Nevermore alone again ! 
 
 V. 
 
 He is with thee ! — With thee always. 
 
 All the nights and all the days ; 
 Never failing, never frowning, 
 With His loving-kindness crowning. 
 Tuning all thy life to praise. 
 
 VI. 
 
 He is with thee ! — -Thine own Master, 
 
 Leading, loving to the end ; 
 Brightening joy and lightening sorrow, 
 A// to-day, yet more to-morrow. 
 King and Saviour, Lord and Friend. 
 
 ^VII. 
 
 He is with thee ! — Yes, for ever, 
 
 Now, and through eternity ; 
 Then with Him for ever dwelling, 
 Thou shalt share His joy excelling. 
 
 Thou with Christ and Christ with thee I 
 
C^ruat anD 2)istrust» 443 
 
 TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY. 
 
 ZvviQt mi> 2)i0tru6t* 
 
 I. 
 
 DISTRUST thyself, but trust His grace ; 
 It is enough for thee ! 
 In every trial thou shalt trace 
 Its all-sufficiency. 
 
 II. 
 
 Distrust thyself, but trust His strength; 
 
 In Him thou shalt be strong : 
 His weakest ones may learn at length 
 
 A daily triumph-song. 
 
 HI. 
 
 Distrust thyself, but trust His love ; 
 
 Rest in its changeless glow : 
 And life or death shall only prove 
 
 Its everlasting flow. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Distrust thyself, but trust alone 
 
 In Him, for all — for ever ! 
 And joyously thy heart shall own 
 
 That Jesus faileth never. 
 
444 Xogal TResponses* 
 
 TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY. 
 
 Mitbout Carefulneee* 
 
 * I would have you without carefulness.' — I CoR. vii. 32c 
 
 I. 
 
 MASTER ! how shall I bless Thy name 
 For Thy tender love to me, 
 For the sweet enablings of Thy grace, 
 
 So sovereign, yet so free, 
 That have taught me to obey Thy word 
 And cast my care on Thee ! 
 
 II. 
 
 They tell of weary burdens borne 
 
 For discipline of life, 
 Of long anxieties and doubts, 
 
 Of struggle and of strife. 
 Of a path of dim perplexities 
 
 With fears and shadows rife. 
 
 III. 
 
 Oh, I have trod that weary path. 
 
 With burdens not a few. 
 With shadowy faith that Thou wouldst lead 
 
 And help me safely through. 
 Trying to follow and obey, 
 
 And bear my burdens too. 
 
TKHftbout Caretulness* 445 
 
 IV. 
 
 Master ! dear Master, Thou didst speak. 
 
 And yet I did not hear, 
 Or long ago I might have ceased 
 
 From every care and fear. 
 And gone rejoicing on my way 
 
 From brightening year to year. 
 
 V. 
 
 Just now and then some steeper slope 
 
 Would seem so hard to climb, 
 That I must cast my load on Thee ; 
 
 And I left it for a time. 
 And wondered at the joy at heart, 
 
 Like sweetest Christmas chime. 
 
 VI. 
 
 A step or two on winged feet, 
 
 And then I turned to share 
 The burden Thou hadst taken up 
 
 Of ever-pressing care; 
 So that I would not leave with Thee 
 
 Of course I had to bear. 
 
 VII. 
 
 At last Thy precious precepts fell 
 
 On opened heart and ear, 
 A varied and repeated strain 
 
 I could not choose but hear, 
 Enlinking promise and command. 
 
 Like harp and clarion clear ; 
 29 
 
446 Xogal TResponsea^ 
 
 VIII. 
 
 * No anxious thought upon thy brow 
 
 The watching world should see ; 
 No carefulness ! O child of God, 
 
 For nothing careful be ! 
 But cast thou all thy care on Him 
 
 Who always cares for thee.* 
 
 IX. 
 
 Did not Thy loving Spirit come 
 
 In gentle, gracious shower, 
 To work Thy pleasure in my soul 
 
 In that bright, blessed hour. 
 And to the word of strong command 
 
 Add faith and will and power? 
 
 ^• 
 
 It was Thy word, it was Thy will — 
 
 That was enough for me ! 
 Henceforth no care shall dim my trust, 
 
 For all is cast on Thee; I 
 
 Henceforth my inmost heart shall praise 
 
 The grace that set me free. 
 
 XI. 
 
 And now I find Thy promise true, 
 
 Of perfect peace and rest ; 
 I cannot sigh — I can but sing 
 
 While leaning on Thy breast, 
 And leaving everything to Thee, 
 
 Whose ways are always best. 
 
TKaitbout Carefulness. 447 
 
 XII. 
 
 I never thought it could be thus, — 
 
 Month after month to know 
 The river of Thy peace without 
 
 One ripple in its flow ; ^, 
 
 Without one quiver in the trust. 
 
 One flicker in its glow. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Oh, Thou hast done far more for me 
 
 Than I had asked or thought ! 
 I stand and marvel to behold 
 
 What Thou, my Lord, hast wrought, 
 And wonder what glad lessons yet 
 
 I shall be daily taught. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 How shall I praise Thee, Saviour dear. 
 
 For this new life so sweet. 
 For taking all the care I laid 
 
 At Thy beloved feet. 
 Keeping Thy hand upon my heart 
 
 To still each anxious beat ! 
 
 XV. 
 
 I want to praise, with life renewed, 
 
 As I never praised before ; 
 With voice and pen, with song and speech, 
 
 To praise thee more and more, 
 
4tJ5 Xo^al TResponscs, 
 
 And the gladness and the gratitude 
 Rejoicingly outpour. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 I long to praise Thee more, and yet 
 
 This is no care to me : 
 If Thou shalt fill my mouth with songs, 
 
 Then I will sing to Thee ; 
 And if my silence praise Thee best, 
 
 Then silent I will be. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 Yet if it be Thy will, dear Lord, 
 
 Oh, send me forth, to be 
 Thy messenger to careful hearts, 
 
 To bid them taste and see 
 How good Thou art to those who cast 
 
 All, all their care on Thee ! 
 
G;bi2 TRefan* 449 
 
 TWENTY-NINTH DAY. 
 
 Z\)^ IReign* 
 
 * Righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.*- 
 ROM. xiv. 17. 
 
 T^ 
 
 I. 
 
 *HY reign is righteousness , 
 Not mine, but Thine ! — 
 A covering no less 
 Than the broad, bright waves of Thy great sea, 
 That roll triumphantly 
 From line to pole, and pole to line ; 
 A reign where every rebel thought 
 
 In sweet captivity 
 To Thine obedience is brought. 
 
 II. 
 
 Thy reign is perfect peace ; 
 Not mine, but Thine ! — 
 A stream that cannot cease, 
 For its fountain is Thy heart. O depth unknown ! 
 Thou givest of Thine own, 
 Pouring from Thine and filling mine. 
 The * noise of war ' hath passed away ; 
 
 God's peace is on the throne, 
 Ruling with undisputed sway. 
 
45 o Xosal 1Rc6ponec3* 
 
 III. 
 
 Thy reign is joy divine; 
 Not mine, but Thine ; 
 Or else not any joy to me ! 
 For a joy that flowed not from Thine own. 
 Since Thou hast reigned alone. 
 Were vacancy or misery. 
 O sunshine of Thy realm, how bright 
 
 This radiance from Thy throne, 
 Unspeakable in calmest light ! 
 
 IV. 
 
 Thy reign shall still increase ! 
 
 I claim Thy word, — 
 Let righteousness and peace 
 And joy in the Holy Ghost be found. 
 And more and more abound 
 In me, through Thee, O Christ my Lord ; 
 Take unto Thee Thy power, who art 
 
 My Sovereign, many-crowned ! 
 Stablish Thy kingdom in my heart. 
 
 I 
 
CcleO, precious, Sure. 451 
 
 THIRTIETH DAY. 
 
 Jesi/§ 
 Christ 
 
 Zvic^y precioua, Sure* 
 
 * The Same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.'— 
 
 Heb. xiii. 8. 
 ' A stone, a tried stone, a precious comer stone, a 
 
 sure foundation.' — IsA. xxviii. 16. 
 
 I. 
 
 THROUGH the yesterday of ages, 
 Jesus, Thou hast been The Same ; 
 Through our own life's chequered pages, 
 
 Still the one dear changeless Name. 
 Well may we in Thee confide. 
 Faithful Saviour, proved and * tried ! * 
 
 II. 
 
 Joyfully we stand and witness 
 Thou art still to-day The Same ; 
 
 In Thy perfect, glorious fitness, 
 Meeting every need and claim. 
 
 Chiefest of ten thousand Thou ! 
 
 Saviour, O most * precious,' now! 
 
 III. 
 
 Gazing down the far for ever, 
 
 Brighter glows the one sweet Name, 
 
45 » Xoigal TResponses^ 
 
 Steadfast radiance j paling never, 
 
 Jesus, Jesus ! still The Same. 
 Evermore *Thou shalt endure/ 
 Our own Saviour, strong and * sure I* 
 
 THIRTY-FIRST DAY. 
 
 3u0t wben ^bou Mtit 
 
 I. 
 
 JUST when Thou wilt, O Master, call, 
 Or at the noon, or evening fall. 
 Or in the dark, or in the light, — 
 Just when Thou wilt, it must be right. 
 
 II. 
 
 Just when Thou wilt, O Saviour, come. 
 Take me to dwell in Thy bright home ! 
 Or when the snows have crowned my head, 
 Or ere it hath one silver thread. 
 
 III. 
 
 Just when Thou wilt, O Bridegroom, say, 
 * Rise up, my love, and come away 1 ' 
 
3^U0t wben (Tbou 'MiiU 453 
 
 Open to me Thy golden gate, 
 
 Just when Thou wilt, or soon, or late. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Just when Thou wilt — Thy time is best — 
 Thou shalt appoint my hour of rest. 
 Marked by the Sun of perfect love, 
 Shining unchangeably above, 
 
 V. 
 
 Just when Thou wilt ! — no choice for me ! 
 Life is a gift to use for Thee ; 
 Death is a hushed and glorious tryst, 
 With Thee, my King, my Saviour, Christ ! 
 
flnbey* 
 
 PART I. 
 MY KING. 
 
 UAY 
 
 1 . The Source of the Kingship, . 
 
 2. The Promise of the King, 
 
 3. Allegiance to the King, 
 
 4. Decision for the King, . . 
 
 5. The First to meet the King, 
 
 6. The Condescension of the King, 
 
 7. The Indwelling of the King, 
 
 8. Full Satisfaction in the King, 
 
 9. The Sorrow of the King, 
 
 10. Going forth with the King, 
 
 11. The Smiting of the King, 
 
 12. The Kinship of the King, 
 
 13. The Desire of the King, 
 
 14. The Sceptre of the King, . , 
 
 15. Cleaving to the King, 
 
 16. The Joy of the King, 
 
 17. Rest on the Word of the King 
 
 18. The Business of the King, ' 
 
 19. The Readiness of the King's Servants, 
 
 20. The Friendship of the King, 
 
 21. The Light of the King's Countenance, 
 
 22. The Tenderness of the King, 
 
 23. The Token of the King's Grace, 
 
 24. The Omniscience of the King, 
 
 25. The Power of the King's Word, 
 
 26. The Name of the King, 
 
 27. Working with the King, 
 
 28. The Recompense of the King, 
 
 29. The Salvation of the King, 
 
 30. Good Tidings to the King's Household, 
 
 31. The Prosperity of the King, 
 
 (455) 
 
 5 
 
 7 
 
 9 
 
 II 
 
 13 
 15 
 
 18 
 20 
 23 
 25 
 27 
 29 
 32 
 35 
 37 
 39 
 41 
 44 
 47 
 50 
 52 
 54 
 57 
 59 
 61 
 
 64 
 66 
 68 
 
 70 
 73 
 
 76 
 
456 
 
 5nDej« 
 
 ROYAL COMMANDMENTS. 
 
 DAY 
 
 1. Loving Allegiance, 
 
 2. Seeking for His Commandments, 
 
 3. Recognising His Commandments, 
 
 4. The Means of Growth, 
 
 5. Mental Food, 
 
 6. The Transferred Burden, 
 
 7. The Recall, 
 
 8. The Conditions of Effectual Prayer, 
 
 9. The Privilege of Intercession, 
 
 10. Trusting in Darkness, 
 
 11. Fear Not, . 
 
 12. The Strength-giving Look, 
 
 13. All-sided Guidance, 
 
 14. Ruler, because Deliverer, 
 
 15. Separation Unto^ 
 
 16. Manifesting the Life of Jesus, 
 
 17. The Yoke-destroying Anointing, 
 
 18. Our Works in God's Hand, 
 
 19. The Secret of Fulfilled Desire, 
 
 20. Taking God at His Word, . 
 
 21. Our Commission, 
 
 22. Beholdnig and Declaring, . 
 
 23. Telling of the liand of God, 
 
 24. Telling of the King's Words, 
 
 25. Evil Speaking, . . 
 
 26. Hindering, .... 
 
 27. Strengthening Hands, 
 
 28. Seeking to Excel, 
 
 29. What the Will of the Lord is, 
 
 30. His Last Commandment, 
 
 31. The Great Reward, 
 
 81 
 
 84 
 
 87 
 90 
 
 93 
 97 
 100 
 104 
 107 
 III 
 
 119 
 
 122 
 
 125 
 128 
 132 
 134 
 
 138 
 141 
 
 145 
 148 
 
 151 
 
 155 
 159 
 162 
 166 
 169 
 
 173 
 176 
 180 
 183 
 
 THE ROYAL BOUNTY. 
 
 1. The Royal Bounty, 
 
 2. The Opened Treasure, 
 
 191 
 195 
 
5nDcj;. 
 
 457 
 
 DAY 
 
 3- 
 
 The King's Signature and Seal, 
 
 FAGB 
 
 198 
 
 4- 
 
 The Candour of Christ, .... 
 
 202 
 
 5- 
 
 From Death Unto Life, .... 
 
 206 
 
 6. 
 
 Justified, ....... 
 
 210 
 
 1- 
 
 The Royal Wine, 
 
 214 
 
 8. 
 
 The Gift of Peace, 
 
 218 
 
 9- 
 
 The Abiding Joy, . . . . . 
 
 220 
 
 lo. 
 
 The Sure Afterward, 
 
 224 
 
 II. 
 
 No Hurt, 
 
 227 
 
 12. 
 
 The Putting Forth of the Sheep, 
 
 230 
 
 13- 
 
 §afe Stepping, ...... 
 
 233 
 
 .14- 
 
 Thine, ....... 
 
 237 
 
 15- 
 
 Unto Thee for Ever, ..... 
 
 240 
 
 1 6. 
 
 Captive Thoughts, 
 
 244 
 
 17- 
 
 The Imagination of the Thoughts of the Heart, 
 
 246 
 
 1 8. 
 
 The Everlasting Service, .... 
 
 250 
 
 19. 
 
 Most Blessed for Ever, .... 
 
 . 254 
 
 20. 
 
 Do Thou for Me, 
 
 257 
 
 21. 
 
 Marvellously helped, 
 
 261 
 
 22. 
 
 Thou understandest, 
 
 264 
 
 23- 
 
 The Proof of His Purpose, 
 
 266 
 
 24. 
 
 The Garnering of the Least Grain, 
 
 270 
 
 25- 
 
 Vindication, ....... 
 
 273 
 
 26. 
 
 Wakeful Hours, . . . 
 
 276 
 
 27. 
 
 Midnight Rememberings, .... 
 
 279 
 
 28. 
 
 The Bright Side of Growing Older, 
 
 281 
 
 29. 
 
 The Earnests of More and More, . • 
 
 284 
 
 30- 
 
 The Perpetual Presence, . . . . 
 
 288 
 
 31- 
 
 The Fame-excelling Reality, . . , 
 
 291 
 
 
 ROYAL INVITATION. 
 
 
 I. 
 
 The Giver of the Invitation, 
 
 . 297 
 
 2 
 
 What is * Coming' ? ..... 
 
 300 
 
 3- 
 
 All Things are Ready, .... 
 
 302 
 
 4- 
 
 Now, 
 
 305 
 
 5- 
 
 Coming into the Ark, .... 
 
 . 3^7 
 
 6. 
 
 Drawn into the Ark, 
 
 ' 311 
 
458 
 
 5nt)ej, 
 
 DAY 
 
 7. Coming for Rest, 
 
 8. Want of Will, . 
 
 9. The Call of the Spirit, 
 
 10. Come and See, 
 
 11. The Safe Venture, 
 
 12. Coming Boldly, . 
 
 13. A Hindrance, 
 
 14. The Entreaty to Come, 
 
 15. The Command to Come, 
 
 16. Royal Largesse, 
 
 17. Tarry not, . 
 
 18. Without Christ, . 
 
 19. Come away, 
 
 20. Coming after Jesus, 
 2 [ . Coming with Jesus, 
 
 22. The Living Water, 
 
 23. The Bread and Wine, 
 
 24. Will you not Come ? 
 
 25. Come near, 
 
 26. To the Uttermost, 
 
 27. The Proof of Christ's Ability to Save, 
 
 28. Continual Coming, 
 
 29. Fellowship and Cleansing, 
 
 30. The Perpetual Covenant, 
 
 31. The Consummation of the Invitation^ 
 
 LOYAL RESPONSES. 
 
 1. Consecration Hymn, 
 
 2. Set Apart, .... 
 
 3. The Secret of a Happy Day, 
 
 4. The Unfailing One, 
 
 5. On the Lord's Side, 
 
 6. True-hearted, 
 
 7. By Thy Cross and Passion, . 
 
 8. The Opened Fountain, 
 
 9. The Precious Blood of Jesus, 
 10. I Remember thee, 
 
5nDe£. 
 
 45^ 
 
 JAY 
 
 ii. Knowing, 
 
 12. Trusting, 
 
 13; Looking, 
 
 14. Shining, 
 
 15. Growing, 
 
 16. Resting, 
 
 17. Filling, 
 
 18. Increase our Faith, 
 
 19. ' Nobody knows but Jesus,' 
 
 20. He is thy Life, 
 
 21. £nough, 
 
 22. All, 
 
 23. Only, 
 
 24. My Master, 
 
 25. Perfect Peace, 
 
 26. I am with thee, 
 
 27. Trust and Distrust, 
 
 28. Without Carefulness, 
 
 29. Thy Reign, 
 
 30. Tried, Precious, Sure, 
 
 31. Just wheh Thou Wilt, 
 
 PAGE 
 412 
 414 
 
 417 
 421 
 
 423 
 424 
 426 
 428 
 
 431 
 432 
 
 434 
 
 435 
 437 
 439 
 441 
 
 443 
 444 
 449 
 451 
 452 
 
PART II. 
 
KEPT 
 
 Zhe flDaeter's "Clse. 
 
Take my life, and let it be 
 Consecrated, Lord, to Thee. 
 
 Take my moments ai^ my days ; 
 Let them flow in ceaseless praise. 
 
 Take my hands, and let them move 
 At the impulse of Thy love. 
 
 Take my feet, and let them be 
 Swift and * beautiful ' for Thee. 
 
 Take my voice, and let me sing 
 Always, only, for my King. 
 
 Take my lips, and let them be 
 Filled with messages from Thee. 
 
 Take my silver and my gold ; 
 Not a mite would I withhold. 
 
 Take my intellect, and use 
 
 Every power as Thou shalt choose. 
 
 Take my will and make it Thine ; 
 It shall be no longer mine. 
 
 Take my heart ; it is Thine own ; 
 It shall be Thy royal throne. 
 
 Take my love ; my Lord, I pour 
 At Thy feet its treasure-store. 
 
 Take myself, and I will be 
 Ever, on/y, ALL for Thee. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 M 
 
 ®ur %\vcQ ftept for 3cb\xb. 
 
 * J^eep my life, that it may be 
 Consecrated., Lord, to Thee.^ 
 
 ANY a heart has echoed the little song : 
 
 ' Take my life, and let it be 
 Consecrated, Lord, to Thee ! ' 
 
 And yet those echoes have not been, in every case 
 and at all times, so clear, and full, and firm, so 
 continuously glad as we would wish, and perhaps 
 expected. Some of us have said : 
 
 * I launch me forth upon a sea 
 
 Of boundless love and tenderness ; ' 
 
 and after a little we have found, or fancied, that 
 there is a hidden leak in our barque, and though we 
 are doubtless still afloat, yet we are not sailing with 
 the same free, exultant confidence as at first. What 
 is it that has dulled and weakened the echo of our 
 consecration song ? what is the little leak that hin- 
 ders the swift and buoyant course of our conse- 
 crated life ? Holy Father, let Thy loving spirit 
 
lo iRept for tbe Master's iUse* 
 
 guide the hand that writes, and strengthen the heart 
 of every one who reads what shall be written, for 
 Jesus' sake. 
 
 While many a sorrowfully-varied answer to these 
 questions may, and probably will, arise from touched 
 and sensitive consciences, each being shown by 
 God's faithful Spirit the special sin, the special 
 yielding to temptation which has hindered and 
 spoiled the blessed life which they sought to enter 
 and enjoy, it seems to me that one or other of two 
 things has lain at the outset of the failure and dis- 
 appointment. 
 
 First, it may have arisen from want of the sim- 
 plest belief in the simplest fact, as well as want of 
 trust in one of the simplest and plainest words our 
 gracious Master ever uttered ! The unbelieved fact 
 being simply that He hears us ; the untrusted word 
 being one of those plain, broad foundation-stones 
 •on which we rested our whole weight, it may be 
 many years ago, and which we had no idea we ever 
 doubted, or were in any danger of doubting now, — 
 ' Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast 
 out.' 
 
 * Take my life !' We have said it or sung it be- 
 fore the Lord, it may be many times ; but if it were 
 only once whispered in His ear with full purpose of 
 heart, should we not believe that He heard it ? 
 And if we know that He heard it, should we not 
 believe that He has answered it, and fulfilled this, 
 our heart's desire? For with Him hearing means 
 heeding. Then why should we doubt that He did 
 verily take pur lives when we offered them — our 
 
©ur %ixfee ftcpt tor 5c6U6. n 
 
 bodies when we presented them ? Have we not 
 been wronging His faithfulness all this time by 
 practically, even if unconsciously, doubting whether 
 the prayer ever really reached Him ? And if so, is it 
 any wonder that we have not realized all the power 
 and joy of full consecration ? By some means or other 
 He has to teach us to trust implicitly at every step 
 of the way. And so, if we did not really trust in 
 this matter. He has had to let us find out our want 
 of trwst by withholding the sensible part of the 
 blessing, and thus stirring us up to find out why it 
 is withheld. 
 
 An offered gift must be either accepted or re- 
 fused. Can He have refused it when He has said, 
 ' Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out'? 
 If not, then it must have been accepted. It is just 
 the same process as when we came to Him first of 
 all, with the intolerable burden of our sins. There 
 was no help for it but to come with them to Him, 
 and take His word for it that He would not and did 
 not cast us out. And so coming, so believing, we 
 found rest to our souls ; we found that His word 
 was true, and that His taking away our sins was 
 a reality. 
 
 Some give their lives to Him then and there, and 
 go forth to live thenceforth not at all unto them- 
 selves, but unto Him who died for them. This is 
 as it should be, for conversion and consecration 
 ought to be simultaneous. But practically it is not 
 very often so, except with those in whom the bring- 
 ing out of darkness into marvellous light has been 
 sudden and dazzling, and full of deepest contrasts. 
 More frequently the work resembles the case of the 
 
12 ikept for tbe Master's IHee* 
 
 Hebrew servant described in Exodus xxi., who, 
 after six years' experience of a good master's ser- 
 vice, dedicates himself voluntarily, unreservedly, 
 and irrevocably to it, saying, * I love my master ; I 
 will not go out free ; ' the master then accepting and 
 sealing him to a life-long service, free in law, yet 
 bound in love. This seems to be a figure of later 
 consecration founded on experience and love. 
 
 And yet, as at our first coming, it is less than 
 nothing, worse than nothing that we have to bring; 
 for our lives, even our redeemed and pardoned lives, 
 are not only weak and worthless, but defiled and 
 sinful. But thanks be to God for the Altar that 
 sanctifieth the gift, even our Lord Jesus Christ 
 Himself! By Him we draw nigh unto God; to 
 Him, as one with the Father, we offer our living 
 sacrifice ; in Him, as the Beloved of the Father, we 
 know it is accepted. So, dear friends, when once 
 He has wrought in us the desire to be altogether 
 His own, and put into our hearts the prayer, * Take 
 my life,' let us go on our way rejoicing, believing 
 that He has taken our lives, our hands, our feet, our 
 voices, our intellects, our wills, our whole selves, to 
 be ever, only, all for Him. Let us consider that a 
 blessedly settled thing ; not because of anything we 
 have felt, or said, or done, but because we know 
 that He heareth us, and because we know that He 
 is true to His word. 
 
 But suppose our hearts do not condemn us in 
 this matter, our disappointment may arise from an- 
 other cause. It may be that we have not received, 
 because we have not asked a fuller and further 
 
®ur Xfves ftept for 5c6U6. 13 
 
 blessing. Suppose that we did believe, thankfully 
 and surely, that the Lord heard our prayer, and that 
 He did indeed answer and accept us, and set us apart 
 for Himself; and yet we find that our consecration 
 was not merely miserably incomplete, but that we 
 have drifted back again almost to where we were 
 before. Or suppose things are not quite so bad as 
 that, still we have not quite all we expected ; and 
 even jf we think we can truly say,'0 God, my heart 
 is fixed,' we find that, to our daily sorrow, some- 
 how or other the details of our conduct do not 
 seem to be fixed, something or other is perpetually 
 slipping through, till we get perplexed and dis- 
 tressed. Then we are tempted to wonder whether 
 after all there was not some mistake about it, and 
 the Lord did not really take us at our word, al- 
 though we took Him at His word. And then the 
 struggle with one doubt, and entanglement, and 
 temptation only seems to land us in another. What 
 is to be done then ? 
 
 First, I think, very humbly and utterly honestly 
 to search and try our ways before our God, or 
 rather, as we shall soon realize our helplessness to 
 make such a search, ask Him to do it for us, pray- 
 ing for His promised Spirit to show us unmistak- 
 ably if there is any secret thing with us that is hin- 
 dering both the inflow and outflow of His grace to 
 us and through us. Do not let us shrink from 
 some unexpected flash into a dark corner ; do not 
 let us wince at the sudden touching of a hidden 
 plague-spot. The Lord always does His own work 
 thoroughly if we will only let Him do it ; if we put 
 our case into His hands. He will search and probe 
 
14 1Rept for tbc Master's lase. 
 
 fully and firmly, though very tenderly. Very pain- 
 fully, it may be, but only that He may do the very 
 thing we want, — cleanse us and heal us thoroughly, 
 so that we may set off to walk in real newness of 
 life. But if we do not put it unreservedly into His 
 hands, it will be no use thinking or talking about 
 our lives being consecrated to Him. The heart that 
 is not entrusted to Him for searching, will not be 
 undertaken by Him for cleansing ; the life that 
 fears to come to the light lest any deed should be 
 reproved, can never know the blessedness and the 
 privileges of walking in the light. 
 
 But what then ? When He has graciously again 
 put a new song in our mouth, and we are singing, 
 
 * Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, 
 Who like me His praise should sing ? ' 
 
 and again with fresh earnestness we are saying, 
 
 ' Take my life, and let it be 
 Consecrated, Lord, to Thee ! ' 
 
 are we only to look forward to the same disappoint- 
 ing experience over again? are we always to stand 
 at the threshold ? Consecration is not so much a 
 step as a course ; not so much an act, as a position 
 to which a course of action inseparably belongs. 
 In so far as it is a course and a position, there must 
 naturally be a definite entrance upon it, and a time, 
 it may be a moment, when that entrance is made. 
 That is when we say, * Take '; but we do not want 
 to go on taking a first step over and over again. 
 
®ur Xlves ftept tor 5csu6. i> 
 
 What we want now is to be maintained in that po- 
 sition, and to fufil that course. So let us go on to 
 another prayer. Having already said, ' Take my 
 life, for I cannot give it to Thee,' let us now say, 
 with deepened conviction, that without Christ we 
 really can do nothing, — *Keep my life, for I cannot 
 keep it for Thee.' 
 
 Let us ask this with the same simple trust to 
 which, in so many other things. He has so liberally 
 and graciously responded. For this is the confi- 
 dence that we have in Him, that if we ask any- 
 thing according to His will, He heareth us ; and if 
 we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we 
 know that we have the petitions that we desired of 
 Him. There can be no doubt that this petition is 
 according to His will, because it is based upon 
 many a promise. May I give it to you just as it 
 floats through my own mind again and again, know- 
 ing whom I have believed, and being persuaded that 
 He is able to keep that which I have committed unto 
 Him? 
 
 Keep my life, that it may be 
 Consecrated, Lord, to Thee. 
 
 Keep my moments and my days ; 
 Let them flow in ceaseless praise. 
 
 Keep my hands, that they may move 
 At the impulse of Thy love. 
 
 Keep my feet, that they may be 
 Swift and ' beautiful ' for Thee. 
 
 Keep my voice, that I may sing 
 Always, only, for my King. 
 
1 6 iftept tor tbe /iRaster's 1Il6e. 
 
 Keep my lips, that they may be 
 Filled with messages from Thee. 
 
 Keep my silver and my gold ; 
 Not a mite would I withhold. 
 
 Keep my intellect, and use 
 Every power as Thou shall choose. 
 
 Keep my will, oh, keep it Thine ! 
 For it is no longer mine. 
 
 Keep my heart ; it is Thine own ; 
 It is now Thy royal throne. 
 
 Keep my love ; my Lord, I pour 
 At Thy feet its treasure-store. 
 
 Keep myself, that I may be 
 Ever, only, ALL for Thee. 
 
 Yes ! He who is able and willing to take unto 
 Himself, is no less able and willing to keep for 
 Himself. Our willing offering has been made by 
 His enabling grace, and this our King has * seen 
 with joy.' And now we pray, ' Keep this forever 
 in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of 
 Thy people ' (i Chron. xxix. 17, 18). 
 
 This blessed * taking,' once for all, which we 
 may quietly believe as an accomplished fact, fol- 
 lowed by the continual 'keeping,' for which He 
 will be continually inquired of by us, seems analo- 
 gous to the great washing by which we have part 
 in Christ, and the repeated washing of the feet for 
 which we need to be continually coming to 'Him. 
 For with the deepest and sweetest consciousness 
 
 I 
 
©ur %ivcs ftept for Jcens. 17 
 
 that He has indeed taken our lives to be His very- 
 own, the need of His active and actual keeping of 
 them in every detail and at every moment is most 
 fully realized. But then we have the promise of 
 our faithful God, ' I the Lord do keep it, I will 
 keep it night and day.' The only question is, will 
 we trust this promise, or will we not ? If we do, we 
 shall find it come true. If not, of course it will 
 not Jpe realized. For unclaimed promises are like 
 imcashed cheques ; they will keep us from bank- 
 ruptcy, but not from want. But if not, w/iy not ? 
 What right have we to pick out one of His faithful 
 sayings, and say we don't expect Him to fulfil 
 that? What defence can we bring, what excuse can 
 we invent, for so doing ? 
 
 If you appeal to experience against His faithful- 
 ness to His word, I will appeal to experience too, 
 and ask you, did you ever really trust Jesus to ful- 
 fil any word of His to you, and find your trust 
 deceived ? As to the past experience of the details 
 of your life not being kept for Jesus, look a little 
 more closely at it, and you will find that though you 
 may have asked, you did not trust. Whatever you 
 did really trust Him to keep. He has kept, and the 
 unkept things were never really entrusted. Scruti- 
 nize this past experience as you will, and it will 
 only bear witness against your unfaithfulness, never 
 against His absolute faithfulness. 
 
 Yet this witness must not be unheeded. We 
 must not forget the things that are behind till they 
 are confessed and forgiven. Let us now bring all 
 this unsatisfactory past experience, and, most of all, 
 the want of trust which has been the poison-spring 
 
i8 iRept tor tbe /iBaster's lUsc* 
 
 of its course, to the precious blood of Christ, which 
 cleanseth us, even us, from all sin, even this sin. 
 Perhaps we never saw that we were not trusting 
 Jesus as He deserves to be trusted ; if so, let us 
 wonderingly hate ourselves the more that we could 
 be so trustless to such a Saviour, and so sinfully 
 dark and stupid that we did not even see it. And 
 oh, let us wonderingly love Him the more that He 
 has been so patient and gentle with us, upbraiding 
 not, though in our slow-hearted foolishness we have 
 been grieving Him by this subtle unbelief, and 
 then, by His grace, may we enter upon a new era 
 of experience, our lives kept for Him more fully 
 than ever before, because we trust Him more simply 
 and unreservedly to keep them ! 
 
 Here we must face a question, and perhaps a dif- 
 ficulty. Does it not almost seem as if we were at 
 this point led to trusting to our trust, making every- 
 thing hinge upon it, and thereby only removing a 
 subtle dependence upon ourselves one step farther 
 back, disguising instead of renouncing it ? If 
 Christ's keeping depends upon our trusting, and 
 our continuing to trust depends upon ourselves, we 
 are in no better or safer position than before, and 
 shall only be landed in a fresh series of disappoint- 
 ments. The old story, something for the sinner to 
 do, crops up again here, only with the ground 
 shifted from ^ works ' to trust. Said a friend to me, 
 * I see now ! I did trust Jesus to do everything 
 else for me, but I thought that this trusting was 
 something that / had got to do.' And so, of 
 course, what she * had got to do ' had been a 
 
®ur %ivcs ftept tor Sesua. 19 
 
 perpetual effort and frequent failure. We can no 
 more trust and keep on trusting than we can do 
 anything else of ourselves. Even in this it must 
 be * Jesus only '; we are not to look to Him only to 
 be the Author and Finisher of our faith, but we are 
 to look to Him for all the intermediate fulfilment 
 of the work of faith (2 Thess. i. 11) ; we must ask 
 Him to go on fulfilling it in us, committing even 
 this to His power. 
 
 For we both may and must 
 Commit our very faith to Him, 
 Entrust to Him our trust. 
 
 What a long time it takes us to come down to the 
 conviction, and still more to the realization of the 
 fact that without Him we can do nothings but that 
 He must work all our works in us ! This is the 
 work of God, that ye believe in Him whom He has 
 sent. And no less must it be the work of God that 
 we go on believing, and that we go on trusting. 
 Then, dear friends, who are longing to trust Him 
 with unbroken and unwavering trust, cease the 
 effort and drop the burden, and now entrust your 
 trust to Him ! He is just as well able to keep that 
 as any other part of the complex lives which we 
 want Him to take and keep for Himself And oh, 
 do not pass on content with the thought, 'Yes, 
 that is a good idea ; perhaps I should find that a 
 T great help ! ' But, * Now, then, do it. ' It is no 
 help to the sailor to see a flash of light across a 
 dark sea, if he does not instantly steer accordingly. 
 
 Consecration is not a religiously selfish thing. If 
 it sinks into that, it ceases to be consecration. We 
 
20 mept tor tbe /IRaster's IDlge* 
 
 want our lives kept, not that we may feel happy, 
 and be saved the distress consequent on wandering, 
 and get the power with God and man, and all the 
 other privileges linked with it. We shall have all 
 this, because the lower is included in the higher ; 
 but our true aim, if the love of Christ constraineth 
 us, will be far beyond this. Not for ' me ' at all but 
 ' for Jesus ' ; not for my safety, but for His glory ; 
 not for my comfort, but for His joy ; not that I may 
 find rest, but that He may see the travail of His soul, 
 and be satisfied ! Yes, for Him I want to be kept. 
 Kept for His sake ; kept for His use ; kept to be His 
 witness ; kept for His joy ! Kept for Him, that in 
 me He may show forth some tiny sparkle of His 
 light and beauty; kept to do His will and His work in 
 His own way ; kept, it may be, to suffer for His sake ; 
 kept for Him, that He may do just what seemeth 
 Him good with me ; kept, so that no other lord 
 shall have any more dominion over me, but that 
 Jesus shall have all there is to have ; — little enough, 
 indeed, but not divided or diminished by any other 
 claim. Is not this, O you who love the Lord — is 
 not this worth living for, worth asking for, worth 
 trusting for ? 
 
 This is consecration, and I cannot tell you the 
 blessedness of it. It is not the least use arguing 
 with one who has had but a taste of its blessedness, 
 and saying to him, ^ How can these things be? ' It 
 is not the least use starting all sorts of difficulties 
 and theoretical suppositions about it with such a 
 one, any more than it was when the Jews argued 
 with the man who said, * One thing I know, that 
 whereas I was blind, now I see.' The Lord Jesus 
 
®ur Xlves ?iept tor 3-esu6/ 21 
 
 does take the life that is offered to Him, and He 
 does keep the life for Himself that is entrusted to 
 Him ; but until the life is offered we cannot know 
 the taking, and until the life is entrusted we cannot 
 know or understand the keeping. All we can do is 
 to say, * O taste and see ! ' and bear witness to the 
 reality of Jesus Christ, and set to our seal that we 
 have found Him true to His every word, and that 
 we h^ve proved Him able even to do exceeding 
 abundantly above all we asked or thought. Why 
 should we hesitate to bear this testimony? We 
 have done nothing at all; we have, in all our 
 efforts, only proved to ourselves, and perhaps to 
 . others, that we had no power either to give or keep 
 our lives. Why should we not, then, glorify His 
 grace by acknowledging that we have found Him so 
 wonderfully and tenderly gracious and faithful in 
 both taking and keeping as we never supposed or 
 imagined? I shall never forget the smile and em- 
 phasis with which a poor working man bore this 
 witness to his Lord. I said to him, 'Well, H., we 
 have a good Master, have we not?' 'Ah,' said he, 
 ' a deal better than ever /thought ! ' That summed 
 up his experience, and so it will sum up the experi- 
 ence of every one who will but yield their lives 
 wholly to the same good Master. 
 
 I cannot close this chapter without a word with 
 those, especially my younger friends, who, although 
 they have named the name of Christ, are saying, 
 * Yes, this is all very well for some people, or for 
 older people, but I am not ready for it ; I can't say 
 I see my way to this sort of thing. ' I am going to 
 
22 ikcpt for tbe /iBaster's 'Glae* 
 
 take the lowest ground for a minute, and appeal to 
 your * past experience.' Are you satisfied with 
 your experience of the other ' sort of thing ' ? Your 
 pleasant pursuits, your harmless recreations, your 
 nice occupations, even your improving ones, what 
 fruit are yoii having from them ? Your social inter- 
 course, your daily talks and walks, your investments 
 of all the time that remains to you over and above 
 the absolute duties God may have given you, what 
 fruit that shall remain have you from all this ? Day 
 after day passes on, and year after year, and what 
 shall the harvest be ? What is even the present re- 
 turn ? Are you getting any real and lasting satis- 
 faction out of it all? Are you not finding that^ 
 things lose their flavour, and that you are spending 
 your strength day after day for nought ? that you 
 are no more satisfied than you were a year ago — 
 rather less so, if anything ? Does not a sense of 
 hollowness and weariness come over you as you go 
 on in the same round, perpetually getting through 
 things only to begin again ? It cannot be other- 
 wise. Over even the freshest and purest earthly 
 fountains the Hand that never makes a mistake has 
 written, ' He that drinketh of this water shall thirst 
 again.' Look into your own heart and you will 
 find a copy of that inscription already traced, 
 * Shall thirst again. ' And the characters are being 
 deepened with every attempt to quench the inevi- 
 table thirst and weariness in life, which can only be 
 satisfied and rested in full consecration to God. 
 For * Thou hast made us for Thyself^ and the heart 
 never resteth till it findeth rest in Thee.' To-day 
 I tell you of a brighter and happier life, whose in- 
 
©ur %ivc3 ftept for 5c6U6» 23 
 
 scription is, ^ Shall never thirst,^ — a life that is no 
 dull round-and-round in a circle of unsatisfactori- 
 nesses, but a life that has found its true and en- 
 tirely satisfactory centre, and set itself towards a 
 shining and entirely satisfactory goal, whose bright- 
 ness is cast over every step of the way. Will you 
 not seek it ? 
 
 Do not shrink, and suspect, and hang back from 
 what it may involve, with selfish and unconfiding 
 and ungenerous half-heartedness. Take the word 
 of any who have willingly offered themselves unto 
 the Lord, that the life of consecration is * a deal 
 better than they thought !' Choose this day whom 
 you will serve with real, thorough-going, whole- 
 hearted service, and He will receive you ; and you 
 will find, as we have found, that He is such a good 
 Master that you are satisfied with His goodness, 
 and that you will never want to go out free. Nay, 
 rather take His own word for it ; see what He says : 
 * If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their 
 days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.' 
 You cannot possibly understand that till you are 
 really in His service ! For He does not give, nor 
 even show. His wages before you enter it. And He 
 says, ' My servants shall sing for joy of heart. ' But 
 you cannot try over that song to see what it is like, 
 you cannot even read one bar of it, till your nomi- 
 nal or even promised service is exchanged for real 
 and undivided consecration. But when He can 
 call you * My servant,' then you will find yourself 
 singing for joy of heart, because He says you shall. 
 
 ^And who, then, is willing to consecrate his ser- 
 vice this day unto the Lord ?' 
 
24 IRept tor tbe /iRastec's IDlae. 
 
 ' Do not startle at the term, or think, because 
 you do not understand all it may include, you are 
 therefore not qualified for it. I dare say it com- 
 prehends a great deal more than either you or I 
 understand, but we can both enter into the spirit of 
 it, and the detail will unfold itself as long as our 
 probation shall last. Christ demands a hearty con- 
 secration in will, and He will teach us what that 
 involves in act. ' 
 
 This explains the paradox that ' full consecration ' 
 may be in one sense the act of a moment, and in 
 another the work of a lifetime. It must be com- 
 plete to be real, and yet if real, it is always incom- 
 plete ; a point of rest, and yet a perpetual progres- 
 sion. 
 
 Suppose you make over a piece of ground to 
 another person. You give it up, then and there, 
 entirely to that other ; it is no longer in your own 
 possession ; you no longer dig and sow, plant and 
 reap, at your discretion or for your own profit. His 
 occupation of it is total ; no other has any right to 
 an inch of it ; it is his affair thenceforth what crops 
 to arrange for and how to make the most of it. But 
 his practical occupation of it may not appear all at 
 once. There may be waste land which he will take 
 into full cultivation only by degrees, space wasted 
 for want of draining or by over fencing, and odd 
 corners lost for want of enclosing ; fields yielding 
 smaller returns than they might because of hedge- 
 rows too wide and shady, and trees too many and 
 spreading, and strips of good soil trampled into 
 uselessness for want of defined pathways. 
 
 Just so is it with our lives. The transaction of. 
 
®ur Xives ftept for 5c0U6. 25 
 
 so to speak, making them over to God is definite 
 and complete. But then begins the practical de- 
 velopment of consecration. And here He leads on 
 * softly, according as the children be able to en- 
 dure.' I do not suppose any one sees anything like 
 all that it involves at the outset. We have not 
 a notion what an amount of waste of power there 
 has been in our lives ; we never measured out the 
 odd corners and the undrained bits, and it never 
 occurj;ed to us what good fruit might be grown in 
 our straggling hedgerows, nor how the shade of our 
 trees has been keeping the sun from the scanty 
 crops. And so, season by season, we shall be some- 
 times not a little startled, yet always very glad, as 
 we find that bit by bit the Master shows how much 
 more may be made of our ground, how much more 
 He is able to make of it than we did ; and we shall 
 be willing to work under Him and do exactly what 
 He points out, even if it comes to cutting down a 
 shady tree, or clearing out a ditch full of pretty 
 weeds and wild-flowers. 
 
 As the seasons pass on, it will seem as if there 
 was always more and more to be done; the very 
 fact that He is constantly showing us something 
 more to be done in it, proving that it is really His 
 ground. Only let Him have the ground, no matter 
 how poor or overgrown the soil may be, and then 
 ^ He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her 
 desert like the garden of the Lord.' Yes, even 
 our * desert ' ! And then we shall sing, * My be- 
 loved has gone down into His garden, to the 
 beds of spices, to feed in the gardens and to 
 gather lilies.' 
 
26 iRept tor tbe /iRaster's iUbc. 
 
 Made for Thyself, O God ! 
 Made for Thy love, Thy service, Thy delight; 
 Made to show forth Thy wisdom, grace, and might ; 
 Made for Thy praise, whom veiled archangels laud : 
 Oh, strange and glorious thought, that we may be 
 
 A joy to Thee ! 
 
 Yet the heart turns away 
 From this grand destiny of bliss, and deems 
 'Twas made for its poor self, for passing dreams, 
 Chasing illusions melting day by day. 
 Till for ourselves we read on this world's best, 
 
 ' This is not rest ! ' 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ®ur fiDomenta ftept for 3cBm. 
 
 '■Keep my jnoments and my days ; 
 Let them Jloiv in ceaseless praised 
 
 IT may be a little help to writer and reader if we 
 consider some of the practical details of the life 
 which we desire to have ' kept for Jesus ' in the 
 order of the little hymn at the beginning of this 
 book, with the one word * take ' changed to * keep. ' 
 So we will take a couplet for each chapter. 
 
 The first point that naturally comes up is that 
 which is almost synonymous with life — our time. 
 And this brings us at once face to face with one of 
 our past difficulties, and its probable cause. 
 
©ur /iBoments ftept tor 5esu0. 27 
 
 When we take a wide sweep, we are so apt to 
 he vague. When we are aiming at generalities 
 we do not hit the practicalities. We forget that 
 faithfulness to principle is only proved by faith- 
 fulness in detail. Has not this vagueness had 
 something to do with the constant ineffectiveness 
 of our feeble desire that our time should be devoted 
 to God? 
 
 In things spiritual, the greater does not always 
 include the less, but, paradoxically, the less more 
 often includes the greater. So in this case, time is 
 entrusted to us to be traded with for our Lord. But 
 we cannot grasp it as a whole. We instinctively 
 break it up ere we can deal with it for any purpose. 
 So when a new year comes round, we commit it with 
 special earnestness to the Lord. But as we do so, 
 are we not conscious of a feeling that even a year is 
 too much for us to deal with? And does not this 
 feeling, that we are dealing with a larger thing than 
 we can grasp, take away from the sense of reality ? 
 Thus we are brought to a more manageable measure ; 
 and as the Sunday mornings or the Monday morn- 
 ings come round, we thankfully commit the opening 
 week to Him, and the sense of help and rest is re- 
 newed and strengthened. But not even the six or 
 seven days are close enough to our hand ; even 
 to-morrow exceeds our tiny grasp, and even to- 
 morrow's grace is therefore not given to us. So we 
 find the need of considering our lives as a matter of 
 day by day, and that any more general committal and 
 consecration of our time does not meet the case so 
 truly. Here we have found much comfort and help, 
 and if results have not been entirely satisfactory, 
 
28 icept tor tbc /Iftaster's lllse. 
 
 they have, at least, been more so than before we 
 reached this point of subdivision. 
 
 But if we have found help and blessing by going 
 a certain distance in one direction, is it not proba- 
 ble we shall find more if we go farther in the same ? 
 And so, if we may commit the days to our Lord, 
 why not the hours, and why not the moments? And 
 may we not expect a fresh and special blessing in 
 so doing? 
 
 We do not realize the importance of moments. 
 Only let us consider those two sayings of God about 
 them, ' In a moment shall they die,' and, ' We shall 
 all be changed in a moment,' and we shall think 
 less lightly of them. Eternal issues may hang upon 
 any one of them, but it has come and gone before 
 we can even think about it. Nothing seems less 
 within the possibility of our own keeping, yet 
 nothing is more inclusive of all other keeping. 
 Therefore let us ask Him to keep them for us. 
 
 Are they not the tiny joints in the harness through 
 which the darts of temptation pierce us? Only give 
 us time, we think, and we should not be overcome. 
 Only give us time, and we could pray and resist;; 
 and the devil would flee from us ! But he comes 
 all in a moment ; and in a moment — an unguarded, 
 unkept one — we utter the hasty or exaggerated word, 
 or think the un-Christ-like thought, or feel the un- 
 Christ-like impatience or resentment. 
 
 But even if we have gone so far as to say, ' Take 
 my moments,' have we gone the step farther, and 
 really let Him take them — really entrusted them to 
 Him ? It is no good saying * take,' when we do not 
 let go. How can another keep that which we are keep- 
 
©ur /lBoment6 ftept tor ^cens. 29 
 
 ing hold of? So let us, with full trust in His power, 
 first commit these slippery moments to Him, — put 
 them right into His hand, — and then we may trust- 
 fully and happily say, ' Lord, keep them for me ! 
 Keep every one of the quick series as it arises. I 
 cannot keep them for Thee ; do Thou keep them 
 for Thyself!' 
 
 But the sanctified and Christ-loving heart cannot 
 be satisfied with only negative keeping. We do not 
 want only to be kept from displeasing Him, but to 
 be kept always pleasing Him. Every ' kept from ' 
 should have its corresponding and still more blessed 
 * kept /or. ' We do not want our moments to be 
 simply kept from Satan's use, but kept for His use ; 
 we want them to be not only kept from sin, but kept 
 for His praise. 
 
 Do you ask, * But what use can he make of mere 
 moments ? * I will not stay to prove or illustrate 
 the obvious truth that, as are the moments so will 
 be the hours and the days which they build. You 
 understand that well enough. . I will answer your 
 question as it stands. 
 
 Look back through the history of the Church 
 in all ages, and mark how often a great work and 
 mighty influence grew out of a mere moment in the 
 life of one of God's servants ; a mere moment, but 
 overshadowed and filled with the fruitful power of 
 the Spirit of God. The moment may have been 
 spent in uttering five words, but they have fed five 
 thousand, or even five hundred thousand. Or it 
 may have been lit by the flash of a thought that 
 has shone into hearts and homes throughout the 
 
30 iRept for tbe /lRa6ter'6 tlge. 
 
 land, and kindled torches that have been borne 
 into earth's darkest corners. The rapid speaker 
 or the lonely thinker little guessed what use 
 his Lord was making of that single moment. There 
 was no room in it for even a thought of that. If 
 that moment had not been, though perhaps uncon- 
 sciously, 'kept for Jesus/ but had been otherwise 
 occupied, what a harvest to His praise would have 
 been missed ! 
 
 The same thing is going on every day. It is 
 generally a moment — either an opening or a culmi- 
 nating one — that really does the work. It is not 
 so often a whole sermon as a single short sentence 
 in it that wings God's arrow to a heart. It is sel- 
 dom a whole conversation that is the means of 
 bringing about the desired result, but some sudden 
 turn of thought or word, which comes with the 
 electric touch of God's power. Sometimes it is 
 less than that ; only a look (and what is more mo- 
 mentary?) has been used by Him for the pulling 
 down of strongholds. Again, in our own quiet 
 waiting upon God, as moment after moment glides 
 past in the silence at His feet, the eye resting upon 
 a page of His Word, or only looking up to Him 
 through the darkness, have we not found that He 
 can so irradiate one passing moment with His light 
 that its rays never die away, but shine on and on 
 through days and years ? Are not such moments 
 proved to have been kept for Him ? And if some, 
 why not all ? 
 
 This view of moments seems to. make it clearer 
 that it is impossible to serve two masters, for it is 
 evident that the service of a moment cannot be 
 
®uc Yllboments ftcpt tor S^eeus. 31 
 
 divided. If it is occupied in the service of self, or 
 any other master, it is not at the Lord's disposal; 
 He cannot make use of what is already occupied. 
 
 Oh, how much we have missed by not placing 
 them at his disposal ! What might He not have 
 done with the moments freighted with self or 
 loaded with emptiness, which we have carelessly 
 let drift by ! Oh, what might have been if they 
 had all been kept for Jesus ! How He might 
 have Med them with His light and life, enriching 
 our own lives that have been impoverished by the 
 waste, and using them in far-spreading blessing 
 and power ! 
 
 While we have been undervaluing these fractions 
 of eternity, what has our gracious God been doing 
 in them ? How strangely touching are the words, 
 
 * What is man, that Thou shouldest set Thine heart 
 upon him, and that Thou shouldest visit him every 
 morning, and try him every moment?^ Terribly 
 solemn and awful would be the thought that He 
 has been trying us every moment, were it not for 
 the yearning gentleness and love of the Father 
 revealed in that wonderful expression of wonder, 
 
 * What is man, that Thou shouldest set Thine heart 
 upon him?' Think of that ceaseless setting of 
 His heart upon us, careless and forgetful children 
 as we have been ! And then think of those other 
 words, none the less literally true because given 
 under a figure: ^\, the Lord, do keep it; I will 
 water it every moment. ' 
 
 We see something of God's infinite greatness 
 and wisdom when we try to fix our dazzled gaze 
 
32 1Rept for tbe /iRaeter's Tllse. 
 
 on infinite space. But when we turn to the mar- 
 vels of the microscope, we gain a clearer view and 
 more definite grasp of these attributes by gazing on 
 the perfection of His infinitesimal handiworks. 
 Just so, while we cannot realize the infinite love 
 which fills eternity, and the infinite vistas of the 
 great future are * dark with excess of light ' even to 
 the strongest telescopes of faith, we see that love 
 magnified in the microscope of the moments, 
 brought very close to us, and revealing its unspeak- 
 able perfection of detail to our wondering sight. 
 
 But we do not see this as long as the moments 
 are kept in our own hands. We are like little 
 children closing our fingers over diamonds. How 
 can they receive and reflect the rays of light, ana- 
 lyzing them into all the splendour of their pris- 
 matic beauty, while they are kept shut up tight in 
 the dirty little hands ? Give them up ; let our 
 Father hold them for us, and throw His own great 
 light upon them, and then we shall see them full 
 of fair colours of His manifold loving-kindnesses; 
 and let Him always keep them for us, and then we 
 shall always see His light and His love reflected in 
 them. 
 
 And then, surely, they shall be filled with praise. 
 Not that we are to be always singing hymns, and 
 using the expressions of other people's praise, any 
 more than the saints in glory are always literally 
 singing a new song. But praise will be the tone, 
 the colour, the atmosphere in which they flow ; 
 none of them away from it or out of it. 
 
 Is it a little too much for them all to * flow in 
 ceaseless praise ' ? Well, where will you stop ? 
 
Om foments ftcpt for 5esu6. 33 
 
 What proportion of your moments do you think 
 enough for Jesus ? How many for the spirit of 
 praise, and how many for the spirit of heaviness ? 
 Be explicit about it, and come to an understanding. 
 If He is not to have all, then /low much ? Calcu- 
 late, balance, and apportion. You will not be able 
 to do this in heaven — you know it will be all praise 
 there; but you are free to halve your service of 
 praise here, or to make the proportion what you 
 will.- 
 
 Yet, — He made you for His glory. 
 
 Yet,— He chose you that you should be to the 
 praise of His glory. 
 
 Yet, — He loves you every moment, waters you 
 every moment, watches you unslumberingly, cares 
 for you unceasingly. 
 
 Yet, — He died for you ! 
 
 Dear friends, one can hardly write it without 
 tears. Shall you or I remember all this love, and 
 hesitate to give all our moments up to Him? Let 
 us entrust Him with them, and ask Him to keep 
 them all, every single one, for His own beloved 
 self, and fill them all with His praise, and let them 
 all be to His praise ! 
 
34 Iftept for tbe /Hbaster's IHse. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ®ur 1banb6 F^ept for 3cBm. 
 
 * JiTeep my hands, that they may move 
 At the ijnpulse of Thy love.'' 
 
 WHEN the Lord has said to us, * Is thine heart 
 right, as My heart is with thy heart ? ' the 
 next word seems to be, ' If it be, give Me thine 
 hand.' 
 
 What a call to confidence, and love, and free, 
 loyal, happy service is this ! and how different will 
 the result of its acceptance be from the old lamen- 
 tation : * We labour and have no rest ; we have 
 given the hand to the Egyptians and to the Assyri- 
 ans.' In the service of these 'other lords,' under 
 whatever shape they have presented themselves, we 
 shall have known something of the meaning of hav- 
 ing * both the hands full with travail and vexation 
 of spirit. ' How many a thing have we * taken in 
 hand,' as we say, which we expected to find an 
 agreeable task, an interest in life, a something 
 towards filling up that unconfessed ' aching void ' 
 which is often most real when least acknowledged ; 
 and after a while we have found it change under our 
 hands into irksome travail, involving perpetual vexa- 
 
©ur IbanOs ftcpt tor Jesus. 35 
 
 tion of spirit ! The thing may have been of the earth 
 and for the world, and then no wonder it failed to sat- 
 isfy even the instinct of work, which comes natural 
 to many of us. Or it may have been right enough 
 in itself, something for the good of others so far as 
 we understood their good, and unselfish in all but 
 unravelled motive, and yet we found it full of 
 tangled vexations, because the hands that held it 
 were not simply consecrated to God. Well, if so, 
 let us bring these soiled and tangle-making hands to 
 the Lord, ' Let us lift up our heart with our hands ' 
 to Him, asking Him to clear and cleanse them. 
 
 If He says, ' What is that in thine hand?' let us 
 examine honestly whether it is something which He 
 can use for His glory or not. If not, do not let us 
 hesitate an instant about dropping it. It may be 
 something we do not like to part with ; but the 
 Lord is able to give thee much more than this, and 
 the first glimpse of the excellency of the knowledge 
 of Christ Jesus your Lord will enable us to count 
 those things loss which were gain to us. 
 
 But if it is something which He can use. He will 
 make us do ever so much more with it than before. 
 Moses little thought what the Lord was going to 
 make him do with that ' rod in his hand ' ! The 
 first thing he had to do with it was to ' cast it on 
 the ground,' and see it pass through a startling 
 change. After this he was commanded to take it 
 up again, hard and terrifying as it was to do so. 
 But when it became again a rod in his hand, it was 
 no longer what it was before, the simple rod of a 
 wandering desert shepherd. Henceforth it was 
 * the rod of God in his hand ' (Ex. iv. 20), where- 
 
36 fcept for tbe /Iftaster's i2lsc. 
 
 with he should do signs, and by which God Him- 
 self would do 'marvellous things' (Ps. Ixxviii. 12). 
 
 If we look at any Old Testament text about con- 
 secration, we shall see that the marginal reading of 
 the word is, ' fill the hand ' (<?. g. Ex. xxviii. 41 ; 
 I Chron. xxix. 5). Now, if our hands are full of 
 * other things,' they cannot be filled with *the 
 things that are Jesus Christ's' ; there must be empty- 
 ing before there can be any true filling. So if we 
 are sorrowfully seeing that our hands have not been 
 kept for Jesus, let us humbly begin at the begin- 
 ning, and ask Him to empty them thoroughly, that 
 He may fill them completely. 
 
 For they must be emptied. Either we come to 
 our Lord willingly about it, letting Him unclasp 
 their hold, and gladly dropping the glittering 
 weights they have been carrying, or, in very love, 
 He will have to force them open, and wrench from 
 the reluctant grasp the ' earthly things ' which are 
 so occupying them that He cannot have His right- 
 ful use of them. There is only one other alterna- 
 tive, a terrible one, — to be let alone till the day 
 comes when not a gentle Master, but the relentless 
 king of terrors shall empty the trembling hands as 
 our feet follow him out of the busy world into the 
 dark valley, for * it is certain we can carry nothing 
 out.' 
 
 Yet the emptying and the filling are not all that 
 has to be considered. Before the hands of the 
 priests could be filled with the emblems of conse- 
 cration, they had to be laid upon the emblem of 
 
©ur IbanOs ftcpt tor 5esu6. 37 
 
 atonement (Lev. viii. 14, etc.). That came first. 
 'Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head 
 of the bullock for the sin-offering.' So the trans- 
 ference of guilt to our Substitute, typified by that 
 act, must precede the dedication of ourselves to 
 God. 
 
 * My faith would lay her hand 
 On that dear head of Thine, 
 While like a penitent I stand, 
 And there confess my sin.' 
 
 The blood of that Holy Substitute was shed ' to 
 make reconciliation upon the altar.' Without that 
 reconciliation we cannot offer and present our- 
 selves to God ; but this being made, Christ Him- 
 self presents us. And you, that were sometime 
 alienated, and enemies in your mind by wicked 
 works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of 
 His flesh through death, to present you holy and 
 unblamable and unreprovable in His sight. 
 
 Then Moses 'brought the ram for the burnt- 
 offering ; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands 
 upon the head of the ram, and Moses burnt the 
 whole ram upon the altar ; it was a burnt-offering 
 for a sweet savour, and an offering made by fire un- 
 to the Lord.' Thus Christ's offering was indeed a 
 whole one, body, soul, and spirit, each and all suf- 
 fering even unto death. These atoning sufferings, 
 accepted by God for us, are, by our own free act, 
 accepted by us as the ground of our acceptance. 
 
 Then, reconciled and accepted, we are ready for 
 consecration ; for then ' he brought the other ram ; 
 the ram of consecration ; and Aaron and his sons 
 
38 IRept for tbe Master's lllse* 
 
 laid their hands upon the head of the ram.' Here 
 we see Christ, 'who is consecrated for evermore.' 
 We enter by faith into union with Him who said, 
 ' For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also 
 might be sanctified through the truth.' 
 
 After all this, their hands were filled with * con- 
 secrations for a sweet savour,' so, after laying the 
 hand of our faith upon Christ, suffering and dying 
 for us, we are to lay that very same hand of faith, 
 and in the very same way, upon Him as consecrated 
 for us, to be the source and life and power of our 
 consecration. And then our hands shall be filled 
 with 'consecrations,' filled with Christ, and filled 
 with all that is a sweet savour to God in Him. 
 
 'And who then is willing to fill his hand this 
 day unto the Lord ? ' Do you want an added 
 motive ? Listen again : ' Fill your hands to-day 
 to the Lord, that He may bestow upon you a bless- 
 ing this day. ' Not a long time hence, not even to- 
 morrow, but ' this day. ' Do you not want a bless- 
 ing? Is not your answer to your Father's 'What 
 wilt thou? ' the same as Achsah's, ^ Give me a bless- 
 ing ! ' Here is His promise of just what you so 
 want; will you not gladly fulfil His condition ? A 
 blessing shall immediately follow. He does not 
 specify what it shall be ; He waits to reveal it. You 
 will find it such a blessing as you had not supposed 
 could be for you — a blessing that shall verily make 
 you rich, with no sorrow added — a blessing /Ms 
 day. 
 
 All that has been said about consecration applies 
 to our literal members. Stay a minute, and look 
 
©uc Iban^s ftept for Jesus. 39 
 
 at your hand, the hand that holds this little book as 
 you read it. See how wonderfully it is made ; how 
 perfectly fitted for what it has to do ; how ingen- 
 iously connected with the brain, so as to yield that 
 instantaneous and instinctive obedience without 
 which its beautiful mechanism would be very little 
 good to us ! Your hand, do you say ? Whether it 
 is soft and fair with an easy life, or rough and strong 
 with a working one, or white and weak with illness, 
 it is-the Lord Jesus Christ's. It is not your own 
 at all ; it belongs to Him. He made it, for with- 
 out Him was not anything made that was made, not 
 even your hand. And He has the added right of 
 purchase — He has bought it that it might be one of 
 His own instruments. We know this very well, but 
 have we realized it? Have we really let Him have 
 the use of these hands of ours ? and have we ever 
 simply and sincerely asked Him to keep them for 
 His own use ? 
 
 Does this mean that we are always to be doing 
 some definitely ' religious ' work, as it is called ? 
 No, but that all that we do is to be always definitely 
 doney^r Him. There is a great difference. If the 
 hands are indeed moving 'at the impulse of His 
 love,' the ^simplest little duties and acts are trans- 
 figured into holy service to the Lord. 
 
 *A servant with this clause 
 Makes drudgery divine ; 
 Who sweeps a room as for Thy laws, 
 Makes that and the action fine.' 
 
 George Herbert. 
 
 A Christian school-girl loves Jesus; she wants to 
 please Him all day long, and so she practices her 
 
40 Ikept for tbe /iRaster's iSiec. 
 
 scales carefully and conscientiously. It is at the 
 impulse of His love that her fingers move so stead- 
 ily through the otherwise tiresome exercises. Some 
 day her Master will find a use for her music ; but 
 meanwhile it may be just as really done unto Him 
 as if it were Mr. Sankey at his organ, swaying the 
 hearts of thousands. The hand of a Christian lad 
 traces his Latin verses, or his figures, or his copy- 
 ing. He is doing his best, because a banner has 
 been given him that it may be displayed, not so 
 much by talk as by continuance in well-doing. 
 And so, for Jesus' sake, his hand moves accurately 
 and perseveringly. 
 
 A busy wife, or daughter, or servant has a num- 
 ber of little manual duties to perform. If these are 
 done slowly and leisurely, they may be got through, 
 but there will not be time left for some little service 
 to the poor, or some little kindness to a suffering or 
 troubled neighbour, or for a little quiet time alone 
 with God and His word. And so the hands move 
 quickly, impelled by the loving desire for service or 
 communion, kept in busy motion for Jesus' sake. 
 Or it may be that the special aim is to give no oc- 
 casion of reproach to some who are watching, but 
 so to adorn the doctrine that those may be won by 
 the life who will not be won by the word* Then 
 the hands will have their share to do ; they will 
 move carefully, neatly, perhaps even elegantly, 
 making every thing around as nice as possible, let- 
 ting their intelligent touch be seen in the details of 
 the home, and even of the dress, doing or arranging 
 all the little things decently and in order for Jesus* 
 sake. And so on with every duty in every position. 
 
©ur 1ban&0 ftept tor 3^esu0. 41 
 
 It may seem an odd idea, but a simple glance at 
 one's hand, with the recollection, ' This hand is 
 not mine; it has been given to Jesus, and it must 
 be kept for Jesus,' may sometimes turn the scale in 
 a doubtful matter, and be a safeguard from certain 
 temptations. With that thought fresh in your mind 
 as you look at your hand, can you let it take up 
 things which, to say the very least, are not ' for 
 Jesus ' ? things which evidently cannot be used, as 
 they most certainly are not used, either for Him or 
 by Him ? Cards, for instance ! Can you deliber- 
 ately hold in it books of a kind which you know 
 perfectly well, by sadly repeated experience, lead 
 you farther from instead of nearer to Him ? books 
 which must and do fill your mind with those * other 
 things ' which, entering in, choke the word? books 
 which you would not care to read at all, if your 
 heart were burning within you at the coming of 
 His feet to bless you ? Next time any temptation 
 of this sort approaches, just look at your hand ! 
 
 It was of a literal hand that our Lord Jesus spoke 
 when He said, ' Behold, the hand of him that be- 
 trayeth Me is with Me on the table;' and, * He 
 that dippeth his hand with Me in the dish, thte 
 same shall betray Me. ' A hand so near to Jesus, 
 with Him on the table, touching His own hand in 
 the dish at that hour of sweetest, and closest, and 
 most solemn intercourse, and yet betraying Him ! 
 That same hand taking the thirty pieces of silver ! 
 What a tremendous lesson of the need of keeping 
 for our hands ! Oh that every hand that is with 
 Him at His sacramental table, and that takes the 
 memorial bread, may be kept from any faithless 
 
42 1kept for tbe /llbastcr's Tll^e. 
 
 and loveless motion ! And again, it was by literal 
 * wicked hands' that our Lord Jesus was crucified 
 and slain. Does not the thought that human 
 hands have been so treacherous and cruel to our 
 beloved Lord make us wish the more fervently 
 that our hands may be totally faithful and devoted 
 to Him? 
 
 Danger and temptation to let the hands move at 
 other impulses is every bit as great to those who 
 have nothing else to do but to render direct service, 
 and who think they are doing nothing else. Take 
 one practical instance — our letter-writing. Have 
 we not been tempted (and fallen before the temp- 
 tation), according to our various dispositions, to, let 
 the hand that holds the pen move at the impulse to 
 write an unkind thought of another; or to say a 
 clever and sarcastic thing, or a slightly coloured 
 and exaggerated thing, which will make our point 
 more telling ; or to let out a grumble or a suspi- 
 cion ; or to let the pen run away with us into flip- 
 pant and trifling words, unworthy of our high and 
 holy calling ? Have we not drifted away from the 
 gt)lden reminder, ^ Should he reason with unprofit- 
 able talk, and with speeches wherewith he can do 
 no good ? ' Why has this been, perhaps again and 
 again? Is it not for want of putting our hands 
 into our dear Master's hand, and asking and trust- 
 ing Him to keep them ? He could have kept ; He 
 would have kept ! 
 
 Whatever our work or our special temptations 
 may be, the principle remains the same, only let us 
 apply it for ourselves. 
 
©ur Iban^s ftept tot ^cem* 43 
 
 Perhaps one hardly needs to say that the kept 
 hands will be very gentle hands. Quick, angry 
 motions of the heart will sometimes force them- 
 selves into expression by the hand, though the 
 tongue may be restrained. The very way in which 
 we close a door or lay down a book may be a vic- 
 tory or a defeat, a witness to Christ's keeping or a 
 witness that we are not truly being kept. How can 
 we expect that God will use this member as an in- 
 strument of righteousness unto Him, if we yield it 
 thus as an instrument of unrighteousness unto sin ? 
 Therefore let us see to it, that it is at once yielded 
 to Him whose right it is ; and let our sorrow that 
 it should have been even for an instant desecrated 
 to Satan's use, lead us to entrust it henceforth to 
 our Lord, to be kept by the power of God through 
 faith ' for the Master's use.' 
 
 For when the gentleness of Christ dwells in us, 
 He can use the merest touch of a finger. Have we 
 not heard of one gentle touch on a wayward shoul- 
 der being the turning-point of a life ? I have known 
 a case in which the Master made use of less than 
 that — only the quiver of a little finger being made 
 the means of touching a wayward heart. 
 
 What must the touch of the Master's own hand 
 have been ! One imagines it very gentle, though 
 so full of power. Can He not communicate both 
 the power and the gentleness ? When He touched 
 the hand of Peter's wife's mother, she arose and 
 ministered unto them. Do you not think the hand 
 which Jesus had just touched must have ministered 
 very excellently ? As we ask Him to * touch our lips 
 with living fire,' so that they may speak effectively 
 
44 If^ept tor tbe Master's TSisc* 
 
 for Him, may we not ask Him to touch our hands, 
 that they may minister effectively, and excel in all 
 that they find to do for Him ? Then our hands 
 shall be made strong by the hands of the Mighty 
 God of Jacob. 
 
 It is very pleasant to feel that if our hands are in- 
 deed our Lord's, we may ask Him to guide them, 
 and strengthen them, and teach them. I do not 
 mean figuratively, but quite literally. In every- 
 thing they do for Him (and that should be every- 
 thing we ever undertake) we want to do it well — 
 better and better. * Seek that ye may excel. ' We 
 are too apt to think that He has given us certain 
 natural gifts, but has nothing practically to do with 
 the improvement of them, and leaves us to our- 
 selves for that. Why not ask him to make these 
 hands of ours more handy for His service, more 
 skilful in what is indicated as the '■ next thynge ' they 
 are to do? The 'kept' hands need not be clumsy 
 hands. If the Lord taught David's hands to war and 
 his fingers to fight, will He not teach our hands^ and 
 fingers too, to do what He would have them do? 
 
 The Spirit of God must have taught Bezaleel's 
 hands as well as his head, for he was filled with it 
 not only that he might devise cunning works, but 
 also in cutting of stones and carving of timber. And 
 when all the women that were wise-hearted did spin 
 with their hands, the hands must have been made 
 skilful as well as the hearts made wise to prepare 
 the beautiful garments and curtains. 
 
 There is a very remarkable instance of the hand 
 of the Lord, which I suppose signifies in that case 
 
©ur IbanDs ftept toe ^C6\xs* 45 
 
 the power of His Spirit, being upon the hand of a 
 man. In i Chron. xxviii. 19, we read : 'AH this, 
 said David, the Lord made me understand in writ- 
 ing by His hand upon me, even all the works of 
 this pattern.' This cannot well mean that the Lord 
 gave David a miraculously written scroll, because, 
 a few verses before, it says that he had it all by the 
 Spirit. So what else can it mean but that as David 
 wrote, the hand of the Lord was upon his hand, 
 irffpelling him to trace, letter by letter, the right 
 words of description for all the details of the temple 
 that Solomon should build, with its courts and 
 chambers, its treasuries and vessels ? Have we not 
 sometimes sat down to write, feeling perplexed and 
 ignorant, and wishing some one were there to tell 
 us what to say? At such a moment, whether it 
 were a mere note for post, or a sheet for press, it is 
 a great comfort to recollect this mighty laying of a 
 Divine hand upon a human one, and ask for the 
 same help from the same Lord. It is sure to be 
 given ! 
 
 And now, dear friend, what about your own 
 hands? Are they consecrated to the Lord who 
 loves you ? And if they are, are you trusting Him 
 to keep them, and enjoying all that is involved in 
 that keeping? Do let this be settled with your 
 Master before you go on to the next chapter. 
 
 After all, this question will hinge on another. Do 
 you love Him ? If you really do, there can surely 
 be neither hesitation about yielding them to Him, 
 nor about entrusting them to Him to be kept. Does 
 He love you ? That is the truer way of putting it ; 
 
46 Ikept tor tbe /iRaster's mse. 
 
 for it is not our love to Christ, but the love of 
 Christ to us which constraineth us. And this is 
 the impulse of the motion and the mode of the 
 keeping. The steam-engine does not move when 
 the fire is not kindled, nor when it is gone out ; no 
 matter how complete the machinery and abundant 
 the fuel, cold coals will neither set it going nor 
 keep it working. Let us ask Him so to shed 
 abroad His love in our hearts by the Holy Ghost 
 which is given unto us, that it may be the perpetual 
 and only impulse of every action of our daily life. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ®ur jfeet feept for 3cb\xb. 
 
 * Ji'itfJ/ my feet ^ that they may be 
 Swift a7td beautiful for Thee.'' 
 
 THE figurative keeping of the feet of His saints, 
 with the promise that when they run they 
 shall not stumble, is a most beautiful and helpful 
 subject. But it is quite distinct from the literal 
 keeping for Jesus of our literal feet. 
 
 There is a certain homeliness about the idea which 
 helps to make it very real. These very feet of ours 
 are purchased for Christ's service by the precious 
 drops which fell from His own torn and pierced feet 
 upon the cross. They are to be His errand-run- 
 
®uc 3feet feept for Jcsm. 47 
 
 ners. How can we let the world, the flesh, and the 
 devil have the use of what has been purchased with 
 such payment ? 
 
 Shall ' the world ' have the use of them ? Shalt 
 they carry us where the world is paramount, and 
 the Master cannot be even named, because the men- 
 tion of His Name would be so obviously out of 
 place ? I know the apparent difficulties of a subject 
 which will at once occur in connection with* this, 
 buj; they all vanish when our bright banner is loy- 
 ally unfurled, with its motto, 'A// for Jesus !' Do 
 you honestly want your very feet to be ' kept for 
 Jesus ' ? Let these simple words, ' Kept for Jesus, * 
 ring out next time the dancing difficulty or any 
 other difficulty of the same kind comes up, and I 
 know what the result will be ! 
 
 Shall * the flesh ' have the use of them ? Shall they 
 carry us hither and thither merely because we like 
 to go, merely because it pleases ourselves to take 
 this walk or pay this visit ? And after all, what a 
 failure it is ! If people only would believe it, self- 
 pleasing is always a failure in the end. Our good 
 Master gives us a reality and fulness of pleasure in 
 pleasing Him which we never get out of pleasing 
 ourselves. 
 
 Shall * the devil ' have the use of them ? Oh no, 
 of course not ! We start back at this, as a highly 
 unnecessary question. Yet if Jesus has not, Satan 
 has. For as all are serving either the Prince of 
 Life or the prince of this world, and as no man can 
 serve two masters, it follows that if we are not serv- 
 ing the one, we are serving the other. And Satan 
 is only too* glad to disguise this service under the 
 
48 Ikcpt tor tbe Master's lase. 
 
 less startling form of the world, or the still less 
 startling one of self All that is not * kept for 
 Jesus/ is left for self or the world, and there- 
 •fore for Satan. 
 
 There is no fear but that our Lord will have 
 many uses for what is kept by Him for Himself. 
 * How beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad 
 tidings of good things ! ' That is the best use of 
 all ; and I expect the angels think those feet beauti- 
 ful, even if they are cased in muddy boots or 
 goloshes. 
 
 Once the question was asked, ' Wherefore wilt 
 thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings 
 ready ? ' So if we want to have these beautiful feet, 
 we must have the tidings ready which they are to 
 bear. Let us ask Him to keep our hearts so freshly 
 full of His good news of salvation, that our mouths 
 may speak out of their abundance. ' If the clouds 
 be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the 
 earth.' The ' two olive branches empty the golden 
 oil out of themselves. ' May we be so filled with 
 the Spirit that we may thus have much to puur out 
 for others ! 
 
 Besides the great privilege of carrying water from 
 the wells of salvation, there are plenty of cups of 
 cold water to be carried in all directions; not to 
 the poor only, — ministries of love are often as much 
 needed by a rich friend. But the feet must be kept 
 for these ; they will be too tired for them if they 
 are tired out for self-pleasing. In such services we 
 -are treading in the blessed steps of His most holy 
 life, who * went about doing good.' 
 
©uc 3Fcct ftept tor ^esus, 49 
 
 , Then there is literal errand-going, — ^just to fetch 
 something that is needed for the household, or 
 something that a tired relative wants, whether asked 
 or unasked. Such things should come first in- 
 stead of last, because these are clearly indicated 
 as our Lord's will for us to do, by the position 
 in which He has placed us; while what seems 
 more direct service, may be after all not so di- 
 rectly apportioned by Him. ' I have to go and buy 
 some soap,' said one with a little sigh. The sigh 
 was waste of breath, for her feet were going to 
 do her Lord's will for that next half-hour much 
 more truly than if they had carried her to her 
 well-worked district, and left the soap to take its 
 chance. 
 
 A member of the Young Women's Christian 
 Association wrote a few words on this subject, 
 which, I think, will be welcome to many more than 
 she expected them to reach : — 
 
 ' May it not be a comfort to those of us who feel 
 we have not the mental or spiritual power that 
 others have, to notice that the living sacrifice men- 
 tioned in Rom. xii. i is our " bodies " ? Of course, 
 that includes the mental power, but does it not 
 also include the loving, sympathizing glance, the 
 kind, encouraging word, the ready errand for 
 another, the work of our hands, opportunities for 
 all of which come oftener in the day than for the 
 mental power we are often tempted to envy ? May 
 we be enabled to offer willingly that which we have. 
 For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted 
 according to that a man hath, and not according to 
 that he hath not.' 
 
50 Ifcept toe tbe /nbaster's iSisc* 
 
 If our feet are to be kept at His disposal, our 
 eyes must be ever toward the Lord for guidance. 
 We must look to Him for our orders where to go. 
 Then He will be sure to give them, * The steps 
 of a good man are ordered by the Lord.' Very 
 often we find that they have been so very literally 
 ordered for us that we are quite astonished, — ^just as 
 if He had not promised ! 
 
 Do not smile at a very homely thought ! If our 
 feet are not our own, ought we not to take care of 
 them for Him whose they are ? Is it quite right to 
 be reckless about 'getting wet feet,' which might 
 be guarded against either by forethought or after- 
 thought, when there is, at least, a risk of hindering 
 our service thereby? Does it please the Master 
 when even in our zeal for His work we annoy 
 anxious friends by carelessness in little things of 
 this kind? 
 
 May every step of our feet be more and more 
 like those of our beloved Master. Let us continu- 
 ally consider Him in this, and go where He would 
 have gone, on the errands which He would have 
 done, ' following hard ' after Him. And let us 
 look on to the time when our feet shall stand in the 
 gates of the heavenly Jerusalem, when holy feet 
 shall tread the streets of the holy city ; no longer 
 pacing any lonely path, for He hath said, ' They 
 shall walk with Me in white.' 
 
 * And He hath said, " How beautiful the feet ! " 
 The " feet " so weary, travel-stained, and worn- 
 The " feet " that humbly, patiently have borne 
 The toilsome way, the pressure, and the heat. 
 
©ur IDofces liept tor ^csws* 51 
 
 * The " feet," not hasting on with winged might, 
 
 Nor strong to trample down the opposing foe ; 
 So lowly, and so human, they must go 
 By painful steps to scale the mountain height. 
 
 * Not unto all the tuneful lips are given, 
 
 The ready tongue, the words so strong and sweet; 
 Yet all may turn, with humble, willing " feet," 
 And bear to darkened souls the light from heaven. 
 
 * And fall they while the goal far distant lies, 
 
 "With scarce a word yet spoken for their Lord — 
 His sweet approval He doth yet accord; 
 Their " feet " are beauteous in the Master's eyes. 
 
 * With weary human " feet " He, day by day. 
 
 Once trod this earth to work His acts of love ; 
 And every step is chronicled above 
 His servants 'take to follow in His way.' 
 
 Sarah Geraldina Stock. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ®ur IDoicea ftept for 3cme. 
 
 * JiTeep my voice^ and let me sing 
 Always^ only, for my Kmg.^ 
 
 I HAVE wondered a little at being told by an ex- 
 perienced worker, that in many cases the voice 
 seems the last and hardest thing to yield entirely to 
 the King ; and that many who think and say they 
 
52 IPjept for tbe /iftaster's lUge* 
 
 have consecrated all to the Lord and His service, 
 * revolt ' when it comes to be a question of whether 
 they shall sing ' always, only, ' for their King. They 
 do not mind singing a few general sacred songs, 
 but they do not see their way to really singing 
 always and only unto and for Him. They want to 
 bargain and balance a little. They question and 
 argue about what proportion they may keep for 
 self- pleasing and company-pleasing, and how much 
 they must ' give up ' ; and who will and who won't 
 like it; and what they 'really mus^ sing,' and what 
 they ' really must nof sing ' at certain times and 
 places; and what 'won't do,' and what they 'can't 
 very well help,' and so on. And so when the ques- 
 tion, ' How much owest thou unto my Lord? ' is 
 applied to this particularly pleasant gift, it is not 
 met with the loyal, free-hearted, happy response, 
 ' All ! yes, a/l for Jesus ! ' 
 
 I know there are special temptations around this 
 matter. Vain and selfish ones — whispering how 
 much better a certain song suits your voice, and 
 how much more likely to be admired. Faithless 
 ones — suggesting doubts whether you can make the 
 holy song 'go.' Specious ones — asking whether 
 you ought not to please your neighbours, and 
 hushing up the rest of the precept, ' Let every 
 one of you please his neighbour /or his good to 
 edification ' (Rom. xv. 2). Cowardly ones — telling 
 you that it is just a little too much to expect of 
 you, and that you are not called upon to wave 
 your banner in people's very faces, and provoke 
 surprise and remark, as this might do. And so 
 the banner is kept furled, the witness for Jesus is 
 
©uv IDoices liept tor 3^C0U0» 53 
 
 not borne, and you sing for others and not for 
 your King. 
 
 The words had passed your lips, * Take my 
 voice!' And yet you will not let Him have it; 
 you will not let Him have that which costs you 
 something, just because it costs you something ! 
 And yet He lent you that pleasant voice that you 
 might use it for Him. And yet He, in the sureness 
 of His perpetual presence, was beside you all the 
 while, and heard every note as you sang the songs 
 which were, as your inmost heart knew, not for 
 Him. 
 
 Where is your faith ? Where is the consecration 
 you have talked about ? The voice has not been 
 kept for Him, because it has not been truly and un- 
 reservedly given to Him. Will you not now say, 
 
 * Take my voice, for I had not given it to Thee ; 
 keep my voice, for I cannot keep it for Thee ' ? 
 
 And He will keep it ! You cannot tell, till you 
 have tried, how surely all the temptations flee when 
 it is no longer your battle but the Lord's; nor how 
 completely and curiously all the difficulties vanish, 
 when you simply and trustfully go forward in the 
 path of full consecration in this matter. You will 
 find that the keeping is most wonderfully real. Do 
 not expect to lay down rules and provide for every 
 sort of contingency. If you could, you would miss 
 the sweetness of the continual guidance in the 
 
 * kept ' course. Have only one rule about it — ^just 
 to look up to your Master about every single song 
 you are asked or feel inclined to sing. If you are 
 
 * willing and obedient,' you will always meet His 
 guiding eye. He will always keep the voice that is 
 
54 Ifcept for tbe jfllbastcr'6 TSisc* 
 
 wholly at His disposal. Soon you will have such 
 experience of His immediate guidance that you will 
 be utterly satisfied with it, and only sorrowfully 
 wonder you did not sooner thus simply lean on it. 
 I have just received a letter from one who has 
 laid her special gift at the feet of the Giver, yield- 
 ing her voice to Him with hearty desire that it 
 might be kept for His use. She writes : ' I had 
 two lessons on singing while in Germany from our 
 Master. One was very sweet. A young girl wrote 
 to me, that when she had heard me sing, * ' O come, 
 everyone thatthirsteth," she went away and prayed 
 that she might come, and she did come, too. Is 
 not He good ? The other was : I had been tempted 
 
 to join the Gesang Verein in N . I prayed to 
 
 be shown whether I was right in so doing or not. 
 I did not see my way clear, so I went. The sing- 
 ing was all secular. The very first night I went I 
 caught a bad cold on my chest, which prevented me 
 from singing again at all till Christmas. Those 
 were better than any lessons from a singing master!' 
 Does not this illustrate both the keeping y^<?;« and 
 the keeping for ? In the latter case I believe she 
 honestly wished to know her Lord's will, — whether 
 the training and practice were needed for His bet- 
 ter service with her music, and that, therefore, she 
 might take them for His sake ; or whether the con- 
 comitants and influence would be such as to hinder 
 the close communion with Him which she had 
 found so precious, and that, therefore, she was to 
 trust Him to give her ^ much more than this.' And 
 so, at once. He showed her unmistakeably what He 
 would have her not do, and gave her the sweet 
 
®ur Doices ftept tor 3^e6U0. 55 
 
 consciousness that He Himself was teaching her 
 and taking her at her word. I know what her pas- 
 sionate love for music is, and how very real and 
 great the compensation from Him must have been 
 which could thus make her right down glad about 
 what would otherwise have been an immense disap- 
 pointment. And then, as to the former of these 
 two Messons,' the song she names was one substi- 
 tuted when she said, ' Take my voice,' for some 
 which were far more effective for her voice. But 
 having freely chosen to sing what might glorify the 
 Master rather than the singer, see how, almost im- 
 mediately, He gave her a reward infinitely outweigh- 
 ing all the drawing-room compliments or concert- 
 room applause ! That one consecrated song found 
 echoes in heaven, bringing, by its blessed result, 
 joy to the angels and glory to God. And the mem- 
 ory of that song is immortal ; it will live through 
 ages to come, never lost, never dying away, when 
 the vocal triumphs of the world's greatest singers 
 are past and forgotten for ever. Now you who have 
 been taking a half-and-half course, do you get such 
 rewards as this ? You may well envy them ! But 
 why not take the same decided course, and share 
 the same blessed keeping and its fulness of hidden 
 reward ? 
 
 If you only knew, dear hesitating friends, what 
 strength and gladness the Master gives when we 
 loyally *sing forth the honour of His Name,' you 
 would not forego it ! Oh, if you only knew the dif- 
 ficulties it saves ! For when you sing ' always and 
 only for your King,' you will not get much en- 
 tangled by the King's enemies. Singing an out- 
 
S6 1kept for tbe Master's "Glse* 
 
 and-out sacred song often clears one's path at a 
 stroke as to many other things. If you only knew 
 the rewards He gives — very often then and there ; 
 the recognition that you are one of the King's 
 friends by some lonely and timid one ; the open- 
 ings which you quite naturally gain of speaking a 
 word for Jesus to hearts which, without the song, 
 would never have given you the chance of the word ! 
 If you only knew the joy of believing that Hh 
 sure promise, ' My Word shall not return unto Me 
 void,' will be fulfilled as you smg that word for 
 Him ! If you only tasted the solemn happiness of 
 knowing that you have indeed a royal audience, 
 that the King Himself is listening as you sing ! If 
 you only knew — and why should you not know ? 
 Shall not the time past of your life suffice you for 
 the miserable, double-hearted, calculating service ? 
 Let Him have the w/io/e use of your voice at any 
 cost, and see if He does not put many a totally un- 
 expected new song into your mouth ! 
 
 I am not writing all this to great and finished 
 singers, but to everybody who can sing at all. 
 Those who think they have only a very small talent, 
 are often most tempted not to trade with it for their 
 Lord. Whether you have much or little natural 
 voice, there is reason for its cultivation and room 
 for its use. Place it at your Lord's disposal, and 
 He will show you how to make the most of it for 
 Him; for not seldom His multiplying power is 
 brought to bear on a consecrated voice. A puzzled 
 singing master, very famous in his profession, said 
 to one who tried to sing for Jesus, ' Well, you have 
 not much voice; but, mark my words, you will 
 
©ur Voices Kept tor 5esu0» 57 
 
 always beat anybody with four times your voice ! ' 
 He was right, though he did not in the least know 
 why. 
 
 A great many so-called ' sacred songs ' are so 
 plaintive and pathetic that they help to give a 
 gloomy idea of religion. Now donW sing these ; 
 come out boldly, and sing definitely and unmis- 
 takeably for your King, and of your King, and to 
 your Jving. You will soon find, and even outsiders 
 will have to own, that it is a good thing thus to show 
 forth His loving-kindness and His faithfulness (see 
 Ps. xcii. 1-3). 
 
 Here I am usually met by the query, ' But what 
 would you advise me to sing ? ' I can only say that 
 I never got any practical help from asking any one 
 but the Master Himself, and so I would advise you 
 to do the same ! He knows exactly what will best 
 suit your voice and enable you to sing best for 
 Him ; for He made it, and gave it just the pitch 
 and tone He pleased, so, of course. He is the best 
 counsellor about it. Refer your question in sim- 
 plest faith to Him, and I am perfectly sure you will 
 find it answered. He will direct you, and in some 
 way or other the Lord will provide the right songs 
 for you to sing. That is the very best advice I can 
 possibly give you on the subject, and you will prove 
 it to be so if you will act upon it. 
 
 Only one thing I would add : I believe there is 
 nothing like singing His own words. The preacher 
 claims the promise, ' My word shall not return unto 
 Me void,' and why should not the singer equally 
 claim it? Why should we use His own inspired 
 
58 Itept tot tbe /lBa6tev'0 lllse* 
 
 words, with faith in their power, when speaking or 
 writing, and content ourselves with human words 
 put into rhyme (and sometimes very feeble rhyme) 
 for our singing ? 
 
 What a vista of happy work opens out here ! 
 What is there to prevent our using this mightiest 
 of all agencies committed to human agents, the 
 Word, which is quick and powerful, and sharper 
 than any two-edged sword, whenever we are asked 
 to sing? By this means, even a young girl may be 
 privileged to make that Word sound in the ears of 
 many who would not listen to it otherwise. By 
 this, the incorruptible seed may be sown in other- 
 wise unreachable ground. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact that it is actually the 
 easiest way thus to take the very highest ground. 
 You will find that singing Bible words does not ex- 
 cite the prejudice or contempt that any other words, 
 sufficiently decided to be worth singing, are almost 
 sure to do. For very decency's sake, a Bible song 
 will be listened to respectfully; and for very 
 shame's sake, no adverse whisper will be ventured 
 against the words in ordinary English homes. The 
 singer is placed on a vantage-ground, certain that 
 at least the words of the song will be outwardly re- 
 spected, and the possible ground of unfriendly 
 criticism thus narrowed to begin with. 
 
 But there is much more than this. One feels the 
 power of His words for oneself as one sings. One 
 loves them and rejoices in them, and what can be 
 greater help to any singer than that? And one 
 knows they are true, and that they cannot really re- 
 turn void, and what can give greater confidence 
 
©uc Voices ftept tor S^eaus. 59 
 
 than that ? God may bless the singing of any 
 words, but He musif bless the singing of His own 
 Word, if that promise means what it says ! 
 
 The only real difficulty in the matter is that 
 Scripture songs, as a rule, require a little more prac- 
 tice than others. Then practise them a little more ! 
 You think nothing of the trouble of learning, for 
 instance, a sonata, which takes you many a good 
 hour's practice before you can render it perfectly 
 and expressively. But you shrink from a song, the 
 accompaniment of which you cannot read off with- 
 out any trouble at all. And you never think of 
 such a thing as taking one-tenth the pains to learn 
 that accompaniment that you took to learn that 
 sonata ! Very likely, too, you take the additional 
 pains to learn the sonata off by heart, so that you 
 may play it more effectively. But you do not take 
 pains to learn your accompaniment by heart, so 
 that you may throw all your power into the expres- 
 sion of the words, undistracted by reading the notes 
 and turning over the leaves. It is far more useful 
 to have half a dozen Scripture songs thoroughly 
 learnt and made your own, than to have in your 
 portfolios several dozen easy settings of sacred 
 poetry which you get through with your eyes fixed 
 on the notes. And every one thus thoroughly mas- 
 tered makes it easier to master others. 
 
 You will say that all this refers only to drawing- 
 room singing. So it does, primarily, but then it is 
 the drawing-room singing which has been so little 
 for Jesus and so much for self and society ; and so 
 much less has been said about it, and so much less 
 done. There would not be half the complaints of 
 
6o ikept for tbe Master's lllsc. 
 
 the difficulty of witnessing for Christ in even pro- 
 fessedly Christian homes and circles, if every con- 
 verted singer were also a consecrated one. For 
 nothing raises or lowers the tone of a whole even- 
 ing so much as the character of the music. There 
 are few things w^hich show more clearly that, as a 
 rule, a very definite step in advance is needed be- 
 yond being a believer or ev6n a worker for Christ. 
 Over how many grand or cottage pianos could the 
 Irish Society's motto, 'For Jesus' sake only,^ be 
 hung, without being either a frequent reproach, or 
 altogether inappropriate? 
 
 But what is learnt will, naturally, be sung. And 
 oh ! how many Christian parents give their daugh- 
 ters the advantage of singing lessons without 
 troubling themselves in the least about what songs 
 are learnt, provided they are not exceptionally 
 foolish ! Still more pressingly I would say, how 
 many Christian principals, to whom young lives 
 are entrusted at the most important time of all for 
 training, do not give themselves the least concern 
 about this matter ! As I write, I turn aside to refer 
 to a list of songs learnt last term by a fresh young 
 voice which would willingly be trained for higher 
 work. There is just one * sacred' song in the 
 whole long list, and even that hardly such a one as 
 the writer of the letter above quoted would care to 
 sing in her fervent-spirited service of Christ. All 
 the rest are harmless and pleasing, but only sug- 
 gestive of the things of earth, the things of the 
 world that is passing away; not one that might 
 lead upward and onward, not one that might touch 
 a careless heart to seek first the kingdom of God, 
 
©ur Dofces kept tor Jesus. 6i 
 
 not one that might show forth the glory and praise 
 of our King, not one that tells out His grace and 
 love, not one that carries His comfort to His weary- 
 ones or His joy to His loving ones. She is left to 
 find and learn such songs as best she may ; those 
 which she will sing with all the ease and force 
 gained by good teaching of them are no help at all, 
 but rather hindrance in anything like wish or at- 
 tempt to * sing for Jesus. ' 
 
 There is not the excuse that the songs of God's 
 kingdom, songs which waft His own words to the 
 souls around, would not have answered the teacher's 
 purpose as well. God has taken care of that. He 
 has not left Himself without witness in this direc- 
 tion. He has given the most perfect melodies and 
 the richest harmonies to be linked with His own 
 words, and no singer can be trained beyond His 
 wonderful provision in this way. I pray that even 
 these poor words of mine may reach the consciences 
 of some of those who have this responsibility, and 
 lead them to be no longer unfaithful in this impor- 
 tant matter, no longer giving this strangely divided 
 service — training, as they profess to desire, the 
 souls for God, and yet allowing the voices to be 
 trained only for the world. 
 
 But we must not run away with the idea that 
 singing sacred songs and singing for Jesus are 
 convertible terms. I know by sorrowful personal 
 experience that it is very possible to sing a sacred 
 song and not sing it for Jesus. It is easier to have 
 one's portfolio all right than one's heart, and the 
 repertory is more easily arranged than the motives. 
 
62 iftept for tbc iHbaster's Iflec. 
 
 When we have taken our side, and the difficulties 
 of indecision are consequently swept away, we have 
 a new set of more subtle temptations to encounter. 
 And although the Master will keep, the servant 
 must watch and pray ; and it is through the watch- 
 ing and the praying that the keeping will be effec- 
 tual. We have, however, rather less excuse here 
 than even elsewhere. For we never have to sing 
 so very suddenly that we need be taken unawares. 
 We have to think what to sing, and perhaps find 
 the music, and the prelude has to be played, and all 
 this gives quite enough time for us to recollect 
 whose we are and whom we serve, and to arouse ta 
 the watch. Quite enough, too, for quick, trustful 
 prayer that our singing may be kept free from that, 
 wretched self-seeking or even self- consciousness,, 
 and kept entirely for Jesus. Our best and happiest 
 singing will flow when there is a sweet, silent un- 
 dercurrent of prayerful or praiseful communion 
 with our Master all through the song. As for 
 nervousness, I am quite sure this is the best anti- 
 dote to that. 
 
 On the other hand, it is quite possible to sing: 
 for Jesus without singing a sacred song. Do not 
 take an ell for the inch this seems to give, and run 
 oif with the idea that it does not matter after all 
 what you sing, so that you sing in a good frame of 
 mind ! No such thing ! And the admission needs 
 very careful guarding, and must not be wrested into 
 an excuse for looking back to the world's songs. 
 But cases may and do arise in which it may be right 
 to gratify a weary father, or win a wayward brother, 
 by trying to please them with music to which they 
 
®ur Voices kept for Jesus. 63 
 
 will listen when they would not listen to the songs 
 you would rather sing. There are cases in which 
 this may be done most truly for the Lord's sake, 
 and clearly under His guidance. 
 
 Sometimes cases arise in which we can only say, 
 ' Neither know we whg,t to do, but our eyes are 
 upon Thee. ' And when we honestly say that, de- 
 pend upon it we shall find the promise true, ' I 
 will guide thee with Mine eye. ' For God is faith- 
 ful, -who will not suffer you to be tempted above 
 that ye are able, but will, with the temptation, also 
 make a way (Gr. tA/r way) to escape, that ye may 
 be able to bear it. 
 
 I do not know why it should be so, but it cer- 
 tainly is a much rarer thing to find a young gentle- 
 man singing for Jesus than a young lady, — a very 
 rare thing to find one with a cultivated voice con- 
 secrating it to the Master's use. I have met some 
 who were not ashamed to speak for Him, to whom 
 it never seemed even to occur to sing for Him. 
 They would go and teach a Bible class one day, 
 and the next they would be practising or perform- 
 ing just the same songs as those who care nothing 
 for Christ and His blood-bought salvation. They 
 had left some things behind, but they had not left 
 any of their old songs behind. They do not seem 
 to think that being made new creatures in Christ 
 Jesus had anything to do with this department of 
 their lives. Nobody could gather whether they 
 were on the Lord's side or not, as they stood and 
 sang their neutral songs. The banner that was 
 displayed in the class-room was furled in the draw- 
 ing-room. Now, my friends, you who have or may 
 
64 . Ikept tor tbe ilRaster's "Clse* 
 
 have far greater opportunities of displaying that 
 banner than we womenkind, why should you be 
 less brave and loyal than your sisters? We are 
 weak and you are strong naturally, but recollect 
 that want of decision always involves want of 
 power, and compromising Christians are always 
 weak Christians. You will never be mighty to the 
 pulling down of strongholds while you have one 
 foot in the enemy's camp, or on the supposed 
 neutral ground, if such can exist (which I doubt), 
 between the camps. You will never be a terror to 
 the devil till you have enlisted every gift and 
 faculty on the Lord's side. Here is a thing in 
 which you may practically carry out the splendid 
 motto, ' All for Jesus. ' You cannot be all for Him 
 as long as your voice is not for Him. Which shall 
 it be ? All for Him, or partly for Him ? Answer 
 that to Him whom you call Master and Lord. 
 
 When once this drawing-room question is settled, 
 there is not much need to expatiate about other 
 forms of singing for Jesus. As we have opportu- 
 nity we shall be willing to do good with our pleasant 
 gift in any way or place, and it is wonderful what 
 nice opportunities He makes for us. Whether to 
 one little sick child or to a thousand listeners, ac- 
 cording to the powers and openings granted, we 
 shall take our happy position amon^ those who 
 minister with singing (i Chron. vi. 32). And in 
 so far as we really do this unto the Lord, I am 
 quite sure He gives the hundred-fold now in this 
 present time more than all the showy songs or self- 
 gratifying performances we may have left for His 
 sake. As we steadily tread this part of the path of 
 
®ur U)olces ftept tor ^esus. 65 
 
 consecration, we shall find the difficulties left be- 
 hind, and the real pleasantness of the way reached, 
 and it will be a delight to say to oneself, ' I cannot 
 sing the old songs;' and though you have thought 
 it quite enough to say, * With my song will I please 
 my friends,' especially if they happen to be pleased 
 with a mildly sacred song or two, you will strike a 
 higher and happier, a richer and purer note, and 
 say with David, * With my song will I praise Him.^ 
 David said also, ' My lips shall greatly rejoice when 
 fsing unto Thee, and ray soul, which Thou hast, 
 redeemed.* And you will find that this comes true^ 
 
 Singing for Jesus, our Saviour and King ; 
 
 Singing for Jesus, the Lord whom we love ! 
 All adoration we joyously bring, 
 
 Longing to praise as they praise Him above. 
 
 Singing for Jesus, our Master and Friend, 
 
 Telling His love and His marvellous grace, — 
 
 Love from eternity, love to the end, 
 
 Love for the loveless, the sinful, and base. 
 
 Singing for Jesus, and trying to win 
 
 Many to love Him, and join in the song ; 
 
 Calling the weary and wandering in, 
 Rolling the chorus of gladness along. 
 
 Singing for Jesus, our Life and our Light ; 
 
 Singing for Him as we press to the mark; 
 Singing for Him when the morning is bright; 
 
 Singing, still singing, for Him in the dark ! 
 
 Singing for Jesus, our Shepherd and Guide ; 
 
 Singing for gladness of heart that He gives j 
 Singing for wonder and praise that He died ; 
 
 Singing for blessing and joy that He lives ! 
 
66 ikept for tbe /Hbaster's lllse. 
 
 Singing for Jesus, oh, singing with joy; 
 
 Thus will we praise Him, and tell out His love, 
 Till He shall call us to brighter employ, 
 
 Singing for Jesus for ever above. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ®ur Xip0 ftept for Jeaua* 
 
 * Keep rny lips, thai they may be 
 Filled with messages from Thee.'' 
 
 THE days are past for ever when we said, 
 'Our lips are our own.' Now we know that 
 they are not our own. 
 
 And yet how many of my readers often have the 
 miserable consciousness that they have * spoken un- 
 advisedly with their lips'! How many pray, 'Keep 
 the door of my lips,' when the very last thing they 
 think of expecting is that they will he kept ! They 
 deliberately make up their minds that hasty words, 
 or foolish words, or exaggerated words, according 
 to their respective temptations, must and will slip 
 out of that door, and that it can't be helped. The 
 extent of the real meaning of their prayer was 
 merely that not quite so many might slip out. As 
 their faith went no farther, the answer went no 
 farther, and so the door was not kept. 
 
 Do let us look the matter straight in the face. 
 Either we have committed our lips to our Lord, or 
 
©ur 3L1P6 feept tor S^esus, 67 
 
 we have not. This question must be settled first. 
 If not, oh, do not let another hour pass ! Take 
 them to Jesus, and ask Him to take them. 
 
 But when you have committed them to Him, it 
 comes to this, — is He able or is He not able to keep 
 that which you have committed to Him? If He is 
 not able, of course you may as well give up at 
 once, for your own experience has abundantly 
 proved that you are not able, so there is no help for 
 you. But if He is able — nay, thank God there is 
 no *{/"' on this side ! — say, rather, as He is able, 
 where was this inevitable necessity of perpetual 
 failure ? You have been fancying yourself virtually 
 doomed and fated to it, and therefore you have 
 gone on in it, while all the time His arm was not 
 shortened that it could not save, but you have been 
 limiting the Holy One of Israel. Honestly, now, 
 have you trusted Him to keep your lips this day ? 
 Trust necessarily implies expectation that what we 
 have entrusted will be kept. If you have not ex- 
 pected Him to keep, you have not trusted. You 
 may have tried, and tried very hard, but you have 
 not trusted^ and therefore you have not been kept, 
 and your lips have been the snare of your soul 
 (Prov. xviii. 7). 
 
 Once I heard a beautiful prayer which I can never 
 forget ; it was this : *■ Lord, take my lips, and speak 
 through them ; take my mind, and think through 
 it ; take my heart, and set it on fire.' And this is 
 the way the Master keeps the lips of His servants, 
 by so filling their hearts with His love that the out- 
 flow cannot be unloving, by so filling their thoughts 
 that the utterance cannot beun-Christ-like. There 
 
68 ikept tor tbc Master's lUse, 
 
 must be filling before there can be pouring out ; 
 and if there is filling, there must be pouring out, 
 for He hath said, 'Out of the abundance of the 
 heart the mouth speaketh. ' 
 
 But I think we should look for something more 
 direct and definite than this. We are not all called 
 to be the King's ambassadors, but all who have 
 heard the messages of salvation for themselves are 
 called to be * the Lord's messengers,' and day by- 
 day, as He gives us opportunity, we are to deliver 
 /the Lord's message unto the people.' That mes- 
 sage, as committed to Haggai, was, * I am with you, 
 saith the Lord. ' Is there not work enough for any 
 lifetime in unfolding and distributing that one mes- 
 sage to His own people ? Then, for those who are 
 still far off, we have that equally full message from 
 our Lord to give out, which He has condensed for 
 us into the one word, * Come !' 
 
 It is a specially sweet part of His dealings with 
 His messengers that He always gives us the message 
 for ourselves first. It is what He has first told us 
 in darkness — that is, in the secrecy of our own 
 rooms, or at least of our own hearts — that He bids 
 us speak in light. And so the more we sit at His 
 feet and watch to see what He has to say to our- 
 selves, the more we shall have to tell to others. He 
 does not send us out with sealed despatches, which 
 we know nothing about, and with which we have no 
 concern. 
 
 There seems a seven-fold sequence in His filling 
 the lips of His messengers. First, they must be 
 purified. The live coal from off the altar must be 
 laid upon them, and He must say, * Lo, this hath 
 
©ur Xlp0 liept for S-esus* 69 
 
 touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, 
 and thy sin is purged. ' Then He will create the 
 fruit of them, and this seems to be the great mes- 
 sage of peace, * Peace to him that is far off, and to 
 him that is near, saith the Lord ; and I will heal 
 him' (see Isa. Ivii. 19). Then comes the prayer, 
 *0 Lord, open Thou my lips,' and its sure fulfil- 
 ment. For then come in the promises, * Behold, I 
 have put My words in thy mouth,' and, * They shall 
 withal be fitted in thy lips.* Then, of course, * the 
 lips of the righteous feed many,' for the food is the 
 Lord's own giving. Everything leads up to praise, 
 and so we come next to * My mouth shall praise 
 Thee with joyful lips, when I remember Thee.' 
 And lest we should fancy that ' w/ien ' rather implies 
 that it is not, or cannot be, exactly always, we find 
 that the meditation of Jesus throws this added light 
 upon it, * By Him, therefore, let us offer the sacri- 
 fice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit 
 of our lips, giving thanks to ' (margin, confessing) 
 * His name.' 
 
 Does it seem a coming down from the mount to 
 glance at one of our King's commandments, which 
 is specially needful and applicable to this matter of 
 our lips being kept for Him ? ^ Watch and pray, 
 that ye enter not into temptation.' None of His 
 commands clash with or supersede one another. 
 Trusting does not supers de watching ; it does but 
 complete and effectuate it. Unwatchful trust is a 
 delusion, and untrustful watching is in vain. There- 
 fore let us not either wilfully or carelessly enter Knto 
 temptation, whether of place, or person, or topic, 
 which has any tendency to endanger the keeping of 
 
70 Ikept tor tbc Master's lUse* 
 
 our lips for Jesus. Let us pray that grace may be 
 more and more poured into our lips as it was into 
 His, so that our speech may be alway with grace. 
 May they be pure, and sweet, and lovely, even as 
 * His lips, like lilies, dropping sweet-smelling 
 myrrh.' 
 
 We can hardly consider the keeping of our lips 
 without recollecting that upon them, more than all 
 else (though not exclusively of all else), depends 
 that greatest of our responsibilities, our influence. 
 We have no choice in the matter ; we cannot evade 
 or avoid it ; and there is no more possibility of our 
 limiting it, or even tracing its limits, than there is 
 of setting a bound to the far-vibrating sound-waves, 
 or watching their flow through the invisible air. 
 Not one sentence that passes these lips of ours but 
 must be an invisibly prolonged influence, not dying 
 away into silence, but living away into the words 
 and deeds of others. The thought would not be quite 
 so oppressive if we could know what we have done 
 and shall be continuing to do by what we have 
 said. But we never can, as a matter of fact. We 
 may trace it a little way, and get a glimpse of some 
 results for good or evil ; but we never can see any 
 more of it than we can see of a shooting star flash- 
 ing through the night with a mxomentary revelation 
 of one step of its strange path. Even if the next 
 instant plunges it into apparent annihilation as it 
 strikes the atmosphere of the earth, we know that 
 it is not really so, but that its mysterious material 
 and force must be added to the complicated ma- 
 terials and forces with which it has come in con- 
 
©ur %ivB ftept for 5e6us. 71 
 
 tact, with a modifying power none the less real be- 
 cause it is beyond our ken. And this is not com- 
 paring a great thing with a small, but a small thing 
 with a great. For what is material force compared 
 with moral force ? what are gases, and vapours, and 
 elements, compared with souls and the eternity for 
 which they are preparing? 
 
 We all know that there is influence exerted by a 
 person's mere presence, without the utterance of a 
 single word. We are conscious of this every day. 
 People seem to carry an atmosphere with them, 
 which mzis^ be breathed by those whom they ap- 
 proach. Some carry an atmosphere in which all 
 unkind thoughts shrivel up and cannot grow into 
 expression. Others carry one in which ' thoughts 
 of Christ and things divine' never seem able to 
 flourish. Have you not felt how a happy conversa- 
 tion about the things we love best is checked, or 
 even strangled, by the entrance of one who is not 
 in sympathy? Outsiders have not a chance of 
 ever really knowing what delightful intercourse we 
 have one with another about these things, because 
 their very presence chills and changes it. On the 
 other hand, how another person's incoming fresh- 
 ens and develops it and warms us all up, and seems 
 to give us, without the least conscious effort, a sort 
 of /i/^ / 
 
 If even unconscious and involuntary influence is 
 such a power, how much greater must it be when 
 the recognised power of words is added ! 
 
 It has often struck me as a matter of observa- 
 tion, that open profession adds force to this influ- 
 ence, on whichever side it weighs; and also that it 
 
72 Ifccpt tot tbe /iRaster's lUse* 
 
 has the effect of making many a word and act, 
 which might in other hands have been as nearly 
 neutra-1 as anything can be, tell with by no means 
 neutral tendency on the wrong side. The question 
 of Eliphaz comes with great force when applied to 
 one who desires or professes to be consecrated alto- 
 gether, life and lips: * Should he reason with un- 
 profitable talk, and with speeches wherewith one 
 can do no good?^ There is our standard! Idle 
 words, which might have fallen comparatively 
 harmlessly from one who had never named the 
 Name of Christ, may be a stumbling-block to in- 
 quirers, a sanction to thoughtless juniors, and a 
 grief to thoughtful seniors, when they come from 
 lips which are professing to feed many. Even in- 
 telligent talk on general subjects by such a one may 
 be a chilling disappointment to some craving heart, 
 which had indulged the hope of getting help, com- 
 fort, or instruction in the things of God by listen- 
 ing to the conversation. It may be a lost oppor- 
 tunity of giving and gaining no one knows how 
 much ! 
 
 How well I recollect this disappointment to my- 
 self, again and again, when a mere child ! In 
 those early seeking days I never could understand 
 why, sometimes, a good man whom I heard preach 
 or speak as if he loved Christ very much, talked 
 about all sorts of other things when he came back 
 from church or missionary meeting. I did so wish he 
 would have talked about the Saviour, whom I wanted, 
 but had not found. It would have been so much 
 more interesting even to the apparently thoughtless 
 and merry little girl. How could he help it, I 
 
 i 
 
©ut Xfps ftept for 3^e0us. 75 
 
 wondered, if he cared for that Pearl of Great Price 
 as I was sure I should care for it if I could only find 
 it ! And oh, why didn't they ever talk to me about 
 it, instead of about my lessons or their little girls 
 at home ? They did not know how their conversa- 
 tion was observed and compared with their sermon 
 or speech, and how a hungry little soul went empty 
 away from the supper table. 
 
 The lips of younger Christians may cause, in their 
 tarn, no less disappointment. One sorrowful lesson 
 I can never forget ; and I will tell the story in hope 
 that it may save others from causes of similar re- 
 gret. During a summer visit just after I had left 
 school, a class of girls about my own age came to 
 me a few times for an hour's singing. It was very 
 pleasant indeed, and the girls were delighted with 
 the hymns. They listened to all I had to say about 
 time and expression, and not with less attention to- 
 the more shyly-ventured remarks about the words. 
 Sometimes I accompanied them afterwards down 
 the avenue; and whenever I met any of them [ had 
 smiles and plenty of kindly words for each, which 
 they seemed to appreciate immensely. A few years 
 afterwards I sat by the bedside of one of these girls 
 — the most gifted of them all with both heart and 
 head. She had been led by a wonderful way, and 
 through long and deep suffering, into far clearer 
 light than I enjoyed, and had witnessed for Christ 
 in more ways than one, and far more brightly than 
 I had ever done. She told me how sorrowfully and 
 eagerly she was seeking Jesus at the time of those 
 singing classes. And I never knew it, because 
 I never asked, and she was too shy to speak first I 
 
74 Ikcpt tor tbe Master's TUse. 
 
 But she told me more, and every word was a pang 
 to me, — how she used to linger in the avenue on 
 those summer evenings, longing that I would speak 
 to her about the Saviour ; how she hoped, week after 
 week, that I would just stretch out a hand to help 
 her, just say one little word that might be God's 
 message of peace to her, instead of the pleasant, 
 general remarks about the nice hymns and tunes 
 And I never did ! And she went on for months, I 
 think for years, after, without the light and gladness 
 which it might have been my privilege to bring to 
 her life. God chose other means, for the souls that 
 He has given to Christ cannot be lost because of 
 the unfaithfulness of a human instrument. But she 
 said, and the words often ring in my ears when I am 
 tempted to let an opportunity slip, ' Ah, Miss F., I 
 ought to have been yours /' 
 
 Yes, it is true enough that we should show forth 
 His praise not only with our lips, but in our lives ; 
 but with very many Christians the other side of the 
 prayer wants praying— they want rousing up even to 
 wish to show it forth not only in their lives but with 
 their lips. I wonder how many, even of those who 
 read this, really pray, * O Lord, open Thou 7n-y lips, 
 and my mouth shall show forth Thy praise.' 
 
 And when opened, oh, how much one does want 
 to have them so kept for Jesus that He may be free 
 to make the most of them, not letting them render 
 second-rate and indirect service when they might be 
 doing direct and first-rate service to His cause and 
 kingdom ! It is terrible how much less is done for 
 Him than might be done, in consequence of the 
 specious notion that if what we are doing or saying 
 
©ur 3Lfp5 ftept tot 5e6U6. 75 
 
 is not bad, we are doing good in a certain way, and 
 therefore may be quite easy about it. We should 
 think a man rather foolish if he went on doing work 
 which earned five shillings a week, when he might 
 just as well do work in the same establishment and 
 under the same master which would bring him in 
 five pounds a week. But we should pronounce him 
 shamefully dishonest and dishonourable if he accept- 
 ed such handsome wages as the five pounds, and yet 
 ehose to do work worth only five shillings, excusing 
 himself by saying that it was work all the same, and 
 somebody had better do it. Do we not act some- 
 thing like this when we take the lower standard, 
 and spend our strength in just making ourselves 
 agreeable and pleasant, creating a general good im- 
 pression in favour of religion, showing that we can 
 be all things to all men, and that one who is sup- 
 posed to be a citizen of the other world can be very 
 well up in all that concerns this world ? This may 
 be good, but is there nothing better? What does it 
 profit if we do make this favourable impression on 
 an outsider, if we go no farther and do not use the 
 influence gained to bring him right inside the fold, 
 inside the only ark of safety ? People are not con- 
 verted by this sort of work ; at any rate, / never 
 met or heard of any one. ' He thinks it better for 
 his quiet influence to tell ! ' said an affectionately 
 excusing relative of one who had plenty of special 
 opportunities of soul-winning, if he had only used 
 his lips as well as his life for his Master. * And how 
 many souls have been converted to God by his 
 " quiet influence " all these years ? ' was my reply. 
 And to that there was no answer ! For the silent 
 
76 Ikept tor tbe ISsnstct'e lase. 
 
 shining was all very beautiful in theory, but not one 
 of the many souls placed specially under his in- 
 fluence had been known to be brought out of dark- 
 ness into marvellous light. If they had, they must 
 have been known, for such light can't help being 
 seen. 
 
 When one has even a glimmer of the tremendous 
 difference between having Christ and being without 
 Christ ; when one gets but one shuddering glimpse 
 of what eternity is, and of what it must mean, as 
 well as what it may mean, without Christ; when 
 one gets but a flash of realization of the tremendous 
 fact that all these neighbours of ours, rich and poor 
 alike,' will hav^ to spend that eternity either with 
 Him or without Him, — it is hard, very hard indeed, 
 to understand how a man or woman can believe 
 these things at all, and make no effort for anything 
 beyond the temporal elevation of those around, 
 sometimes not even beyond their amusements ! 
 * People must have entertainment,' they urge. I do 
 not find that ptusf in the Bible, but I do find, * We 
 mus^ all stand before the judgment- seat of Christ.' 
 And if you have any sort of belief in that, how can 
 you care to use those lips of yours, which might be 
 a fountain of life to the dying souls before you, 
 merely to * entertain ' them at your penny reading 
 or other entertainment? As you sow, so you reap. 
 The amusing paper is read, or the lively ballad re- 
 cited, or the popular song sung, and you reap your 
 harvest of laughter or applause, and of complacence 
 at your success in * entertaining ' the people. And 
 there it ends, when you might have sown words 
 from which you and they should reap fruit unto life 
 
®ur 3Ltps hept tor ^csns* 77 
 
 eternal. Is this worthy work for one who has been 
 bought with such a price that he must say, 
 
 ' Love so amazing, so divine, 
 Demands my soul, my hfe, my 
 
 air? 
 
 So far from yielding ' all ' to that rightful demand 
 of amazing love, he does not even yield the fruit of 
 his lips to it, much less the lips themselves. I can- 
 not refrain from adding, that even this lower aim. 
 oS ' entertaining ' is by no means so appreciated as 
 is supposed. As a cottager of no more than aver- 
 age sense and intelligence remarked, * It was all so^ 
 trifling at the reading; I wish gentlefolks would 
 believe that poor people like something better than. 
 what's just to make them laugh.' After all, nothing 
 really pays like direct, straightforward, uncompro- 
 mising words about God and His works and word. 
 Nothing else ever made a man say, as a poor Irish- 
 man did when he heard the Good News for the first 
 time, ' Thank ye, sir; you've taken the hunger off 
 us to-day ! ' 
 
 Jephthah uttered all his words before the Lord ; 
 what about ours ? Well, they are all uttered before 
 the Lord in one sense, whether we will or no ; for 
 there is not a word in my tongue, but lo. Thou, O 
 Lord, knowest it altogether ! How solemn is this 
 thought, but how sweet does it become when our 
 words are uttered consciously before the Lord as 
 we walk in the light .of His perpetual presence ! 
 Oh that we may so walk, that we may so speak, with 
 kept feet and kept lips, trustfully praying, * Let the 
 meditation of my heart and the words of my mouth 
 
78 Ikcpt for tbc ^astct's inse. 
 
 be alway acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my 
 Strength and my Redeemer ! ' 
 
 Bearing in mind that it is not only the words 
 which pass their lightly-hinged portal, but our lit- 
 eral lips which are to be kept for Jesus, it cannot 
 be out of place, before closing this chapter, to sug- 
 gest that they open both ways. What passes in 
 should surely be considered as well as what passes 
 out. And very many of us are beginning to see 
 that the command, * Whether ye eat or drink, or 
 whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God,' is 
 not fully obeyed when we drink, merely because 
 we like it, what is the very greatest obstacle to that 
 glory in this realm of England. What matter that 
 we prefer taking it in a more refined form, if the 
 thing itself is daily and actively and mightily work- 
 ing misery, and crime, and death, and destruction 
 to thousands, till the cry thereof seems as if it 
 must pierce the very heavens ! And so it does — 
 sooner, a great deal, than it pierces the walls of our 
 comfortable dining-room ! I only say here, you 
 who have said, *Take my lips,' stop and repeat 
 that prayer next time you put that to your lips 
 which is binding men and women hand and foot, 
 and delivering them over, helpless, to Satan ! Let 
 those words pass once more from your heart out 
 through your lips, and I do not think you will feel 
 comfortable in letting the means of such infernal 
 work pass in through them.. 
 
®ur Silver anD (5olO ftept for ^C6\X6* 79 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 ®ur Silver anb (5ol& Rept for 3e0U0. 
 
 ' A'erp my silver and my gold ; 
 Not a mite would I withhold^ 
 
 "TPHE silver and the gold is Mine, saith the 
 
 A Lord of Hosts.' Yes, every coin we have 
 
 is literally our * Lord's money.' Simple belief of 
 
 this fact is the stepping-stone to full consecration of 
 
 what He has given us, whether much or little. 
 
 ' Then you mean to say we are never to spend 
 anything on ourselves ?' Not so. Another fact 
 must be considered, — the fact that our Lord has 
 given us our bodies as a special personal charge, 
 and that we are responsible for keeping these bodies, 
 according to the means given and the work re- 
 quired, in working order for Him. This is part of 
 our ' own work. ' A master entrusts a workman 
 with a delicate machine, with which his appointed 
 work is to be done. He also provides him with a sum 
 of money with which he is to procure all that may be 
 necessary for keeping the machine in thorough repair. 
 Is it not obvious that it is the man's distinct duty 
 to see to this faithfully ? Would he not be failing in 
 
So ikept for tbc /iBaster's 'Clse. 
 
 duty if he chose to spend it all on something for 
 somebody else's work, or on a present for his mas- 
 ter, fancying that would please him better, while 
 the machine is creaking and wearing for want of a 
 little oil, or working badly for want of a new band 
 or screw ? Just so, we are to spend what is really 
 needful on ourselves, because it is our charge to do 
 so ; but not for ourselves, because we are not our 
 own, but our Master's. He who knoweth our frame, 
 knows its needs of rest and medicine, food and 
 clothing; and the procuring of these for our own 
 entrusted bodies should be done just as much ^ for 
 Jesus ' as the greater pleasure of procuring them for 
 «ome one else. Therefore there need be no quib- 
 bling over the assertion that consecration is not 
 real and complete while we are looking upon a 
 single shilling as our own to do what we like with. 
 Also the principle is exactly the same, whether we 
 are spending pence or pounds; it is our Lord's 
 money, and must not be spent without reference to 
 Him. 
 
 When we have asked Him to take, and continually 
 trust Him to keep our money, ' shopping ' becomes 
 a different thing. We look up to our Lord for 
 guidance to lay out His money prudently and 
 rightly, and as He would have us lay it out. The 
 gift or garment is selected consciously under His 
 eye, and with conscious reference to Him as our 
 own dear Master, for whose sake we shall give it, 
 or in whose service we shall wear it, and whose own 
 silver or gold we shall pay for it, and then it is all 
 right. 
 
 But have you found out that it is one of the se- 
 
®ur Silver anO <5olD ftept for ^esus. 8i 
 
 crets of the Lord, that when any of His dear chil- 
 dren turn aside a little bit after having once entered 
 the blessed path of true and conscious consecra- 
 tion, He is sure to send them some little punish- 
 ment ? He will not let us go back without a sharp, 
 even if quite secret, reminder. Go and spend ever 
 such a little without reference to Him after you have 
 once pledged the silver and gold entirely to Him, 
 and see if you are not in some way rebuked for it ! 
 VCTy often by being permitted to find that you have 
 made a mistake in your purchase, or that in some 
 way it does not prosper. If you * observe these 
 things,' you will find that the more closely we are 
 walking with our Lord, the more immediate and 
 unmistakeable will be His gracious rebukes when we 
 swerve in any detail of the full consecration to 
 which He has called us. And if you have already 
 experienced and recognised this part of His per- 
 sonal dealing with us, you will know also how we 
 love and bless Him for it. 
 
 Ther§ is always a danger that just because we say 
 ^ all,' we may practically fall shorter than if we had 
 only said ' some,' but said it very definitely. God 
 recognises this, and provides against it in many de- 
 partments. For instance, though our time is to be 
 * all * for Him, yet He solemnly sets apart the one 
 day in seven which is to be specially for Him. 
 Those who think they know better than God, and 
 profess that every day is a Sabbath, little know 
 what floodgates of temptation they are opening by 
 being so very wise above what is written. God 
 knows best, and that should be quite enough for 
 
82 IRept for tbe ;fllba0tec'0 IHse. 
 
 every loyal heart. So, as to money, though we 
 place it all at our Lord's disposal, and rejoice to 
 spend it all for Him directly or indirectly, yet I am 
 quite certain it is a great help and safeguard, and, 
 what is more, a matter of simple obedience to the 
 spirit of His commands, to set aside a definite and 
 regular proportion of our income or receipts for 
 His direct service. It is a great mistake to suppose 
 that the law of giving the tenth to God is merely 
 Levitical. ' Search and look ' for yourselves, and 
 you will find that it is, like the Sabbath, a far older 
 rule, running all through the Bible,* and endorsed, 
 not abrogated, by Christ Himself. For, speaking 
 of tithes. He said, ' These ought ye to have done, 
 and not to leave the other undone.' To dedicate the 
 tenth of whatever we have is mere duty; charity 
 begins beyond it ; free-will offerings and thank- 
 offerings beyond that again. 
 
 First-fruits, also, should be thus specially set 
 apart. This, too, we find running all through the 
 Bible. There is a tacit appeal to our gratitude in 
 the suggestion of them, — the very word implies 
 bounty received and bounty in prospect, bringing 
 
 * the first of the first-fruits into the house of the Lord 
 thy God,' was like ' saying grace ' for all the plenty 
 He was going to bestow on the faithful Israelite. 
 Something of gladness, too, seems always implied. 
 
 * The day of the first-fruits ' was to be a day of re- 
 joicing (compare Num. xxviii. 26 with Deut. xvi. 
 
 * See Gen. xiv. 20, xxviii. 22 ; Lev. xxvii. 30, 32 ; Num. 
 xviii. 21; Deut. xiv. 22; 2 Chron. xxxi. 5, 6, 12; Neh. x. 37^ 
 xii. 44, xiii. 12 ; Mai. iii. 8, lo; Matt, xxiii. 23 ; Luke xi. 42 ; 
 I Cor. xvi. 2 ; Heb. vii. 8. 
 
©ur Silver anD (3olO ftcpt for 5esu0» 83 
 
 10, 11). There is also an appeal to loyalty: we 
 are comihanded to honour the Lord with the first- 
 fruits of all our increase. And that is the way 
 to prosper, for the next word is, ^So shall thy 
 barns be filled with plenty. ' The friend who first 
 called my attention to this command, said that the 
 setting apart first-fruits— making a proportion for 
 God's work a first charge upon the income — 
 always seemed to bring a blessing on the rest, 
 an^ that since this had been systematically done, it 
 actually seemed to go farther than when not thus 
 lessened. 
 
 Presenting our first-fruits should be a peculiarly 
 delightful act, as they are themselves the emblem 
 of our consecrated relationship to God. For of 
 His own will begat He us by the word of truth, 
 that we should be a kind of first-fruits of His 
 creatures. How sweet and hallowed and richly 
 emblematic our little acts of obedience in this mat- 
 ter become, when we throw this light upon them ! 
 And how blessedly they may remind us of the 
 heavenly company, singing, as it were, a new song 
 before the throne ; for they are the first-fruits unto 
 God and to the Lamb. 
 
 Perhaps we shall find no better plan of detailed 
 and systematic setting apart than the New Testa- 
 ment one : ' Upon the first day of the week let 
 every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath 
 prospered him.' The very act of literally fulfilling 
 this apostolic command seems to bring a blessing 
 with it, as all simple obedience does. I wish, dear 
 friends, you would try it ! You will find it a sweet 
 reminder on His own day of this part of your con- 
 
84 1Rcpt for tbe jflftaeter's lllsc. 
 
 secration. You will find it an immense help in 
 making the most of your little charities. The 
 regular inflow will guide the outflow, and ensure 
 your always having something for any sudden call 
 for your Master's poor or your Master's cause. Do 
 not say you are * afraid you could not keep to it.' 
 What has a consecrated life to do with being 
 '■ afraid ' ? Some of us could tell of such sweet and 
 singular lessons of trust in this matter, that they 
 are written in golden letters of love on our memo- 
 ries. Of course there will be trials of our faith in 
 this, as well as in everything else. But every trial 
 of our faith is but a trial of His faithfulness, and 
 is 'much more precious than gold which per- 
 isheth.' 
 
 ' What about self-denial? ' some reader will say. 
 Consecration does not supersede this, but trans- 
 figures it. Literally, a consecrated life is and must 
 be a life of denial of self. But all the effort and 
 pain of it is changed into very delight. We love 
 our Master ; we know, surely and absolutely, that 
 He is listening and watching our every word and 
 way, and that He has called us to the privilege of 
 walking 'worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing.' 
 And in so far as this is a reality to us, the identical 
 things which are still %€ii-denial in one sense, be- 
 come actual soli-delight in another. It may be 
 self-denial to us to turn away from something 
 within reach of our purse which it would be very 
 convenient or pleasant to possess^. But if the 
 Master lifted the veil, and revealed Himself stand- 
 ing at our side, and let us hear His audible voice 
 asking us to reserve the price of it for His treasury. 
 
©ur Silver anD (5olD ftept tor 5esus. 85 
 
 should we talk about self-denial then ? Should we 
 not be utterly ashamed to think of it? or rather, 
 should we, for one instant, think about self or self- 
 denial at all ? Would it not be an unimaginable 
 joy to do what He asked us to do with that money ? 
 But as long as His own unchangeable promise 
 stands written in His word for us, ' Lo, I am with 
 you alway,'' we may be sure that He is with us, and 
 that His eye is as certainly on our opened or half- 
 opened purse as it was on the treasury, when He 
 saT over against it and saw the two mites cast in. 
 So let us do our shopping * as seeing Him who is 
 invisible.' 
 
 It is important to remember that there is no 
 much or little in God's sight, except as relatively 
 to our means and willingness. ' For if there be 
 first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that 
 a man hath, and not according to that he hath 
 not. ' He knows what we have not, as well as what 
 we have. He knows all about the low wages in 
 one sphere, and the small allowance, or the fixed 
 income with rising prices in another. And it is not 
 a question of paying to God what can be screwed 
 out of these, but of giving Him all, and then hold- 
 ing all at His disposal, and taking His orders about 
 the disposal of all. 
 
 But I do not see at all how self-indulgence and 
 needless extravagance can possibly co-exist with 
 true consecration. If we really never do go with- 
 out dmyihmg for the Lord's sake, but, just because 
 He has graciously given us means, always supply 
 for ourselves not only every need but ' every 
 notion,' I think it is high time we looked into 
 
86 ikept for tbe /Bbastcr's *Cl6e» 
 
 the matter before God. Why should only those 
 who have limited means have the privilege of offer- 
 ing to their Lord that which has really cost them 
 something to offer ? Observe, it is not merely 
 going without something we would naturally like to 
 have or do, but going without it for Jesus' sake. 
 Not, * I will go without it, because, after all, I can't 
 very well afford it ;* or, * because I really ought to 
 subscribe to so and so;' or, * because I daresay I 
 shall be glad I have not spent the money : ' but, * I 
 will do without it, because I do want to do a little 
 more for Him who so loves me — ^just that much 
 more than I could do if I did this other thing.' I 
 fancy this is more often the heart language of those 
 who have to cut and contrive, than of those who 
 are able to give liberally without any cutting and 
 contriving at all. The very abundance of God's 
 good gifts too often hinders from the privilege and 
 delight of really doing without something super- 
 fluous or comfortable or usual, that they may give 
 just that much more to their Lord. What a pity ! 
 The following quotation may (I hope it will), 
 touch some conscience : — * A gentleman once told 
 us that his wine bill was ;z{^ioo a year — more than 
 enough to keep a Scripture reader always at work 
 in some populous district. And it is one of the 
 countless advantages, of total abstinence that it at 
 once sets free a certain amount of money for such 
 work. Smoking, too, is a habit not only injuri- 
 ous to the health in a vast majority of cases, and, 
 to our mind, very unbecoming in a *' temple of the 
 Holy Ghost," but also one which squanders money 
 which might be used for the Lord. Expenses in 
 
©ur Silver anD (3ol& Tiept for ^csns. 87 
 
 dress might in most people be curtailed ; expensive 
 tastes should be denied ; and simplicity in all habits 
 of life should be a mark of the followers of Him 
 who had not where to lay His head.' 
 
 And again : ' The self-indulgence of wealthy 
 Christians, who might largely support the Lord's 
 work with what they lavish upon their houses, their 
 tables, or their personal expenditure, is very sad to 
 see.'* 
 
 Here the question of jewellery seems to come in. 
 Perhaps it was an instance of the gradual showing 
 of the details of consecration, illustrated on page 
 21, but I will confess that when I wrote ' Take my 
 silver and my gold,' it never dawned on me that 
 anything was included beyond the coin of the 
 realm ! But the Lord ' leads on softly,' and a good 
 many of us have been shown some capital bits of 
 unenclosed but easily enclosable ground, which 
 have yielded 'pleasant fruit.' Yes, very pleasant 
 fruit ! It is wonderfully nice to light upon some- 
 thing that we really never thought of as a possible 
 gift to our Lord, and just to give it, straight away, 
 to Him. I do not press the matter, but I do ask my 
 lady friends to give it fair and candid and prayer- 
 ful consideration. Which do you really care most 
 about — a diamond on your finger, or a star in the 
 Redeemer's kingdom, shining for ever and ever? 
 That is what it comes to, and there I leave it. 
 
 On the other hand, it is very possible to be fairly 
 faithful in much, and yet unfaithful in that which 
 is least. We may have thought about our gold ajnd 
 
 *Christian Progress, vol. iii. pp. 25, 26. 
 
88 ikept for tbe /iRaster's lUse* 
 
 silver, and yet have been altogether thoughtless 
 about our rubbish ! Some have a habit of hoarding 
 away old garments, 'pieces,* remnants, and odds 
 and ends generally, under the idea that they ' will 
 come in useful some day ;' very likely setting it up 
 as a kind of mild virtue, backed by that noxious 
 old saying, ' Keep it by you seven years, and you'll 
 find a use for it.' And so the shabby things get 
 shabbier, and moth and dust doth corrupt, and 
 the drawers and places get choked and crowded ; 
 and meanwhile all this that is sheer rubbish to 
 you might be made useful at once, to a degree 
 beyond what you would guess, to some poor 
 person. 
 
 It would be a nice variety for the clever fingers 
 of a lady's maid to be set to work to do up old 
 things; or some tidy woman may be found in al- 
 most every locality who knows how to contrive 
 children's things out of what seems to you only fit 
 for the rag-bag, either for her own little ones or 
 those of her neighbours. 
 
 My sister trimmed 70 or 80 hats every spring for 
 several years with the contents of friends' rubbish 
 drawers, thus relieving dozens of poor mothers who 
 liked their children to ' go tidy on Sunday,' and 
 also keeping down finery in her Sunday school. 
 Those who literally fulfilled her request for ' rub- 
 bish ' used to marvel at the results. 
 
 Little scraps of carpet, torn old curtains, faded 
 blinds, and all such gear, go a wonderfully long 
 way towards making poor cottagers and old or sick 
 people comfortable. I never saw anything in this 
 * rubbish ' line yet that could not be turned to good 
 
®ur Silver anD (3olD ftept tor Jcem. 89 
 
 account somehow, with a little considering of the 
 poor and their discomforts. 
 
 I wish my lady reader would just leave this book 
 now, and go straight up-stairs and have a good 
 rummage at once, and see what can be thus cleared 
 out. If she does not know the right recipients at 
 first hand, let her send it off to the nearest working 
 clergyman's wife, and see how gratefully it will be 
 received ! For it is a great trial to workers among 
 the poor not to be able to supply the needs they 
 ^ee. Such supplies are far more useful than treble 
 their small money value. 
 
 Just a word of earnest pleading for needs, closely 
 veiled, but very sore, which might be wonderfully 
 lightened if this wardrobe over-hauling were system- 
 atic and faithful. There are hundreds of poor 
 clergymen's families to whom a few old garments 
 or any household oddments are as great a charity 
 as to any of the poor under their charge. There 
 are two Societies for aiding these with such gifts, 
 under initials which are explained in the Reports ; 
 the P.P.C. Society — Secretary, Miss Breay, Batten- 
 hall Place, Worcester ; and the A.F.D. Society — Sec- 
 retary, Miss Hinton, 4 York Place, Clifton. I only 
 ask my lady friends to send for a report to either of 
 these devoted secretaries ; and if their hearts are not 
 so touched by the cases of brave and bitter need that 
 they go forthwith to wardrobes and drawers to see 
 what can be spared and sent, they are colder and 
 harder than I give Englishwomen credit for. 
 
 There is no bondage in consecration. The two 
 things are opposites, and cannot co-exist, much less 
 
90 IRcpt for tbe /Iftaster's lllee, 
 
 mingle. We should suspect our consecration, and 
 come afresh to our great Counsellor about it, di- 
 rectly we have any sense of bondage. As long as 
 we have an unacknowledged feeling of fidget about 
 our account-book, and a smothered wondering what 
 and how much we ' ought' to give, and a hushed- 
 up wishing the thing had not been put quite so 
 strongly before us, depend upon it we have not said 
 unreservedly, '■ Take my silver and my gold. ' And 
 how can the Lord keep what He has not been sin- 
 cerely asked to take ? 
 
 Ah ! if we had stood at the foot of the Cross, and 
 watched the tremendous payment of our redemp- 
 tion with the precious blood of Christ, — if we had 
 seen that awful price told out, drop by drop, from 
 His own dear patient brow and torn hands and 
 feet, till it was ALL paid, and the central word of 
 eternity was uttered, ^ It is finished ! ' should we not 
 have been ready to say, ^Noi a mite will I withhold t* 
 
 My Jewels. 
 
 * Shall I hold them back — my jewels ? 
 
 Time has travelled many a day 
 Since I laid them by for ever, 
 
 Safely locking them away ; 
 And I thought them yielded wholly, 
 
 When I dared no longer wear 
 Gems contrasting, oh, so sadly ! 
 
 With the adorning I would bear. 
 
 * Shall I keep them still — my jewels ? 
 
 Shall I, can I yet withhold 
 
 From that living, loving Saviour 
 
 Aught of silver or of gold ? 
 
©ur ITntellccts ftcpt for ^esus* 91 
 
 Gold so needed, that His gospel 
 
 May resound from sea to sea ; 
 Can I know Christ's service lacketh, 
 
 Yet forget His " unto Me" ! 
 
 * No ; I lay them down — my jewels, 
 Truly on the altar now. 
 Stay ! I see a vision passing 
 Of a gem-encircled brow : 
 Heavenly treasure worn by Jesus, 
 
 Souls won through my gift outpoured ; 
 Freely, gladly I will offer 
 
 Jewels thus to crown my Lord ! ' 
 
 From Woman's Work. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 ®ur llntellects ftept for Jesus. 
 
 ' Keep my intellect^ and use 
 Every power as Thou shalt choose.^ 
 
 THERE are two distinct sets of temptations 
 which assail those who have, or think they 
 have, rather less, and those who have, or think they 
 have, rather more than an average share of intel- 
 lect ; while those who have neither less nor more 
 are generally open in some degree to both. The 
 refuge and very present help from both is the same. 
 The intellect, whether great or small, which is com- 
 mitted to the Lord's keeping, will be kept and will 
 be used by Him. 
 
92 ftcpt tor the Master's "Qlge. 
 
 The former class are tempted to think themselves 
 excused from effort to cultivate and use their small 
 intellectual gifts; to suppose they cannot or need 
 not seek to win souls, because they are not so clever 
 and apt in speech as So-and-so ; to attribute to want 
 of gift what is really want of grace ; to hide the one 
 talent because it is not five. Let me throw out a 
 thought or two fot these. 
 
 Which is greatest, gifts or grace? Giffs are 
 given ' to every man according to his several 
 ability.' That is, we have just as much given as 
 God knows we are able to use, and what He knows 
 we can best use for Him. ' But unto every one of us 
 is given grace according to the measure of the gift 
 of Christ. ' Claiming and using that royal measure 
 of grace, you may, and can, and will do more for 
 God than the mightiest intellect in the world with- 
 out it. For which, in the clear light of His Word, 
 is likely to be most effectual, the natural ability 
 which at its best and fullest, without Christ, * can 
 do nothing^ (observe and believe that word!), or 
 the grace of our Almighty God and the power of 
 the Holy Ghost, which is as free to you as it ever 
 was to any one? 
 
 If you are responsible for making use of your 
 limited gift, are you not equally responsible for 
 making use of the grace and power which are to be 
 had for the asking, which are already yours in 
 Christ, and which are not limited ? 
 
 Also, do you not see that when there are great 
 natural gifts, people give the credit to them^ instead 
 of to the grace which alone did the real work, arid 
 thus God is defrauded of the glory? So that, to 
 
©ur Ifntellccte ftept for ^csus. 93 
 
 say it reverently, God can get more glory out of a 
 feeble instrument, because then it is more obvious 
 that the excellency of the power is of God and not 
 of us. Will you not henceforth say, * Most gladly, 
 therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that 
 the power of Christ may rest upon me ' ? 
 
 Don't you really believe that the Holy Spirit is 
 just as able to draw a soul to Jesus, if He will, by 
 your whisper of the one word, 'Come,^ as by an 
 -eloquent sermon an hour long ? / do ! At the 
 same time, as it is evidently God's way to work 
 through these intellects of ours, we have no more 
 right to expect Him to use a mind which we are 
 wilfully neglecting, and taking no pains whatever to 
 fit for His use, than I should have to expect you to 
 write a beautiful inscription with my pen, if I would 
 not take the trouble to wipe it and mend it. 
 
 The latter class are tempted to rely on their 
 natural gifts, and to act and speak in their own 
 strength ; to go on too fast, without really looking 
 up at every step, and for every word ; to spend 
 their Lord's time in polishing up their intellects, 
 nominally for the sake of influence and power, and 
 so forth, while really, down at the bottom, it is for the 
 sake of the keen enjoyment of the process; and 
 perhaps, most of all, to spend the strength of these 
 intellects ' for that which doth not profit,' in yield- 
 ing to the specious snare of reading clever books 
 'on both sides,' and eating deliberately of the tree 
 of the knowledge of good and evil. 
 
 The mere mention of these temptations should 
 be sufficient appeal to conscience. If consecration 
 is to be a reality anywhere, should it not be in the 
 
94 Ikept for tbe Master's luge* 
 
 very thing which you own as an extra gift from 
 God, and which is evidently closest, so to speak, to 
 His direct action, spirit upon spirit? And if the 
 very strength of your intellect has been your weak- 
 ness, will you not entreat Him to keep it hence- 
 forth really and entirely for Himself? It is so good 
 of Him to have given you something to lay at His 
 feet ; shall not this goodness lead you to lay it all 
 there, and never hanker after taking it back for 
 yourself or the world ? Do you not feel that in 
 very proportion to the gift you need the special 
 keeping of it? He may lead you by away you 
 know not in the matter ; very likely He will show 
 you that you must be willing to be a fool for His 
 sake first, before He will condescend to use you 
 much for His glory. Will you look up into His 
 face and say, ' Not willing ' ? 
 
 He who made every power can use every power 
 — memory, judgment, imagination, quickness of ap- 
 prehension or insight ; specialties of musical, poeti- 
 cal, oratorical, or artistic faculty ; special tastes for 
 reasoning, philosophy, history, natural science, or 
 natural history, — all these may be dedicated to Him, 
 sanctified by Him, and used by Him. Whatever 
 He has given, He will use, if we will let Him. 
 Often, in the most unexpected ways, and at the 
 most unexpected turns, something read or acquired 
 long ago suddenly comes into use. We cannot fore- 
 see what will thus 'come in useful'; but He knew, 
 when He guided us to learn it, what it would be 
 wanted for in His service. So may we not ask Him 
 to bring His perfect foreknowledge to bear on all 
 
®ur "ffnteUects ftept tor ^csus. 95 
 
 our mental training and storing? to guide us to 
 read or study exactly what He knows there will be use 
 for in the work to which He has called or will call us ? 
 
 Nothing is more practically perplexing to a young 
 Christian, whose preparation time is not quite over, 
 or perhaps painfully limited, than to know what is 
 most worth studying, what is really the best invest- 
 ment of the golden hours, while yet the time is not 
 c«me for the field of active work to be fully entered, 
 and the ' thoroughly furnishing ' of the mind is the 
 evident path of present duty. Is not His name 
 called 'Counsellor'? and will He not be faithful to 
 the promise of His name in this, as well as in all 
 else? 
 
 The same applies to every subsequent stage. Only 
 let us be perfectly clear about the principle that 
 our intellect is not our own, either to cultivate, or 
 to use, or to enjoy, and that Jesus Christ is our real 
 and ever-present Counsellor, and then there will be 
 no more worry about what to read and how much 
 to read, and whether to keep up one's accomplish- 
 ments, or one's languages, or one's ^ologies' ! If 
 the Master has need of them. He will show us ; and 
 if He has not, what need have we of them ? If we 
 go forward without His leading,we may throw away 
 some talent, or let it get too rusty for use, which 
 would have been most valuable when other circum- 
 stances arose or different work was given. We must 
 not think that ' keeping ' means not using at all ! 
 What we want is to have all our powers kept for 
 His use. 
 
 In this they will probably find far higher develop- 
 ment than in any other sort of use. I know cases 
 
96 fjept for tbe /Iftaster's *ai6e. 
 
 in which the effect of real consecration on mere 
 mental development has been obvious and surprising 
 to all around. Yet it is only a confirmation of what 
 I believe to be a great principle, viz. that the Lord 
 makes the most of whatever is unreservedly sur- 
 rendered to Him. There will always be plenty of 
 waste in what we try to cut out for ourselves. But 
 He wastes no material ! 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ®ur mssXQ l;ept for Jesue. 
 
 ^Keep my will, oh, keep it Thine, 
 For Xt is no longer mine.^ 
 
 PERHAPS there is no point in which expecta- 
 tion has been so limited by experience as this. 
 We believe God is able to do for us just so much as 
 He has already done, and no more. We take it for 
 granted a line must be drawn somewhere; and so 
 we choose to draw it where experience ends, and 
 faith would have to begin. Even if we have trusted 
 and proved Him as to keeping our members and 
 our minds, faith fails when we would go deeper and 
 say, * Keep my will ! ' And yet the only reason we 
 have to give is, that though we have asked Him to 
 take our will, we do not exactly find that it is al- 
 together His, but that self-will cropis up again and 
 
©uc Mills ftept for 5e6us» 97 
 
 again. And whatever flaw there might be in this 
 argument, we think the matter is quite settled by 
 the fact that some whom we rightly esteem, and 
 who are far better than ourselves, have the same 
 experience, and do not even seem to think it right 
 to hope for anything better. That is conclusive ! 
 And the result of this, as of every other faithless 
 conclusion, is either discouragement and depres- 
 sion, or, still worse, acquiescence in an unyielded 
 Tvill, as something that can't be helped. 
 
 Now let us turn from our thoughts to God's 
 thoughts. Verily, they are not as ours ! He says 
 He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all 
 that we ask or think. Apply this here. We ask 
 Him to take our wills and make them His. Does 
 He or does He not mean what He says ? and, if He 
 does, should we not trust Him to do this thing that 
 we have asked and longed for, and not less but 
 more ? ' Is anything too hard for the Lord ? ' 
 ' Hath He said, and shall He not do it ? ' and if He 
 gives us faith to believe that we have the petition 
 that we desired of Him, and with it the unspeak- 
 able rest of leaning our will wholly upon His love, 
 what ground have we for imagining that this is 
 necessarily to be a mere fleeting shadow, which is 
 hardly to last an hour, but is necessarily to be ex- 
 hausted ere the next breath of trial or temptation 
 comes? Does He mock our longing by acting as I 
 have seen an older person act to a child, by accept- 
 ing some trifling gift of no intrinsic value, just to 
 please the little one, and then throwing it away as 
 soon as the child's attention is diverted ? Is not 
 the taking rather the pledge of the keeping, if we 
 
98 IRept tor tbe Master's lUse, 
 
 will but entrust Him fearlessly with it ? We give 
 Him no opportunity, so to speak, of proving His 
 faithfulness to this great promise, because we will 
 not fulfil the condition of reception, believing it. 
 But we readily enough believe instead all that we 
 hear of the unsatisfactory experience of others ! Or, 
 start from another word. Job said, * I know that 
 Thou canst do everything,' and we turn round and 
 say, ' Oh yes, everything except keeping my will ! ' 
 Dare we add, * And I know that Thou canst not do 
 that ' ? Yet that is what is said every day, only in 
 other words; and if not said aloud, it is said in 
 faithless hearts, and God hears it. What does 
 * Almighty ' mean, if it does not mean, as we teach 
 our little children, * able to do everything^ ? 
 
 We have asked this great thing many a time, 
 without, perhaps, realizing how great a petition we 
 were singing, in the old morning hymn, * Guard 
 my first springs of thought and will ! ' That goes 
 to the root of the matter, only it implies that the 
 will has been already surrendered to Him, that it 
 may be wholly kept and guarded. 
 
 It may be that we have not sufficiently realized 
 the sin of the only alternative. Our wills belong 
 either to self or to God. It may seem a small and 
 rather excusable sin in man's sight to be self-willed, 
 but see in what a category of iniquity God puts it ! 
 {2 Pet. ii. 10). And certainly we are without ex- 
 cuse when we have such a promise to go upon as, 
 ^ It is God that worketh in you both to will and to 
 do of His pleasure.' How splendidly this meets our 
 very deepest helplessness, — ' worketh in you to 
 will!^ Oh, let us pray for ourselves and for each 
 
©ur IKHilla ftept for S^csus. 99 
 
 other, that we may know ' what is the exceeding 
 greatness of His power to usward who believe.' It 
 does not say, ' to usward who fear and doubt ; ' for 
 if we will not believe, neither shall we be estab- 
 lished. If we will not believe what God says He 
 can do, we shall see it with our eyes, but we shall 
 not eat thereof. * They could not enter in because 
 of unbelief. ' 
 
 It is most comforting to remember that the grand 
 promise, ' Thy people shall be willing in the day of 
 Thy power,* is made by the Father to Christ Him- 
 self. The Lord Jesus holds this promise, and God 
 will fulfil it to Him. He will make us willing be- 
 cause He has promised Jesus that He will do so. 
 And what is being made willing, but having our 
 will taken and kept ? 
 
 All true surrender of the will is based upon love 
 and knowledge of, and confidence in, the one to 
 whom it is surrendered. We have the human 
 analogy so often before our eyes, that it is the more 
 strange we should be so slow to own even the possi- 
 bility of it as to God. Is it thought anything so 
 very extraordinary and high-flown, when a bride 
 de\iheT3itely prefers wearing a colour which was not 
 her own taste or choice, because her husband likes 
 to see her in it ? Is it very unnatural that it is no 
 distress to her to do what he asks her to do, or to go 
 with him where he asks her to come, even without 
 question or explanation, instead of doing what or 
 going where she would undoubtedly have preferred 
 if she did not know and love him ? Is it very sur- 
 prising if this lasts beyond the wedding day, and if 
 year after year she still finds it her greatest pleasure 
 
loo iRcpt tor tbe Master's IHbc* 
 
 to please him, quite irrespective of what used to be 
 her own ways and likings ? Yet in this case she is 
 not helped by any promise or power on his part to 
 make her wish what he wishes. But He who so 
 wonderfully condescends to call Himself the Bride- 
 groom of His church, and who claims our fullest 
 love and trust, has promised and has power to work 
 in us to will. Shall we not claim His promise and 
 rely on His mighty power, and say, not self-con- 
 fidently, but looking only unto Jesus — 
 
 * Keep my will, for it is Thine; 
 It shall be no longer mine ! ' 
 
 Only in proportion as our own will is surren- 
 dered, are we able to discern the splendour of 
 God's will. 
 
 For oh ! it is a splendour, 
 
 A glow of majesty, 
 A mystery of beauty 
 
 If we will only see; 
 A very cloud of glory 
 
 Enfolding you and me. 
 
 A splendour that is lighted 
 
 At one transcendent flame, 
 The wondrous Love, the perfect Love, 
 
 Our Father's sweetest name ; 
 For His Name and very Essence- 
 
 And His Will are all the same ! 
 
 Conversely, in proportion as we see this splen- 
 dour of His will, we shall more readily or more 
 fully surrender our own. Not until we have pre- 
 sented our bodies a living sacrifice can we prove 
 
Om Mills ftcpt tor 5e9U6. loi 
 
 what is that good, and perfect, and acceptable will 
 of God. But in thus proving it, this continual pre- 
 sentation will be more and more seen to be our 
 reasonable service, and becomes more and more a 
 joyful sacrifice of praise. 
 
 The connection in Romans xii. 1,2, between our 
 sacrifice which He so graciously calls acceptable to 
 Himself, and our finding out that His will is ac- 
 ceptable to ourselves, is very striking. One reason 
 for* this connection may be that only love can 
 really understand love, and love on both sides is at 
 the bottom of the whole transaction and its results. 
 First, He loves us. Then the discovery of this 
 leads us to love Him. Then, because He loves us. 
 He claims us, and desires to have us wholly yielded 
 to His will, so that the operations of love in and 
 for us may find no hindrance. Then, because we 
 love Him we recognise His claim and yield our- 
 selves. Then, being thus yielded. He draws us 
 nearer to Him,* and admits us, so to speak, into 
 closer intimacy, so that we gain nearer and truer 
 views of His perfections. Then the unity of these 
 perfections becomes clearer to us. Now we not 
 only see His justice and mercy flowing in an undi- 
 vided stream from the cross of Christ, but we see 
 that they never were divided, though the strange 
 distortions of the dark, false glass of sin made them 
 appear so, but that both are but emanations of 
 God's holy love. Then having known and be- 
 lieved this holy love, we see further that His will 
 
 * * Now ye Aav£ consecrated yourselves unto the I^ord, come 
 near^ (2 Chron. xxix. 31). 
 
102 ikept tor tbe /Iftastcr's IHse. 
 
 is not a separate thing, but only love (and therefore 
 all His attributes) in action ; love being the pri- 
 mary essence of His being, and all the other at- 
 tributes manifestations and combinations of that 
 ineffable essence, for God is Love. Then this will 
 of God which has seemed in old far-off days a stern 
 and fateful power, is seen to be only love energized ; 
 love saying, * I will.' And when once we really 
 grasp this (hardly so much by faith as by love 
 itself), the will of God cannot be otherwise than 
 acceptable, for it is no longer a question of trusting 
 that somehow or other there is a hidden element of 
 love in it, but of understanding that it is love ; no 
 more to be dissociated from it than the power of the 
 sun's rays can be dissociated from their light and 
 warmth. And love recognised must surely be love 
 accepted and reciprocated. So, as the fancied 
 sternness of God's will is lost in His love, the stub- 
 bornness of our will becomes melted in that love, 
 and lost in our acceptance of it. 
 
 * Take Thine own way with me, dear Lord, 
 
 Thou canst not otherwise than bless ; 
 I launch me forth upon a sea 
 
 Of boundless love and tenderness. 
 
 * I could not choose a larger bliss 
 
 Than to be wholly Thine ; and mine 
 A will whose highest joy is this, 
 To ceaselessly unclasp in Thine. 
 
 * I will not fear Thee, O my God ! 
 
 The days to come can only bring 
 Their perfect sequences of love, 
 Thy larger, deeper comforting. 
 
©ur Mills ftept tor ^csns* 103 
 
 * Within the shadow of this love, 
 
 Loss doth transmute itself to gain ; 
 Faith veils earth's sorrows in its light, 
 And straightway lives above her pain. 
 
 * We are not losers thus; we share 
 
 The perfect gladness of the Son, 
 Not conquered — for, behold, we reign ; 
 Conquered and Conqueror are one. 
 
 * Thy wonderful grand will, my God I 
 
 Triumphantly I make it mine; 
 And faith shall breathe her glad "Amen " 
 To every dear command of Thine. 
 
 * Beneath the splendour of Thy choice, 
 
 Thy perfect choice for me, I rest; 
 Outside it now I dare not live, 
 Within it I must needs be blest. 
 
 * Meanwhile my spirit anchors calm 
 
 In grander regions still than this; 
 The fair, far-shining latitudes 
 Of that yet unexplored bliss. 
 
 < Then may Thy perfect, glorious will 
 Be evermore fulfilled in me, 
 And make my life an answ'ring chord 
 Of glad, responsive harmony. 
 
 * Oh ! it is life indeed to live 
 
 Within this kingdom strangely sweet, 
 And yet we fear to enter in, 
 And linger with unwilling feet. 
 
 * We fear this wondrous rule of Thine, 
 
 Because we have not reached Thy heart ; 
 Not venturing our all on Thee, 
 
 We may not know how good Thou art.' 
 
 Jean Sophia Pigott. 
 
104 Iftept foe tbe /iftastec's lllse* 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ®ur 1beart0 ftept for 3cem. 
 
 * ^<?^ my heart ; it is Thine own ; 
 It is now Thy royal throne.^ 
 
 * T T is a good thing that the heart be established 
 A with grace,' and yet some of us go on as if 
 it were not a good thing even to hope for it to 
 be so. 
 
 We should be ashamed to say that we had be- 
 haved treacherously to a friend ; that we had played 
 him false again and again ; that we had said scores 
 of times what we did not really mean ; that we had 
 professed and promised what, all the while, we had 
 no sort of purpose of performing. We should be 
 ready to go off by next ship to New Zealand rather 
 than calmly own to all this, or rather than ever 
 face our friends again after we had owned it. And 
 yet we are not ashamed (some of us) to say that we 
 are always dealing treacherously with our Lord; 
 nay, more, we own it with an inexplicable com- 
 placency, as if there were a kind of virtue in say- 
 ing how fickle and faithless and desperately wicked 
 our hearts are ; and we actually plume ourselves on 
 the easy confession, which we think proves our 
 
®ur Ibearts ftept tor S^esus. 105 
 
 humility, and which does not lower us in the eyes 
 of others, nor in our own eyes, half so much "as if 
 we had to say, 'I have told a story,' or, *I have 
 broken my promise.' Nay, more, we have not the 
 slightest hope, and therefore not the smallest in- 
 tention of aiming at an utterly different state of 
 things. Well for us if we do not go a step farther, 
 and call those by hard and false names who do 
 seek io have an established heart, and who believe 
 that as the Lord meant what He said when He 
 promised, ^ JVo good thing will He withhold from 
 them that walk uprightly,' so He will not withhold 
 f/ii's good thing. 
 
 Prayer must be based upon promise, but, thank 
 God, His promises are always broader than our 
 prayers. No fear of building inverted pyramids 
 here, for Jesus Christ is the foundation, and this 
 and all the other ' promises of God in Him are- 
 yea, and in Him amen, unto the glory of God 
 by us.' So it shall be unto His glory to fulfil 
 this one to us, and to answer our prayer for a 
 ' kept ' or ' established ' heart. And its fulfilment 
 shall work out His glory, not in spite of us, but; 
 * dy us. ' 
 
 We find both the means and the result of the 
 keeping in the 112th Psalm : * His heart is fixed.' 
 Whose heart ? An angel ? A saint in glory ? 
 No ! Simply the heart of the man that feareth the 
 Lord, and delighteth greatly in His command- 
 ments. Therefore yours and mine, as God would 
 have them be ; just the normal idea of a God-fear- 
 ing heart, nothing extremely and hopelessly beyond 
 attainment. 
 
io6 iftept for tbe Master's lasc. 
 
 ' Fixed. ' How does that tally with the deceit- 
 fulness and waywardness and fickleness about which 
 we really talk as if we were rather proud of them 
 than utterly ashamed of them ? 
 
 Does our heavenly Bridegroom expect nothing 
 more of us? Does His mighty, all-constraining 
 love intend to do no more for us than to leave us 
 in this deplorable state, when He is undoubtedly 
 able to heal the desperately wicked heart (compare 
 verses 9 and 14 of Jeremiah xvii.), to rule the way- 
 ward one with His peace, and to establish the fickle 
 one with His grace ? Are we not ' without ex- 
 cuse ' ? 
 
 ' Fixed, trusting in the Lord. ' Here is the 
 means of the fixing — trust. He works the trust in 
 us by sending the Holy Spirit to reveal God in 
 Christ to us as absolutely, infinitely worthy of our 
 trust. When we ' see Jesus ' by Spirit- wrought 
 faith, we cannot but trust Him; we distrust our 
 hearts more truly than ever before, but we trust our 
 Lord entirely, because we trust Him only. For, 
 entrusting our trust to Him, we know that He is 
 able to keep that which we commit (/. e. entrust) 
 to Him. It is His own way of winning and fixing 
 our hearts for Himself, Is it not a beautiful one ? 
 Thus ' his heart is established.' But we have not 
 quite faith enough to believe that. So what is the 
 very first doubting, and therefore sad thought that 
 crops up ? ' Yes, but I am afraid it will not remain 
 fixed.' 
 
 That is your thought. Now see what is God's 
 thought about the case. * His heart is established, 
 he shall not be afraid.' 
 
®ur Ibearts ftept for Jesug. 107 
 
 Is not that enough ? What is, if such plain and 
 yet divine words are not? Well, the Gracious 
 One bears with us, and gives line upon line to His 
 poor little children. And so He says, ' The peace 
 of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep 
 your hearts and minds, through Christ Jesus.' And 
 again, * Thy thoughts shall be established.' And 
 again, * Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose 
 mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in 
 Thee.' 
 
 And to prove to us that these promises can be 
 realized in present experience. He sends down to 
 us through nearly 3000 years the words of the man 
 who prayed, * Create in me a clean heart, O God,' 
 and lets us hear twice over the new song put by the 
 same Holy Spirit into his mouth : * My heart is 
 fixed, O God, my heart is fixed' (Ps. Ivii. 7, 
 cviii. i). 
 
 The heart that is established in Christ is also es- 
 tablished for Christ. It becomes His royal throne, 
 no longer occupied by His foe, no longer tottering 
 and unstable. And then we see the beauty and 
 preciousness of the promise, * He shall be a Priest 
 upon His throne.' Not only reigning, but aton- 
 ing. Not only ruling, but cleansing. Thus the 
 throne is established * in mercy,' but ^ by righteous- 
 ness.' 
 
 I think we lose ground sometimes by parleying 
 with the tempter. We have no business to parley 
 with an usurper. The throne is no longer his 
 when we have surrendered it to our Lord Jesus. 
 And why should we allow him to argue with us for 
 one instant, as if it were still an open question ? 
 
io8 
 
 IRept for tbe Master's tlsc. 
 
 Don't listen; simply tell him that Jesus Christ /> 
 on the long-disputed throne, and no more about it, 
 but turn at once to your King and claim the glori- 
 ous protection of His sovereignty over you. It is 
 a splendid reality, and you will find it so. He will 
 not abdicate and leave you kingless and defence- 
 less. For verily, ' The Lord ts our King ; He will 
 save us ' (Isa. xxxiii. 22). 
 
 Our hearts 
 
 are naturally — 
 
 God can 
 
 make them — 
 
 Evil, . . 
 
 Heb. iii. \2. 
 
 Clean, . . 
 
 Ps. li. 10. 
 
 Desperately 
 
 
 
 
 wicked, . 
 
 Jer. xvii. 9. 
 
 Good, . . 
 
 Luke viii. 15.^ 
 
 Weak, . . 
 
 Ezek. xvi. 30. 
 
 Fixed, . . 
 
 Ps. cxii. 7. 
 
 Deceitful, . 
 
 Jer. xvii. 9. 
 
 Faithful, . 
 
 Neh. ix. 8. 
 
 Deceived, . 
 
 Isa. xliv. 20. 
 
 Understand- 
 
 
 
 
 ing, . . 
 
 I Kings iii. 9. 
 
 Double, 
 
 Ps. xii. 2. 
 
 Honest, 
 
 Luke viii. 15. 
 
 Impenitent, 
 
 Rom. ii. 5. 
 
 Contrite, . 
 
 Ps. li. 17. 
 
 Rebellious, 
 
 Jer. v. 23. 
 
 True, . . 
 
 Heb. X. 22. 
 
 Hard, . . 
 
 Ezek. iii. 7. 
 
 Soft, . . 
 
 Job xxiii. 16. 
 
 Stony, . . 
 
 Ezek. xi. 19. 
 
 New, . . 
 
 Ezek. xviii. 31 
 
 Fro ward, . 
 
 Prov. xvii. 20. 
 
 Sound, . . 
 
 Ps. cxix. 80. 
 
 Despiteful, . 
 
 Ezek. XXV. 15. 
 
 Glad, . . 
 
 Ps. xvi. 9. 
 
 Stout, . . 
 
 Isa. x. 12. 
 
 Established, 
 
 , Ps. cxii. 8. 
 
 Haughty, . 
 
 Prov. xviii. 12. 
 
 Tender, 
 
 Ephes. iv. 32. 
 
 Proud, . . 
 
 Prov. xxi. 4. 
 
 Pure, . . 
 
 Matt. V. 8. 
 
 Perverse, . 
 
 Prov. xii. 8. 
 
 Perfect, 
 
 I Chron. xxix. 9 
 
 Foolish, 
 
 Rom. i. 21. 
 
 Wise, . . 
 
 Prov. xi. 29. 
 
®ur %ovc ftept for 5e6U5. lo^ 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ®ur Xove fiept for 3e6U6* 
 
 * Jutep my love ; my Lord, I pour 
 At Thy feet its treasure-store * 
 
 NOT as a mere echo from the morning-gilded 
 shore of Tiberias, but as an ever new, ever 
 sounding note of divinest power, come the famil- 
 iar words to each of us, ' Lovest thou Me ? ' He 
 says it who has loved us with an everlasting love. 
 He says it who has died for us. He says it who 
 has washed us from our sins in His own blood. He 
 says it who has waited for our love, waited pa- 
 tiently all through our coldness. 
 
 And if by His grace we have said, * Take my 
 love,' which of us has not felt that part of His very 
 answer has been to make us see how little there was 
 to take, and how little of that little has been kept 
 for Him ? And yet we do love Him ! He knows 
 that ! The very mourning and longing to love 
 Him more proves it. But we want more than that, 
 and so does our Lord. 
 
 He has created us to love. We have a sealed 
 treasure of love, which either remains sealed, and 
 then gradually dries up and wastes away, or is un- 
 
no iRept for tbe Master's Tllse* 
 
 sealed and poured out, and yet is the fuller and not 
 the emptier for the outpouring. The more love we 
 give, the more we have to give. So far it is only 
 natural. But when the Holy Spirit reveals the love 
 of Christ, and sheds abroad the love of God in our 
 hearts, this natural love is penetrated with a new 
 principle as it discovers a new Object. Everything 
 that it beholds in that Object gives it new depth 
 and new colours. As it sees the holiness, the 
 beauty, and the glory, it takes the deep hues of 
 conscious sinfulness, unworthiness, and nothing- 
 ness. As it sees even a glimpse of the love that 
 passeth knowledge, it takes the glow of wonder and 
 gratitude. And when it sees that love drawing 
 close to its deepest need with blood -purchased par- 
 don, it is intensified and stirred, and there is no 
 more time for weighing and measuring ; we must 
 pour it out, all there is of it, with our tears, at the 
 feet that were pierced for love of us. 
 
 And what then ? Has the flow grown gradually 
 slower and shallower? Has our Lord reason to 
 say, ' My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, 
 and as a stream of brooks they pass away ' ? It is 
 humiliating to have found that we could not keep 
 on loving Him, as we loved in that remembered 
 hour when * Thy time was the time of love. ' We 
 have proved that we were not able. Let this be 
 only the stepping-stone to proving that He is able ! 
 
 There will have been a cause, as we shall see if 
 we seek it honestly. It was not that we really 
 poured out all our treasure, and so it naturally 
 came to an end. We let it be secretly diverted into 
 other channels. We began keeping back a little 
 
©ur %ovc iiept for 5e6us, m 
 
 part of the price for something else. We looked 
 away from, instead of looking away unto Jesus. 
 We did not entrust Him with our love, and ask 
 Him to keep it for Himself. 
 
 And what has He to say to us? Ah, He up- 
 braideth not. Listen ! ' Thus saith the Lord, I 
 remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love 
 of thine espousals. ' Can any words be more ten- 
 der, more touching, to you, to me? Forgetting 
 all the sin, all the backsliding, all the coldness, 
 casting all that into the unreturning depths of the 
 sea, He says He remembers that hour when we first 
 said, *Take my love.' He remembers it now, at 
 this minute. He has written it for ever on His in- 
 finite memory, where the past is as the present. 
 
 His own love is unchangeable, so it could never 
 be His wish or will that we should thus drift away 
 from Him. Oh, ' Come and let us return unto the 
 Lord ! ' But is there any hope that, thus returning, 
 our flickering love may be kept from again failing ? 
 Hear what He says : 'And I will betroth thee unto 
 Me for ever ' And again : ' Thou s/iaU abide /or 
 Me many days; so will I also be for thee.' Shall 
 we trust His word or not ? Is it worthy of our ac- 
 ceptation or not ? Oh, rest on this word of the 
 King, and let Him from this day have the keeping 
 of your love, and He will keep it ! 
 
 The love of Christ is not an absorbing, but a ra- 
 diating love. The more we love Him, the more 
 we shall most certainly love others. Some have not 
 much natural power of loving, but the love of Christ 
 will strengthen it. Some have had the springs of 
 
312 ikept tor tbe Master's TUbc* 
 
 love dried up by some terrible earthquake. They 
 will find ' fresh springs ' in Jesus, and the gentle 
 •flow will be purer and deeper than the old torrent 
 could ever be. Some have been satisfied that it 
 should rush in a narrow channel, but He will cause 
 it to overflow into many another, and widen its 
 course of blessing. Some have spent it all on their 
 God-given dear ones. Now He is come whose 
 right it is ; and yet in the fullest resumption of 
 that right, He is so gracious that He puts back an 
 €ven larger measure of the old love into our hand, 
 sanctified with His own love, and energized with 
 His blessing, and strengthened with His new com- 
 mandment, * That ye love one another, as I have 
 loved you.' 
 
 In that always very interesting part, called a 
 * Corner for Difficulties,' of that always very inter- 
 esting magazine, Woman^s Work, the question has 
 been discussed, * When does love become idolatry? 
 Is it the experience of Christians that the coming 
 in of a new object of affection interferes with entire 
 consecration to God ? ' I should like to quote the 
 many excellent answers in full, but must only refer 
 my readers to the number for March 1879. ^^^ 
 replies : ' It seems to me that He who is love 
 would not give us an object for our love unless He 
 saw that our hearts needed expansion ; and if the 
 love is consecrated, and the friendship takes its 
 stand in Christ, there is no need for the fear that it 
 will become idolatry. Let the love on both sides 
 de given to God to keep, and however much it may 
 grow, the source from which it springs must yet be 
 greater.' Perhaps I may be pardoned for giving^ 
 
©ur %ove ftept for Jesus, 113 
 
 at the same writer's suggestion, a quotation from 
 Under the Surface on this subject. Eleanor says to 
 Beatrice; — 
 
 * I tremble when I think 
 How much I love him ; but I turn away 
 From thinking of it, just to love him more; — 
 Indeed, I fear, too much.' 
 
 * Dear Eleanor, 
 Do you love him as much as Christ loves us ? 
 Let your lips answer me.' 
 
 * Why ask me, dear ? 
 Our hearts are finite^ Christ is infinite.' 
 
 * Then, till you reach the standard of that love, 
 Let neither fears nor well-meant warning voice 
 Distress you with " too much." For He hath said 
 How much — and who shall dare to change His measure? 
 '" That ye should love AS I have loved you." 
 
 O sweet command, that goes so far beyond 
 
 The mightiest impulse of the tenderest heart ! 
 
 A bare permission had been much ; but He 
 
 "Who knows our yearnings and our fearfulness, 
 
 Chose graciously to bid us do the thing 
 
 That makes our earthly happiness, 
 
 A limit that we need not fear to pass. 
 
 Because we cannot. Oh, the breadth and length. 
 
 And depth and height of love that passeth knowledge ! 
 
 Yet Jesus said, "As I have loved you." ' 
 
 ' O Beatrice, I long to feel the sunshine 
 That this should bring ; but there are other words 
 "Which fall in chill eclipse. 'Tis written, " Keep 
 Yourselves from idols." How shall I obey ? ' 
 
 * Oh, not by loving less, but loving more. 
 It is not that we love our precious ones 
 Too much, but God too little. As the lamp 
 A miner bears upon his shadowed brow 
 
 Is only dazzling in the grimy dark, 
 
 And has no glare against the summer sky, 
 
114 If^ept tor tbe /iRastcr's tlsc* 
 
 So, set the tiny torch of our best love 
 
 In the great sunshine of the love of God, 
 
 And, though full fed and fanned, it casts no shade 
 
 And dazzles not, o'erflowed with mightier light.* 
 
 There is no love so deep and wide as that which 
 is kept for Jesus. It flows both fuller and farther 
 when it flows only through Him. Then, too, it 
 will be a power for Him. It will always be uncon- 
 sciously working for Him. In drawing others to 
 ourselves by it, we shall be necessarily drawing them 
 nearer to the fountain of our love, never drawing 
 them away from it. It is the great magnet of His love 
 which alone can draw any heart to Him ; but when 
 our own are thoroughly yielded to its mighty in- 
 fluence, they will be so magnetized that He will 
 condescend to use them in this way. 
 
 Is it not wonderful to think that the Lord Jesus 
 will not only accept and keep, but actually use 
 our love? 
 
 * Of Thine own have we given Thee,' for * we love 
 Him because He first loved us.' 
 
 Set apart to love Him, 
 
 And His love to know ; 
 Not to waste affection 
 On a passing show ; 
 Called to give Him life and heart, 
 
 Called to pour the hidden treasure, 
 That none other claims to measure, 
 Into His beloved hand ! thrice blessed * set apart ' ! 
 
 I 
 
©ur Selves ftept tor 5e6U0. X15 
 
 CHAPTER Xli. 
 
 ®ur Sel\>e0 ftept for 3cBx\e. 
 
 * JiTeep my self, that I may be 
 Every only, all for Thee? 
 
 'T^OR Thee ! ' That is the beginning and the 
 A^ end of the whole matter of consecration. 
 There was a prelude to its * endless song,' — a pre- 
 lude whose theme is woven into every following 
 harmony in the new anthem of consecrated life : 
 * The Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself 
 for me.'' Out of the realized * for me,' grows the 
 practical * for Thee !' If the former is a living root, 
 the latter will be its living fruit. 
 
 ' For 7'hee/ ' This makes the difference between 
 forced or formal, and therefore unreasonable ser- 
 vice, and the * reasonable service ' which is the be- 
 ginning of the perfect service where they see His 
 face. This makes the difference between slave work 
 and free work. For Thee, my Redeemer ; for Thee 
 who hast spoken to my heart ; for Thee, who hast 
 done for me — what? Let us each pause, and fill 
 up that blank with the great things the Lord hath 
 done for us. For Thee, who art to me — what? 
 
ii6 iRept for tbe /iBaster's luge. 
 
 Fill that up too, before Him ! For Thee, my 
 Saviour Jesus, my Lord and my God ! 
 
 And what is to be for Him ? My self. We talk 
 sometimes as if, whatever else could be subdued 
 unto Him, self could never be. Did St. Paul for- 
 get to mention this important exception to the *all 
 things' in Phil. iii. 21? David said: * Bless the 
 Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me^ bless 
 His Holy Name.' Did he, too, unaccountably for- 
 get to mention that he only meant all that was 
 within him, except self? If not, then self must be 
 among the ' all things ' which the Lord Jesus Christ 
 is able to subdue unto Himself, and which are to 
 * bless His Holy Name.' It is Self which, once His 
 most treacherous foe, is now, by full and glad sur- 
 render. His own soldier — coming over from the 
 rebel camp into the royal army. It is not some 
 one else, some temporarily possessing spirit, which 
 says within us, ' Lord, Thou knowest that I love 
 Thee,' but our true and very self, only changed 
 and renewed by the power of the Holy Ghost. 
 And when we do that we would not, we know that 
 ' it is no more / that do it, but sin that dwelleth 
 in me.' Our true self is the new self, taken and 
 won by the love of God, and kept by the power 
 of God. 
 
 Yes, ^kept / ' There is the promise on which we 
 ground our prayer; or, rather, one of the promises. 
 For, search and look for your own strengthening 
 and comfort, and you will find it repeated in every 
 part of the Bible, from * I am with thee, and will 
 keep thee,' in Genesis, to *I also will keep thee 
 from the hour of temptation,' in Revelation. 
 
©ur Selves ftept tor SFesus, "7 
 
 And kept for Him ! Why should it be thought a 
 thing incredible with you, when it is only the ful- 
 filling of His own eternal purpose in creating us ? 
 '■ This people have I formed for Myself. ' Not ulti- 
 mately only, but presently and continually ; for He 
 says, 'Thou shalt abide y^r J/^ / ' and, 'He that 
 remaineth, even he shall be for our God.^ Are you 
 one of His people by faith in Jesus Christ? Then 
 see what you are to Him. You, personally and in- 
 dividually, are part of the Lord's portion (Deut. 
 xxxii. 9) and of His inheritance (i Kings viii. 53, 
 and Eph. i. 18). His portion and inheritance 
 would not be complete without you ; you are His 
 peculiar treasure (Ex. xix. 5); 'a special people' 
 (how warm, and loving, and natural that expression 
 is !) ' unto Himself^ (Deut. vii. 6). Would you 
 call it ' keeping,' if you had a * special ' treasure, a 
 darling little child, for instance, and let it run wild 
 into all sorts of dangers all day long, sometimes at 
 your side, and sometimes out in the street, with 
 only the intention of fetching it safe home at night ? 
 If ye then, being evil, would know better, and do 
 better, than that, how much more shall our Lord's 
 keeping be true, and tender, and continual, and 
 effectual, when He declares us to be His peculiar 
 treasure, purchased (See i Pet. ii. 9, margin) for 
 Himself at such unknown cost ! 
 
 He will keep what thus He sought, 
 Safely guard the dearly bought ; 
 Cherish that which He did choose, 
 Always love and never lose. 
 
 I know what some of us are thinking. ' Yes j I 
 
ii8 iRept tor tbc /iRaster's 'dse* 
 
 see it all plainly enough in theon/, but in practice I 
 find I am not kept. Self goes over to the other 
 camp again and again. It is not all for Jesus, 
 though I have asked and wished for it to be so.' 
 Dear friends, the 'all ' must be sealed with * only.' 
 Are you willing to be ' only ' for Jesus ? You have 
 not given ' all ' to Jesus while you are not quite 
 ready to be ' only ' for Him. And it is no use to 
 talk about ' ever ' while we have not settled the 
 ' only ' and the ' all.' You cannot be ' for Him,' in 
 the full and blessed sense, while you are partly ' for ' 
 anything or any one else. For ' the Lord hath set 
 apart him that is godly for Himself.' You see, the 
 ' for Himself ' hinges upon the 'set apart.' There 
 is no consecration without separation. If you are 
 mourning over want of realized consecration, will 
 you look humbly and sincerely into this point ? 
 *A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse,' saith 
 the Heavenly Bridegroom. 
 
 Set apart for Jesus ! 
 
 Is not this enough, 
 Though the desert prospect 
 Open wild and rough ? 
 Set apart for His delight, 
 
 Chosen for His holy pleasure, 
 Sealed to be His special treasure ! 
 Could we choose a nobler joy ? — and would we, if we 
 might ? * 
 
 But yielding, by His grace, to this blessed setting 
 apart for Himself, * The Lord shall establish thee an 
 holy people unto Himself, as He hath sworn unto 
 thee.' Can there be a stronger promise? Just 
 
 * Loyal Responses ^ p. Ii. 
 
®ur Selves ftept foe 5e0U0. 119 
 
 obey and trust His word now, and yield yourselves 
 now unto God, ' that He may establish thee to-day 
 for a people unto Himself. ' Commit the keeping 
 of your souls to Him in well-doing, as unto a faith- 
 ful Creator, being persuaded that He is able to 
 KEEP that which you commit to Him. 
 
 Now, Lord, I give myself to Thee, 
 
 I would be wholly Thine, 
 * As Thou hast given Thyself to me, 
 
 And Thou art wholly mine ; 
 O take me, seal me for Thine own. 
 Thine altogether, Thine alone. 
 
 Here comes in once more that immeasurably im- 
 portant subject of our influence. For it is not what 
 we say or do, so much as what we are, that influ- 
 ences others. We have heard this, and very likely 
 repeated it again and again, but have we seen it to 
 be inevitably linked with the great question of this 
 chapter? I do not know anything which, thought- 
 fully considered, makes us realize more vividly the 
 need and the importance of our whole selves being 
 kept for Jesus. Any part not wholly committed, 
 and not wholly kept, must hinder and neutralize 
 the real influence for Him of all the rest. If we 
 ourselves are kept all for Jesus, then our influence 
 will be all kept for Him too. If not, then, how- 
 ever much we may wish and talk and try, we can- 
 not throw our full weight into the right scale. And 
 just in so far as it is not in the one scale, it must be 
 in the other ; weighing against the little which we 
 have tried to put in the right one, and making the 
 short weight still shorter. 
 
I20 ikept tor tbc Master's lUse* 
 
 So large a proportion of it is entirely involun- 
 tary, while yet the responsibility of it is so enor- 
 mous, that our helplessness comes out in exception- 
 ally strong relief, while our past debt in this matter 
 is simply incalculable. Are we feeling this a little? 
 getting just a glimpse, down the misty defiles of 
 memory, of the neutral influence, the wasted influ- 
 ence, the mistaken influence, the actually wrong 
 influence which has marked the ineffaceable al- 
 though untraceable course ? And all the while we 
 owed Him all that influence ! It ought to have 
 been all for Him ! We have nothing to say. But 
 what has our Lord to say ? ' I forgave thee all that 
 debt ! ' 
 
 Then, after that forgiveness which must come 
 first, there comes a thought of great comfort in our 
 freshly felt helplessness, rising out of the very thing 
 that makes us realize this helplessness. Just because 
 our influence is to such a great extent involuntary 
 and unconscious, we may rest assured that if we 
 ourselves are truly kept for Jesus, this will be, as a 
 quite natural result, kept for Him also. It cannot 
 be otherwise, for as is the fountain, so will be the 
 flow \ as the spring, so the action ; as the impulse, 
 so the communicated motion. Thus there may 
 be, and in simple trust there will be, a quiet rest 
 about it, a relief from all sense of strain and effort, 
 a fulfilling of the words, ' For he that is entered 
 into his rest, he also . hath ceased from his own 
 works, as God did from His.' It will not be a 
 matter of trying to have good influence, but just of 
 having it, as naturally and constantly as the mag- 
 netized bar. 
 
®ur Selves ftept tor 5e6us. 121 
 
 Another encouraging thought should follow. Of 
 ourselves we may have but little weight, no particu- 
 lar talents or position or anything else to put into 
 the scale ; but let us remember that again and again 
 God has shown that the influence of a very average 
 life, when once really consecrated to Him, may out- 
 weigh that of almost any number of merely profess- 
 ing Christians. Such lives are like Gideon's three 
 hundred, carrying not even the ordinary weapons 
 of war, but only trumpets and lamps and empty 
 pitchers, by whom the Lord wrought great deliver- 
 ance, while He i^id not use the others at all. For 
 He hath chosen the weak things of the world to 
 confound the things which are mighty. 
 
 Should not all this be additional motive for desiring 
 that our whole selves should be taken and kept ? 
 
 I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be 
 for ever. Therefore we may rejoicingly say ' ever ' 
 as well as ' only ' and ' all for Thee ! ' For the Lord 
 is our Keeper, and He is the Almighty and the 
 Everlasting God, with whom is no variableness, 
 neither shadow of turning. He will never change 
 His mind about keeping us, and no man is able to 
 pluck us out of His hand. Neither will Christ let 
 us pluck ourselves out of His hand, for He says, 
 * Thou shalt abide for Me many days. ' And He 
 that keepeth us will not slumber. Once having 
 undertaken His vineyard. He will keep it night and 
 day, till all the days and nights are over, and we 
 know the full meaning of the salvation ready to be 
 revealed in the last time, unto which we are kept 
 by His power. 
 
122 iftept tor tbe ilRaeter's lllsc. 
 
 And then, for ever for Him ! passing from the 
 gracious keeping by faith for this little while, to 
 the glorious keeping in His presence for all eter- 
 nity ! For ever fulfilling the object for which He 
 formed us and chose us, we showing forth His 
 praise, and He showing the exceeding riches of 
 His grace in His kindness towards us in the ages 
 to come ! He for us, and we for Him for ever / 
 Oh, how little we can grasp this ! Yet this is the 
 fruition of being * kept for Jesus ! ' 
 
 Set apart for ever 
 
 For Himself alone ! 
 Now we see our calling 
 Gloriously shown. 
 Owning, with no secret dread, 
 This our holy separation, 
 Now the crown of consecration * 
 Of the Lord our God shall rest upon our willing head. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Cbrist for ins. 
 
 * So will I also be for Thee.^ — Hos. iii. 3.* 
 
 THE typical promise, ' Thou shalt abide for Me 
 many days,' is indeed a marvel of love. For 
 it is given to the most undeserving, described under 
 the strongest possible figure of utter worthlessness 
 
 * Num. vi. 7. 
 
Cbrfst tor Tils. 123 
 
 and treacherousness, — the woman beloved, yet an 
 adulteress. 
 
 The depth of Jthe abyss shows the length of 
 the line that has fathomed it, yet only the length of 
 the line reveals the real depth of the abyss. The 
 sin shows the love, and the love reveals the sin. 
 The Bible has few words more touching, though sel- 
 dom quoted, than those just preceding this wonderful 
 promise : * The love of the Lord toward the chil- 
 dren of Israel, who look to other gods, and love 
 flagons of wine.' Put that into the personal appli- 
 cation which no doubt underlies it, and say, * The 
 love of the Lord toward me^ who have looked away 
 from Him, with wandering, faithless eyes, to other 
 helps and hopes, and have loved earthly joys and 
 sought earthly gratifications, — the love of the Lord 
 toward even me !' And then hear Him saying in 
 the next verse, * So I bought her to Me ; ' stooping 
 to do that in His unspeakable condescension of 
 love, not with the typical silver and barley, but 
 with the precious blood of Christ. Then, having 
 thus loved us, and rescued us, and bought us with 
 a price indeed, He says, still under the same figure, 
 * Thou shalt abide for Me many days. ' 
 
 This is both a command and a pledge. But the 
 very pledge implies our past unfaithfulness, and 
 the proved need of even our own part being under- 
 taken by the ever patient Lord. He Himself 
 has to guarantee our faithfulness, because there 
 is no other hope of our continuing faithful. Well 
 may such love win our full and glad surrender, 
 and such a promise win our happy and confident 
 trust ! 
 
124 IRept tor tbe /llbaater'0 lllse* 
 
 But He says more. He says, ' So will I also be 
 for thee ! ' And this seems an even greater marvel 
 of love, as we observe how He ijieets every detail 
 of' our consecration with this wonderful word.* 
 
 1. His Life^ior thee!' * The Good Shepherd 
 giveth His life for the sheep.' Oh, wonderful gift ! 
 not promised, but givefi; not to friends, but to ene- 
 mies. Given without condition, without reserve, 
 without return. Himself unknown and unloved. 
 His gift unsought and unasked. He gave His life 
 for thee ; a more than royal bounty — the greatest 
 gift that Deity could devise. Oh, grandeur of love ! 
 ' I lay down My life for the sheep ! ' And we for 
 whom He gave it have held back, and hesitated to 
 give our lives, not even /or Him (He has not asked 
 us to do that), but fo Him ! But that is past, and 
 He has tenderly pardoned the unloving, ungrateful 
 reserve, and has graciously accepted the poor little 
 fleeting breath and speck of dust which was all we 
 had to offer'. And now His precious death and His 
 glorious life are all * for thee. ' 
 
 2. His Eternity '■ for thee.' All we can ask Him 
 to take are days and moments — the little span given 
 us as it is given, and of this only the present in deed 
 and the future in will. As for the past, in so far as 
 we did not give it to Him, it is too late; we can 
 never give it now ! But His past was given to us, 
 
 * The remainder of this chapter is printed in a little penny 
 book, entitled, / also for Thee, by F. R. H., published by 
 Caswell, Birmingham, and by Nisbet & Co. 
 
Cbrist for III0. 125 
 
 though ours was not given to Him. Oh, what a 
 tremendous debt does this show us ! 
 
 Away back in the dim depths of past eternity, 
 'or ever the earth and the world were made,' His 
 divine existence in the bosom of His Father was 
 all 'for thee,' purposing and planning 'for thee,' 
 receiving and holding the promise of eternal life 
 'for thee.' 
 
 Then the thirty-three years among sinners on this 
 sinful earth : do we think enough of the slowly- 
 wearing days and nights, the heavy-footed hours, 
 the never-hastening minutes, that went to make up 
 those thirty-three years of trial and humiliation ? 
 We all know how slowly time passes when suffering 
 and sorrow are near, and there is no reason to sup- 
 pose that our Master was exempted from this part 
 of our infirmities. 
 
 Then His present is ' for thee.' Even now He 
 ' liveth to make intercession ; ' even now He 
 ' thinketh upon me ;' even now He *knoweth,' He 
 ' careth,' He 'loveth.' 
 
 Then, only to think that His whole eternity will 
 be ' for thee !' Millions of ages of unfoldings of all 
 His love, and of ever new declarings of His Father's 
 name to His brethren. Think of it ! and can we 
 ever hesitate to give all our poor little hours to His 
 service ? 
 
 3. His Hands ' for thee. ' Literal hands ; liter- 
 ally pierced, when the whole weight of His quiver- 
 ing frame hung from their torn muscles and bared 
 nerves ; literally uplifted in parting blessing. Con- 
 secrated, priestly hands \ ' filled ' hands (Ex. xxviii. 
 
126 ikept tor tbe /nbastec's "dse* 
 
 41, xxix. 9, etc., margin) — filled once with His 
 great offering, and now with gifts and blessings * for 
 thee. ' Tender hands, touching and healing, lifting 
 and leading with gentlest care. Strong hands, up- 
 holding and defending. Open hands, filling with 
 good and satisfying desire (Ps. civ. 28, and cxlv.i6). 
 Faithful hands, restraining and sustaining. * His 
 left hand is under my head, and His right hand doth 
 embrace me.' 
 
 4. His Feet ' for thee.' They were weary very 
 often, they were wounded and bleeding once. They 
 made clear footprints as He went about doing good, 
 and as He went up to Jerusalem to suffer ; and 
 these * blessed steps of His most holy life,' both as 
 substitution and example, were ' for thee.' Our 
 place of waiting and learning, of resting and loving, 
 is at His feet. And still those ' blessed feet ' are 
 and shall be ' for thee, ' until He comes again to 
 receive us unto Himself, until and when the word 
 is fulfilled, * They shall walk with Me in white.' 
 
 5. His Voice * for thee.' The * Voice of my be- 
 loved that knocketh, saying. Open to me, my sister, 
 my love ; ' the Voice that His sheep * hear ' and 
 ^know,' and that calls out the fervent response, 
 ^ Master, say on ! ' This is not all. It was the lit- 
 eral voice of the Lord Jesus which uttered that one 
 echoless cry of desolation on the Cross * for thee,' 
 and it will be His own literal voice which will say, 
 * Come, ye blessed ! ' to thee. And that same ten- 
 der and * glorious Voice ' has literally sung and will 
 sing * for thee. ' I think He consecrated song for 
 
Cbrist for Ills, 127 
 
 us, and made it a sweet and sacred thing for ever, 
 when He Himself 'sang an hymn,' the very last 
 thing before He went forth to consecrate suffering 
 for us. That was not His last song. ' The Lord 
 thy God . . . will joy over thee with singing.' 
 And the time is coming when He will not only sing 
 * for thee' or 'over thee,' but with thee. He says 
 He will ! * In the midst of the church will I sing 
 praise unto Thee.' Now what a magnificent glimpse 
 of joy this is ! * Jesus Himself leading the praises 
 oT His brethren,'* and we ourselves singing not 
 merely in such a chorus, but with such a leader ! 
 If 'singing for Jesus' is such delight here, what 
 will this ' singing with Jesus ' be ? Surely song may 
 well be a holy thing to us henceforth. 
 
 6. His Lips ' for thee. ' Perhaps there is no part 
 of our consecration which it is so difficult practically 
 to realize, and in which it is, therefore, so needful 
 to recollect — ' I also for thee. * It is often helpful 
 to read straight through one or more of the Gospels 
 with a special thought on our mind, and see how 
 much bears upon it. When we read one through 
 with this thought — ' His lips for me ! ' — wondering, 
 verse by verse, at the grace which was poured into 
 them, and the gracious words which fell from them, 
 wondering more and more at the cumulative force 
 and infinite wealth of tenderness and power and 
 wisdom and love flowing from them, we cannot but 
 desire that our lips and all the fruit of them should 
 
 * See A, Newton on the Epistle to the Hebrews, ch. ii. 
 ver. 12. 
 
128 iRept for tbe /iRastev's lUse. 
 
 be wholly for Him. ' For thee ' they were opened 
 in blessing ; * for thee ' they were closed when He 
 was led as a lamb to the slaughter. And whether 
 teaching, warning, counsel, comfort, or encour- 
 agement, commandments in whose keeping there is 
 a great reward, or promises which exceed all we ask 
 or think — all the precious fruit of His lips is * for 
 thee/ really and truly meant * for thee.' 
 
 7. His Wea/f/i ^ for ihee.^ ' Though He was rich, 
 yet for our sakes He became poor, that ye through 
 His poverty might be made rich.' Yes, * through 
 His poverty ' the unsearchable riches of Christ are 
 'for thee.' Seven -fold riches are mentioned; and 
 these are no unminted treasure or sealed reserve, 
 but all ready coined for our use, and stamped with 
 His own image and superscription, and poured 
 freely into the hand of faith. The mere list is won- 
 derful. ' Riches of goodness,' 'riches of forbear- 
 ance and long-suffering,' 'riches both of wisdom 
 and knowledge,' 'riches of mercy,* 'exceeding 
 riches of grace,' and 'riches of glory.' And His 
 own Word says, 'All are yours ! ' Glance on in 
 faith, and think of eternity flowing on and on be- 
 yond the mightiest sweep of imagination, and real- 
 ize that all ' His riches in glory ' and ' the riches of 
 His glory ' are and shall be ' for thee ! ' In view of 
 this, shall we care to reserve anything that rust doth 
 corrupt for ourselves ? 
 
 8. His ' treasures of wisdom and knowledge ' ' for 
 thee. ' First, used for our behalf and benefit. Why 
 did He expend such immeasurable might of mind 
 
Cbclst tor las, 129 
 
 upon a world which is to be burnt up, but that He 
 would fit it perfectly to be, not the home, but the 
 school of His children ? The infinity of His skill 
 is such that the most powerful intellects find a life- 
 time too short to penetrate a little way into a few 
 secrets of some one small department of His work- 
 ing. If we turn to Providence, it is quite enough 
 to take only one's own life, and look at it micro- 
 scopically and telescopically, and marvel at the 
 treasures of wisdom lavished upon its details, order- 
 ing and shaping and fitting the tiny confused bits 
 into the true mosaic which He means it to be. Many 
 a little thing in our lives reveals the same Mind 
 which, according to a well-known and very beauti- 
 ful illustration, adjusted a perfect proportion in the 
 ueiicate hinges of the snowdrop and the droop of its 
 bell, with the mass of the globe and the force of 
 gravitation. How kind we think it if a very tal- 
 ented friend spends a little of his thought and 
 power of mind in teaching us or planning for us ! 
 Have we l)e?n grateful for the infinite thought and 
 wisdom which our Lord has expended upon us and 
 our creation, preservation, and redemption ? 
 
 Secondly, to be shared with us. He says, ' All 
 that I have is thine.' He holds nothing back, re- 
 serves nothing from His dear children, and what we 
 cannot receive now He is keeping for us. He 
 gives us ' hidden riches of secret places ' now, but 
 by and by He will give us more, and the glorified 
 intellect will be filled continually out of His treas- 
 ures of wisdom and knowledge. But the sanctified 
 intellect will be, must be, used for Him, and only 
 for Him, now ! 
 
I30 Ikept for tbe /iBastec's iRsc* 
 
 9. His Will 'iox thee.' Think first of the 
 infifiite might of that will ; the first great law and the 
 first great force of the universe, from which alone 
 every other law and every other force has sprung, 
 and to which all are subordinate. ' He worketh all 
 things after the counsel of His own will.' ^ He 
 doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, 
 and among the inhabitants of the earth.' Then 
 think of the infinite mysteries of that will. For 
 ages and generations the hosts of heaven have 
 wonderingly watched its vouchsafed unveilings and 
 its sublime developments, and still they are waiting, 
 watching, and wondering. 
 
 Creation and Providence are but the whisper of 
 its power, but Redemption is its music, and praise 
 is the echo which shall yet fill His temple. The 
 whisper and the music, yes, and ' the thunder of 
 His power,' are all 'for thee.' For what is 'the 
 good pleasure of His will ' ? (Eph. i. 5.) Oh, what 
 a grand list of blessings purposed, provided, pur- 
 chased, and possessed, all flowing to us out of it \ 
 And nothing but blessings, nothing but privileges, 
 which we never should have imagined, and which, 
 even when revealed, we are * slow of heart to be- 
 lieve ; ' nothing but what should even nbw fill us 
 ' with joy unspeakable and full of glory ! ' 
 
 Think of this will as always and altogether on our 
 side — always working for us, and in us, and with 
 us, if we will only let it; think of it as always and 
 only synonymous with infinitely wise and almighty 
 love ; think of it as undertaking all for us, from the 
 great work of our eternal salvation down to the 
 momentary details of guidance and supply, and do 
 
Cbrfst for IHg. 131 
 
 we not feel utter shame and self-abhorrence at ever 
 having hesitated for an instant to give up our tiny, 
 feeble, blind will, to be — not crushed, not even 
 bent, but blent with His glorious and perfect 
 Will ? 
 
 \Q. His Heart ' iox \\itQ: * Behold ... He 
 is mighty . . . in heart, ' said Job (Job xxxvi. 
 5, margin). And this mighty and tender heart is 
 ' for thee ! ' If He had only stretched forth His 
 hand to save us from bare destruction, and said, 
 ' My hand for thee ! ' how could we have praised 
 Him enough ? But what shall we say of the un- 
 speakably marvellous condescension which says, 
 * Thou hast ravished (margin, taken away) my 
 heart, my sister, my spouse ! ' The very foun- 
 tain of His divine life, and light, and love, the very 
 centre of His being, is given to His beloved ones, 
 who are not only 'set as a seal upon His heart,' but 
 taken into His heart, so that our life is hid there, 
 and we dwell there in the very centre of all safety, 
 and power, and love, and glory. What will be the 
 revelation of ' that day,' when the Lord Jesus prom- 
 ises, ' Ye shall know that I am in My Father, and 
 ye in Me ' ? For He implies that we do not yet 
 know it, and that our present knowledge of this 
 dwelling in Him is not knowledge at all compared 
 with what He is going to show us about it. 
 
 Now shall we, can we, reserve any corner of our 
 hearts from Him? 
 
 II. His Love 'for thee.' Not a passive, possi- 
 ble love, but outflowing, yes, outpouring oi \ht real. 
 
132 1f?ept tor tbe /Iftaster's lllse. 
 
 glowing, personal love of His mighty and tender 
 heart. Love not as an attribute, a quality, a latent 
 force, but an acting, moving, reaching, touching, 
 and grasping power. Love, not a cold, beautiful, 
 far-off star, but a sunshine that comes and enfolds 
 us, making us warm and glad, and strong and bright 
 and fruitful. 
 
 His love ! What manner of love is it ? What 
 should be quoted to prove or describe it ? First 
 the whole Bible with its mysteries and marvels of 
 redemption, then the whole book of Providence 
 and the whole volume of creation. Then add to 
 these the unknown records of eternity past and the 
 unknown glories of eternity to come, and then let 
 the immeasurable quotation be sung by * angels and 
 archangels, and all the company of heaven,' with all 
 the harps of God, and still that love will be untold, 
 still it will be * the love of Christ that passeth 
 knowledge. ' 
 
 But it is ' for thee ! ' 
 
 12. Himself ' for thee.' * Christ also hath loved 
 us, and given Himself for us. ' * The Son of God 
 . . . loved me, and gave Himself for me.' Yes, 
 Himself! What is the Bride's true and central 
 treasure ? What calls forth the deepest, brightest, 
 sweetest thrill of love and praise ? Not the Bride- 
 groom's priceless gifts, not the robe of His re- 
 splendent righteousness, not the dowry of unsearch- 
 able riches, not the magnificence of the palace 
 home to which He is bringing her, not the glory 
 which she shall share with Him, but Himself ! 
 Jesus Christ, * who His own self bare our sins in 
 
Cbclst for "CIS, 133 
 
 His own body on the tree ; * * this same Jesus, ' 
 ' whom having not seen, ye love ; ' the Son of God, 
 and the Man of Sorrows ; my Saviour, my Friend, 
 my Master, my King, my Priest, my Lord and my 
 God— He says, '/also for thee ! ' What an ' I\f 
 What power and sweetness we feel in it, so differ- 
 ent from any human '/,' for all His Godhead and 
 all His manhood are concentrated in it, and all 
 ' for thee ! ' 
 
 Arid not only *all,' but ^ ever^ for thee. His 
 unchangeableness is the seal upon every attribute j 
 He will be '■ this same Jesus ' for ever. How can 
 mortal mind estimate this enormous promise ? How 
 can mortal heart conceive what is enfolded in these 
 words, '■ I also for thee '? 
 
 One glimpse of its fulness and glory, and we feel 
 that henceforth it must be, shall be, and by His 
 grace will be our true-hearted, whole-hearted cry — 
 
 Take myself ^ and I will be 
 Ever^ ONLY, ALL for Thee ! 
 
 THE END. 
 
flnbey* 
 
 PART II. 
 
 KEPT FOR THE MASTER'S USE. 
 
 1. Our Lives kept for Jesus, 
 
 2. Our Moments kept for Jesus, 
 
 3. Our Hands kept for Jesus, . 
 
 4. Our Feet kept for Jesus, . . 
 
 5. Our Voices kept for Jesus, . 
 
 6. Our Lips kept for Jesus, . . 
 
 7. Our Silver and Gold kept for Jesus, 
 
 8. Our Intellects kept for Jesus, 
 
 9. Our Wills kept for Jesus, 
 
 10. Our Hearts kept for Jesus, 
 
 11. Our Love kept for Jesus, 
 
 12. Our Selves kept for Jesus, 
 
 13. Christ for us, 
 
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